Royal Challengers Bengaluru continued their winning start to the Women's Premier League 2026 season with a dominant nine-wicket victory over UP Warriorz. The match, played at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, saw a breathtaking batting display from Grace Harris that sealed the win with nearly eight overs to spare.
Harris Unleashes Power and Precision
Grace Harris walked out to open the batting alongside Smriti Mandhana and immediately stamped her authority on the game. Facing the first ball from Deepti Sharma, Harris drove straight down the ground for a boundary. She continued to find gaps with elegant timing, caressing the ball through point and square leg for more boundaries.
The real carnage came in the sixth over when Harris took on Deandra Dottin, smashing the bowler for 32 runs in a single over. The third six in that over brought up her half-century off just 22 balls. Harris finished with 85 runs from 40 deliveries, a knock filled with both power hitting and exquisite timing.
Mandhana's Serene Support
While Harris dominated the scoring, Smriti Mandhana played the perfect supporting role with a composed 47 from 32 balls. The RCB captain hit nine boundaries in her innings and later expressed her admiration for Harris' performance.
"It was the best seat in the house to watch Grace," Mandhana said after the match. "All I need to do is take a single. Amazing to watch. She can bat in the middle-order as well as she does for Australia. But we all were very clear of how dangerous she can be at the top, and how she can take the game away from the opposition."
Bowlers Set Up the Win
Earlier in the day, RCB's bowlers had done an excellent job restricting UP Warriorz to 143 for 5. Lauren Bell delivered another impressive new ball spell, troubling both Meg Lanning and Harleen Deol with her swing and pace. Bell bowled 13 dot balls in her three powerplay overs and claimed the wicket of Deol.
Shreyanka Patil, returning to WPL action after missing the 2025 season due to injury, showed her wicket-taking ability by removing both Lanning and Phoebe Litchfield in one over. However, she had a mixed night overall, conceding 50 runs as Deepti Sharma and Deandra Dottin led UPW's recovery from 50 for 5 to their final total.
Opening Partnership Proves Lethal
The combination of Mandhana's grace and Harris' power has given RCB an opening pair that other teams will fear throughout the tournament. Harris herself acknowledged the privilege of batting with her captain.
"When Malo bhai told me I will open, I just thought, oh, how good. I get to bat with Smriti," Harris said. "She's so classy and just calm. It's a great reminder when you watch her bat that you don't actually even have to over-hit the ball. She makes batting look so easy, so smooth and technically correct."
With this victory, RCB have now won both their opening matches in WPL 2026. The team's combination of elite match-winners and solid team performances suggests they will be serious contenders for the title this season.
Brief Scores: UP Warriorz 143/5 (Deepti Sharma 45; Nadine de Klerk 2/28, Shreyanka Patil 2/50) lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru 145/1 (Grace Harris 85; Shikha Pandey 1/28) by 9 wickets.
