Harris, Mandhana, de Klerk seal RCB's spot in the final

Grace Harris's all-round performance powered Royal Challengers Bengaluru into the final of the Women's Premier League 2026. Harris scored a 37-ball 75 and took 2 for 22 as RCB secured a comfortable eight-wicket win over UP Warriorz in Vadodara, their sixth win of the season.

Chasing 144, RCB dominated from the start. Harris attacked from the first over, hitting boundaries freely. She targeted Kranti Gaud in particular, hitting five boundaries in one over, and later slammed Deepti Sharma for a six over long on. By the end of the PowerPlay, RCB had raced to 63.

Harris reached her half-century right after the PowerPlay, muscling S Asha over long on for a six. The spin duo of Asha and Deepti struggled on a flat track against her aggressive batting. She was eventually cleaned up by Shikha Pandey in the 10th over, by which time RCB had scored 108 runs.

Before Harris fell, her opening partner Smriti Mandhana, who had been playing second fiddle, also started to accelerate. Against Chloe Tryon, Mandhana hit three successive boundaries. After Harris's departure, the southpaw launched a couple of sixes and brought up her half-century.

Georgia Voll fell with one run needed, but Mandhana sealed the win by slog-sweeping Deepti for a boundary in the 14th over.

Earlier, the contest wasn't always one-sided. UP Warriorz, put in to bat, had a strong start, reaching 74 for no loss in eight overs. Meg Lanning and Deepti Sharma built a solid foundation, with Lanning scoring steadily and Deepti attacking Lauren Bell.

However, the innings unraveled in the ninth over when Nadine de Klerk struck twice in her first over. Lanning was caught at deep cover, and Amy Jones was trapped lbw. This triggered a collapse. Harleen Deol was cleaned up by a low delivery from Grace Harris, and wickets continued to tumble. Chloe Tryon was stumped off Harris, and Shweta Sehrawat skied a catch off Bell.

Deepti Sharma scored a 40-ball half-century but couldn't accelerate in the death overs, falling on the final ball as Warriorz finished at 143/8.

The loss effectively ends UP Warriorz's campaign. They are likely to finish at the bottom of the table for the second successive season. To stay alive, they need Giants to beat Mumbai Indians and then must defeat Delhi Capitals themselves, while also maintaining a superior Net Run Rate.

Brief Scores: UP Warriorz 143/8 in 20 overs (Deepti Sharma 55, Meg Lanning 41; Nadine de Klerk 4-22, Grace Harris 2-22) lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru 147/2 in 13.1 overs (Grace Harris 75, Smriti Mandhana 54*; S Asha 1-24) by 8 wickets