WPL 2023, UP Warriorz vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Match 13: Best memes from the game

Ellyse Perry's three for 16 and Kanika Ahuja's 46 off 30 helped Royals Challengers record their first WPL win.

Published - 15 Mar 2023, 23:44 IST | Updated - 15 Mar 2023, 22:54 IST

10 Min Read

Royal Challengers Bangalore registered their first win of the tournament with a five-wicket triumph over UP Warriorz in the 13^th match of the Women’s Premier League 2023 (WPL) on Wednesday (March 15). The returning batter Grace Harris smashed 46 off 32 but Ellyse Perry’s three wickets for 16 stumbled the Warriorz’ innings as they could only score 135 runs. Chasing a rather small target of 136, youngster Kanika Ahuja smashed 46 off 32 to help RCB get across the line in just 18 overs.

Smriti Mandhana won the toss for RCB and elected to field first at Navi Mumbai’s Dr DY Patil Sports Academy. Both teams made one change each to their playing XIs. While Kanika Ahuja replaced Preeti Bose in RCB, Grace Harris came in for Shabnim Ismail for UP Warriorz.

The star Kiwi all-rounder Sophie Devine dismissed both UP Warriorz’ openers Alyssa Healy and Devika Vaidya in the very first over of the innings to give RCB a sensational start. Megan Schutt then removed dangerous Tahlia McGrath in the next over for a score of just two runs, to add early pressure on Warriorz.

Kiran Navgire scored 22 off 26 before getting caught behind on Sobhana Asha’s delivery in the seventh over. Asha dismissed Simran Shaikh for just two runs in her next over to get Warriorz to struggle at 36/5 after nine overs.

Grace, batting only the second time in the tournament, smashed 46 off 32 and star Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma scored crucial 22 runs to help Warriorz post a respectable total. Perry dismissed both Grace and Deepti in the 16^th over to eventually help RCB bowl out Warriorz for just 135 runs in 19.3 overs.

After an impressive knock with the bat, Grace dismissed Devine in the first over of the innings to keep Warriorz in the game. Devine smashed two fours and a six to score 14 off just six balls. Deepti bowled out Smriti on a duck in the next over to evoke life in the Warriorz camp.

The in-form Perry and English veteran Heather Knight added a 29-run stand for the third wicket to avoid further slipups in the powerplay overs. Vaidya removed Perry in the seventh over and Deepti dismissed Knight in the ninth over to put the Warriorz on the driving seat for the first time.

But, Kanika shifted the momentum in RCB’s favor by smashing five fours in two overs. She pulled off a match-defining 60-run stand for the fifth wicket with Richa Ghosh. Kanika top-scored with 46 while Richa added 31* off 32 balls as Royal Challengers easily chased down the target in 18 overs. They stepped up to the fourth position on the WPL points table while UP Warriorz remained at the third position with four points after their first five games.