Smriti Mandhana’s words at the toss—“As captain, you’d rather lose close games than one-sided ones because you know you were not that far off.”—turned out to be an unfortunate premonition for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and their passionate home crowd on Thursday. Instead of a close contest, RCB delivered an underwhelming performance, suffering their third consecutive defeat and failing to register a single win in front of their home fans.

RCB’s Top Order Falters Against Swing Bowling

Gujarat Giants’ captain Ashleigh Gardner had no hesitation in opting to bowl first, with chasing proving to be the winning formula in WPL 2025. The decision paid off as Deandra Dottin and Kashvee Gautam put on a swing bowling masterclass, dismantling RCB’s renowned top order.

• Danni Wyatt-Hodge, fresh off a half-century in the last game, was trapped lbw by a lethal inswinging yorker.
• Ellyse Perry, RCB’s batting mainstay with three fifties in four games, fell for a duck, mistiming a pull to square leg off Gardner.
• Smriti Mandhana, who had been troubled by Gautam’s movement, succumbed while attempting a slog-sweep in frustration.

By the end of the PowerPlay, RCB was reeling at 25/3, their batting core already back in the pavilion. On a slow, used pitch, they struggled to recover and crawled to 125, a total never likely to be enough as the conditions eased for batting.

RCB Repeats GG’s Early Batting Woes

Ironically, Gujarat Giants had faced similar struggles in their previous outings. In their last two matches, they had also been put in to bat first and collapsed early, managing only 120 and 127/9. However, unlike GG’s past failures, RCB’s batting this season had been relatively solid—until this game.

Despite falling short in the last two matches, RCB had still put up competitive totals of 167 and 180, thanks to Perry’s heroics. In both cases, poor execution in the death overs cost them dearly. This time, with Perry dismissed early, RCB had no savior, and the batting unit crumbled completely.

The Chasing Advantage in WPL 2025

Defending totals has been a massive challenge in WPL 2025, with only one successful defense in 12 completed games—when Chinelle Henry’s late heroics helped UP Warriorz hold off Delhi Capitals. Otherwise, the pattern has been clear:

• All six matches in Vadodara were won by teams chasing, thanks to batting-friendly tracks and heavy dew.
• Five of the six matches in Bengaluru have followed the same trend, despite no significant dew factor.

Unlike Vadodara, where the toss played a decisive role, Bengaluru’s wickets have offered a fair contest between bat and ball. However, teams batting first—RCB included—have struggled to gauge par totals, leading to either reckless PowerPlay collapses or conservative starts followed by catch-up cricket.

RCB’s Perspective: One Bad Day at the Office?

RCB assistant coach Malolan Rangarajan acknowledged the defeat but dismissed it as just “one bad day at the office.” While he admitted the team was outplayed in all departments, he remained optimistic:

“In every season, there’s one game like this. It’s just unfortunate that it came as our third loss in a row. The last two games were close, but today, we simply didn’t have enough runs on the board.”

Despite the losing streak, RCB’s standing in the points table remains intact, thanks to their positive Net Run Rate (NRR). The team still has a strong chance to qualify for the playoffs.

The Perry Factor: Over-Reliance or Inhuman Brilliance?

While Ellyse Perry has been RCB’s savior with match-winning knocks, the team rejects the notion of over-reliance on her. Contributions have also come from Mandhana (vs DC), Richa Ghosh, Kanika Ahuja (in the record chase), and Wyatt-Hodge (last game). However, Perry’s extraordinary form has made it seem like a one-woman effort.

“Perry has been batting out of her skin. It’s not that we rely on her—it’s just that her performances have been inhuman. She’s outscoring not just RCB players, but the entire league,” Rangarajan emphasized.

RCB’s Next Challenge: A Must-Win Against DC

RCB has a quick turnaround of just 36 hours before facing Delhi Capitals in a potentially season-defining clash. With only one game left in Bengaluru, they need to dig deep—both physically and mentally—to ensure their playoff hopes stay alive.

Can RCB bounce back and break their losing streak? The next game could be make or break.

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