Navi Mumbai/Patiala, 13 January (Sports desk)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women (RCBW) delivered a dominant performance in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026, defeating UP Warriorz Women (UPW) by 9 wickets in Match 5 on January 12, 2026, at Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai.
Player of the Match: Grace Harris for her explosive innings.
Match Summary
- Toss: RCB won and elected to bowl first.
- UP Warriorz innings: 143/5 in 20 overs.
- UPW started poorly, collapsing to 50/5 early due to tight bowling from RCB.
- Nadine de Klerk (2/28) struck twice in her first two deliveries, removing Kiran Navgire and Shweta Sehrawat.
- Shreyanka Patil (2/50) dismissed captain Meg Lanning (14) and Phoebe Litchfield (20).
- A strong recovery came via an unbeaten 93-run stand for the 6th wicket between Deepti Sharma (45* off 35) and Deandra Dottin (40* off 37), rescuing them from a dire situation
- RCB chase: 145/1 in 12.1 overs (with 47 balls remaining).
- Openers Grace Harris and Smriti Mandhana put on a blistering 137-run partnership.
- Grace Harris smashed a destructive 85 off 40 balls (10 fours, 5 sixes), including a rapid 22-ball fifty and a massive 32-run over against Dottin.
- Smriti Mandhana remained unbeaten on 47 off 32 balls (9 fours), providing stability and finishing strongly.
- The only wicket fell to Shikha Pandey, who dismissed Harris just 7 runs short of the target.
- RCB raced to 78/0 in the powerplay and completed the chase in record time for them in WPL history (by balls remaining).
This was RCB’s second consecutive win in WPL 2026, propelling them to the top of the points table with 4 points and an improved net run rate. UP Warriorz suffered their second straight loss, dropping to the bottom.
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Grace Harris, who previously played for UP Warriorz, turned the game with ruthless power-hitting against her former team. In her post-match comments, she expressed happiness that her batting work was paying off and enjoyed her time with RCB.
Meg Lanning (UPW captain) admitted her side was outplayed, praising RCB’s bowling upfront and noting Harris’s unstoppable form once set.
A comprehensive all-round display from RCB—strong bowling to restrict UPW, followed by aggressive batting—made this a one-sided thrashing!
