RCB's perfect start has Lauren Bell at its heart

Grace Harris enjoys the crowd's roar when she hits big sixes, something she missed in her previous team. In RCB colors, she's getting that noise, with strong turnouts in Navi Mumbai—even surpassing Mumbai Indians' crowds. RCB has responded with four wins in four games, addressing concerns over player availability and team balance. They lead the table, unbeaten and two wins ahead of any other team.

RCB enters the second phase as the best bowling side, conceding only 616 runs across four innings (154 per innings). Leading this charge is Lauren Bell, who has exploited swinging conditions with tight lines and varied lengths.

Bell set the tone in the tournament's first over against Amelia Kerr, bowling a maiden with a mix of in-swing and three successive away swingers. This wasn't isolated; batters like Meg Lanning, Sophie Devine, Laura Wolvaardt, Lizelle Lee, and Shafali Verma have struggled to middle her swinging deliveries in opening overs.

Beyond movement with the new ball, Bell generates sharp bounce and effectively uses slower deliveries in death overs. Despite bowling mostly in the powerplay, she's the most economical bowler this season at 5.31, with eight wickets—including early strikes and late dismissals like Shafali Verma's on Saturday.

Winning three of four tosses likely helped Bell operate in favorable conditions, but her control and threat in dictating contests stand out among powerplay bowlers.

Harris, facing Bell in nets, is impressed: "I've faced her a little bit in the nets recently and I've been a bit like, 'What?' I'd rather be down the other end [instead of facing Bell]." She recalled asking Bell if she meant to bowl a particular delivery, to which Bell replied, "no, it just comes out." Harris referenced Bell's dismissal of Laura Wolvaardt, which nipped back sharply for an inside edge onto the stumps.

Harris added, "She's got really great control up front with the away swing on length and she hits a hard length. With her height, she generates quite good steep bounce compared to other pace bowlers here. That's an underrated asset. She's done very well for us up front, even at the back end to bowl slower balls with a wet ball. She's adaptable and executing very well."

While Bell has set the tone for RCB's victories, it hasn't been a one-player show. Harris, Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Radha Yadav, Nadine de Klerk, Shreyanka Patil, and others have stepped up in key moments. Even new players like Sayali Satghare, Prema Rawat, and Georgia Voll made impactful contributions recently.

RCB's experiment with Radha Yadav at No. 5 paid off, though persistence with Linsey Smith didn't. Despite leading the table, they've been far from flawless, with fielding lapses and two top-order batting failures in four games.

Harris acknowledged, "We've been pretty fortunate with conditions and winning the toss, but you still have to perform well. Credit to our bowlers for keeping games under 190. We haven't had to chase too many, and we scored 182 in our first innings. It's been a good team effort with multiple people chipping in. We're rolling with the flow, coming up with good plans, like executing slow balls in dewy conditions. Skill-wise, we're going very well."

On fielding, RCB has dropped six catches in four games, but Harris isn't dwelling on it: "We're riding on the highs, not the lows. We're human; it's better to stay positive. We're aware of where to improve, but we're enjoying our successes."

With less than 24 hours before their next match, RCB has every reason to cherish their success—without overanalyzing whether Bell is making the ball talk or if it's talking on its own.