Grace Harris stars in their 8-wicket win over UPW
Vadodara: Former champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru hammered UP Warriorz by eight wickets to enter the WPL final and virtually knock the opposition out of the playoff race here on Thursday.
Nadine de Klerk’s superb 4/22 and Grace Harris’ 2/22 powered a spirited RCB comeback with the ball as UP Warriorz squandered a blazing start to settle for a below-par 143 for eight after Smriti Mandhana opted to field.
Harris then turned on the heat with the bat, smashing a blistering 75 off 37 balls as RCB stormed home with 41 balls to spare.
The comprehensive win took RCB to 12 points, sealing their place in the final and helping them finish atop the five-team standings.
For UP Warriorz, the defeat left their campaign hanging by a thread, with the side languishing at the bottom with four points and the worst net run-rate despite a game in hand.
Harris dominated the chase from the outset, targeting Kranti Gaud in the powerplay and repeatedly finding the fence to put RCB firmly in control. She raced to her half-century in just 28 balls, lifting Asha Sobhana over long-on, and kept the scoreboard ticking almost entirely through boundaries. Mandhana played the perfect foil, striking a fluent 26-ball fifty as the pair added a commanding 108-run stand that ended the contest well before the finish.
Although Harris was eventually bowled by Shikha Pandey, the result was beyond doubt with only 36 runs required and more than 10 overs remaining.
Earlier, UP Warriorz began brightly through Deepti Sharma and Meg Lanning, whose 72-run opening stand gave the innings early momentum. Deepti top-scored with a composed 55, but the middle overs proved costly as RCB’s bowlers tightened the screws. De Klerk sparked the collapse by removing Lanning and Amy Jones, before Harris struck twice to dismiss Harleen Deol and Chloe Tryon, ensuring UPW never recovered from the slide.
