RCB Women Team. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Royal Challengers Bangalore suffered heartbreak on March 20 as they were knocked out of the Women’s Premier League following UP Warriorz’s win over Gujarat Giants in Match 17. After suffering five consecutive losses at the beginning of the tournament, RCB finally got on the winning path in their sixth fixture against UP Warriorz and registered another win over Gujarat in their seventh game.

However, all of their hopes for qualification were crushed by UP’s win, and they will now play for pride in their last game against Mumbai Indians on Tuesday, March 21, at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai. RCB are ranked in the second-last position in the points table with just two wins from seven matches.

They will now look to end their tournament on a high with a win against the formidable Mumbai Indians, and to do that, they will once again have to field a strong playing XI to give tough competition to the best team of the tournament so far.

Here’s Royal Challengers Bangalore’s predicted XI for the match against Mumbai Indians:

Openers: Smriti Mandhana (c), Sophie Devine

Sophie Devine . (Photo Source: Twitter/WPL)

There were high hopes pinned on the RCB captain as she was the most expensive player in the WPL auction, getting sold for 3.40 Cr. However, she failed to lead from the front and couldn’t score a half-century in seven tournament matches. She will look to end the tournament on a high and get a big score in the final game.

The New Zealand star was on the verge of creating history in the last game against Gujarat as she could become the first centurion of WPL. However, she narrowly missed the milestone, getting dismissed for 99 off 36 balls. Courtesy of her breathtaking knock, she became the second-highest run-scorer of the tournament with 266 runs.  Having failed to reach three figures in the last game, Devine will look to script history against Mumbai

Middle Order: Heather Knight, Richa Ghosh (wk), Kanika Ahuja, Disha Kasat

Heather Knight. (Photo Source: Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)

Heather Knight has some good starts but has failed to convert them into big scores. She has amassed 123 runs from seven innings at an average of 24.60 and a strike rate of 148.19. With the ball, she has scalped four wickets.

Richa Ghosh’s finishing prowess finally came in handy in RCB’s first win against UP Warriorz. She played a crucial knock of 31 off 32 balls to help her side chase the target in 18 overs. She has inflicted eight dismissals with the gloves, which are the joint most in WPL so far. 

Kanika Ahuja helped RCB get their first win of the tournament with her knock of 46* off 30 balls against UP which also fetched her Player of the Match award. She will look to play another memorable knock for her side against Mumbai if the opportunity presents itself.

Disha Kasat has only got two opportunities to bat in the tournament, where she scored nine runs. With just one game left, the team management might promote her up the order and allow her to show her skills with the bat.

All-rounders: Shreyanka Patil, Ellyse Perry

Ellyse Perry. (Photo Source: Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)

Shreyanka Patil bowled brilliantly in the last game against Gujarat and picked up 2/17 in two overs. She’s the leading wicket-taker for her team in the tournament, having picked up five wickets in six matches. With the bat, she has scored 58 runs in five innings. Patil will look to put her all-round skills on display against Mumbai.

Ellyse Perry is the second-highest run-scorer for her team and fifth-highest overall, with 224 runs to her name at an average of 44.80. She has also scalped three wickets, but her economy has been slightly on the higher side. 

Bowlers: Megan Schutt, Preeti Bose, Sobhana Asha

Megan Schutt. (Photo Source: MARCO LONGARI/AFP via Getty Images)

Megan Schutt couldn’t do justice to her experience being the third-highest wicket-taker in women’s T20Is. She could only pick three wickets in six innings of the tournament and will look to make amends for her low returns in the final game against Mumbai.

Preeti Bose picked up one wicket against Gujarat and finished with figures of 1/23 in 3 overs. She has picked three wickets in five innings in the tournament and will look to improve her performance in the last game.

Sobhana Asha bowled an expensive spell of 0/35 in four overs against Gujarat. She had good outings in the fifth and sixth games against Delhi Capitals and UP Warriorz, respectively, where she finished with identical figures of 2/27 in four overs. She has picked four wickets so far in the tournament and will look to end on a high with another marvellous performance.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Predicted XI: Sophie Devine, Smriti Mandhana (c), Ellyse Perry, Heather Knight, Richa Ghosh (wk), Kanika Ahuja, Shreyanka Patil, Disha Kasat, Megan Schutt, Asha Shobana, Preeti Bose

For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the IOS App Store and Google Play Store