WPL 2023: EXPLAINED! How Smriti Mandhana's RCB can still qualify for playoffs after five successive defeats

The inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) 2023 edition has become a big hit. It has gained mileage as it proceeds towards the business end of the tournament. So far, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Mumbai Indians (MI) have been on a roll, very much like their men's counterpart in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and remain at the top of the points table with as many as five wins on the trot.

On Tuesday (March 14), MI defeated Gujarat Giants (GG) by 55 runs to confirma spot in the playoffs. Thus, they became the first side to do so in WPL history. Apart from them, Meg Lanning-led Delhi Capitals (DC) have also performed well with four wins from five games. UP Warriorz Women (UPW) have two victories and an equal number of losses whereas GG have managed only a solitary triumph from five encounters. Nonetheless, the Smriti Mandhana-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) remain at the bottom and are the only winless side.

After five games, Mandhana & Co. have failed to get off the mark in the points table. To add to their woes, they have sufferedbig defeats in as many as four fixtures. Thus, their Net Run Rate (NRR) is also a dismal-2.109. Given their current form, they are very much likely to miss the playoffs race but are not out of contention just yet. RCB remain alive mathematically but need a quick turnaround to progress ahead.

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WPL 2023 Updated Points Table after MI vs GG clash on March 14 -

EXPLAINED: How RCB can still end up in the top 3

To the surprise of many, RCB still has a slim chance. While they cannot finish in the top two, they still have a chance to enter the knockouts as the third-best side.

Mandhana & Co. need to topple their oppositionin their remainingthree games. Not only this, but RCB also need some favour from other teams. The Bengaluru franchise needs to hopeUPW lose all of its remaining games. In addition, they need to pray that GG does notemerge on top in more than onegame solelydue to RCB's poor NRR.

As of now, it looks highly likely that MI and DC will end at the top two with UPW holding onto the third spot. However, anything can still happen if RCB and GG come to the party. It is to be noted that the team who finishes at the top will directly enter the final. Meanwhile, an Eliminator will be held between the second-ranked and third-positioned sides.

RCB's last outing and the road ahead

RCB face UPW in their next outing, on Wednesday evening (March 15) at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai. The last time both sides faced each other saw the UP franchise demolish RCB by ten wickets. Mandhana & Co. batted first and only managed 138 all-out, which was chased down by UP with ten wickets and seven overs in hand.

RCB go into this match after a last-over lossversus the DC unit, on Monday (March 13), where the latter won bysix wickets while chasing 151.

A confident DC unit won the toss and opted to bowl first at theDr. DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai. Mandhana fell early for RCB as her poor form continued. She has only managed scores of 35, 23, 18, 4, and 8 so far in the five-team competition. Ellyse Perry's 67 and Richa Ghosh's 16-ball 37 not out propelled the team to 150 for 4. However, it was just a par score.

Meanwhile, DCweremade to work hard in their run-chase. Alice Capsey, Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp and Jess Jonassen (15-ball 29 not out) stood tall to take their side home. Jonassen returned as the Player-of-the-Match for her rapid knock and whereas her teammate Shikha Pandey (3 for 239) also played a vital role in the victory.

At the post-match presentation, Smriti said, "Really good effort by our bowlers to take it till the 20th over. Definitely a lot of improvements but a lot of things to work on still. The partnership got us into the game, they both batted brilliantly. They used their experience to get us to a defendable total. Not the best of the starts, including my batting. The first 14 overs really hurt us, even 10-15 runs more would have helped. Towards the fag-end of the tournament, the wickets are going to get slower. Even in the last game, spinners got the ball to turn and pace-off and slower balls were working."

After the game versus UPW, RCB will face two more games to play; against GG and MI respectively.

Will Mandhana, Ellyse Perry, and the likes fire on all cylinders with time running for RCB? Only time will tell...

Complete RCB squad for WPL 2023

Smriti Mandhana
Sophie Devine
Ellyse Perry
Renuka Singh
Richa Ghosh
Erin Burns
Asha Shobhana
Heather Knight
Heather Knight
Dane van Niekerk
Preeti Bose,
Poonam Khemnar
Komal Janjad
Megan Schutt
Sahana Pawar
Disha Kasat
Indrani Roy
Shreyanka Patil
Kanika Ahuja