Royal Challengers Bengaluru registered their second consecutive win of WPL 2026 as they brushed aside UP Warriors by nine wickets at DY Patil Stadium on Monday evening.
Smriti Mandhana won the toss and elected to field. UP Warriors lost a flurry of wickets at the top, but a damage-control act by Deepti Sharma and Deandra Dottin helped them reach a respectable 143/5 in 20 overs. In reply, Grace Harris tore into the UPW bowlers alongside her captain, as RCB completed the chase with 47 balls to spare.
The DY Patil crowd was not large, given it was a Monday evening fixture, but those who turned up were thoroughly entertained by Harris’ breathtaking assault. She took UPW apart, smashing Dottin for 32 runs in a single over, and raced to her half-century off just 22 balls.
Mandhana, at the other end, played her own strokes when she had the strike, timing the ball crisply through the off side, but it was Harris’ raw power that took centrestage as RCB cruised along. At times, it felt as if the duo were batting on a different surface altogether.
By the time UPW managed to dismiss Harris, RCB were 137 for 1 in 11.4 overs. With just seven runs required, Richa Ghosh was promoted up the order. She struck the first ball to the boundary and defended the next, giving Mandhana, on 47 not out at the other end, a chance to reach her half-century. However, Mandhana missed a sweep off Deepti in the following over, as did wicketkeeper Shweta Sehrawat, and the ball raced away to the boundary. Mandhana remained unbeaten on 47 off 32 deliveries.
Earlier, UPW tried a new opening combination, with Harleen Deol walking out alongside Meg Lanning. The move made little difference as Lauren Bell continued in the same rhythm she had displayed against Mumbai Indians in the season opener, incidentally on the same pitch. Bell removed Harleen in the fifth over, with UPW on 21.
Phoebe Litchfield followed, playing a few attractive strokes, including a switch-hit six, before failing to control a short ball and being caught at mid-on off Shreyanka Patil. In the same over, Shreyanka dismissed Lanning for the third time in WPL. The slide continued in the next over when Mandhana introduced Nadine de Klerk, who removed Kiran Navgire and Sehrawat off consecutive deliveries, reducing UPW to 50/5 in 8.2 overs.
From there, Dottin and Deepti mixed caution with aggression, adding 93 runs off 70 balls to take UPW to a competitive total. Deepti finished unbeaten on 45 off 35 balls, while Dottin remained not out on 40 off 37.
UPW have lost both their matches and will face Delhi Capitals on January 14, while RCB, buoyed by back-to-back wins, will take on Gujarat Giants on January 16. Whether UPW can mount a comeback and whether RCB can continue building on this momentum remains to be seen. For now, RCB sit atop the table with four points and a net run rate of +1.964.
