The DY Patil Stadium witnessed a cricketing masterclass on Monday night Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Women dismantled UP Warriors (UPW) in his fifth match WPL 2026. After a brutal innings in a clinical display of disciplined bowling, RCB chased down the target of 144 in just 12.1 overs, sending a clear message to the rest of the league. The victory came from an explosive partnership between Grace Harris and captain Smriti MandhanaBengaluru saw the franchise leap to the top of the table.
Disciplined RCB bowling stifles UP Warriors after middle innings
RCB’s attack, which won the toss and opted for the trophy, immediately justified the decision. Lauren Bell to set the tone early, to eliminate Harleen Deol (11) in the fifth place. However, the real devastation came during the nightmare between the 7th and 9th overs for the Warriors. Shreyanka Patil fired the legendary and turned the game on its head Meg Lanning (14) and dangerous Phoebe Litchfield (20) in rapid succession.
The middle order of the Warriors crumbled like a house of cards. Nadine de Klerk and joined the party Kiran Navgire and Shweta Sehrawat in successive deliveries, leaving UPW in a disastrous position at 50/5 at 8.2. For a moment it looked like the match might end prematurely.
a kind of recovery was staged by Deepti Sharma (45* discount 35) and Deandra Dottin (40* off 37), who put together an unbeaten 93-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Despite his serious efforts to drag the bill 143/5, RCB bowlers remained economical. Patil finished with outstanding figures of 2/50 Arundhati Reddy smothered the scoring ratio with a total of 4.50 economy.
Grace Harris & Smriti Mandhana Defeat UP Warriors As RCB Secure 9-wicket Victory
While the first half was about RCB’s discipline, the second half was about pure, unadulterated power. Opening stroke, Grace Harris she looked like a mad woman. From the very first ball of the chase, he dismantled the UPW bowling attack with surgical precision. Harris reached his half-century off just 22 balls and eventually finished with a an amazing 85 off 40 deliveriesDecorated with 10 boundaries and 5 towering sixes.
At the other end, Smriti Mandhana played the perfect foil, shutting down the chase with his trademark slick drives and classy shots. The duo took the team’s 100 to just 7.5, effectively ending the race before the strategic timeout. Mandhana remained unbeaten on 47 off 32 balls and ensured there were no late hiccups.
The only blemish for RCB was the late dismissal of Harris in the 12th over, but by then the damage was irreversible. Richa Ghosh went into bat and RCB sealed the win with 47 balls to spare. This 9-wicket win not only gives RCB two points but also boosts their Net Run Rate significantly and sets them up as the team to beat in the 2026 season.
Here’s how the fans reacted:
Player of the match: Grace Harris#cricket #RCBvUPW #WPL2026 pic.twitter.com/MSpX8Jp1tM
— WomenCricket.com (@WomenCricketHQ) January 12, 2026
🚨GRACE HARRIS WON THE PLAYER OF THE MATCH AWARD 🚨
– Grace Harris hits a breathtaking 85 off 40 balls, 5 sixes and 10 fours in 212 overs. Absolutely incredible and unreal performance! 👏🔥 #WPL26 pic.twitter.com/KXkVXQ49NK
— MD Raju 🇮🇳 (@MDRaju_Live) January 12, 2026
A standing ovation for Grace Harris
She deserves it man!!
Thanks to him we won the match very early, if he comes out early we will win this match after 15 or 16. #WPL26 #Tatawpl pic.twitter.com/w4wLD41Uoa— ViratUniverse👑🚩 (@DipanshuV19) January 12, 2026
We have Grace Harris ♥️
Some people were literally crying for Perry
You need more such batters in T20 Cricket
I have said this before and will say you need a T20 style player to succeed in the T20 format https://t.co/vbwK93PIgI pic.twitter.com/soglUXY59n
— CricShyr (@cricshyr) January 12, 2026
85 Running || 40 Cannon || 10 Four || 05 Six || 212.5 Strike Rate ||
Grace Harris bowled with a bang in her second game for RCB! ❤️🥵 pic.twitter.com/fepTQGaa2N
— Pratika’s Poetry (@RRoyal_Reaper) January 12, 2026
A standing ovation for Grace Harris 👏 pic.twitter.com/SKSXRnw9Ao
— RCBIANS OFFICIAL (@RcbianOfficial) January 12, 2026
🚨 Richa Ghosh hit the winning boundary but soon realized she was just three runs away from Smriti Mandhana’s fifty. Smriti laughed seeing Richa’s reaction. 😂 pic.twitter.com/JrZxYkwfSG
— MuFFatLal Bohra (@arshdeep3444) January 12, 2026
– RCB beat MI by 4 wickets.
– RCB beat UP Warriorz by 9 wickets.2 IN 2 WINS FOR CAPTAIN SMRITI MANDHANA & CO.. !!!! 🔥♥️
— Tanuj (@ImTanujSingh) January 12, 2026
🚨 RCB Women thrash UP Warriorz by 9 wickets in 12.1 overs! Grace Harris 85, Smriti Mandhana 47. WPL2026 alert! 🔥💥 pic.twitter.com/WhaAd6wCdo
— Kanak Kumari (@KanakKu64995524) January 12, 2026
“I love my time with RCB”
~ Grace Harris pic.twitter.com/S9B9YVdVKm— 𝐃𝐈𝐏𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐔 (@IAm_Diptanu) January 12, 2026
Also WATCH: Nandini Sharma takes a sensational hat-trick in WPL 2026
This article was originally published here WomenCricket.coma Cricket Times company.
