The Royal Challengers Bengaluru put on a one-sided show in Navi Mumbai in an explosive start in between Grace Harris And Smriti Mandhana sealed a nine-wicket win over UP Warriorz in the Women’s Premier League on Monday. The UP Warriorz were asked to bat first but were rocked early on by RCB’s disciplined bowling, falling to 50 for 5 within nine overs. The innings was saved by a calm and increasingly aggressive partnership between the sixth wickets Deepti Sharma and Deandra Dottin. After initially stabilizing, the pair picked up the pace late on and added 93 runs between them to take UPW to 143 for 5. Deepti finished unbeaten with 45 off 35 balls, hitting five fours and a six, while Dottin supported her with an unbeaten 40 off 37 balls. Nadine de Klerk and Shreyanka Patil took two wickets each while Lauren Bell impressed again with figures of 1 for 16 from four overs.
RCB’s response was brutal. Harris immediately set the tone, taking on Deepti Sharma in the opening game and never letting up. Beside her, Mandhana twisted the stroke gently, punishing anything that was loose. The turning point came in the last over of the Powerplay when Harris bowled Deandra Dottin for 32 runs, an over that included three sixes, four boundaries, a no-ball and a wide. Harris scored a 22-ball fifty as RCB stormed to 78 without loss at the end of six overs, a spell that effectively ended the contest. RCB crossed the 100 mark in just 7.5 overs and were at 121 for no loss at half-time. The 137-run opening stand ended when Harris was caught by Meg Lanning and scored an impressive 85 off 40 balls, including ten fours and five sixes. At this point the goal was almost achieved. Mandhana remained unbeaten on 47 with Richa Ghosh alongside her as RCB completed the chase in 12.1 overs to register their second win in a row while UP Warriorz suffered their second defeat in a row. Brief Scores: UP Warriorz 143/5 in 20 overs, lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru 145/1 in 12.1 overs.
