'Victory is sweet': Sobhana Asha emotional after record 5-wicket haul for RCB
The hero of RCB’s thrilling win, Sobhana Asha, was unable to control her emotions while receiving the Player of the Match award after her 5-wicket haul against UP Warriorz at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on February 24, Saturday. Emotions were running high as the bowler played a key role in RCB winning their first match of WPL in front of a packed home crowd on Saturday.
The 32-year-old leg-spinner became the 1st Indian to pick a 5-wicket haul in the history of the Women’s Premier League. RCB won their 1st home game of the season to repay the support and faith shown by a fully-packed Chinnaswamy crowd. The iconic venue was sold out for the thrilling clash between the Smriti Mandhana-led Royal Challengers Bangalore and Allysa Healy’s UP Warriorz.
| RCB vs UP Warriorz Highlights |
“A lot of struggle and a lot of hard work. And finally, the victory is sweet. I’m not thinking about my five wickets. We just won our first match on our home ground. Nothing bigger than that for me right now.
“At the moment, I’m very happy about my bowling. I’m very happy that I contributed to the victory of my team that too at the Chinnaswamy ground. Very happy,” Asha said in the post-match presentation.
“I know that the situation would be something like this, and I had already visualised and a lot of homework was done. I would say that is one of my strengths (on her control). And I had seen that Grace was going against the turn and I knew that if I pulled the length of the ball a little slower, maybe she might go across and get a top edge or a bowled. I was ready to get smashed. But I was sure that I’m gonna get the job done,” Asha added.
ASHA’S ‘5-STAR’ BOWLING PERFORMANCE
UP Warriorz were cruising towards victory in their 158-run chase with Grace Harris and Shweta Sehrawat’s 77-run steady partnership. However, Asha had other plans as she turned the tide in RCB’s favour by scalping 3 wickets in her last over and the 17 over of the match. UP Warriorz had the game under their control but completely threw it away in the death overs as the crowd, with its loud cheering, played the role of the 12th man for the home team.
The game between RCB and UPW was no less than a roller-coaster ride with the match swinging in both directions before Sobhana Asha’s sensational over that made sure RCB, unlike last year, didn’t have to wait long for their first set of two points on the board.
