Bowlers set the tone on difficult pitch

The Vadodara surface offered little pace and bounce, making strokeplay difficult. DC’s bowlers used the conditions well, mixing up their lengths and speeds.

RCB never managed to break free. DC’s spinners slowed the game down, while the seamers used scrambled and wobble-seam deliveries to keep batters guessing. Fielders backed it up by holding on to catches.

RCB’s powerplay had drama, not momentum

RCB’s powerplay saw only seven fours and no sixes, but it was far from dull. Smriti Mandhana edged her second ball for four and looked in good touch early.

DC reviewed her twice in one over. The first review for a leg-side catch failed after UltraEdge showed no contact. The second review for lbw did not count because Marizanne Kapp had overstepped.

Mandhana still found a couple of boundaries, including a clean hit over long-on and a drive through covers. But just as RCB’s run rate neared seven an over, DC struck back.

Collapse after powerplay hurts RCB

Minnu Mani removed Mandhana with a sweep to deep backward square leg. Soon after, Shree Charani bowled Gautami Naik by knocking back her off stump from around the wicket.

Rodrigues then brought Kapp back for her final over, and her wobble seam dismissed Georgia Voll by hitting middle stump. In just three overs, RCB slipped from 62 for 1 to 69 for 4.

Richa Ghosh was dropped on 2 by Charani, but she did not last long. She miscued a loopy delivery from Mani and was caught at point in the next over.

Grace Harris struggled for timing and scored only 9 off 13 balls before edging Kapp to point. RCB’s innings kept sliding as DC maintained pressure and cleaned up the tail.

Nandani shines with the ball

After DC took three wickets in three overs, including a sharp catch by Lizelle Lee standing up to remove Radha Yadav, Nandani Sharma finished strongly.

She picked up two wickets in the final over and ended with figures of 3 for 26. That performance pushed her to the top of the Purple Cap standings.

DC stumble early in the chase

Chasing 110, DC started aggressively. Shafali Verma attacked from the first ball, hitting three boundaries in the opening over to score 12.

However, RCB struck back quickly. Richa Ghosh produced excellent work behind the stumps to stump Shafali in the second over. Soon after, Sayali Satghare dismissed Lizelle Lee with a sharp catch by Voll at the leg-side boundary.

DC slipped to 24 for 2, and the chase briefly looked shaky.

Rodrigues and Wolvaardt steady the ship

That phase could have been worse, but Satghare dropped her Mumbai team-mate Jemimah Rodrigues at short third. Rodrigues then rode her luck, collecting two edges that ran away for boundaries.

Rodrigues and vice-captain Laura Wolvaardt put together a crucial stand of 52 runs. Wolvaardt focused on placing the ball along the ground and punished loose deliveries. She later added a six with a slog-sweep.

Rodrigues also found her rhythm, especially after Gautami Naik dropped a simple chance at midwicket. RCB’s fielding lapses proved costly.

DC finish in style, RCB miss early qualification

Rodrigues’ luck finally ran out when she was caught by Mandhana at cover. But Kapp then finished the job with a couple of powerful hits, including the winning runs.

Lauren Bell went wicketless for the first time in this WPL season. The match saw only three sixes overall, highlighting how difficult batting was on the surface. Mandhana later described it as “one of the toughest pitches” of this WPL.

Points table tightens

This was DC’s second straight win and their third in six matches. The result lifted them from fourth to second place on the table.

They now sit on six points, level with Gujarat Giants, who are third. All five teams have played six matches each, but RCB remain the only side to have already secured a spot in the knockouts.