Ismail to Mandhana, no run, in the air... but safe! A back of a length ball that shoots off the deck, Mandhana is surprised by it and mistimes her flat-batted stroke. It falls well short of mid-on though

Mandhana and Wyatt-Hodge are at the crease. Mandhana is on strike. Ismail will open the attack

The players and the umpires make their way out to the middle. The atmosphere is absolutely electrifying!

Teams:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women (Playing XI): Smriti Mandhana(c), Danielle Wyatt-Hodge, Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh(w), Raghvi Bist, Kanika Ahuja, Georgia Wareham, Kim Garth, Ekta Bisht, Joshitha VJ, Renuka Singh Thakur

Mumbai Indians Women (Playing XI): Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia(w), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Amelia Kerr, Sajeevan Sajana, G Kamalini, Amanjot Kaur, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail, Parunika Sisodia

Smriti Mandhana: It's good to be back and have this sort of welcome. I think it's massive for the team to have fans around, it only motivates us. Whatever we do, we do for them. All the girls are really proud, we have

Harmanpreet Kaur: We are gonna bowl first. We have seen that the first six overs are good for bowling. Last year we had a lot of fun in Bangalore and we are looking forward to it again. We are going with the same eleven.

Mumbai Indians Women have won the toss and have opted to field

Pitch Report: Talking about the dimensions, it's 55m to my left and 61m to my right and 71m down the ground. Slightly bigger dimensions than Vadodra but still short boundaries. It's always been a good surface, the average score in WPL here is 152. This looks pretty hard, it has got a little bit of moisture and it's pretty well-rolled. It will be interesting to see what the captain winning the toss does, reckon Natalie Germanos and Murali Kartik.

Teams:

18:25 Local Time, 12:55 GMT, 18:25 IST: WPL 2025 is up and running and we have a blockbuster encounter coming your way tonight from the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru – it’s RCB taking on MI. The hosts have started off their campaign with flying colours, having won two games in a row. The Indian players have stepped up for RCB and that’s been the key to their success. Mandhana has been in terrific form with the bat of late while Richa Ghosh has been at her destructive best. Renuka Thakur has been outstanding with the new ball. MI, on the other hand, have won one of their two games so far. The visitors lost a close game against Delhi Capitals but bounced back in style against Gujarat Giants. They have heavily relied on their overseas players. Nat Sciver-Brunt has played two brilliant knocks but she will need more support from the other batters. Hayley Matthews and Amelia Kerr have been good with the ball. Will MI spoil RCB’s party tonight? Or will RCB begin their home leg with a win? Toss and team lineups will be announced shortly...

Preview

There is a spring to the steps of Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The holders have started their title defence with two wins in two, and even though it is early days in the competition, they already look potent in all departments. Ellyse Perry and Smriti Mandhana, who hit 300 runs (and more) last season, have put in a whirlwind star-turn each in the past one week. RCB have also had Richa Ghosh blazing away in the middle-order - with a 27-ball 64 against Gujarat Giants.

RCB's bowling unit have set up a win as well. A stirring spell of bowling from Renuka Singh (3/23 in 4 overs) against Delhi Capitals laid the platform for the big victory. She already has five wickets this season while Kim Garth, Ekta Bisht and Georgia Wareham are also among the wickets. RCB have chugged along without even needing Perry to perform her duties with the ball.

Mumbai Indians will be a touch relieved to not be facing the Aussie - who picked six wickets in a game against them last season. They still have her batting prowess to contend with, having been downed by her efforts in last season's Eliminator.

MI's best efforts in their one win and one defeat so far have come from their overseas stars. The quartet of Shabnim Ismail, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews and Amelia Kerr accounted for eight of the 10 wickets to fall while Sciver-Brunt sits second on the batting charts with scores of 80* and 57. Harmanpreet Kaur, who flew off the blocks in the narrow defeat to DC, will hope to shoulder more of the batting responsibility after talking about needing to be more consistent following the victory against Gujarat Giants.

When: Royal Challengers Women vs Mumbai Indians Women, February 21, 2025, 07:30 PM IST

Where: M Chinnaswamy stadium

What to expect: This is the first game back at the venue. Seven of the 11 games at the venue in WPL 2024 were won by the chasing side. RCB had a 3-2 win-loss tally at their home venue last year while MI won three of their four outings there.

Team news:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

The home side should retain their winning XI from the DC fixture in Vadodara.

Probable XI: Smriti Mandhana (c), Danielle Wyatt-Hodge, Ellyse Perry, Raghvi Bist, Richa Ghosh (wk), Kanika Ahuja, Georgia Wareham, Kim Garth, Ekta Bisht, Joshitha VJ, Renuka Thakur

Mumbai Indians

The inaugural season victors shouldn't tinker around with their winning combinations either, with Parunika Sisodia holding onto her spot in place of Saika Ishaque.

Probable XI: Yastika Bhatia (wk), Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), G Kamalini, Amelia Kerr, Sajeevan Sajana, Amanjot Kaur, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail, Parunika Sisodia

Squads:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women Squad: Smriti Mandhana(c), Danielle Wyatt-Hodge, Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh(w), Raghvi Bist, Kanika Ahuja, Georgia Wareham, Kim Garth, Ekta Bisht, Joshitha VJ, Renuka Singh Thakur, Sneh Rana, Sabbhineni Meghana, Nuzhat Parween, Heather Graham, Charlotte Dean, Jagravi Pawar, Prema Rawat

Mumbai Indians Women Squad: Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia(w), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Amelia Kerr, Sajeevan Sajana, G Kamalini, Amanjot Kaur, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail, Parunika Sisodia, Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Keerthana Balakrishnan, Saika Ishaque, Jintimani Kalita, Amandeep Kaur, Akshita Maheshwari