Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) kicked off their title defense campaign in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 with two big wins but since then have suffered three back-to-back losses with Gujarat Giants embarrassing the reigning champions at home in a lop-sided contest.
The Giants ran through the star-studded RCB batting lineup with Indian duo Kashvee Gautam and Tanuja Kanwar leaving the Bengaluru batters clueless which saw them manage only a paltry 125, their joint lowest in the tournament. Speaking post game, Gautam and Kanwar shared insight into their game plan and how they went about their business.
Talking about getting the dangerous Richa Ghosh knocked off early and keeping the power-hitter Georgia Wareham in check, Gautam spoke about the importance of executing her plans.
“I think in the death overs; we need to be a bit cool headed. If we have to execute one specific ball, (if I) thought about bowling the yorker, I have to nail it, there’s no other option because you have two clean hitters of the ball in front like Richa and Georgia. I knew I had to bowl the yorker, I didn’t have any other option, and I was strong headed for that and that’s how it was executed,” Gautam shared insight about getting Ghosh bowled with an inch-perfect yorker.
Gautam also asked the left-arm spinner, Tanuja Kanwar about her mindset behind her performance, picking up two crucial wickets, that of RCB captain Smriti Mandhana and Kanika Ahuja.
“I think my mindset was very simple, that I had to bowl to my strengths. (What my strength is) I think I applied that itself today in the first over I bowled to Smriti, I wanted to bowl according to the field and sticking to that is why I got the wicket.”
Kanwar also spoke about holding her nerve to take a stunning catch of her own bowling to send Kanika Ahuja home. Kanwar had tossed it up to Ahuja who fell for the bait and stepped out in an attempt to clear it but mistimed it and it was Kanwar herself running backwards from her follow-through to take the catch over her shoulders at mid-off.
Speaking about the home crowd being against them and the importance of coordination in such moments, Kanwar also credited her captain Ashleigh Gardner for understanding the situation and not having a collision.
“I enjoy whenever there is a crowd, irrespective of which side they are from. With regards to the catch, when the ball went up in the air, Ash (Gardner) and I looked at each other but I saw she was there itself, so I went for it,” laughed Kanwar.
Gautam also spoke about the improvement in the Giants’ game and the importance of practice and how the team has been grinding it out.
“I think we are playing good cricket even though the results haven’t been going in our favour but we have been playing hard. Our coaching staff has given us a lot of confidence and we have been practicing very hard, even on rest days we are going for practice. For me personally, it’s about evidence so practicing everyday consistently and seeing the results gives me a lot of confidence. It’s about pitching the ball in the right areas and if I can do it there (in practice) I can easily do it in the match as well.”
“For me, I don’t look at who the batter is, who is opposite us, what my strength is, I focus on that. I don’t get nervous if there is a big name opposite me. I have been playing WPL for two seasons now so that has helped me gain experience,” said Kanwar, talking about how the WPL has helped her be fearless against some of the biggest names in the women’s game.
Their game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru was the final game in Bengaluru for the Giants, as the action now moves to Lucknow and Mumbai for the final leg and the playoffs, Gautam spoke about the importance of wrapping up the Bengaluru leg on a high and how it will help them moving ahead.
“We finished well I feel, in front of a big crowd, we played well so we are excited for the Lucknow leg. We are finishing off well here so we are confident that things will go well,” signed off Gautam.
