Grace Harris’ blistering 85 off 40 balls powered Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a commanding nine-wicket win over UP Warriorz in their Women’s Premier League clash on Monday, as the former champions surged to the top of the points table.
Chasing 144, RCB made a mockery of the target, racing home in just 12.1 overs to register their second straight victory and significantly boost their net run rate.
Sent in earlier, UP Warriorz showed resilience after a dramatic collapse, with senior all-rounders Deandra Dottin and Deepti Sharma stitching together a vital unbroken stand to lift their side to a competitive 143 for 5.
Turning Points
UP Warriorz began steadily, reaching 36 for 1 in the powerplay with Lauren Bell bowling a tight opening spell that kept the scoring
in check and removed Harleen Deol for 11 off 14 balls. The momentum shifted sharply once Shreyanka Patil was introduced late in the powerplay.
Meg Lanning survived an early scare when she edged Shreyanka to Arundhati Reddy, only for replays to show the ball had touched the turf. Phoebe Litchfield then injected urgency with consecutive boundaries and a daring switch-hit six over deep cover.
However, Shreyanka struck back decisively in the same over, dismissing both Lanning (14) and Litchfield (20). Litchfield, who had raced to 20 off just nine balls, miscued a big shot and was caught by Smriti Mandhana at mid-on.
The collapse deepened soon after as Nadine de Klerk produced a double-strike over, removing Kiran Navgire for 5 and Shweta Sehrawat for a duck. In the space of eight balls, UPW slid from 36 for 1 to 50 for 5 by the ninth over, staring at a below-par total.
From that precarious position, Dottin and Deepti took control. The experienced pair rebuilt patiently before accelerating late, adding an unbeaten 93 runs from 72 balls. Deepti anchored the innings with a composed 45 not out from 35 balls, striking five fours and a six, while Dottin chipped in with a fluent 40 not out off 37 deliveries.
The recovery gathered pace in the death overs. Dottin took on Shreyanka in the 15th, finding a boundary and a six, while Deepti launched Nadine de Klerk straight down the ground for six in the penultimate over. The final over yielded 15 runs as Deepti struck two fours and Dottin added another boundary, giving UPW something to defend.
Big Hits
Any hope of a contest evaporated once Grace Harris walked out to chase. The Australian all-rounder set the tone immediately with a ferocious powerplay assault that left UP Warriorz shell-shocked.
Harris demolished Deandra Dottin for 32 runs in a single over, effectively deciding the match within minutes. The barrage included a no-ball four, three towering sixes and two more boundaries, with Harris repeatedly clearing mid-wicket and mid-on with ease.
She brought up the fastest fifty of the season in just 22 balls and continued the onslaught against leg-spinner Asha Sobhana, smashing 17 runs in an over as RCB surged to 100 in only 7.5 overs — the second-fastest team hundred in WPL history. One wide full delivery disappeared through the leg-side fence, followed by a colossal 86-metre six over deep midwicket, her fourth maximum of the innings.
At the other end, Mandhana provided the perfect foil. Calm and elegant, the RCB captain remained unbeaten on 47 from 32 balls, finding the boundary nine times as the pair added a match-winning 137-run stand.
Harris eventually fell for a breathtaking 85, having struck 10 fours and five sixes, but the result was beyond doubt. Mandhana then completed the formalities alongside Richa Ghosh, sealing a comprehensive nine-wicket victory with more than seven overs to spare.
