Royal Challengers Bengaluru openers Grace Harris and Smriti Mandhana stood tall with the bat against UP Warriorz in Match 18 of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 season. Chasing a target of 144 runs, Grace Harris and Mandhana hammered fifties to power RCB. Notably, RCB won the contest by 8 wickets in just 13.1 overs. Grace Harris shone with 75 runs. Mandhana scored an unbeaten 54.
Grace Harris scored an explosive 37-ball 75. Her knock had 13 fours and 2 sixes. Playing her 30th WPL match, Grace Harris has raced to 809 runs at 31.11. She hit her 5th fifty. Former UPW batter Grace Harris was bought by RCB in the WPL 2026 auction. In the 2026 season, she has 228 runs at 28.50. She hit her 2nd fifty.
Mandhana’s unbeaten knock of 54 had 8 fours and 2 sixes. She consumed 27 balls and struck at 200. In 34 WPL matches, Mandhana now owns 936 runs at 29.25. She has hit six fifties. Mandhana owns 290 runs from 8 WPL matches this season at 48.33. She registered her 2nd fifty. As per ESPNcricinfo, she has 208 runs versus UPW (50s: 2).
Grace Harris and Mandhana registered their 2nd century-plus stand of the season against UPW. Notably, this was RCB’s 2nd century-plus stand against UPW overall in the WPL. RCB Women posted their sixth century-plus stand in WPL (any wicket), as per ESPNcricinfo. It’s also their 4th century-plus stand for the opening wicket in the tournament.
RCB sealed their spot in the final of WPL 2026 with this win over UPW. Earlier, Nadine de Klerk claimed a solid four-fer for RCB. She picked 4/22 from her 4 overs to hurt UPW.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report : It’s pitch number 7 and it’s a surface that RCB knows very well. They haven’t won any game here yet, but pitch number 7 is where they got just over 100 against the Delhi Capitals as a team. Things change though. Against the Mumbai Indians, that epic Nat Sciver-Brunt 100 right here, where Mumbai nearly posted 200. I think because the wicket is pretty hard. There’s a little bit of grass in the crack.
Having said that, it’s still a good wicket to bat. What we’ve picked up is that pace off deliveries is a go-to option for the faster bowlers, especially towards the end of the innings. Nearly 40% of pace off deliveries. We’re seeing more wickets fall to it and therefore, is that going to be the order of the day for the bowlers? We’ve seen that a lot of fast bowlers have used back of the line and pace off deliveries, but the length becomes very important. If it is more fuller, then there is a possibility of wickets.
We’ve seen how effective that has been where the batters have to really dig deep to get that elevation going for big shots. If you ball anything a little shorter, then they get time enough to play the scoops and reverse sweeps, which we have seen that has gone for boundaries, reckons Mithali Raj, in her pitch report.
Toss : RCB-Women skipper Smriti Mandhana won the toss and chose to bowl with one change in the Playing XI bringing in Pooja Vastrakar for Gautami Naik. UP-Warriorz skipper Meg Lanning batting first made two changes in the Playing XI bringing in Simran Shaikh and Amy Jones for Phoebe Litchfield and Kiran Navgire.
Nadine De-Klerks 4-fer restricts UP Warriorz to 143 for 8 in 20 overs after a solid start
The contest wasn’t always as one-sided. After being put in to bat, by the end of the 8th over of Warriorz’s innings, it seemed all was flowing smoothly. It was the first time they had managed to go past the PowerPlay without losing a wicket, and the new combination at the top – of Meg Lanning and Deepti Sharma – were just starting to cut loose.
Lanning had played her part of keeping the damage at bay against Lauren Bell’s swinging deliveries. Even as she was slow to get going against the pacer, she picked up her gear from the other end. After cutting Sayali Sathghare for a boundary through boundary in the second over, and sweeping Shreyanka Patil with similar effect in the fourth, she took apart Satghare and Arundhati Reddy after the PowerPlay.Kiran Navgire’s lack of runs forced a change for UPW at the top. Lanning and Deepti delivered a half-century stand and the first wicketless powerplay against RCB in WPL 2026. The first three overs brought just 12 runs, but the last three went for 38 with UPW 50 for 0 after the powerplay.Deepti played the enforcer’s role by following a four off Shreyanka Patil with a four and a six against Lauren Bell. Lanning then dished out the same to Sayali Satghare, and suddenly UPW attacked from both ends. Lanning only raised the bar by hitting Arundhati Reddy for three fours in four balls as UPW’s run rate zoomed past 9.50.
All this while, Deepti, who was playing the second fiddle, chose a different mode of attack, going after Bell – the best bowler in the tournament – in her third over. A six and a boundary helped UPW’s cause as they cantered to a strong start 74 for no loss in eight overs. The stage was set for a flourish, but it all came undone in the ninth over, with Nadine de Klerk striking twice in her first over. Radha Yadav, running in from deep cover, took a fine catch to dismiss Lanning, and Amy Jones – playing her maiden WPL game – was trapped leg-before, with the review coming to no aid.De Klerk can do little wrong these days. She struck first ball when Lanning holed out to sweeper cover at the start of the ninth over. Four balls later, Amy Jones, Litchfield’s injury replacement, couldn’t pick the one that came back in and was trapped lbw. That was enough to derail UPW’s best start of the season. The next six overs just brought 32 runs for the loss of four wickets; Deepti faced only 11 balls for 11 runs in this phase. She did manage to hit Harris for two overs in the 16th but UPW had only made 72 for 4 in the middle overs.It was the start of a collapse. Three overs later, a flighted delivery from Grace Harris stayed low and cleaned up Harleen Deol for a run-a-ball 14. As the wickets continued to tumble, even the scoring rate saw no real progress. The desperation started to show. It began with Tryon getting stumped while attempting to go down the track against Grace Harris. Soon enough, Shweta Sehrawat went chasing after a wide delivery from Bell in her return spell. The lack of pace on the ball resulted in the batter skying it to the extra cover fielder instead.
Deepti, who was a witness to the collapse from the other end, raised a 40-ball half-century, but could do little to help the side accelerate in the death overs, and eventually departed on the final ball.Deepti completed her fourth WPL half-century in 40 balls but her innings and the first eight overs remained the only high points of the UPW innings. De Klerk struck twice in her last over, too. That meant UPW could manage just 21 for 4 at the death to end on a total much lower than they looked on course for. By virtue of her 4 for 22, de Klerk equalled Sophie Devine’s tally of 15 wickets, the most this season and the most for an RCB bowler in a WPL edition.
Grace Harris powerful 75 and Smriti Mandhana’s unbeaten 54* powers RCB Women to WPL Finals with a thumping 8 wickets win over UP Warriorz
Chasing 144 for victory, RCB were in command throughout the chase. The dominance had started from the first over itself, with Grace Harris putting away a delivery on her legs for boundary, and then flicking another through mid wicket two balls later. It was the kinder of her assaults against Kranti Gaud. In the pacer’s next over, Grace Harris carted her for five boundaries, and then slammed Deepti Sharma for a six over long on. By the end of the PowerPlay, RCB had cruised to 63, breaking little sweat in the process.Kranti Gaud bowled four dot balls in her first two overs. Considering she bowls with the field restrictions on, that is not a bad picture. But seven of the other eight balls were boundary balls, with Harris tearing into her erring lines. She hit five fours in the third over and that really set the tone for the onslaught. Gaud went for 29 off her two overs and did not bowl for the rest of the evening. Shikha Pandey did get rid of Grace Harris with a swinging length ball, but it was too late for UPW’s liking.
Grace Harris brought up her half-century right after the PowerPlay, muscling S Asha over long on for a six. The carnage was relentless and the spin duo of Asha and Deepti bore the brunt of the flat track and Grace Harris’ free-flowing attack. By the time she departed, cleaned up by Shikha Pandey in the first ball of the 10th over, RCB had wiped out 108 runs from the chase – and the result was a mere formality.
Just before she fell, her opening partner Smriti Mandhana who was playing the second fiddle in the partnership till then, had also started to cut loose. Against Chloe Tryon in the previous over, Mandhana had punched, swept and cut the spinner for three successive boundaries. As RCB charged towards the target after Grace Harris’s departure, the southpaw launched a couple of sixes and brought up her half-century. Georgia Voll departed with one run needed, but Mandhana helped her side over the line by slog-sweeping Deepti for a boundary in the 14th over.
Mandhana had the best seat in the house at the non-striker’s end. But she was not a mere bystander in RCB’s chase. She showed her first sign of intent by lofting Sophie Ecclestone over mid-on before hitting Chloe Tryon’s left-arm spin for three fours in a row in the ninth over. She completed a fifty at a quicker pace than Grace Harris – off 26 balls. It sealed RCB’s dominant league stage, the one where they lost just two matches out of eight. That earned them a week’s break before the final next Thursday.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Meg Lanning the losing UP Warriorz skipper said : Yeah, obviously really disappointing. We got ourselves onto a reasonable platform with the bat but just couldn’t carry on. It’s probably been a bit of a theme throughout the tournament – we get some momentum and then lose wickets at crucial times, often in clumps. That’s not ideal in T20 cricket. And then with the ball, we never really got going. Grace was outstanding again; she put away anything we missed and finished it off beautifully.
So credit to her and to RCB – unfortunately, we just didn’t put our best foot forward tonight. As I mentioned, every time we’ve had some momentum with the bat, we’ve given our wickets away and made it a little bit too easy for the opposition. They’ve capitalised really well. In T20 cricket, when batters get in and get going, you need to maximise that.
We’ve probably underdone that – myself included. I got to 40, which is a good start, but you need to keep going. That’s been a theme across the whole tournament and it’s something we need to improve. Yeah, they both (Harris and Smriti) batted extremely well. They played the conditions nicely and punished us whenever we were slightly off.
As I said, they were just too good tonight. We couldn’t find an answer, no matter how hard we tried, and sometimes that’s the way it goes. (was the break too long) I don’t really think so. It is what it is. We had time to recover and train before coming into this game, so there are no excuses. I don’t think it played a major role. RCB outplayed us tonight, and we just weren’t good enough.
Smriti Mandhana the winning RCB Women skipper said : It was brilliant. They started really well with the bat – almost 60-70 without loss – and from there the bowlers made a strong comeback. A special mention to Grace, coming in to bowl for the first time in the tournament and picking up two crucial wickets.
Nadine bowled really well again, and honestly, everyone just chipped in and bowled extremely well. When the team bowls like that, it’s a very pleasing sight to watch. Over the last two games, we’ve just told ourselves not to think emotionally or dig a hole for ourselves. We’ve played really good cricket in the first five matches. In tournaments like this, sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition as well – like Nat (Sciver-Brunt) playing a blinder in the previous game.
So we reviewed things practically, focused on what we could do better, and worked on that. Honestly, the message was exactly the same as the last few matches – we kept saying we’re just one win away from the final, and nothing changed. The support staff have been very consistent in their messaging, whether we win or lose, and that consistency really helps us as players.
For the last three matches, it was always about being one win away, and I’m just happy that today we could get that win and go straight into the final. (they can relax before the final next week) Yeah, for sure. The first three or four days, everyone can do what they feel like doing – switch off a bit. Then we’ll come back, train really hard for the final, and be ready. Definitely looking forward to the break.
Grace Harris Player of the Match for her all round performance 2-wickets and 75 runs said : I’m just really glad to be classified as an all-rounder for this game. I was pretty happy when Smriti said, “You’re going to get on next over,” and I thought, yes, I get to bowl today. With the batting, we’ve been working on a few things, and I’m happy I’ve gone back to some older patterns. It seems to be working. I’m feeling a bit more free, not thinking too much, and that’s made a big difference.
Mainly my head position, along with a few small technical tweaks. Tactically, it’s about where I can set up to best access certain bowlers. But I can overthink that, so I’ve gone back to being freer. That’s allowed me to access more areas of the ground and not worry too much about the one ball that might get me out. We do go through the tactical side – whether to play from the crease or step out – based on the spinner and the conditions on the day.
Right now, I’m trying not to overthink it again, and I think that’s helped. I’m fairly powerful, so I’m lucky to be in a position where I can back my best shot to clear the boundary. I’m just trying to cash in when I can and free myself up. (batting with Smriti) Yeah, I think when we glove-tap, I’m probably the one using all the oxygen with the talking.
She’s very composed, knows her own game, and just lets me say whatever I need to. She helps refocus me for the next ball using my own keywords, gives me a little heads-up on what the bowlers might do and where I could hit it. And after that – well, let’s see what happens.
Grace Harris’s all-round show on Thursday powered Royal Challengers Bengaluru into the final of Women’s Premier League 2026. Grace Harris blazed away to a 37-ball 75 – after returning figures of 2 for 22 – as RCB secured a comfortable eight-wicket win over UP Warriorz in Vadodara, their sixth win of the season.
A picture of contrasts – that is what Grace Harris’ turbo-charged knock provided in Vadodara as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) sealed their spot in the final of WPL 2026. For most of the UP Warriorz (UPW) innings, conditions looked a little tough for batting. Barring openers Meg Lanning and Deepti Sharma, none of their batters could go at a strike rate in excess of 100. But Grace Harris’ 28-ball fifty en route to a 37-ball 75 ended UPW’s campaign by dealing them their fifth defeat in seven outings.
Deepti had scored a fifty after opening the innings for the first time in the WPL. But Nadine de Klerk’s four-wicket haul, coupled with Grace Harris’ two, limited UPW to 143 for 8 after they were sent in. Against the batting might of RCB, bolstered with the return of Pooja Vastrakar for the first time since the T20 World Cup 2024, that was never going to be enough.
It was almost a carbon copy of the previous meeting between these two sides. Chasing 144, RCB got the job done with ease once again – this time in 13.1 overs, having chased it down in 12.1 overs earlier in the season. Grace Harris set the tone just as she did before. After smashing 85 in that game, she followed it up with a fluent 75 today, launching a fierce assault on Kranti Gaud, whom she dispatched for seven fours across her first two overs. Smriti played the supporting role early on as Grace Harris raced to her half-century, before the pair added 108 for the opening wicket to put RCB firmly in control.
Once Grace Harris departed, Smriti shifted gears, bringing up her second fifty of the season and finishing things off in style by scoring the winning runs. In the earlier meeting, it was Smriti’s unbeaten 47; today, she improved on that with a commanding 54 not out. UP Warriorz were well short of a par total, and their powerplay bowling left a lot to be desired. Their campaign now hangs by a thread, while RCB, with another dominant performance, have officially booked their place in the final.
RCB are done with the league stage and become the first team to book their place in the final. They now have a full week to prepare for the big one. The remaining two spots are still up for grabs, and we should get a much clearer picture tomorrow when Gujarat Giants take on Mumbai Indians.
For all practical purposes, the result of the contest has ended the campaign for UP Warriorz. Lanning, who had captained her side to three successive finals in the first three seasons of the tournament, might in all likelihood now have to be a wooden spoon holder – with Warriorz likely to end their second successive season at the bottom of the table.
