WPL 2023: Kanika Ahuja and bowlers shine as RCB secure first points with five-wicket win over UPW

Royal Challengers Bangalore were finally able to open their WPL 2023 campaign with a five-wicket win over UP Warriorz on Wednesday.

Ellyse Perry and the bowlers shined on the day, while Kanika Ahuja showed her true potential with the bat as the franchise kept their hopes of reaching the playoffs alive.

RCB had won the toss on the day and decided to bowl first. The decision proved to be a masterstroke as Sophie Devine got rid of Devika Vaidya and the in-form Alyssa Healy in the very first over of the game.

UPW went on to lose Tahlia McGrath in the very next over as they found themselves in all sorts of trouble. Kiran Navigare and Grace Harris did some repair work but Navigare’s stay was ended by Asha Shobhana.

Shobhana then dismissed Simran Shaikh with UPW left reeling at 31 for five. Deepti Sharma joined Harris in the middle and the duo slowly rebuilt the innings.

Harris was in good knick on the day as she took on the role of the aggressor in the innings and found the perfect partner in Deepti. The duo put on a partnership of 69 runs before Ellyse Perry came in to change the complexion of the game.

Perry picked up the wickets of Deepti and Harris to tilt the game back in RCB’s favour. There weren’t many contributions from the tail as the UPW innings came to an end at 135.

RCB started off the chase with a bang as Devine hit 14 off the first over before getting out. Smriti Mandhana’s poor run continued as she was the next to be dismissed and RCB found themselves 14 for two.

Perry and Heather Knight put on a partnership and it slowly looked like RCB was gaining momentum. But Vaidya dismissed Perry and Deepti returned to dismiss Knight as RCB were reduced to 60 for four in nine overs.

Kanika then decided to take matters into her own hands and took the attack to the UPW bowlers. The 20-year-old played a gem of an innings and received good support from Richa Ghosh, who played the role of the anchor in the partnership.

Kanika finally perished for 46 runs as she was cleaned up by Ecclestone, but the damage was already done by that time. Richa then saw off the game in the 18th over by dispatching Deepti for a six and a boundary in the first two balls. Shreyanka Patil hit the winning runs, much to the joy of the RCB fans.