It was complete domination with both bat and ball by the UP Warriorz (UPW), who condemned the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to a fourth-straight loss in the ongoing Women's Premier League (WPL) 2023 season at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, March 10.
After the bowlers took the game from Bangalore in the first innings, restricting them to 138, skipper Alyssa Healy and her opening partner Devika Vaidya took the opponent bowlers to the cleaners, winning the match by 10 wickets.
The match was in the Warriorz's pockets from the get-go as their star spinner Sophie Ecclestone and Deepti Sharma bagged wickets at regular intervals despite a brave innings from Australian batter Ellyse Perry. The all-rounder top-scored for RCB with a blazing 39-ball 52 in what was her first half-century of the tournament.
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RCB actually began well courtesy of the hard-hitting New Zealander Sophie Devine. The side were going well at 29 for no loss in three overs, but Rajeshwari Gayakwad struck first to dismiss the struggling captain Smriti Mandhana (4) with her first ball. This wicket did not dampen the team's spirit as they scored 54 runs in the six powerplay overs. But it was downhill from there
Seasoned English left-arm spinner Ecclestone finished with figures of 4/13 in her four overs, while Deepti ended with 3/26.
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The onus was on the powerful RCB bowling set-up that have failed to impress till now, as they fumbled once again. Alyssa Healy played a calm and composed innings, making the most of any loose balls, which were plenty in supply.
Healy was the main aggressor alongside Vaidya, who was promoted up the order to take the place of Shweta Sehrawat. The Australian wicketkeeper-batter was at her best as she smashed the Warriorz left and right while Vaidya played a composed innings beside her.
At the end of the day, none of the other UP batters were required to play as Healy went on to notch the highest score in this tournament. She scored an unbeaten 96 runs off just 47 balls, striking at a brilliant rate of 204.25. At the other end, Vaidya's 36 runs off 31 balls kept the scoreboard ticking, with UP winning the game in 13 overs.
