WPL 2023 UPW vs RCB: Kanika Ahuja, Richa Ghosh Power Royal Challengers Bangalore To Their First Win. On March 15, UP Warriorz faced Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Women’s Premier League (WPL). In their first face-off, Warriorz defeated Bangalore by 10 wickets comfortably. UPW is ranked 3rd in WPL 2023 points table with two wins and two losses. Bangalore is at the bottom of the points table with five consecutive losses.
Bangalore won the toss and choose to bowl first. RCB skipper gave the new ball to experienced all-rounder Sophie Devine. Devine picked two wickets in the first over of the innings to give big blows to Warriorz. She removed openers, Devika Vaidya and Alyssa Healy.
The next batsman Tahlia McGrath also couldn’t stick around and was dismissed by pacer Megan Schutt. Warriorz continued to lose wickets quickly. Half of the UP team returned to the dugout just 10 overs into the game.
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RCB Bundled Out Warriorz To A Moderate Total
Wicket-keeper Richa Ghosh missed a golden opportunity to stump out Grace Harris. Harris made the most of it and added 69 runs with Deepti Sharma. However renowned all-rounder Ellyse Perry dismissed both batsmen in one over.
RCB wrapped the innings to 135 in 19.3 overs. Perry was the peak of the bowlers with three wickets in four overs. Asha Shobana and Devine picked two wickets each.
While chasing a moderate total of 136 runs, opener Devine kick-started the innings with an elegant boundary. Also, she smashed one towering six and four in the same over before getting caught at deep mid-wicket by McGrath.
Spinner Deepti Sharma gave a second blow to RCB by dislodging stumps skipper Smriti Mandhana on duck. In-form batsman Perry couldn’t contribute much to the total of RCB. She managed to make only 10 runs off 13 balls. Heather Knight made 24 runs off 21 balls.
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Kanika Ahuja and Richa Ghosh helped RCB to win the first game
Left-handed Indian batsman Kanika Ahuja turned the tables by playing a phenomenal knock. She dealt with boundaries to put Warriorz in trouble. She made 46 runs off just 30 balls. Her stellar knock was studded with eight fours and one six.
After Kanika returned to the pavilion, wicket-keeper Richa Ghosh helped RCB to get over the line. She made 31 runs off 31 balls with the help of three fours and one mammoth six. RCB defeated Warriorz by five wickets in the 18th over.
Brief Scorecard: Royal Challengers Bangalore 136/5 (18 overs) (Kanika 46, Richa 31*, Sharma 2/26) beat UP Warriorz 135 all-out (19.3 overs) (Harris 46, Perry 3/16, Devine 2/23) by five wickets.
Playing XIs Of UP Warriorz And Royal Challengers Bangalore
UP Warriorz Playing XI: Alyssa Healy (wk/c), Devika Vaidya, Kiran Navgire, Shweta Sehrawat, Anjali Sarvani, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Grace Harris, Tahlia McGrath, Simran Shaikh, Sophie Ecclestone, Deepti Sharma
Royal Challengers Bangalore Women Playing XI: Smriti Mandhana (c), Richa Ghosh (wk), Megan Schutt, Asha Shobana, Renuka Thakur Singh, Kanika Ahuja, Sophie Devine, Ellyse Perry, Heather Knight, Shreyanka Patil, Disha Kasat
