‘Oye chuna laga diya’ – Fans react as Bangalore franchise register hat-trick of losses in Women’s T20 League

In the 6th match of the Women’s T20 League, the Gujarat franchise locked horns with Bangalore at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai on Wednesday, March 8. Both teams were playing their third fixture of the inaugural season and looking for their first win.  The Gujarat team won the match by 11 runs and the Bangalore-based franchise went on to register their third consecutive loss of the season.

Currently, Gujarat is in fourth position with two points. On the other hand, Bangalore is last. Talking about the game, Gujarat won the toss and elected to bat first. The hosts were unchanged while the visitors Bangalore brought in Poonam Khemnar in place of Disha Kasat.

Gujarat, while batting first, scored 201 runs with the loss of seven wickets in the first innings. The top scorer for them was Harleen Deol and England’s star batter Sophie Dunkley. Deol scored 67 runs off 45 balls at a strike rate of above 148, with nine fours and a six, while Dunkley scored 65 runs off just 28 balls, with 11 fours and three sixes at a strike rate of 232.14.

D factor takes Gujarat to first victory

In the end, Indian youngster Dayalan Hemalatha and Australian all-rounder Annabel Sutherland scored quickfire knocks. Hemalatha scored 16 runs off 7 balls, with two fours and a six at a strike rate of around 229, and Sutherland scored 14 runs off 8 at a strike rate of 175, with one four and one six each. For the Bangalore side, Shreyanka Patil and Heather Knight both picked up two wickets each, while Megan Schutt and Renuka Singh also got one wicket each.

When attempting to reach the mark, Bangalore once more made a strong start, but they made the same blunder when captain Smriti Mandhana failed to turn it into a big one and left after scoring only 18 runs. Sophie Devine, on the other hand, played superb innings, scoring 66 runs off 45 balls, including eight fours and two sixes. Ellyse Perry also played a good knock, but she had a low strike rate.

Richa Ghosh, a destructive Indian wicketkeeper-batter, once again let Bangalore’s supporters down by only scoring just 10 runs. Knight tried to reach the mammoth total in the end, but she was not successful because no other players supported her.

Here’s how fans reacted to the Bangalore franchise’s hat rick of losses: