Georgia Voll played massive innings of 92* off 56 balls (PC: WPL)
In an International Women’s Day special, UP Warriorz, donning a pink jersey for the occasion, secured a close victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore, ending their playoff hopes as well. In a high-octane game where both teams scored over 200 runs, UPW clinched the match by 12 runs, driven by Georgia Voll’s unbeaten 92 and Sophie Ecclestone’s three-fer.
In their final game of the season, UPW was once again put in to bat first in front of their home crowd. The new opening pair of Grace Harris and Georgia Voll took the crease together and immediately went after the RCB bowlers. They made full use of the fielding restrictions in the powerplay, taking the bowlers to the cleaners with ease. The duo put up this season’s then highest powerplay total—67 in 36 balls—both scoring at a strike rate of over 175.
However, just 10 runs later, a miscommunication between the two, aided by smart fielding from captain Smriti Mandhana, led to Harris getting run out. Nevertheless, UPW continued their onslaught, with Voll now joined by Kiran Navgire, who took the heat up another notch. Voll raced to her second consecutive fifty in just 31 balls. Navgire, on the other hand, lit up the stadium with her fearless strokeplay, scoring at a strike rate of 280 after ten balls.
She lost her wicket attempting to smash another ball out of the ground—just as she had done with five others during her explosive 16-ball stay. Navgire scored 46 before holing out to Ellyse Perry, who came in from long-off. Chinelle Henry and Sophie Ecclestone played cameo innings as UPW finished with the highest-ever total in WPL history, setting a daunting target of 226 for RCB.
On the flip side, Voll was denied the first-ever century in WPL history by just a single run following last-ball drama. She remained unbeaten on 99 off 56 balls. Fine margins!
With a mammoth score to chase, RCB had to come out all guns blazing—and they did, scoring 70+ runs in the powerplay. However, their chase was hampered by the continuous fall of wickets at regular intervals.
Wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh, though, had other ideas. She played a sublime innings, fighting a lone battle. The Indian batter truly came of age as she helped RCB recover from what could have ended in an embarrassingly massive defeat. Georgia Wareham, on the other end, held the fort, preventing UPW from strangling RCB out of the tournament too easily.
But RCB’s task became even tougher when Richa Ghosh, in an attempt to keep the required run rate in check, holed out to deep midwicket—putting an end to any last hopes of defending their title. She scored a brilliant 69 off 33 balls, including five sixes. However, Sneh Rana’s explosive 26 off just six balls almost turned the tide in RCB’s favour before UPW recollected themselves and bowled them out for 213.
With this loss, RCB succumbed to their fifth consecutive defeat.