WPL 2023: Brilliant UP decimate RCB at Brabourne

UPW’s Alyssa Healy during her 96 not out against RCB at Brabourne yesterday. Pic/Ashish Raje

UP Warriorz (UPW) blasted their way to a 10-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the eighth match of the Women's Premier League (WPL) at the Brabourne Stadium on Friday.

In response to RCB's 138 all out, the UP outfit reached their target in 13 overs with Alyssa Healy smashing 96 and Devika Vaidya scoring 36.

RCB came into this match still searching for their first win, losing the three previous games. Captain of RCB and the most expensive player of the tournament, Smriti
Mandhana was under pressure not only from the losses, but her below-par performances as well.

On the other hand, UPW had a win and a loss each. They also have some performances to celebrate in Tahlia McGrath (90 not out in the previous match) and Grace Harris (59 not out and four wickets in the first match).

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RCB skipper Mandhana (4 off 6) succumbed to the pressure of expectations while opening yet again. She fell to the guile of left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad (1-26) on the first ball of the third over, caught at extra cover.

Fellow opener Sophie Devine (36 off 24), however, picked up where she left off in the previous match. She smashed a four and a six off the first two balls, showing her trust in the pitch (where RCB have played all their games till now) and her batting. Devine played a couple of shots off the back foot before she was bowled by left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone (4-33) trying to cut a ball that was too close.

She stitched a handy 44-run partnership with Ellyse Perry (52 off 39), taking RCB to 73-1.

Brief scores
RCB 138 all out in 19.3 overs (E Perry 52, S Devine 36; S Ecclestone 4-13, Deepti Sharma 3-26) lost to UPW 139-0 in 13 overs (A Healy 96', D Vaidya 36') by 10 wickets