UP Warriorz skipper Meg Lanning admitted her team was outplayed by RCB in their WPL clash, highlighting issues with the top order. An explosive 137-run stand between Grace Harris and Smriti Mandhana powered RCB to a dominant nine-wicket win.
UP Warriorz Women skipper Meg Lanning admitted that her team was outplayed by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the ongoing Women's Premier League (WPL) fixture on Monday. She highlighted the need to improve their top order, mentioning that they had too many dot balls early on. Lanning also praised RCB's performance, saying they drove the game home once they got ahead.
An explosive 137-run stand between Grace Harris and skipper Smriti Mandhana powered RCB to a nine-wicket win in their WPL clash at Navi Mumbai on Monday.
'We were outplayed tonight by RCB'
"No, of course not. We would have loved to start with a win or two, but we were outplayed tonight by RCB. They bowled really well up front, put us under pressure and never allowed us to get away. It wasn't our best night, but the good thing is the games come thick and fast, so we can move on quickly. (quick turnaround) That's right. Sometimes that can actually be a good thing. There are definitely areas we need to tidy up - particularly at the top of the order, myself included. We had too many dot balls early. But credit to RCB, they were excellent up front and once they got ahead, they really drove the game home. We'll review it, see what we can improve, and move forward, " UP Warriorz Women skipper Meg Lanning said after the match.
On tactics and key players
Lanning, also admitted she's not entirely sure about Shikha Pandey's decision to bowl cross-seam with the new ball, saying they'll discuss it later. She showered praise on Pandey, calling her one of the best bowlers in the competition. "I'm not entirely sure, we'll have a chat about it. Shikha is one of the best bowlers in this competition and she mixes it up - sometimes trying to get swing, sometimes hitting the pitch harder to get something off the surface. It didn't quite come off tonight, unfortunately, but that happens. (how do you plan against Harris) It's very difficult once she's in that mood. She hits all areas of the ground - she has brute power, but tonight she also showed how well she can play straight down the ground. Once she gets into that rhythm, she's hard to stop. Unfortunately for us, she got going today, and we couldn't rein her in," she added.
Match Summary
RCB had put UPW to bat first and had reduced them to 50/5 before Deepti Sharma (45*) and Deandra Dottin (40*) helped the team recover enough to reach a fighting 143/5, with Nadine de Klerk and Shreyanka Patil getting two wickets each. In the chase, Grace displayed some excellent ball-striking in her 40-ball 85, while Smriti stayed unbeaten at 47* towards the end. This is RCB's second win in a row, while UPW's second successive loss.
Brief Scores: UPW: 143/5 in 20 overs (Deepti Sharma 45*, Deandra Dottin 40*, Nadine de Klerk 2/28) lost to RCB: 145/1 in 12.1 overs (Grace Harris 85, Smriti Mandhana 47*, Shikha Pandey 1/28). (ANI)
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