Vadodara: Former champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru hammered UP Warriorz by eight wickets to enter the WPL final and virtually knock the opposition out of the playoff race here Thursday.
Nadine de Klerk’s superb 4/22 and Grace Harris’ 2/22 powered a spirited RCB comeback with the ball as UP Warriorz squandered a blazing start to settle for a below-par 143 for eight after Smriti Mandhana opted to field.
Harris then turned on the heat with the bat, smashing a blistering 75 off 37 balls as RCB stormed home with 41 balls to spare.
The comprehensive win took RCB to 12 points, sealing their place in the final and helping them finish atop the five-team standings.
For UP Warriorz, the defeat left their campaign hanging by a thread, with the side languishing at the bottom with four points and the worst net run-rate despite a game in hand.
Harris set the tone early, taking charge of Kranti Gaud in the opening overs before tearing into her again in the third, striking five boundaries.
She brought up her fifty off just 28 balls by lofting Asha Sobhana over long-on.
Dealing almost in boundaries, Harris hammered 13 fours and two sixes while adding 108 runs with skipper Mandhana, who complemented her with a sublime 26-ball fifty.
Harris was eventually bowled by Shikha Pandey, failing to read an incoming cross-seam delivery, but by then only 36 runs were required with more than 10 overs remaining.
Earlier, promoted opener Deepti Sharma struck her first half-century of the season with a fluent 55 off 43 balls (6×4, 1×6).
Deepti and Meg Lanning (41) stitched together a 72-run opening stand in 49 balls — their best of the season — to give UPW a flying start, but the innings unravelled in the middle overs as De Klerk and Harris applied the brakes.
From 74 for no loss in eight overs, UPW slipped to 103 for 4 in 13.2 overs. De Klerk triggered the collapse by dismissing Lanning before trapping Amy Jones (1) lbw with a cross-seam delivery.
Harris then removed Harleen Deol (14) and Chloe Tryon (6) in successive overs as RCB seized complete control.
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