WPL-4: Gautami, bowlers ensure RCB becomes first team to seal playoffs spot

Before Monday’s (January 19, 2026) fixture successful the Women’s Premier League, Gautami Naik was a mostly chartless commodity successful Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s star-studded batting unit. That is apt to alteration aft the 27-year-old’s 55-ball 73 — the middle-order batter’s maiden half-century successful her archetypal play — powered the erstwhile champion to a 61-run triumph against Gujarat Giants astatine the Kotambi Stadium. It extended RCB’s streak this play to 5 wins successful arsenic galore matches, and besides made it the archetypal squad to cement a playoff berth.

Having compiled 178 for six successful 20 overs, Smriti Mandhana and Co. restricted Giants to 117 for eight, acknowledgment to a corporate bowling effort spearheaded by Sayali Satghare (4-0-21-3).

Disastrous start

The hosts mislaid a heap of wickets up beforehand successful the chase, leaving skipper Ashleigh Gardner with excessively overmuch to bash connected her own. The ace all-rounder enactment up a valiant effort with a publication of 54, but her dismissal successful the 17th implicit was the last nail.

During the people of Gautami’s enterprising knock, she forged useful partnerships of 60 and 69 with Smriti and Richa Ghosh, respectively.

RCB had a sedate commencement to its innings, moving on to 37 for 2 astatine the extremity of the PowerPlay with Grace Harris and Georgia Voll backmost successful the dugout.

Once the fielding restrictions eased, Gautami managed to up the ante with a sumptuous flick disconnected Renuka Singh that sailed implicit heavy quadrate limb for the game’s archetypal maximum. In the aforesaid over, Smriti punished a back-of-a-length shot with a short-arm propulsion for four.

Big wicket

Shortly after, however, Gardner snared the all-important wicket of Smriti. Rather than getting bogged down by the downfall of the captain, Gautami was capable to instrumentality complaint successful Richa’s company.

In the 12th over, leggie Georgia Wareham conceded 13 runs, with Gautami creaming a screen thrust for 4 and Richa smashing a six successful the absorption of long-off. The RCB wicketkeeper belted 2 much maximums successful a 17-run 16th implicit by left-arm spinner Tanuja Kanwar.

If not for Giants dismissing Richa and Gautami successful the abstraction of 3 deliveries, RCB’s borderline of triumph could person been bigger.