RCB Vs UPW Highlights, WPL 2026: Smriti Mandhana, Grace Harris Power Bengaluru Into Final

UP Warriorz: Meg Lanning (c), Kiran Navgire, Amy Jones, Harleen Deol, Chloe Tryon, Deepti Sharma, Shweta Sehrawat (wk), Asha Sobhana Joy, Sophie Ecclestone, Shikha Pandey, Kranti Gaud, Charli Knott, Deandra Dottin, Trisha Gongadi, Shipra Giri, Simran Shaikh, Pratika Rawal, Suman Meena

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Grace Harris, Smriti Mandhana (c), Georgia Voll, Gautami Naik, Radha Yadav, Richa Ghosh (wk), Nadine de Klerk, Arundhati Reddy, Sayali Satghare, Shreyanka Patil, Lauren Bell, Prathyoosha Kumar, Prema Rawat, Pooja Vastrakar, Linsey Smith, Dayalan Hemalatha

The match is scheduled to start at 7:30pm IST, with the first ball to be bowled then and the toss at 7pm IST. The RCB vs UPW, WPL 2026 game will be live streamed on the JioHotstar app and website in India and telecast on the Star Sports Network TV channels in the country.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's skipper Smriti Mandhana has won the toss and elected to bowl first against UP Warriorz. Playing XIs to follow.

UP Warriorz: Meg Lanning (c), Simran Shaikh, Amy Jones (wk), Harleen Deol, Chloe Tryon, Deepti Sharma, Shweta Sehrawat, Sophie Ecclestone, Asha Sobhana Joy, Shikha Pandey, Kranti Gaud

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Grace Harris, Smriti Mandhana (c), Georgia Voll, Radha Yadav, Richa Ghosh (wk), Nadine de Klerk, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Sayali Satghare, Shreyanka Patil, Lauren Bell

Lauren Bell takes the new ball as usual for RCB, while captain Meg Lanning joined by India all-rounder Deepti Sharma as a surprise opening batter. Bell starts off well, drawing an LBW appeal off the first ball.

The gamble to open with Deepti Sharma has worked so far for UP Warriorz, as the southpaw has compiled 50 unbroken runs for the first wicket with skipper Meg Lanning in the powerplay. Both took some time ti get their eye in, but soon enough, they upped the gears to make the most of the fielding restrictions in the powerplay.

The opening partnership ends up being worth 74 runs in 8-odd overs, a successful one without doubt. But RCB claw their way back admirably after that, dismissing Lanning for 41, then Amy Jones (1) and Harleen Deol (14) cheaply. Deepti Sharma (32 not out) is still in the middle, and alongside her is Chloe Tryon (6 not out).

UPW: 102/3 (13)

Grace Harris has Chloe Tryon stumped by Richa Ghosh, and the Warriorz lose their fourth. Deepti Sharma continues to go strong, however, fetching 11 runs off Harris' third over to bring the UPW innings back on track.

UPW: 122/4 (16)

The wickets continue to fall, as the Warriorz finish with a below-par 143 for eight in 20 overs. RCB would no doubt take that total, given UPW were batting at 74 for no loss after eight overs and change. Nadine de Klerk is the standout bowler for Bengaluru, scalping four wickets to earn the Purple Cap in the process. For UP, Deepti hit a 43-ball 55 but did not get any support after Lanning fell.

After a superb show with the ball, Grace Harris joins Smriti Mandhana to open the batting for RCB. Kranti Gaud shares the new ball with Shikha Pandey for UPW, but delivers a wayward first over that goes for nine runs. Bengaluru don't need to do anything fancy to get to the target, which would seal their final berth.

What a rampaging start this has been from Grace Harris. The RCB all-rounder offsets a run of low scores with a superb innings against UP, following her good show with the ball. Harris is unbeaten on 49 off 27, while Mandhana is playing second fiddle with an undefeated 9-ball 12. UP need a couple of wickets desperately, or risk a premature exit from the tournament.

RCB: 63/0 (6)

Grace Harris smashes 75 off 37 balls before departing, cleaned up by a Shikha Pandey delivery that keeps a tad low. Smriti Mandhana then assumes the role of aggressor, stroking a few trademark drives to the fence to leave UP harried. The chase is as good as done, with just the formalities left. Georgia Voll joins Mandhana, meanwhile.

RCB: 120/1 (11)

Emphatic from Smriti Mandhana! She gets to her fifty off just 26 balls and then launches one towards the midwicket boundary to take RCB to a thumping eight-wicket win. Not only do Bengaluru chase 144 down in just 13.1 overs, they finish with 12 points in the league phase to guarantee themselves a place in the final. As for the Warriorz, this is as good as curtains, effectively.