🏏WPL 2026: Match 18: RCB W vs UP W at Vadodara on 29/01/26🏏 - Page 8

Grace Harris | Player of the Match: I’m just really glad to be classified as an all-rounder for this game. I was pretty happy when Smriti said, “You’re going to get on next over,” and I thought, yes, I get to bowl today. With the batting, we’ve been working on a few things, and I’m happy I’ve gone back to some older patterns. It seems to be working. I’m feeling a bit more free, not thinking too much, and that’s made a big difference. Mainly my head position, along with a few small technical tweaks. Tactically, it’s about where I can set up to best access certain bowlers. But I can overthink that, so I’ve gone back to being freer. That’s allowed me to access more areas of the ground and not worry too much about the one ball that might get me out. We do go through the tactical side - whether to play from the crease or step out - based on the spinner and the conditions on the day. Right now, I’m trying not to overthink it again, and I think that’s helped. I’m fairly powerful, so I’m lucky to be in a position where I can back my best shot to clear the boundary. I’m just trying to cash in when I can and free myself up.

(batting with Smriti) Yeah, I think when we glove-tap, I’m probably the one using all the oxygen with the talking. She’s very composed, knows her own game, and just lets me say whatever I need to. She helps refocus me for the next ball using my own keywords, gives me a little heads-up on what the bowlers might do and where I could hit it. And after that - well, let’s see what happens.

Match Summary:

Third time lucky!!! RCB had been knocking on the door ever since qualifying for the playoffs, chasing a direct entry into the final. They stumbled twice but have finally broken the jinx and stormed into the final. It was a neat, professional performance this evening, one that fully deserved more than just a place in the final. On this showing, lifting the trophy for a second time would feel perfectly fitting.

CRASH! BANG! WALLOP! It's all over in the blink of an eye. A scintillating batting display from RCB seals the deal in emphatic fashion. Grace Harris brought the power and timing, Smriti Mandhana matched it with elegance and placement, and together they turned the chase into a procession. Every bowler was dominated, and everything on offer was put away with interest.

RCB were in cruise control from the word go, dragging the asking rate below six by the end of the Powerplay. At one stage, it felt less like a live contest and more like a rolling highlight reel of boundaries. This was thorough dominance. With this, Royal Challengers Bengaluru complete a double over UP Warriorz, both victories commanding in nature, winning by 9 wickets in Navi Mumbai with 47 balls to spare and following it up with an 8-wicket win here with 41 balls remaining.

Threw away the start - UP Warriorz will rue a batting collapse that undid all their early good work. For a change, they enjoyed a solid start, cruising to 50 without loss in the Powerplay, with the new opening pair of Meg Lanning and Deepti Sharma putting on 74 for the first wicket. But once Meg departed, it became one-way traffic.

No UP batter showed the resolve to dig in alongside Deepti, and the innings unravelled quickly. Nadine De Klerk was the chief tormentor, striking twice up front and then returning to add two more. She now wears the Purple Cap as the leading wicket-taker of the season with 15 scalps. The surprise act was Grace Harris, bowling for the first time this edition and picking up the key wickets of Harleen Deol and Chloe Tryon.

One finalist has been confirmed, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru now able to put their feet up and watch how the rest of the league stage unfolds. Despite this defeat, UP Warriorz are mathematically alive, but it will take some drastic results for them to progress. With two games left in the league stage, two spots remain up for grabs, and four teams are still in contention. Up next, the Gujarat Giants take on the Mumbai Indians on Friday, 30th January. A win for Gujarat would see them through to the Eliminator, while a Mumbai victory would all but seal their place given their healthy net run rate, though they would have to wait until the last league game for confirmation.

RCB becomes the first team to book it's seat in the finals. Congratulations to Grace Harris for winning the Player of the Match!

Details for today's match--

Mumbai Indians Women vs Gujarat Giants Women, 19th Match

Series: Women's Premier League 2026

Venue: BCA Stadium, Kotambi, Vadodara

Date & Time: Today, 7:30 PM LOCAL

Congratulations RCB for making into the finals. Just one more good day and the title is yours.

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