GG vs RCB Match Prediction: Who will win today's WPL 2023 match?
The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are running out of time to salvage their 2023 Women's Premier League (WPL) campaign.
With no wins from two matches, Smriti Mandhana and Co. are already staring down the barrel. The Delhi Capitals (DC) and the Mumbai Indians (MI) are unbeaten, having played two games each, and have brushed aside their oppositions with ease.
One such side is RCB, who have been beaten by both teams at the top of the table.
This isn't a promising sign when it comes to Bangalore's overall trophy aspirations. However, they will believe that they have what it takes to beat the Gujarat Giants (GG) and the UP Warriorz (UPW) before attempting to dethrone the top two once again.
RCB will first face GG at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday, March 8.
The Giants haven't fared much better than the Challengers and are languishing at the bottom of the WPL 2023 points table. They have an even worse net run rate than Bangalore, courtesy of their thumping defeat at the hands of MI in the tournament opener.
To make matters worse, GG squandered a winning position against UPW, with Grace Harris playing a blinder to render them pointless once again. The Giants are also expected to continue to be without captain Beth Mooney, who injured herself in the opening game and is likely to be ruled out of the competition.
This contest between the two winless teams might not have much intrigue in the grand scheme of things, but both sides are very much in the playoff race as of now. A loss, though, would prove to be a major detriment to their hopes.
WPL 2023, GG vs RCB: Smriti Mandhana and Co. running out of time to get campaign back on track
Will RCB finally make some wholesale changes to their playing XI? Their bowling attack has looked toothless in WPL 2023, and bringing in fresh personnel might be the only way to turn their fortunes around.
Calls to include Dane van Niekerk in the side have been growing in both volume and intensity. None of the overseas players currently in the XI - barring Ellyse Perry - are undroppable.
Sophie Devine, Heather Knight and Megan Schutt have been rather unimpressive in the tournament thus far. Knight's all-round showing in the first game being the only notable display from RCB's foreign contingent so far.
Bangalore will, however, take heart from the fact that the uncapped players in the playing XI have come up with decent displays. Preeti Bose has been one of their most economical bowlers, while Kanika Ahuja and Shreyanka Patil played spunky cameos in the previous game.
GG, meanwhile, need a miracle to come away with a few wins. Their batting display was rather promising in the game against UPW, but they still have several chinks in their armor on paper.
Openers Sophia Dunkley and S Meghana will need to be at their best against RCB for the Giants to have any chance of taking two points from the clash. That might be possible against Bangalore's rather unimpressive powerplay bowling.
However, they are unlikely to have the firepower to sustain their momentum throughout the innings. RCB should be able to notch up their first win of the campaign.
Prediction: RCB to win Match 6 of WPL 2023.