3 things RCB got right during their win over UPW in WPL 2023

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) finally had reason to smile after registering their first win of WPL 2023, defeating the UP Warriorz by five wickets at the Dr. DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday, March 15.

After captain Smriti Mandhana elected to field first, their bowlers were all over the UPW batting unit. Despite Grace Harris and Deepti Sharma mounting a fightback, the Warriorz were always playing catch-up and were skittled out for 135.

The Challengers wobbled in their chase, but Kanika Ahuja's pristine 46 and an unbeaten 31 from Richa Ghosh saw them coast home with a couple of overs to spare to keep their slender playoff hopes alive.

Quite clearly, RCB got a lot going against UPW to register their first win of WPL 2023. Let's look at three such aspects here:

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#1 Handing the new ball to Sophie Devine

With Renuka Thakur and Megan Schutt in the mix, this can be viewed as a gamble on the part of RCB. Yet, with the aforementioned players predominantly inswing bowlers with the new ball, getting Sophie Devine to shape it away from the right-handers worked a charm against UPW.

The move proved to be an inspired one as Devine broke the back of the Warriorz batting lineup, trapping Devika Vaidya in front before Alyssa Healy flicked one to short mid-wicket. The double-whammy in the very first over was followed by Schutt getting Tahlia McGrath to nick behind and RCB never looked back.

With new ball wickets eluding the Challengers in WPL 2023, they had to try something different. Captain Smriti Mandhana got it spot on in that regard and this was one of the biggest reasons behind them opening their account on Wednesday.

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#2 RCB's young brigade stands tall

Mandhana's poor run of form continued as she departed for a duck against UPW on Wednesday. Ellyse Perry picked up three wickets but failed to leave a mark with the bat, while Heather Knight and Devine also failed to convert their starts.

Amidst this, it was the young duo of Kanika and Ghosh that steadied the ship under pressure, before Shreyanka Patil enhanced an already burgeoning reputation by adding the finishing touches.

A special mention to leg-spinner Asha Sobhana is equally important. The drop and turn she extracted kept the batters on their toes in the middle-overs, while she also extracted sufficient bounce to beat the outside edge on multiple occasions.

With the senior players flattering to deceive in large swathes, the performance of the young brigade would have chuffed RCB after their win last evening.

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#3 They got their entry points spot on

In the first leg of the WPL 2023 bout between RCB and UPW, Richa Ghosh strode out to bat at number 8. While one can put it down to an entry-point scenario, the fact that they lost four wickets post the 10-over mark before she strode out to bat was extremely bemusing.

That wasn't the case this time around though. At 60/4 in 9 overs, Bangalore were in a spot of bother with young Kanika just seeing Heather Knight receive her marching orders. Ghosh was sent out immediately and showed immense maturity in playing herself in, allowing Kanika to move the game forward.

Once she got her eye in on a tacky surface, the big shots came and the duo shut the doors firmly on UPW. That Ghosh was given enough time in the middle worked wonders as she got the job done without breaking much of a sweat.

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Can RCB still make it through to the playoffs of WPL 2023? Let us know what you think in the comments section below!

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