PLAYOFFS for RCB : Royal Challengers Bengaluru remains unbeaten, first team to qualify for TATA WPL 2026

Royal Challengers Bengaluru remain unbeaten till now and have qualified for the semifinals. RCB faced GG on Monday night and once again, the Challengers wrote the night with their name, winning the match by 61 runs as Gujarat Giants scored 117/8. Royal Challengers Bengaluru rest at number one on the points table, and first become first team to enter playoffs.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru were aiming to keep their unbeaten streak alive and all but seal qualification to the playoffs when they took on Gujarat Giants (GG) in their fifth Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 match on Monday. Smriti Mandhana smashed 96 off 61 balls to lead Bengaluru to their fourth straight victory against DC two days earlier. On the other hand, Gujarat Giants were eyeing a return to winning ways. Ashleigh Gardner’s side won their first two games but lost their two most recent matches.

When the toss was flipped, it came in favour of Gujarat Giants captain Ashleigh Gardner. Gujarat chose to bowl first and wanted to strike early. In just three balls, Grace Harris fell to Renuka Singh. Then Royal Challengers skipper Smriti Mandhana was given LBW by the captain of Gujarat Giants. She was looking comfortable on the pitch but lost her wicket after scoring 26 runs off 23 balls with a strike rate of 113.04, following her 96-run knock against DC two days earlier. Gautam Naik came out as challengers’s saviour of the match, scoring 73 runs off 55 balls with a magnificent strike rate of 132.73, including seven fours and one six. Richa Ghosh complemented her and built a strong partnership with Naik. Royal’s star batter Nadine de Klerk remained not out.

Gujarat Giants’ batting was shattered in front of Bengaluru’s bowling attack. The captain herself came out as the highest run-scorer for the Giants, scoring 54 runs off 43 balls, before losing her wicket to Sayali Satghare. RCB bowler Sayali Satghare took three wickets in the match with an economy of 5.25, while de Klerk picked up two wickets and Lauren Bell, Radha Yadav, and Shreyanka Patil took one wicket each.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the match by 61 runs. Gautam Naik comes out as player of the match of the night for Royal Challengers.

Royal Bengaluru Challengers emerged as the black horse of WPL 2026, sitting at the top of the table without a single loss so far. Royal Challengers have also qualified for the playoffs, remaining victorious with six consecutive wins in WPL. They opened the record books for themselves as the jersey in gold and red secured the most consecutive wins by any team in WPL.