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Former RCB captain Virat Kohli gave a pep talk to the beleaguered women of Royal Challengers Bangalore on Wednesday. Something about that seemed to work for the side as it notched up a crucial win to give its Women’s Premier League campaign hope.
RCB, after losing five matches in a row, finally won a game in WPL 2023. Its five-wicket victory against UP Warriorz came in a desperate situation: another loss would have meant the end of the road.
RCB reached the modest target with two overs to spare, but not without experiencing a few anxious moments along the way. It had lost its vastly experienced top four with just 60 runs on the board. Among them was skipper Smriti Mandhana, whose horrendous form continued, with her off-spin weakness once again as she fell to Deepti Sharma for a duck.
However, it was the uncapped youngster Kanika Anuja, who played probably the innings of her life (46 (30b, 8×4, 1×6) and wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh (31 not out, 32b, 3×4, 1×6) who did the job for RCB. They added 60 runs for the fifth wicket to steady the chase for the Royal Challengers. After a Sophie Ecclestone yorker ended Kanika’s time at the crease and denied her a half century (which would have been the first by an uncapped player in WPL 2023), Richa stepped up, with a six and four off consecutive balls ensuring a comfortable win for her side.
Earlier, on a wicket that encouraged both the seamers and spinners, RCB bowled superbly. It was an inspired decision to give the first over to Sophie Devine that put the Warriorz innings under pressure right away. She sent back bot the openers, Devika Vaidya and Alyssa Healy in her first over.
When Megan Schutt had her compatriot Tahlia McGrath caught behind, Warriorz slid to five for the loss of three wickets. The stage was set for Asha’s leg spin to come into play. She got the ball to turn and bounce and removed Kiran Navgire and Simran Shaikh in successive overs. She removed Kiran Navgire, who was living dangerously, and Simran Shaikh in successive overs.
A sixth wicket stand of 69 between Grace Harris (46, 32b, 5×4, 2×6) and Deepti (22, 19b, 4×4) ensured Warriorz had something to bowl to. Richa missed a chance to stump Harris though, but made up for it later with her batting.
While the win gives their campaign a shot in the arm, RCB would still need a lot of help from other teams to entertain hopes of making the playoffs. The race is open to determine which two sides will join Mumbai Indians in that stage.
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