At one point, UP Warriorz required 32 runs from 24 balls, and then 11 runs from nine balls, but ultimately fell short by two runs.
On the opening night of WPL 2024, both teams required five runs from one ball. Delhi Capitals failed to defend this, but Royal Challengers Bangalore succeeded, securing a victory in front of an enthusiastic home crowd at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Once again, an unheralded Indian player shone the brightest. Sobhana Asha's five-wicket haul derailed UP Warriorz's chase of 158, enabling RCB to defend a total for the first time. In the first season, they had failed to do so in four attempts.
Grace Harris, who made 38 off 23 balls, threatened to take Warriorz home at one stage but Asha's spell left them two runs short.
Asha is the hope
Her X account (formerly known as Twitter) handle is ashathehopejoy; Asha means hope. She was a symbol of hope and excitement in Bengaluru, making a significant impact twice. After Sophie Molineux dismissed Alyssa Healy with a great delivery, Vrinda Dinesh and Tahlia McGrath added 38 runs off 41 balls. When the pair attempted to accelerate, Asha had Vrinda stumped for 18 off 28. A few balls later, she bowled McGrath who attempted a sweep shot on a full delivery.
Harris and Shweta Sehrawat revived the chase by adding 77 runs in just 46 balls. Smriti Mandhana turned to Asha again with 32 runs required from four overs. Asha bowled a triple-wicket over, dismissing Sehrawat, Harris, and Kiran Navgire to complete her five for the innings. This sent jitters through the opposition camp.
The Harris-Sehrawat performance
Sehrawat arrives after a successful domestic season where she was the leading run-scorer for Delhi in the Senior Women's T20 Trophy, striking at 122.45. When she joined Harris in the middle, the Warriors were 49-3 in the ninth over. Harris kept the scoreboard ticking while Sehrawat took her time on a used pitch.
Harris hit leg-spinner Georgia Wareham for consecutive fours in the tenth over before smashing Asha for a six in the next over. She consistently found the boundary before Sehrawat targeted Ellyse Perry. Shortly after hitting a ball through cover-point, she hit a back-of-a-length delivery over deep midwicket. Harris then hit Molineux for a six to end the 15th over. This sequence resulted in Warriorz scoring 30 runs in just two overs.
S Meghana supports RCB
In the second over after RCB were sent in, Mandhana hit a six and a four off consecutive balls to raise the decibel levels. However, they quickly lost Sophie Devine, who was given out lbw to Grace Harris, the opening bowler, for 1.
From that point on, S Meghana took charge. Her intentions of hitting the ball in the air with the field up were evident from the moment she walked in. She struck Harris for three fours in the fifth over when she got her timing right. Meghana was fortunate when Sehrawat failed to catch the ball after a diving effort at deep midwicket when she was on 16. Additionally, McGrath dropped a catch in the seventh over when the batter was on 22.
Meghana demonstrated her exceptional footwork, particularly against the left-arm spin of Rajeshwari Gayakwad. She hit her only six off Gayakwad, lofting the ball over extra cover, before achieving a half-century in just 40 balls. However, in the 17th over, she charged Gayakwad and was subsequently stumped.
Richa Ghosh increases the pace
RCB lost their third wicket in the eighth over. But Richa Ghosh was not to be denied. She curbed her aggression and focused on rotating the strike. Her first couple of fours were more about touch than power. She steadily moved to a run-a-ball 16 before WPL debutant Saima Thakor's second over helped her cut loose.
In the 14th over, Ghosh hit the seamer for four fours, sending the ball to different parts of the ground: through backward point, over mid-off, between long-on and deep midwicket, and through square leg. She continued her impressive performance by hitting five more fours across two overs from McGrath, achieving a 31-ball half-century.
Despite Ghosh's impressive display, Warriorz only conceded 32 runs in the last four overs. Without Ghosh's blitz, RCB may have scored well below 150.