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Harris blitz puts RCB straight into WPL final

cricket29 January 2026 17:45| © MWP
By:Antoinette Muller
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Royal Challengers Bengaluru produced a storming performance to book their place in the Women’s Premier League final, thrashing UP Warriorz by eight wickets in Vadodara on Thursday night.

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Set 144 to win their final regular-season match after restricting the Warriorz to 143-8, Grace Harris turned on the style with 75 off 37 balls to break the back of the chase.

Nadine de Klerk had earlier starred with the ball, taking 4-22 in an innings anchored by Deepti Sharma’s 55 off 43.

Harris made the perfect start to the RCB chase, smashing a brace of Kranti Gaud full tosses to the fence.

She went even better in Gaud’s second, plundering five more boundaries to put the log leaders well on top, with the 50 partnership coming off just 25 balls.

It was 63-0 at the end of the powerplay and Harris was flying, belting a six over long-on to reach a 28-ball half-century.

Captain Smriti Mandhana was practically a bystander at the other end, but she went to 26 when she brought up the RCB 100 inside the ninth over.

Harris departed after a job well done when she was bowled by Shikha Pandey.

Mandhana clattered a leg-side six to put RCB within reach before reaching her 50 when she drew the scores level with a single.

Georgia Voll couldn’t finish the job next ball, caught by Simran Shaikh off Asha Sobhana for 16, but Mandhana polished things off with her tenth boundary to finish unbeaten on 54.

SA'S DE KLERK ON FIRE WITH THE BALL

Earlier, opening pair Meg Lanning and Deepti Sharma unfurled a flurry of boundaries to bring up their half-century partnership one ball short of the end of the six-over opening powerplay.

The strategic timeout might have helped to break the rhythm, but 18 came from Arundhati Reddy’s opening over as Lanning began to take charge, depositing the last two balls over the infield on the offside.

Lanning (41 off 30) missed out on an opportunity to go big when she sliced De Klerk straight to deep cover to make it 74-1.

Amy Jones earned a call-up with Phoebe Litchfield ruled out by injury, but the England international lasted just two balls before De Klerk trapped her LBW.

Harleen Deol was next to fall, bowled for a run-a-ball 14 by one that kept low from Grace Harris.

And Harris struck again when she had the experienced Chloe Tryon stumped by Richa Ghosh to leave the Warriorz flagging at 103-4 in the 14th over.

The wickets continued to tumble when a Lauren Bell slower ball flummoxed Shweta Sehrawat, who miscued to Mandhana at cover.

Sharma was keeping the ship steady, reaching her 50 off 40 balls with a clip for a couple over the covers.

But her stay came to an end at the hands of Shreyanka Patil, whose delivery coaxed a clip to leg that De Klerk did well to snaffle.

Sophie Ecclestone went first ball as De Klerk finished in style, before Shaikh became the South African’s fourth victim off the penultimate ball of the innings, holing out to long-on.

It left the Warriorz with too much to do – and bottom of the log ahead of their final game of the season.

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU WOMEN: Grace Harris, Smriti Mandhana (capt), Georgia Voll, Pooja Vastrakar, Richa Ghosh (wk), Radha Yadav, Nadine de Klerk, Sayali Satghare, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Lauren Bell.

UP WARRIORZ WOMEN: Meg Lanning (capt), Simran Shaikh, Amy Jones (wk), Harleen Deol, Chloe Tryon, Deepti Sharma, Shweta Sehrawat, Sophie Ecclestone, Asha Sobhana, Shikha Pandey, Kranti Gaud.

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