RCB march into WPL 2026 playoffs with 5th straight win, thrash Gujarat in Vadodara

RCB marched into the WPL 2026 playoffs with their fifth straight win in this year's competition on Monday, January 19. Gautami Naik's 73 and a disciplined bowling performance helped Bengaluru complete the double over the Giants, who were never really in the chase to begin with.

With the win, RCB made it six win on the trot in the WPL, the longest streak in the history of the competition. For Gujarat, it was their third loss on the trot as the batters failed early on. Apart from Ashleigh Gardner, who scored 54 runs, none of the other GG batters could find momentum in the first match in Vadodara, which was supposedly their home ground. However, the support was RCB was there and they were in full voice as it was Sayali Satghare who provided the early strikes for RCB. Coming in as a replacement for the fan favourite Ellyse Perry, Satghare came into her own during the win against Delhi Capitals last time around, securing a double-strike in the very first over she bowled.

That trend continued in the match on Monday as he first cleaned up Beth Mooney and then a few balls later, dismissed the dangerous Sophie Devine to leave Gujarat reeling at four for two in two overs while chasing 179.

The next over saw the ever-consistent Lauren Bell add another wicket to her season's tally. Anushka Sharma, who missed the last few games, looked to be comfortable in the middle and hit a couple of elegant



boundaries as the task was to steady the ship alongside Gardner.

But the powerplay score of 29 for the loss of three wickets wasn't just enough in the context of the run chase, meaning that acceleration was needed. Anushka perished in her efforts to push the run-rate as Nadine de Klerk also joined the party.

What started as a season with a lot of hope and two straight wins has quickly unfolded for the Giants. It was surprising to see that with the required run-rate being high they decided to send in Kashvee Gautam instead of Bharti Fulmali.

The 31-year-old has been hitting with a strike-rate of more than 178 in her last five matches and Kashvee had managed just 36 runs in three innings she has come out to bat with a strike-rate of 112.5. And the all-rounder failed to make an impact and was dismissed for four off eight balls.

Georgia Wareham's stay was also brief as the writing was already on the wall for the Giants. Gardner got to her fifty with a couple of big hits, but that was the only bit of excitement that the Gujarat fans would have during their side's batting performance.

While Kanwer attempted to play some innovative shots, it wasn't enough as RCB sealed the win and moved into the play-offs. For Gujarat, they will need to head to the drawing board and regroup as they face an upbeat UP Warriorz side next in the league on January 22.