THE Royal Challengers Bangalore have moved to equal top of the Women’s Premier League table after a 23 run win over the UP Warriorz.

Bangalore posted 3/198 before then restricting the Warriorz to just 8/175.

After making a fast paced start to their innings, the Royal Challengers kept the momentum going with a 115 run second wicket partnership between Ellyse Perry and Smriti Mandhana that propelled the score forward even further.

Mandhana led the way with an 50 ball innings of 80, which included 10 fours and three sixes, while Perry was an able assistant, smashing four fours and four sixes on her way to a 37 ball 58, helping to break not only Warriorz hearts but car windows in the process.

The Warriorz bowlers did not bowl overly wayward either, only conceding the nine extras. However, no one picked up multiple wickets with Anjali Sarvani, Deepti Sharma and Sophie Ecclestone the three wicket takers.

The Warriorz actually made a pretty decent and quick start to their innings, but once the wickets started to fall, the floodgates opened and an already tough task became tougher and tougher as the innings progressed. After the opening partnership of 47 runs, the next substantial combination would not come until the 41 run sixth wicket stand, with many of the other partnerships in that 10 to 20 run range. Things however could have been even worse for those in yellow if Bangalore had not conceded quite so many extras, which included 15 wides.

Opener and captain Alyssa Healy had a bit of a captain’s knock for the Warriorz, smashing seven fours and three sixes on her way to 55 runs off 38 balls. Number six Sharma was the next highest runs scorer with 33, and the fact that most of the batters that came between Healy and Sharma only made a single figure score showed how the innings prevailed.

On the flipside of the equation the Royal Challengers really shared the wicket taking duties around, with Sophie Devine, Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham and Sobhana Asha all taking two wickets each.