Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s miserable form in the WPL 2025 continued. Their heavy defeat against the Gujarat Giants in the 12th match of the tournament did little to help. At the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on February 27, both teams battled, and it was Bangalore’s loss that put Smriti Mandhana on notice as skipper during this confrontation.
RCB did not start well with the batting. After four runs by Danni Wyatt, the next to go was Smriti Mandhana after just 10 runs from 20 balls, earning herself the fastest exit in the Women’s Premier League, thus registering the second-slowest knock in the league’s history.
It needs emphasizing that her 10 from 20 was also her slowest-ever innings in a T20 match. The horror show continued for the defending champions in the WPL. Interestingly, Royal Challengers Bengaluru had opened their WPL 2025 campaign with a victory against Gujarat Giants, followed by another victory in the second match against Delhi Capitals.
However, after those two early wins, the side lost three consecutive matches. With just two wins from five matches, the team is currently placed third in the WPL standings with four points to its credit. RCB will now face Delhi Capitals in their next encounter of the season. The two sides will clash at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on March 1. With three losses in a row, RCB will look for improvement in their next game, hoping to win out their sixth game of the season.
Lowest SR in a WPL knock (min 20 balls)
- 47.82 (11 off 23 balls) – Simran Shaikh vs DC in Mumbai, 2023
- 50.00 (10 off 20 balls) – Smriti Mandhana vs GG in Bengaluru, 2025*
- 60.00 (12 off 20 balls) – Deepti Sharma vs DC in Mumbai, 2023