In the WPL 2025 season opener in Vadodara on Friday (February 14), defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru gunned down 202 against Gujarat Titans to pull off the second-highest successful chase in the history of women’s T20s.
Chasing the mammoth total, RCB slipped to 14-2, losing openers Smriti Mandhana (9) and Danny Wyatt-Hodge (4) in the space of four balls. Richa Ghosh and Ellyse Perry, however, smacked blazing fifties to script a historic chase.
Perry, who is still recovering from a hip injury sustained during the Ashes, brought up her fifty with a six off Deandra Dottin off 27 balls. The Australia all-rounder soon perished for a 34-ball 57 while trying to up the ante in the 13th over but Ghosh took matters into her own hands thereafter.
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Ghosh, who was dropped on zero, made full use of the reprieve by hitting a fifty off 23 balls. She was well supported by Kanika Ahuja (30 not out off 13 balls) in their quickfire unbeaten 93-run stand. The duo took their team comfortably over the line with six wickets and 1.3 overs remaining. RCB struck 64 runs off their last five overs, with Ghosh finishing on 64 not out of 27.
This is the highest run chase in the tournament. Before this, Mumbai Indians held the record for chasing down 191 against Gujarat Giants in 2024. This is also the second time a 200-plus total was successfully chased in women's T20s. The previous instance was recorded by West Indies, who gunned down 213 against Australia at North Sound in 2023.
The total match aggregate of 403 runs is also the most achieved in a WPL match, surpassing 391 runs scored between the same sides in the inaugural edition at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
