"Who makes so many changes?" - Aakash Chopra on RCB's 5th consecutive loss in WPL 2023

Aakash Chopra has questioned the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for making a plethora of changes to their playing XI in their Women's Premier League (WPL) 2023 loss to the Delhi Capitals (DC).

Smriti Mandhana and Co. posted 150/4 after being asked to bat first at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Monday, March 13. The Capitals chased down the below-par target with six wickets and two deliveries to spare to hand the bottom-placed side their fifth consecutive loss in the tournament.

While reviewing the game on the "AakashVani" show on JioCinema, Chopra pointed out that the Royal Challengers Bangalore seem to be unsure about their ideal playing XI, elaborating:

"It has been five matches and this team has not been able to register even one win and the same thing happened in this match as well. RCB made three changes. I mean who makes so many changes? You do that only if you don't know your balance and are not fully confident about the team's composition."

While questioning Disha Kasat's recall to the playing XI, the former Indian opener acknowledged that RCB used the perfect batting order in Monday's game, stating:

"Disha (Kasat) played at the start, then got dropped and now she is playing again and she doesn't get to bat. Why are you playing her? The one good thing was that the batting order was absolutely perfect."

Chopra highlighted that Smriti Mandhana's indifferent form with the bat is hurting the franchise, stating:

"The runs are not coming at all from Smriti Mandhana's bat. I can tell based on reliable sources that she has sent a friend request to form but form has not accepted that request until now. This time the ball was short, she pulled it and found the fielder in the deep."

However, Chopra was full of praise for Ellyse Perry (67* off 52) and Richa Ghosh (37 off 16) for taking RCB to a fighting total.

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"There was some hope for a win" - Aakash Chopra on RCB dismissing Shafali Verma and Meg Lanning cheaply

Megan Schutt castled Shafali Verma for a golden duck. [P/C: WPL/Twitter]

Chopra reckons Shafali Verma and Meg Lanning's early dismissals might have given RCB some hope of defending a slightly underwhelming target, observing:

"Were 150 runs going to be enough? It could have been enough when you dismissed Shafali for a duck and then Meg Lanning. There was some hope for a win but it did not happen because there were small-small knocks."

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that RCB seemed to be back in the game once again when Jemimah Rodrigues was dismissed but it proved to be a false dawn, stating:

"Alice Capsey came for a short while but did an amazing job. Jemimah Rodrigues also scored 32 and there was some excitement in the match when she got out but once again nothing happened. One more evening went in Delhi's favor and the game was over for the opposition team."

The Delhi Capitals required 42 runs off 33 balls with six wickets in hand when Jemimah was dismissed. Jess Jonassen (29* off 15) and Marizanne Kapp (32* off 32) then strung together an unbroken 45-run fifth-wicket partnership to take their team across the line.