Amanjot Kaur, who was sidelined by a back stress fracture requiring surgery and a ligament tear in her hand after last year's WPL, claimed three wickets for 22 runs before blasting a 27-ball 34 to help MI chase down RCB's 167 with one ball to spare in the WPL match in Bengaluru on Friday.
'We have got lots of energy within the group and as I said before we are really excited about the opportunity that we have given ourselves to go out there and play our best game.'
'Another classic, vintage Virat innings and Rajat got his fourth 50. The game had everything... Another good day for RCB.'
Virat Kohli's former Royal Challengers Bengaluru teammate AB de Villiers has advised the struggling Indian batter to "reset" his mind
The inaugural edition's winner Mumbai Indians will bank on their core group of players while two-time finalists Delhi Capitals will expect fireworks from Shafali Verma when they face-off in the second game of the Women's Premier League here on Saturday. The finalists of the first WPL in 2023, both Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals made it to the knockouts in the second edition last year but lost to the eventual champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the eliminator and the final respectively. Those defeats were certainly not reflective of how well MI and DC had fared until the knockouts stage, with Harmanpreet Kaur's side finishing second in the points table with five wins in eight matches and Meg Lanning's team topping it with six wins in as many outings. The winners of WPL 2023, Mumbai Indians tend to lean on their core group of players both overseas and Indian and a similar approach can be expected this year, with only a few changes taking place in terms of squad composition. India pacer Pooja Vastrakar, who was grappling with an unspecified injury, was ruled out of the competition and has been replaced by slow left-arm orthodox bowler Parunika Sisodia, who was one of the main performers in India's title-winning campaign in the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup recently. Mumbai Indians have let go of England's Issy Wong, who took the first-ever WPL hat-trick in 2023, after the player lost form and the franchise found the leader of their attack in South Africa's Shabnim Ismail. Among domestic talents, another member of the U-19 T20 World Cup winning squad G Kamalini would be one to watch out for, having finished as the third highest scorer in the competition with 143 runs in seven matches. Apart from a strong leader in Harmanpreet, MI have strong figures from other international sides such as Nat Sciver-Brunt (England), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), as well as South Africans Nadine de Klerk, Shabnim Ismail and Chloe Tryon. While Yastika Bhatia is MI's No 1 wicketkeeper-batter, other Indian players in Saika Ishaque, Sajana Sajeevan, uncapped Akshita Maheshwari and Amanjot Kaur will be expected to play their roles to perfection. On their part, Delhi Capitals will be keen to do one better after finishing as runner-up for two times in a row ever since the competition began. One of the most consistent teams in the competition, the Lanning-led Delhi have strong talent base across departments but the key will be to deliver in crucial matches. All eyes will be on the explosive Indian batter Shafali who has responded to her exclusion from the Indian side with runs in domestic cricket. She forms a lethal opening pair with Lanning at the top, while the likes of Australia's Annabel Sutherland, England's Alice Capsey and India's Jemimah Rodrigues form the core of their middle order. All-rounder Sutherland will hope to draw inspiration from her recent success of having struck 163 in the only Test of the women's Ashes followed by winning the highest individual honour in Australian cricket. While Delhi boasts of three wicketkeeper-batters in India's Taniyaa Bhatia, Nandini Kashyap and Scotland's Sarah Bryce, their bowling looks settled with Marizanne Kapp as the leader of the attack, backed by Australia's Jess Jonassen, India's Radha Yadav and Shikha Pandey as well as Titas Sadhu.
Newly-appointed Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar on Thursday said he would want to pick talisman Virat Kohli's brains to learn the nuances of leadership and stressed on the importance of "standing with players" in all circumstances.
'We're excited about the game, and obviously, if you can win, it builds a lot of momentum going into the semifinal.'
New rules, new captains, but same excitement as two months of cricket extravaganza kicks off in Kolkata.
RCB have bolstered their bowling attack with the acquisition of Australian seamer Josh Hazlewood for Rs 12.50 crore
'If he goes into the auction pool, it will be fascinating to see which team bids for him.'
A fine half-century by Rilee Rossouw went in vain as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) bowlers delivered a brilliant performance to bundle out Punjab Kings (PBKS) for just 181 runs and secure a 60-run win at Dharamsala on Thursday.
'We know Dinesh Karthik will be here this year which is fantastic and it's great for the tournament.'
Kohli will be a key to RCB's success: Andy Flower
Dinesh Karthik may have spent his career in M S Dhoni's shadow, but his contributions to Indian cricket, especially in the IPL, deserve a legacy all his own, asserts Sudhir Bisht.
Hardik Pandya walked out with the scoreboard reading 99 for 4, and a daunting 222 to chase. The Wankhede was subdued, the Mumbai Indians innings gasping after SKY's stuttering knock. What followed was a spell of breathtaking power-hitting that nearly flipped the game -- and left the crowd in awe.
A round-up of Monday's action in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament.
Virat Kohli, struggling for form, will be playing in Delhi's last league game against Railways at the Kotla from January 30.
'Unfortunately, sport is not a fairytale and our remarkable run in #IPL2024 came to an end.'
Rajasthan Royals paid the price for their shoddy show during the business end as a washout of their final IPL league game
The cricketer with most catches in T20 cricket is former West Indies cricketer Kieron Pollard with 362 catches to his name.
Known for his aggressive batting and ability to dominate powerplay overs, Salt became a highly sought-after player during the bidding war.
This was Mumbai's second SMAT title after winning it for the first time in 2022, while MP's wait for a maiden trophy prolonged to another season.
Faf du Plessis, Sam Curran fined for IPL Code of Conduct breaches
The Rajasthan Royals have retained their core group of players, including captain Sanju Samson, as they look to build on their recent success.
He bowed down to Bumrah, acknowledging his India team-mate's exceptional bowling and Player of the Match performance.
Virat Kohli's presence was enough to inspire and overwhelm his teammates and opponents alike in one of the most keenly followed matches in the history of Ranji Trophy.
Virat Kohli's visible frustration mirrored Royal Challengers Bengaluru's dismal performance in their IPL 2024 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy stadium on Monday, April 15, 2025.
Following his side's win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) bowling all-rounder Swapnil Singh said that the ball was stopping and the team felt that their 207-run target was defendable.
Travis Head says SunRisers Hyderabad eyeing 300
LSG released KL Rahul before the team submitted its list of retained players by the October 31 deadline.
After KKR's victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Friday, he celebrated with the team and his family.
Kohli was seen remonstrating with the umpires after a controversial dismissal.
Rajat Patidar's name is doing rounds within RCB circles as their prospective captain for IPL 2025.
Following the game, speaking at the post-match presentation, Ashwin said this win will give them confidence ahead of the qualifier two clash.
Legendary South African batter AB de Villiers said that he expects Virat Kohli to back Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to stay with the franchise for the next season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2025.
Zaheer Khan is set to leave Mumbai Indians to take up the role of mentor at Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2025.
Livingstone, who made his IPL debut in 2019 with Rajasthan Royals, spent the last three seasons with Punjab Kings where the middle-order batter scored 827 runs in the world's richest Twenty20 league.
'Coaching at a professional level is incredibly exciting for me and is something I'm truly passionate about as a new chapter in my life. Hopefully, the breadth of my experiences as a player can contribute to the development of the group and bring added value.'
The RCB fans, who have stuck with the team despite the ups and downs, had a party time at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday.
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