"Thanks to Virat Kohli for motivating the RCB team" - Fans react as Smriti Mandhana and Co. register 1st win of WPL 2023

Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) winless run in the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2023 came to an end on Wednesday, March 15, when they defeated UP Warriorz (UPW) by five wickets.

RCB put in a superb bowling effort in the first innings to restrict UPW to 135 runs, thanks to Ellyse Perry's three-wicket haul. Sophie Devine and Shobana Asha also chipped in with two wickets apiece.

In response, RCB were once again in a spot of bother after losing wickets in quick succession. However, Kanika Ahuja played a brilliant knock to take the Royal Challengers home with two overs to spare.

With all the top guns back in the hut within nine overs, Bangalore were staring at their sixth defeat of the season. But Ahuja and Richa Ghosh had other plans. They shared a 60-run partnership for the fifth wicket before Karnataka-born Shreyanka Patil scored the winning runs to bring some joy to the RCB camp.

Ahuja smashed a quickfire 46 off 30 balls, while Richa showed maturity during her unbeaten 32-ball 31 run knock to steer the team over the line.

Bangalore fans were certainly ecstatic after securing their maiden win of the season. They showered praise on the players and lauded them for putting up a brave performance.

Here are some of the reactions:

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"One dream accomplished today" - RCB's Kanika Ahuja after match-winning knock

Kanika Ahuja, who has shown glimpses of her ability throughout WPL 2023, came into her element on Wednesday to guide RCB to their first victory. Speaking after her match-winning knock, she asserted that it was a dream ticked off the bucket list.

"I wanted to win one game for RCB. One dream accomplished today. Since childhood, I've been a big hitter, I always play this way," she said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

RCB will be back in action on Saturday, March 18, when they face the Gujarat Giants in another must-win game.