Star Australian allrounder Grace Harris led from the front as Royal Challengers Bengaluru thrashed the UP Warriorz by eight wickets to sail into the finals of the 2026 Women’s Premier League, on Thursday at the BCA Stadium at Kotambi in Vadodara, in what was a commanding performance from the 2024 champions.
With six wins from eight matches, Bengaluru, who had already qualified for the playoffs with five wins on the trot, have now sealed a spot in the summit showdown in the fourth edition of the tournament.
Put in to bat, UP Warriorz skipper Meg Lanning and Deepti Sharma added 75 runs for the opening partnership as RCB were reminded of the onslaught they suffered at the hands of defending champions Mumbai Indians in their last game.
Turning point
But Nadine de Klerk turned the game on its head. She dismissed Lanning, who was striking at 136, in the ninth over, and UP Warriorz’s run-scoring slowed down.
That wicket gave RCB newfound energy and they kept picking up wickets and UP Warriorz, unable to build any partnerships henceforth, could manage a paltry 143/8.
De Klerk finished with astounding figures of 4-0-22-4, while Harris picked up two wickets as well.
In the chase, Harris and RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana built a match-winning 108-run partnership to ensure their team sealed a spot in the final.
After Harris was dismissed by Shikha Pandey in the 10th over, Mandhana and Georgia Voll added 35 runs for the second wicket to take RCB closer to the target.
After the latter was dismissed by Asha Sobhana in the 13th over, Mandhana took her team over the line with a smashing boundary.
Big Hits
Harris blazed away at a staggering strike rate of 202.7 in her 37-ball innings, setting the tone early by taking on Kranti Gaud in the opening overs before attacking her again in the third, smashing five boundaries.
Harris raced to her fifty off just 28 deliveries by lofting Sobhana over long-on. Dominating in fours, she hammered 13 boundaries and two sixes in the 108-run partnership with Mandhana, who played the perfect foil with a sublime 26-ball half-century.
Mandhana herself batted at a strike rate of 200 during her 27-ball knock.
