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IMAGES from the WPL match between UP Warriorz and Royal Challengers Bangalore, played in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday.
Buoyed by Virat Kohli's pep talk, Royal Challengers Bangalore lived another day as they notched their maiden win in the Women’s Premier League with a five-wicket victory over UP Warriorz in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday.
With this win they arrested their five-match losing streak.
After a collective show from their bowlers led by Ellyse Perry, whose 3/16 ensured UP Warriorz were bowled out for 135 in 19.3 overs, RCB sailed past the target with 20-year-old Kanika Ahuja playing the match-winning knock of 46 off 30 balls with eight fours and one six.
She put on a 60-run stand with India keeper Richa Ghosh (31 not out from 32 balls, 3x4s, 1x6s) who played the second fiddle to perfection.
Ahuja and Ghosh had joined forces at a stage from where the game could have gone either way, with RCB having lost four wickets with 60 runs on the board and a tricky challenge in front of them.
But the two young batters played with conviction and command, not allowing UP Warriorz any opportunity to make further inroads until they had ensured a win for their side.
RCB had a poor start, losing the in-form Sophie Devine for 14 after early aggression, and captain Smriti Mandhana (0), who had to endure yet another flop show with the bat. The RCB captain was cleaned up by Deepti Sharma off the third ball she faced.
Devika Vaidya got the key breakthrough in the seventh over getting Perry (10) caught by Sophie Ecclestone and in the ninth, Deepti Sharma removed the dangerous Heather Knight (24), caught by Kiran Navgire, with 60 runs on the board.
In their previous meeting at the Brabourne Stadium on March 10, UP Warriorz had crushed RCB by a massive 10-wickets in a one-sided game with Alyssa Healy scoring a stunning 96 not out in the winning cause.
Ellyse Perry headlined Royal Challengers Bangalore's collective bowling effort with a three-wicket haul as UP Warriorz were all-out for a below-par 135 in 19.3 overs.
Perry returned with figures of 3/16 in 4 overs after being introduced late in the game, whereas Sophie Devine (4-0-23-2), Sobhana Asha (4-0-27-2) and Megan Schutt (4-0-21-1) bowled impressive spells to raise RCB's hopes of a maiden win at the DY Patil Stadium, in Navi Mumbai, after five consecutive defeats.
However, after being restricted to 31/5 and the first 10 overs yielding a mere 43 runs on the board, UP Warriorz were given a much-needed boost by Harris and Deepti Sharma (22) with a resolute fight-back.
Harris and Deepti dragged UP Warriorz back in the contest with a 42-ball 69-run stand for the sixth wicket, which did take them past the 100-run mark but Perry got rid of both the set batters in the 16th over to put RCB in charge again.
After dismissing Deepti and Harris in a space of three balls, Perry cleaned up Shweta Sehrawat (6) to dent UP Warriorz hopes of reaching a challenging score.
Harris made the most of a lifeline when RCB wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh missed a regulation stumping chance off Asha's bowling in the 11th over when the batter was on nine, eventually finishing at 46 off 32 balls with five fours and two sixes.
UP Warriorz made a disastrous start in the first over with Devine trapping Devika Vaidya (0) leg-before on a delivery that swung in, and three balls later, the in-form Alyssa Healy (1) chipped one straight to Asha.
Schutt added to UP Warriorz's woes when she had Tahlia McGrath (2) caught by Ghosh, leaving them reeling at 5/3.
At the end of the powerplay, UP Warriorz were 29/3 with Navgire contributing with 22 of those. But her resistance was soon ended by Asha in the seventh over, with Navgire mis-hitting a sweep to be caught for 22 off 26 with two fours and a six.
Asha added another wicket to her kitty in the ninth over with Simran Sheikh (2) caught at short mid-wicket off a mis-hit.
The right-arm spinner nearly had her third wicket when she found an edge off Deepti's bat, but Devine could not hold onto a tough chance at the first slip.