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Royal Challengers Bengaluru's sturdy middle-order, in-form skipper Smriti Mandhana and a partisan home crowd will be the major challenges UP Warriorz will have to contend with when the two teams clash in the Women's Premier League match in Bengaluru on Monday.
India vice-captain Mandhana is in red-hot form, having smashed five half-centuries and a ton in the last 10 matches she has played for the country and her franchise.
But the top-order batter would not like to take Deepti Sharma's side, who just scored their maiden victory of the season, lightly, knowing well that Australia pace all-rounder Tahlia McGrath's power-hitting could turn tables around anytime in the contest.
However, after having made a confident start with back-to-back victories, and chasing down a 200-plus score against Gujarat Giants with plenty of deliveries to spare, Mandhana would have oodles of confidence in her side going into the contest.
Though RCB suffered a setback in their previous outing against Harmanpreet Kaur's Mumbai Indians, it was more on account of the Bengaluru team's middle-order having an off day, though Elyse Perry stood rock-solid with a fine 81.
Overall, RCB have performed remarkably well so far this season, one of the reasons they are leading the table with four points from three games and maintaining a healthy net run-rate (NRR) of +0.835.
UP Warriorz, on the other hand, haven’t enjoyed a great start, which is evident as they are placed fourth with two points from three games in the five-team league.
It's partly because of the team dishing out below-par performances despite having ace India spinner Deepti, McGrath and England stalwart Sophie Ecclestone in the side.
After consecutive losses to Gujarat Giants and Delhi Capitals, they did manage to defeat the Delhi franchise in the return match at Bengaluru but it was more on account of individual efforts from the young right-arm pacer Kranti Goud (4/25) and Australian veteran spinner Grace Harris (4/15), who took a hat-trick in UP Warriorz's 33-run victory.
A team like RCB might prove to be a difficult customer for them.
Teams (from):
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Smriti Mandhana (captain), Kanika Ahuja, Ekta Bisht, Charlie Dean, Kim Garth, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Heather Graham, VJ Joshitha, Sabbhineni Meghana, Nzhat Parween, Jagravi Pawar, Ellyse Perry, Raghvi Bist, Sneh Rana, Prema Rawat, Renuka Singh, Georgia Wareham, Danni Wyatt-Hodge.
UP Warriorz: Deepti Sharma (captain), Anjali Sarvani, Chamari Athapaththu, Uma Chetry, Sophie Ecclestone, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Arushi Goel, Kranti Goud, Grace Harris, Chinelle Henry, Poonam Khemnar, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Kiran Navgire, Shweta Sehrawat, Gouher Sultana, Saima Thakor, Dinesh Vrinda.