WPL 2023: Smriti Mandhana needs to be patient against off-spinners, suggests Punam Raut

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Royal Challengers Bangalore finally had reasons to cheer as they beat UP Warriorz by five wickets to record their first win in six games of the WPL at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday evening. While RCB bowlers collectively put up a strong show, restricting the Warriorz to 135 in 19.3 overs, it was Kanika Ahuja, who did the star turn in chase scoring 46 (30b, 8x4, 1x6) to end the proceedings at 136/5 with two overs to spare.

WPL expert for Sports18 and JioCinema, Reema Malhotra, was mighty pleased with Ahuja’s performance, saying: “The game I have seen from Kanika in domestic cricket has really been developing well. She’s still a youngster but the way she uses her footwork and plays in all areas, this is her strength.”

“Having a player like this in India is not common. We want more players like her to emerge, so selectors need to pay more attention to this. It’ll be good for Team India if she receives opportunities in the future,” she added.

Punam Raut, another WPL expert for Sports18 and JioCinema, meanwhile, discussed Smriti Mandhana’s struggles in the competition so far. The RCB captain was out for zero in a campaign that’s been forgettable for her. Raut said, “We know the kind of player Smriti Mandhana is, she doesn’t need to make big changes in her game. She has been struggling to play off-spinners and we have been saying that she needs to be more patient and rotate the strike in those situations. It’ll be better for her. This is the one mistake she makes, always trying to attack off-spinners and we’re seeing the result of her getting out. I know it won’t be a major concern for Smriti because, from what I know of her, she doesn’t worry about stuff like this much. Making a comeback from here is in her hands and she knows how to do it. We want to see her score runs.”

WPL 2023: RCB win theri first match after five defeats on the trot

Mighty relieved after her team’s maiden win in the league, Mandhana said: “I asked Megan Schutt and Ellyse Perry if they were this happy after winning the World Cup. They said that it was pretty close (laughs). We have been thinking about how we need that one win on the board to keep our momentum high. Finally, today we got that win. You saw the celebration of the girls and we are definitely very happy. This is the first year of the WPL and we just picked up RCB’s first win in WPL history, so it is a massive achievement.”

(Press release)