Grace Harris picked the perfect night to remind everyone what she’s capable of.
After a quiet few games, the Australian all-rounder exploded back into form on Thursday as Royal Challengers Bengaluru crushed UP Warriorz, sealing their place in the WPL final with an eight-wicket win.
Chasing a modest 144, RCB barely broke a sweat, storming home in 13.1 overs with 41 balls to spare. At the heart of it all was Harris, who played the innings that defined the match: a blistering 75 off 37 balls.
In the chase, it was go-time from the get-go for the Australian, who cracked a couple of boundaries in the opening over and never looked back. Kranti Gaud bore the brunt early, with Harris dispatching her for seven fours across her first two overs.
By the time
the powerplay ended, UPW were already chasing shadows.
Smriti Mandhana was happy to play the supporting role initially, rotating strike as Harris tore into the bowling. The pair stitched together 108 for the opening wicket, one of the highest partnerships in RCB-W history, and effectively killed the chase before it could even begin.
Harris brought up her fifty off just 28 balls, lofting Asha Sobhana over long-on, and finished her 75-run outing with 13 fours and two sixes.
Harris’ season numbers tell the story. Against UPW, she’s been unstoppable — 160 runs at a strike rate of 207.8. Against the rest? A still-solid but far tamer 68 at 138.98.
UPW, quite simply, bring out her most destructive version.
Even when Harris was eventually bowled by Shikha Pandey, misreading a cross-seam delivery, the damage was long done. Only 36 were needed with more than ten overs left. Mandhana then shifted gears, cruising to an unbeaten 54 and finishing the job in style.
Earlier, Harris had already made her presence felt with the ball, picking up 2/22, while Nadine de Klerk’s superb 4/22 ensured UPW were restricted to a below-par 143 despite a fast start.
The win, RCB’s third-biggest chase by balls remaining, took them to 12 points, confirmed a top-of-the-table finish and sealed them a spot in the WPL final.
(with agency inputs)
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