WPL 2025, GG vs RCB Highlights: Richa Ghosh star knock wins opener for RCB; Gardner all-round show goes in vain

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: All over for Mooney as she tries to accelerate! Beautiful loft over extra cover for four, but she tries to slog on the leg-side next ball. Doesn't get enough elevation, and finds midwicket.

85/3 after 11.4 overs, Dottin in next.

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: The former GG skipper with some crucial boundaries in the 10th over! Thrice in a row she finds the boundary, and reaches her 50 with a single next.

68/2 at the halfway mark.

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: Been a tight spell from Bangalore after the end of the powerplay. Gujarat struggling a bit to get going, the timeout is called with Gujarat at 53/2 after 9 overs.

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: Kanika brought into the attack right after the powerplay, and it's a carrot that Hemalatha can't help going after. Tries to charge down and clear the cover fielder, but holes out after mistiming it.

41/2 now, Gardner joins Mooney.

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: Hemalatha in at number three, and India's U19 T20 World Cup star seamer Joshitha marks her debut with the sixth over for RCB.

Oh, interesting! A half-appeal from the previous over on Hemalatha's first ball was glossed over with Mandhana thinking the ball had bounced over the stumps on the LBW appeal, but hawkeye showing it would have been three reds if she chose to go to DRS.

Renuka could have had another! Reprieve for Hemalatha.

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: Mooney swings on the first ball of an over again, and picks the gap between midwicket and mid-on for another four. Trying to up a gear now.

Finally a breakthrough for RCB! Wilvaardt hasn't seen much of the strike,a nd tries to swipe Renuka across the line. Misses it all ends up and it crashes into the stumps.

35/1 now, important wicket.

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: Thick outside edge by leftie Mooney carries with the angle and flies over short third for a boundary off the first ball of Garth's second over.

GG keep it ticking along. Not a blistering rate of scoring, but the longer this partnership stays in, the more dangerous for RCB.

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: Mooney tries to break the shackles with a first shot played in anger, toe-ends it but fortunately over the ring for a couple.

The broadcast showing a highlights package of Wolvaardt and Mooney's 140-run partnership against RCB last time out, which stands as the second-highest WPL partnership at the moment. RCB won't want more of the same.

No demons in the pitch so far, 23/0 after 3.

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: Good first couple of overs from RCB, only a couple of boundaries thus far. Both batters been rapped on the pads once, but the swing helping them out as the umpires decide it's sliding down.

14/0 after 2.

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: Swing was predicted for the new ball on this pitch, but it's an even start. One delivery is short and wide which Mooney can slice through the gap at point, but neat and tidy from Renuka otherwise.

6/0 after the first.

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: RCB's players are in their huddle, Laura Wolvaardt and Beth Mooney are at the boundary edge, and the umpires lead us out. A brand new season of the WPL, all set to begin. Who can make the early, early impact?

Renuka Singh with the new ball, as she often is for India. Here we go!

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: Good news for RCB as Ellyse Perry is present to provide some star power, although it is likely it is as a batter only.

Georgia Wareham, Kim Garth, and Danni Wyatt-Hodge the other overseas players, Shreyanka misses out but Prema Rawat gets a debut, alongside Joshitha and Raghvi Bist.

Smriti Mandhana (c), Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Ellyse Perry, Raghvi Bist, Richa Ghosh (wk), Kanika Ahuja, Georgia Wareham, Kim Garth, Prema Rawat, VJ Joshitha, Renuka Singh

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: 5 WPL debutants in this freshened GG lineup, including Dottin and Simran, but a familiar top 4.

Laura Wolvaardt, Beth Mooney (wk), Dayalan Hemalatha, Ashleigh Gardner (c), Deandra Dottin, Harleen Deol, Simran Shaikh, Tanuja Kanwar, Sayali Satghare, Priya Mishra, Kashvee Gautam

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: Gujarat Giants to field, as Mandhana wins the toss and opts to chase. Team news next.

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: New Gujarat captain Ash Gardner on her team's attempt to bounce back from disappointing results:

“I think forgetting what’s happened in the last two years is probably a good start. We obviously can’t change how the last two years have been, but I think with the squad that we have put together this season, we have a lot of experience. We also have some fantastic young players coming through.”

10 minutes from the toss…

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: Said Smriti Mandhana in the press conference:

“Injuries have been a big impact in the last one-and-a-half months for us post the auctions but injuries are something which are not in our hands. We had a good auction, we got really good youngsters and our overseas replacements are also quality players."

About her opposite number, Mandhana said:

"She (Gardner) has been one of the best all-rounders in women's game and also she is one of those batters who can clear the ropes quite easily. She looks like a fighter that's one quality which she will take it into her captaincy as well.”

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: In a way, the re-signing of Deandra Dottin could signify a symbolic upturn in the fortunes of the Gujarat Giants as much as anything else. The internal drama started for this new WPL franchise even before the start of the inaugural tournament as Dottin was removed from the squad for medical reasons, only for her to publicly state that there was no such issue.

Dottin finally returns to the scheme of things for the Giants following her 1.7cr addition, and joins while being in a true purple patch for the Windies in white ball cricket. The all-rounder has the potential to be one of the most high-impact players in the sport — can this hatchet buried lead to a streak of fortune for her old/new franchise?

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: RCB traded for vastly experienced English opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge ahead of this year’s auction, receiving her services from UP Warriorz. This adds some further threat to the Bangalore batting, with the openers last year having been something of a rotating cast between Sophie Devine and Sophie Molineux, both of whom will be unavailable.

Wyatt-Hodge is a tailor-made opener, and likely to be Mandhana’s partner through the tournament. Could prove to be a hugely significant personnel change for the RCB team.

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: Two of GG’s four wins in the history of the WPL have come against tonight’s opponents, which might provide them a touch of confidence in the season opener. The two teams have split the matches 2-2 so far, with both teams winning one and losing one in each of the seasons.

An 85* off just 51 deliveries for Beth Mooney and two wickets for Gardner helped the Giants to a 19 run victory at the Feroz Shah Kotla in their last contest in 2024. Can the Aussie stars repeat the trick?

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: The Giants would have been very happy with their opening combination of Beth Mooney and Laura Woolvardt, plenty of experience and leadership present in that duo. However, it hasn't quite clicked for them thus far in the WPL, in the way that the GG think-tank would have imagined. With some more firepower and steel behind them in the lineup now, the combination will be expected to bat with some more freedom and expression this season.

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: RCB, despite their star batters, will be aware that their title triumph was the result of a potent bowling attack. In fact, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, and Sophie Molineux were the three highest wicket-takers in the tournament. With two of those certainly missing and question marks over the third, can their replacements in Raghvi Bist and Prema Rawat have an impact with ball?

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: India played West Indies in an ODI series at the Kotambi Stadium in December, on pitches that had plenty of runs on offer. Fans will be hoping to see similar conditions for run-scoring, with this being a shorter format of the game also adding potential for some fireworks displays from the batting teams in this portion of the season.

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: Run-scoring has been a key issue for Gujarat Giants throughout their first two years in the WPL, with a quiet middle order being a concern, unable to pack the same sort of punch as those the other teams possess. GG headed into the mini-auction with that being the area they want to target — and they got their marks too, with 1.9cr spent on Simran Shaikh, and a further 1.7cr on Deandra Dottin to add some much-needed power to the heart of their batting. A lot invested in and depending on this pair.

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: Some slight concern for the defending champs before they get the ball rolling today evening. While Mandhana and Richa Ghosh are healthy key components to the team, there are several players who could be missing from their star-studded team last time out. Sophie Devine and Sophie Molineux have ruled themselves out of the entire tournament, as has spinner Asha Sobhana.

Similarly, Shreyanka Patil and Ellyse Perry are battling to be fit in time for the start of the tournament. That is a lot of players that RCB will potentially miss, and will be a mark of concern for the team if the replacements cannot fill those big shoes.

GG vs RCB Live Score WPL 2025: Both teams certainly enter the tournament with intentions of winning, but it’s important to contextualise this in terms of where they were last year. While Smriti Mandhana’s RCB made the playoffs and went on to register a first trophy for the franchise in Delhi last year, it was another miserable outing for the Gujarat Giants, as they once again finished rock-bottom.

Ash Gardner is the new captain for GG, who also have a new coaching staff and will be looking for a reversal of fortunes, beginning with this leg of matches in front of the home crowd.