Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women vs UP Warriorz Women, 5th Match, Womens Premier League 2026 - Commentary

That's it for this game. We will be back with more WPL action tomorrow. Do join us then. For now it's bye bye.

Grace Harris | Player of the Match: It's pretty good. I'm just really happy that some of the work that I've been doing with my batting is kind of... It's paying off out in the middle at the moment and it's going quite well. So, I guess I'm loving my time with RCB. I've always enjoyed the WPL competition. It's a great set-up and, yeah, just really loving life at the moment. (on opening the batting) Yeah, that is true. I did kind of think I'd be facing a bit of an older ball. So, I was preparing for, you know, change-up deliveries and maybe batting at the death. But, I guess, Malo bhai (Malolan Rangarajan) is what I call him, but he's been fantastic. He just kind of came over to me at a training session and was just like, you know, you might want to face a new ball. I think we're opening and I just thought, oh, how good. I get to bat with Smriti. She's so classy and just calm. It's a great reminder when you watch her bat that you don't actually even have to over-hit the ball when you watch her. She makes batting look so easy, so smooth and technically correct that it's just good. (on naming her bats after burgers) I haven't named it yet. So, it could be an Indian burger that I might name it after. But, it's got a good middle so far and I've worked well with it so far. So far so good. (nice ground to bat) Yeah, yeah. I think you definitely have to take advantage of the very good conditions that you get in the second innings. It's probably a ground where if you win the toss you do want to bowl first and it's probably that little bit of an advantage. But, having said that, I think if you can play the conditions really good, we saw the other game was 200 vs. 200. So, I guess full credit to our bowlers for keeping them to only 144, which makes a chase like that a little bit easier in the back of your mind. And then, when you get good conditions, I think Kate Cross said it on comms earlier on the TV. She said, you know, you're ready to start hitting for six. And I said, don't jinx me now. But, you've got to take full advantage of the conditions soon. (not shifting from opening now?) Maybe. I'll put my head up for anything. If I get into the 11 and I get to play cricket, it's good fun.

Smriti Mandhana | RCB-W captain: Yeah, I mean, it was the best seat in the house for me to watch Grace whack those balls. But, I mean, the bowling, the way everyone bowled and chipped in and executed the plans, I mean, that was something really special to watch. (on Bell) Yeah, I mean, I was just joking around that how she's going to get plans back home, because the last two matches, the first three overs, I mean, she's just not letting anyone touch the ball, which I feel she can keep continuing doing that and set the tone for us. I mean, just giving six overs and 30-odd runs, I mean, that's how you start the bowling innings when you win the toss. (on their fielding) Yes, we discussed that we were not really on point in the first match in terms of field sets and how we were moving. And so, I'm really happy that everyone was in the right positions today. Bowlers knew what we were going to do. Having lefty and righty throughout, still executing the plans throughout the 20-over, that's something which the whole team can be really proud about. And it's just a start. (on Harris) I mean, everyone, all I need to do is take a single and she keeps going. And it was just amazing to watch. I wouldn't like to rate because it's a wrong thing to do that. But yeah, again, Shafali, Grace, I mean, all these players, it's just easy to bat in T20 cricket. You just have to give a single and they just take on the bowlers. I don't know where, if I would be leading from the other team, it would have been a really hard place to be at because you don't know where to bowl at. (will Harris continue to open?) Yeah, we had a little bit of discussion on how we want the batting order to look like because she can do middle order as well because that's what she does for the Aussie team. But she does open for the Brisbane Heat at Big Bash. But I think we all were very, very clear of how dangerous she can be up front. And if she gets going, it's almost you take away the match from the opposition. So, yeah, we thought we'll back her in the powerplay. She's just been batting the first innings as well, she was just smacking the ball. (feeling good about winning the title?) Yeah, again, with RCB, one thing I've learned is not to speak too ahead of anything. You have to just keep doing your work. One thing, again, I believe is just put your hard work in. And I just feel this is the most hardworking group we've got in the last three, four years. Everyone just really switched on. So, we're just really focusing on smaller things and doing things right. And let's see how we go around.

Lauren Bell: Yeah, it's been good. I think I feel in really good rhythm at the moment and it seems to be coming out nicely. So, yeah, it's great to start the tournament with two wins. The weather? Yeah, sure. It's a lot warmer here than it is back home, that's for sure. (setting the tone) Yeah, definitely. I've been pretty open with it. I think it's one thing we identified, that I want to start the game, I want to set the tone. It's probably not been something that I've quite nailed, especially for England. So, I've had a couple of months back at home now to practice it and really groove this awayswinger. And, yeah, I'm just glad that I can come and set the tone for the team at the moment. (working with Shrubsole) Yeah, it's been great. I mean, I've obviously worked with Anya for quite a few years now, but she's super calm and brings real clarity. But, yeah, she's been great to work with. And, yeah, it's been nice. It's been a few years now, so it's been good to have her back. (her quota is it flexible or not?) Definitely flexible. I think cricket's one of those games that you can't predict. I think when it's coming out well and it's swinging, I think I'll have a big impact up front in the powerplay. But, yeah, every game's different. And we know that cricket can change and conditions can change. So, yeah, moving forward, we'll just have to see how the games go, I guess.

Meg Lanning | UPW-W captain: (not the start to the tournament) No, of course not. We would have loved to start with a win or two, but we were outplayed tonight by RCB. They bowled really well up front, put us under pressure and never allowed us to get away. It wasn’t our best night, but the good thing is the games come thick and fast, so we can move on quickly. (quick turnaround) That’s right. Sometimes that can actually be a good thing. There are definitely areas we need to tidy up - particularly at the top of the order, myself included. We had too many dot balls early. But credit to RCB, they were excellent up front and once they got ahead, they really drove the game home. We’ll review it, see what we can improve, and move forward. (why Shikha bowled cross-seam with the new ball) I’m not entirely sure, we’ll have a chat about it. Shikha is one of the best bowlers in this competition and she mixes it up - sometimes trying to get swing, sometimes hitting the pitch harder to get something off the surface. It didn’t quite come off tonight, unfortunately, but that happens. (how do you plan against Harris) It’s very difficult once she’s in that mood. She hits all areas of the ground - she has brute power, but tonight she also showed how well she can play straight down the ground. Once she gets into that rhythm, she’s hard to stop. Unfortunately for us, she got going today and we couldn’t rein her in.

Winning with most balls to spare (WPL)
77 DC vs GG Navi Mumbai 2023
66 DC vs MI Navi Mumbai 2023
47 RCB vs UPW Navi Mumbai 2026 *
45 RCB vs GG Bengaluru 2024

Highest individual score for RCB (WPL)
99(36) Sophie Devine vs GG Brabourne 2023
90*(56) Ellyse Perry vs UPW Bengaluru 2025
85(40) Grace Harris vs UPW Navi Mumbai 2026 *
81(43) Ellyse Perry vs MI Bengaluru 2025
81(47) Smriti Mandhana vs DC Vadodara 2025

22:25 Local Time, 16:55 GMT, 22:25 IST: What a statement win from RCB. They have finished this chase with a minimum of effort. Once Grace Harris got going, nothing was going to stop her. She bulldozed the UPW bowlers who had no answers. Smriti was happy to play second-fiddle. The opening stand knocked the stuffing out of UPW and Harris finally fell after a devastating knock. Two in two for RCB and this will boost their NRR hugely as well. Stay tuned for the post-match stuff...

Shikha Pandey to Grace Harris, THATS OUT!! Caught!!