The Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 delivered another loud reminder of why it has become such compulsive viewing. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Women didn’t just win, they made a statement, storming to a nine-wicket triumph over UP Warriorz in the fifth match of WPL 2026. A clinical chase, a furious assault from Grace Harris, and a poised finish from Smriti Mandhana punctuated a night that belonged entirely to RCB.
Before the carnage unfolded, UP Warriorz dealt early setbacks after electing to bat. Meg Lanning and Harleen Deol tried to set a foundation, but RCB’s bowlers hit the deck hard right from the opening overs. Lanning, usually the calm axis in any lineup, struggled to break free against Lauren Bell, and eventually edged out for 14 off 21, caught by Yadav off Shreyanka Patil’s first spell, leaving UPW searching for fluency.
Harleen Deol (11 off 14) followed soon after, top-edging a short ball to Mandhana, giving Lauren Bell her breakthrough and reducing the Warriorz to 21/1 inside five overs. With wickets falling steadily and momentum slipping, the responsibility shifted to Phoebe Litchfield, who counterattacked brilliantly. Her crisp strokeplay, three boundaries and clean running pushed UP to 39/2 before Patil struck again, removing Litchfield for 20 off just 11 balls.
At 39/3, the innings needed glue, and Deandra Dottin and Deepti Sharma provided just that. Deepti played the anchor, absorbing pressure and accumulating calmly. She composed 45 not out from 35 balls, with five fours, and became the spine of the innings. Alongside her, Dottin accelerated late, striking 40 not out from 37 balls, including three boundaries and a six, lifting from early trouble towards a par score.
Yet wickets didn’t stop tumbling, Kiran Navgire (5) and Shweta Sehrawat (0) were removed in quick succession as Nadine de Klerk and Patil tightened their grip. Patil finished as RCB’s most impactful bowler with 2/50, while Bell and de Klerk chipped in with 1/16 and 1/28, ensuring UP Warriorz were restricted to 143/5 from 20 overs, a total that felt competitive, but not intimidating.
The chase began with fireworks that lit up every corner of Navi Mumbai. Grace Harris, opening the innings for RCB, immediately turned the chase into a sprint rather than a marathon. In a thrilling display of power hitting, Harris smashed 85 off just 40 balls, peppered with 10 fours and five monstrous sixes, striking at an eye-popping 212.50. Her partnership with Smriti Mandhana ballooned into a match-winning stand of 137 for the first wicket, built on aggressive stroke play and excellent strike rotation.
UPW’s bowlers looked helpless against the onslaught. Shikha Pandey finally offered relief, removing Harris in the 12th over, but by then, RCB required just seven more to win. Mandhana (47* off 32 balls), balancing elegance with authority, finished the chase with three boundaries and nine fours in total. Richa Ghosh joined her to seal victory with an unbeaten 4 off 2, wrapping up the match in 12.1 overs at 11.91 RPO, ending at 145/1.
UP Warriorz never managed to exert sustained pressure with the ball, despite Shikha Pandey’s 1/28 from three overs and tidy overs from Deepti Sharma (0/25). The rest travelled, with Dottin conceding 32 in her single over and Ecclestone unable to break through.
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