Royal Challengers Bengaluru stormed into the TATA WPL 2026 final, registering a crushing eight-wicket win over UP Warriorz. Mithali Raj and Mel Jones analysed the RCB chase, which included a 108-run partnership between Smriti Mandhana and Grace Harris, along with the bowlers’ clinical effort.
Mithali Raj hailed Royal Challengers Bengaluru Captain Smriti Mandhana and Grace Harris for their opening stand:
“Smriti Mandhana’s runs are vital for RCB, as are Grace Harris’. Both delivered when those two points mattered most, propelling them straight to the final a week from now. They’ll be thrilled with the bowlers’ all-round effort and the openers’ perfect platform.”
On Smriti and Grace’s partnership:
“They started their opening partnership without rushing to end it early. They took time to settle in. Smriti has the stats but often hasn’t converted 30s and 35s into bigger scores. Grace needed rhythm beyond her prior 85 against UP Warriorz. Their clear intent was to get eyes in, spend time in the middle, and build runs, which they executed perfectly.”
Mel Jones analyzed Grace Harris’ knock:
“Grace Harris is a powerful hitter, but today, her boundaries came from pure timing; drives held back for perfect placement straight down the ground or whipped off the pads. UP Warriorz bowlers erred with short-and-wide lines, exactly what you avoid against her. Crucially, she didn’t overhit early; she cruised at 80% effort, syncing beautifully with Smriti Mandhana’s fluent support to build the bulk of the chase.”
On Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s openers’ fearless aggression against the opposition bowlers: “The impressive part was facing Sophie Ecclestone and Deepti Sharma, usually brought on for wickets, making most teams cautious. Not these two: they book-ended boundaries off their very first balls.”
