Royal Challengers Bengaluru booked a place in their second Women’s Premier League (WPL) final after beating UP Warriorz by eight wickets. Coming into the match after consecutive losses, the Smriti Mandhana-led side faced the risk of further complications ahead of the playoffs. They responded with a dominant performance at the BCA Cricket Stadium in Vadodara, comfortably overcoming Meg Lanning’s UP Warriorz to seal their spot in the final.
Batting first, UP openers set the tone as both Lanning and Deepti Sharma seemed to be in good touch. They stitched a partnership of 74 runs but once the captain departed for 41 runs, the following batters failed to keep up with the tempo. Deepti managed to keep the scoreboard ticking with her half-century but there was little to no support from the other batters. UP ended up posting 143 runs on the board in the first innings, which wasn’t enough.
When it came to the chase, RCB openers Grace Harris and Mandhana stole the show with their 108-run partnership. Harris wreaked havoc in the middle, smacking 75 runs off 37 balls, while Mandhana made unbeaten 54 runs off 27. She had a slow start to the match, but once Harrid departed, Mandhana bossed the UP bowling.
UP are still mathematically alive
Courtesy of their onslaught, RCB chased 144 runs inside 14 overs. UP, in the meantime, are mathematically still in the contest to qualify for the playoffs but it’s extremely difficult at the moment. They need to beat Delhi Capitals by a huge margin and would require the same from Gujarat Giants in their final league game against Mumbai Indians.
RCB will now enjoy a weekoff before they play the final in February 5. Reflecting upon that, captain Mandhana stated that they will enjoy and she will allow the players to do what they want.
“Yeah, for sure. The first three or four days, everyone can do what they feel like doing - switch off a bit. Then we’ll come back, train really hard for the final, and be ready. Definitely looking forward to the break,” Mandhana said in the post-match presentation.