Mandhana vs Gardner adds spice to RCB's contest against Gujarat Giants
The Mandhana-Gardner battle will be one to look out for as both sides look for ascendancy
S Sudarshanan
15-Jan-2026 • 5 hrs ago
Smriti Mandhana and Ash Gardner have had fascinating duels over the years • BCCI
Big picture - Mandhana vs Gardner
When fans return to the DY Patil Stadium after two closed-door games at the WPL 2026, they will be in for a potential blockbuster clash: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) vs Gujarat Giants (GG). Smriti Mandhana vs Ashleigh Gardner.
For years, Gardner has enjoyed the upper hand in her duel with Mandhana, conforming to the offspinner-versus-left-hander trope. In all T20s, they have faced one another in 27 innings, with Mandhana scoring 156 runs off 156 balls and Gardner dismissing her nine times. Across T20 leagues, no bowler has dismissed Mandhana as often as Gardner; Nat Sciver-Brunt comes a close second with eight dismissals. But there are signs of this trend changing, particularly going by recent meetings in ODIs.
Till December 2024, Mandhana was out five times to Gardner for 68 runs in 76 balls in ODIs. She had only managed to hit her for two sixes. But things changed last year. In the absence of Shafali Verma from India's ODI squad, Mandhana had taken on an aggressive role. That saw her take Gardner head-on in four meetings, including in India's victorious World Cup campaign. She scored 96 runs in 71 balls off Gardner for zero dismissals, hitting her for five sixes. While Mandhana had a sedate approach earlier, she upped the intent last year with telling effect.
Gardner is no stranger to bowling with the new ball. In the WPL alone, she has bowled 29 overs in the powerplay with an economy of 7.00. In fact, she has come on early on each of the three occasions she has dismissed Mandhana in the WPL. Just to attack Mandhana with offspin early on, UP Warriorz had opened the bowling with Deepti Sharma, but Grace Harris ended up facing her and hit her for two fours in the over that went for nine.
Whether that success in ODIs helps Mandhana take on her nemesis Gardner in T20 cricket will come to light on the penultimate day of the Navi Mumbai leg of the WPL. Both RCB and GG being on four points each - the latter playing one game more - only adds to the narrative.
Team news & likely XIs
GG are coming off their first defeat of the season and there is no reason for them to change their line-up. Anushka Sharma is unlikely to be fit, and if they are to persist with Ayushi Soni, she could be tried at No. 3 with Kanika Ahuja's power lower down the order.
Gujarat Giants (probable XI): 1 Beth Mooney (wk), 2 Sophie Devine, 3 Ayushi Soni, 4 Ashleigh Gardner (capt), 5 Georgia Wareham, 6 Kanika Ahuja, 7 Bharti Fulmali, 8 Kashvee Gautam, 9 Tanuja Kanwar, 10 Rajeshwari Gayakwad, 11 Renuka Singh
Expect RCB to go in with an unchanged XI even though they did not use Radha Yadav with the ball in their previous game.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (probable XI): 1 Grace Harris, 2 Smriti Mandhana (capt), 3 D Hemalatha, 4 Gautami Naik, 5 Richa Ghosh (wk), 6 Radha Yadav, 7 Nadine de Klerk, 8 Arundhati Reddy, 9 Shreyanka Patil, 10 Linsey Smith, 11 Lauren Bell
Big question
Gardner has bowled just one over in the powerplay this season. But with Mandhana at the other end…
In the spotlight: Bharti Fulmali and Arundhati Reddy
Two sixes in seven balls, three fours and three sixes in 15 balls - Bharti Fulmali has so far had the desired effect for GG batting in the lower middle-order. It is her power-hitting that they tapped into even last season, and she has come into WPL 2026 with some form in that department, too. Her 12 sixes for Vidarbha in the Senior Women's T20 Trophy were the fourth-most in the competition. She scored 176 in seven innings at a strike-rate of 157.14 batting in the middle order. A few of these impactful knocks and she could be part of the T20 World Cup conversations.
Arundhati Reddy may be wicketless in WPL 2026 so far but she has managed to quietly leave her mark with the ball. She has been used across the three phases and has used her variations well to keep things in RCB's control. She has bowled five overs in the middle overs where she has an economy of 5.20 in this year, and against GG her control could be crucial against a line-up featuring some of the most powerful hitters of the cricket ball.
Key stats
- Sophie Devine has bowled three overs in the powerplay this season. But against RCB, GG could have a rethink. While she has dismissed Grace Harris four times in 15 innings in T20 cricket, Harris has scored 111 off 77 balls she has faced from Devine. Mandhana, too, has scored 103 off the 74 balls she has faced off Devine for three dismissals in T20 cricket.
- Lauren Bell has been key for RCB in setting the tone early. Against GG, she will be up against Beth Mooney, who has scored 123 runs from the 77 balls that she has faced against Bell in ten T20 innings. Bell hasn't dismissed her in T20 cricket as well as in ODIs.
- However, Bell has dismissed Mooney's opening partner Devine two times in four innings in T20s. Devine has scored 18 off the 12 balls she has faced from the RCB quick.
Pitch & conditions
After eight league games at DY Patil stadium, there could be a little more assistance for the bowlers, especially spinners. Teams winning the toss have chased in all games so far, even if dew has not been a massive factor. Both of GG's wins so far have come while defending targets, while RCB have won twice while chasing.
S Sudarshanan is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @Sudarshanan7