RCB were the favorite of many right after the auction of WPL 2023 happened in the month of February earlier this year but it changed as the tournament progressed. After losing 5 games in a row Royal Challengers Bangalore is on the verge of disqualifying from the tournaments but there is still a slight hope for this to turn the other way around.
It was a do-or-die situation for Smriti Mandhana and Co. when they went up against UP Warriors on Wednesday. For the first time in the tournament, both bowling and batting units performed which helped the team to claim their first victory of the season. Left-handed batter Kanika Ahuja played a Match winning knock of 46(30) for RCB and was awarded the player of the match.
Who is Kanika Ahuja?
Kanika Ahuja is a 20-year-old Indian all-rounder, who was born on August 7, 2002, in Patiala, Punjab, and plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the inaugural season of Women Premier League. Kanika, who is also a national-level skater, once confessed in an interview that there was a time when she had second thoughts about cricket because she liked skating as much. But then she chose cricket.
In 2021-22 Kanika got selected for the Patiala district team for the Women Senior Inter District One Day Tournament. The left-hand batter, who also bowls right-arm off-break, took 4 wickets haul for India women’s D team during Women’s T-20 Challenger Trophy on December 4, 2021.
The all-rounder was picked by her favorite team, RCB, at the price of 35 lakhs during the auction of the WPL 2023.
Kanika, Who captained Punjab under 16 and under 19 women’s cricket teams, is known for her big-hitting skills. She once remained unbeaten for 305 off 122 balls for Patiala in Punjab's inter-district women's senior one-day tournament. But playing with the same intent in the WPL is different than nailing in your home state and she is doing the job perfectly for her franchise irrespective of the boundary sizes in WPL.
