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Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeated UP Warriorz (UPW) on Wednesday in Match 13 of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
The RCB bowlers displayed an excellent performance with the ball to bowl out UPW for 135 in 18 overs. All-rounder Ellyse Perry (3/16), Sophie Devine (2/23) and Sobhana Asha (2/27) starred with the ball while Kanika Ahuja scored a match-winning 46 off 30 balls with the bat to help RCB chase down the target with two overs to spare.
Chasing a below-par score of 136, Devine started off aggressively, hitting a couple of fours and a six off the first four balls. However, it was Grace Harris who had the last laugh as she bounced back by getting Devine caught at deep mid-wicket on the last ball of the over.
Off-spin all-rounder Deepti Sharma then struck on the third ball of her first over by cleaning up RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana for a duck. Perry and Heather Knight then got together and added a 29-run partnership for the third wicket as RCB finished the powerplay at 43/2.
UPW skipper Alyssa Healy then introduced leg-spinner Devika Vaidya into the attack and she didn’t disappoint her captain as she struck on the first ball of her over by removing Perry caught at mid-on.
In the next over, Sharma provided the UPW with another breakthrough by dismissing Knight (24 off 21) caught at deep square leg as RCB was reduced to 60/4 in 9 overs.
20-year-old all-rounder Kanika Ahuja then provided momentum to RCB’s inning by taking a counter-attacking approach, hitting 6 fours and a six in the space of 15 balls as RCB reached 100 in the 13th over. Ahuja and wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh completed their 50-run partnership off 34 balls as RCB was finally getting close to their first victory.
The Ahuja-Ghosh duo stitched a 60-run partnership off 46 balls for the fifth wicket before left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone broke the dangerous-looking partnership by cleaning up Ahuja for 46(30).
However, it was too late as the Patiala-born left-hander had already done enough damage to put RCB in a winning position. In the 18th over, Ghosh welcomed Sharma by smashing a six and a four on the first two balls of the over, while Shreyanka Patil finished the game with a paddle sweep on the last ball of the over as RCB defeated UPW by five wickets to register their first win of the season.
Earlier, after winning the toss and electing to bowl first, RCB made one change as Kanika Ahuja replaced Preeti Bose while UPW also made one change to their XI as Grace Harris came in for Shabnim Ismail.
The UPW had a terrible start as Devine removed Vaidya on the second ball of the match by trapping her LBW with an inswinger. Vaidya went for the review after consultation with her captain, but the replays it was an umpire’s call with the ball clipping the leg stumps.
On the last ball of the over, Healy was dismissed with a soft dismissal as she flicked one straight to short mid-wicket off Devine.
Megan Schutt came to bowl the second over of the match and struck in her first over as she removed the dangerous Tahlia McGrath caught behind for 2(2).
Coming in to bat at No.3, Kiran Navgire then scored the first boundary of the innings by pulling a short ball well down the leg side from Devine to fine leg for a four.
The UPW managed to score just three runs in the following eight balls. Navgire then released the pressure by pulling a short ball from Schutt powerfully through square leg for the second four of the innings.
Navigre was in no mood to stop as she danced down the wicket to smash pacer Renuka Singh Thakur for a six over long off. However, The RCB bowlers kept bowling tight overs to restrict the UPW to 29/3 in the powerplay.
Mandhana then brought leg-spinner Sobhana Asha into the attack and she immediately struck off her second ball by removing Navgire on 22(26), who was caught by the keeper while going for a slog sweep.
Asha continued to give blows to the UPW as she took another wicket in her next over by dismissing Simran Shaikh on 2(9) caught while going for a slog-sweep.
Asha was giving good flight to the ball by bowling slow in the air and was getting turn off the pitch as well. She was very close to get another wicket but Knight dropped a sitter at first slip to give Sharma a lifeline. Another life was given to Harris after wicket-keeper Ghosh missed a stumping, off the bowling of Asha.
In the next over, Harris then took full advantage of her dropped catch and rubbed salt on RCB’s wounds as she smashed a six and a couple of fours off Patil.
Harris did not stop and continued to attack. She then targeted Asha by hitting a six and a couple of fours to make it 16 runs off the over. Sharma then joined Harris to up the ante for the UPW, hitting consecutive fours off Devine. Harris and Sharma brought up their 50-run stand off just 32 balls with Harris being the main aggressor.
Mandhana then played a masterstroke by bringing Perry into the attack and it worked wonders for RCB. Perry provided a crucial breakthrough by removing Sharma caught at deep mid-wicket off a full toss. Harris and Sharma added a vital 69-run partnership off 42 balls for the sixth wicket.
Just two balls later, Perry got the huge wicket of Harris, who was caught behind off a short delivery on 46(32).
Shweta Sehrawat was then cleaned up by Perry for her third wicket as she finished with impressive figures of 3/16.
Ecclestone and Anjali Sarvani then added 21 off 12 balls in the end to provide a bit of a late surge to the UPW’s innings but they were eventually bowled out for 135 with three balls to spare in the first innings.
Kanika Ahuja was awarded the Player of the Match for scoring a match-winning 46 off 30 balls and taking 2 catches.
Brief Scores: RCB 136/5 in 18 overs (Kanika Ahuja 46, Richa Ghosh 31*; Deepti Sharma 2/26, Sophie Ecclestone 1/20) beat UPW 135/10 in 19.3 overs (Grace Harris 46; Ellyse Perry 3/16, Sophie Devine 2/23) by 5 wickets.
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