It was just another routine training for Royal Challengers Bengaluru until Grace Harris was made the offer, almost casually.

"He just kind of came up to me and was like, you're going to open the batting for now, or to start with," Harris recalls referring to the chat with stand-in head coach Malolan Rangarajan ahead of WPL 2026. Though it came with a footnote that if the team felt "like we need to move things around, we'll change it up", the pre-season clarity was enough for Harris.

"I don't have to bat in a particular spot; I just simply need to be given a role," she told him back, and proceeded to face the shiny new balls in nets instead of the "slowies."

This role clarity upfront has been central to Harris' impact with the bat for RCB this WPL. From her usual finishing duties in T20 cricket, Harris was redirected not as an experiment but with a clear mandate. "Grace, go for the cheese, not the cat. Take the extra risk, not be afraid of getting out."

The simple, uncomplicated messaging from the group has seen the Australian become the tournament's most aggressive PowerPlay batters. For anyone who's faced at least 30 balls in the first-six overs in the league stages of WPL 2026, Harris sits atop the run-charts (172), the run-rate (10.32) and the strike-rate (172) lists. She also boasts of the highest boundary percentage - 35 - which aligns with the team's demands.

Harris' natural instincts as a batter are in sync with the given freedom, but her approach is far from reckless. What seems brute force from the outside is actually a calculated approach.

"You've only got two fielders out [in the PowerPlay]. You'll face a swinging delivery or a seaming delivery more than changes of pace. So, it's [about] being able to kind of calculate the risk. Essentially, a 40 metre hit or a 30 metre hit will get you more runs sometimes than trying to hit it 78 metres, because you legitimately only need to clear just the ring field.

"If it comes off, it comes off. But if it doesn't, at least try and make it a good ball to get you out, not a rubbish, hacky kind of shot. I've been a bit hit and miss over this tournament, but I feel like tactically I'm preparing the best."

It has its pitfalls, too. The approach has produced a string of low scores, totaling just 43 between the two big fifties of the season, both against UP Warriorz. Harris has also been dismissed six times out of eight in the PowerPlay this season. She is quick to acknowledge the volatility that comes with such a role, and has accepted that 'success' in it may look slightly different.

"T20 cricket's so fickle and also the role that I play is so inconsistent that you can't keep hanging on the last innings because you can't strike it at 200 consistently," she says. "You're only going to win 3-4 games at most. You're not going to hit a fifty every time. And if they want me to be more consistent, I'd definitely have to drop that strike-rate and drop that impact. So, that role changes.

"I try and keep an objectiveness on how I'm getting out. If I pick the right shot to the right ball, that's a tick. But if I didn't execute it, then I'd just say unlucky or, you know, be better. If I've definitely played the wrong shot, then I go and I say to the coaches, no, we need to work on this.

"So, having that kind of mental clarity with the coaches or those discussions really helps you think clearly when you're then out in the middle. Just kind of trying to problem-solve on the fly, based on conditions."

It's essential learning on the go in a tournament where conditions have shifted dramatically between the two venues. The flat roads of DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai were the most conducive to aggressive stroke-play, and allowed her to "stand and deliver". The ones in Vadodara have demanded adaptation.

"Sometimes scoring tough runs is the impact," Harris says. "Sometimes it's just taking the shine off the ball and then letting someone else come in and bolt it at the backend. So, you just try and take your ego out and just planforwhat's in front of you."

At the other end of the pitch, Harris has found a polar opposite but an effective foil in Smriti Mandhana. Together the two have two century stands already in the season, the games they blew open with the explosiveness upfront that's contrary to how miserly the captain is with her words. "She's such a quiet-natured person - probably the opposite of myself," Harris says. "Sometimes opposites work, sometimes they go horrifically bad. I'm glad that it's worked out this time."

With no regrets, Harris confirms the communication between the two is minimal yet pointed. But, "most of the time it's just good vibes and a good time."

A bit of a break away from cricket, in the week between qualifying directly for the final and actually playing it, RCB decided to step away from what Harris calls a "little bubble." The weekend in Goa proved just as important for a reset before the title clash.

"Finals come with higher expectations and pressure. Or, perceived pressure. Sometimes when you come to franchise competitions, you kind of live in a little bubble. The mental side of things can go south real quick, especially if you're an overthinker or if you spend a lot of time just watching and thinking about cricket.

"Sometimes mental clarity is more significant or more important than how many hours you train... If you work really hard, you earn those trips away. Getting that balance right is huge."

This clarity of told and mind has defined Harris' WPL campaign more than a particular knock. Even when a suggestion is made about a similar opportunity back home, now that the Australian T20I side has a vacancy at the top, she remains grounded.

"I'll leave that up to that group. There's plenty of top-order batters going around [in the Australian setup]." And she's played majorly as a finisher before. "It doesn't bother me, as long as I train for the role," she chuckles.

For the moment, at RCB, that role has come with ample freedom, to attack, to fail and to adapt, making her the team's X-factor at the top.