Women's Premier League 2024

'This team depends more on calculators than bat or bowl'- Fans troll Bangalore for relying on other teams to qualify for WTL Eliminator

Having already lost five matches, Bangalore will have to sweat hard to make it to the eliminators of the Women's T20 League 2023.

author-image
Akshay
New Update
Bangalore vs Delhi

Bangalore vs Delhi (Image credit: Twitter)

Bangalore vs Delhi Bangalore vs Delhi (Image credit: Twitter)

Bangalore slumped to their fifth straight defeat in the ongoing Women's T20 League after losing to Delhi for the second time this season. With nine runs needed off the last over, there were slight hopes in the Bangalore dugout for their first win of the tournament, but Jess Jonassen showed no nerves and finished it off with a six and a four to give Delhi a 6-wicket victory.

Bangalore's batting and bowling have not been at their best so far in the tournament. However, their bowling unit fared much better against Delhi but it was not easy for them to defend 151 after their batters continued to struggle. Skipper Smriti Mandhana once again failed in the tournament as she was dismissed for 8 runs in the fifth over. Sophie Devine and Ellyse Perry tried to form a partnership but Shikha Pandey took her second wicket by dismissing the New Zealand all-rounder. Richa Ghosh's quick-fire 16-ball 37 and Australian all-rounder Perry's unbeaten half-century (67 off 52)  took their side to a respectable score of 150, but it was never going to be enough for their bowlers to defend against Delhi's power-strikers.

However, Megan Schutt gave Bangalore a dream start by dismissing Shafali Verama for a first-ball duck in the second ball of the innings. Captain Meg Lanning also struggled to score runs as she was dismissed for 15 runs at a strike rate of 83.33. But England batter Alice Capsey and India's Jemimah Rodrigues counter-attacked to bring back Delhi into the game. The duo departed after playing a solid innings, but the momentum was carried forward by the South African all-rounder Marizanne Kapp and the Aussie star Jonassen with the latter finishing the innings for her team to claim their fourth win of the season.

Can Bangalore qualify for eliminator after losing five games?

Well, the answer is yes. But it won't be easy for the Red Army as there are many things to land in their favour. Having already lost five matches, Smriti and Co need to win all their remaining matches, which now looks like a difficult task for the hapless team.

They will have to support Mumbai and Delhi to win their upcoming matches against Gujarat and UP. While Gujarat have registered just one win so far, UP Warriors have won two and lost two. Not only Mumbai and Delhi can save Bangalore, but Gujarat should also win against UP in their next fixture.

This is not the first time that the Bangalore franchise is facing this calculation struggle to march into the playoffs of the T20 league. Their men's team has been going through this phase for years and now the women's team is going through the same process. However, with memes and trolls flooding social media, fans have not left the team this time either.

Let's take a look at some of the reactions: 

Women's T20 League 2023 Bangalore Smriti Mandhana