Grace Harris sizzles in RCB's statement win

Grace Harris' destructive 85 helped RCB make it two in two with a convincing nine-wicket win over UP Wariorz to climb back onto the top of the points table. Harris shared a 69-ball 137-run stand with Smriti Mandhana (47*) - 78 of which came in the PowerPlay alone - to kill the chase after UPW suffered a top-order collapse to post only a humble 143.

Warriorz came out with a new batting partner for Meg Lanning in Harleen Deol, but the experiment failed to get the desired result. Harleen fetched a couple of boundaries, but it wasn't until Phoebe Litchfield's arrival - in the final over of the PowerPlay - that the team showcased the intent needed. UPW were in for more blows, though.

Lanning got an early reprieve when the replays found the low catch Arundhati Reddy claimed, off Shreyanka Patil, to have kissed the ground. But the offspinner's following over brought wickets at either end. Lanning sent another low catch to Radha Yadav who held on to a sharp one running in from deep midwicket. Litchfield counter-attacked with a reverse sweep for six before swatting the last ball of the over straight to Smriti Mandhana at mid-on.

Nadine de Klerk then got two in two balls to dent UPW further. Kiran Navgire, who opened her account with a boundary, went for an ill-advised heave with the team reeling at 50/3 and found deep midwicket. Shweta Sehrawat was then lured into a drive with a full and wide delivery, and sliced a catch straight to backward point. RCB bowled out Bell by the halfway mark, her 1/16 restricting UPW to just 56/5.

For the next 27 deliveries, Warriorz collected only 25 runs before Deandra Dottin broke the shackles with a four and a six off Patil. The fifty partnership was up in 46 deliveries, setting them up for a death-overs flourish. They collected 43 in the last-four overs, with Patil leaking 15 in the 20th. The unbroken 93-run stand gave Warriorz a respectable 143 on the board which looked a distant dream at 50/5.

That, however, was never going to be enough for the conditions. Harris and Mandhana came out all guns blazing, and spared neither spin nor pace of UPW's vaunted attack. The duo dealt in boundaries to march to 46/0 in just five overs. Harris then unleashed carnage in the final PowerPlay over, hitting Dottin to all parts of the ground with three sixes and as many boundaries. The 32-run over from Dottin became the joint-most expensive in WPL history, and her only in the game.

Mandhana welcomed Sophie Ecclestone into the attack with back-to-back boundaries and, at the other end, Harris tore into Asha Sobhana with a six and a four to take RCB past the 100-run mark as early as in the eighth over. The Australian got a life on 84 and only lasted one more ball, with Shikha Pandey getting her side a compensatory breakthrough.

The damage though was already done. RCB promoted Richa Ghosh at one-down with only seven more needed and she got off the mark with a four. Four more byes sealed the deal for Mandhana & Co. with 7.5 overs to spare.

Brief scores: UP Warriorz 143/5 in 20 overs (Deepti Sharma 45*, Deandra Dottin 40*; Nadine de Klerk 2-28, Shreyanka Patil 2-50) lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru 145/1 in 12.1 overs (Grace Harris 85, Smriti Mandhana 47*; Shikha Pandey 1-28) by 9 wickets