Grace Harris produced a wide ranging show of power-hitting en path to a 40-ball 85 to script Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s emphatic nine-wicket win over UP Warriorz of their Ladies’s Premier League match right here on Monday.
UP Warriorz had recovered admirably from a dramatic collapse to put up 143/5, because of an excellent rescue act by seasoned all-rounders Deandra Dottin and Deepti Sharma.
Harris then smashed the quickest fifty of the season, racing to the landmark in simply 22 balls earlier than ending with a scintillating knock that was studded with 10 fours and 5 sixes.
The second successive victory lifted the previous champions to the highest of the standings.
Skipper Smriti Mandhana performed the proper foil with a sublime unbeaten 47 from 32 balls, together with 9 boundaries, because the pair placed on a 137-run stand to make it a no contest.
RCB chased down the goal in simply 12.1 overs, considerably boosting their web run fee.
Chasing 144, Harris set the tone in a brutal powerplay assault that left UP Warriorz shell-shocked. She tore into Deandra Dottin with a shocking exhibition of fresh hitting, plundering 32 runs from one over that successfully determined the competition.
The Australian began by clobbering a no-ball for 4 and adopted it up with three towering sixes and two extra boundaries in a sequence. Harris repeatedly cleared mid-wicket and mid-on with easy energy, mentioning her half-century very quickly.
The onslaught continued towards leg-spinner Asha Sobhana, whom Harris punished in a 17-run over as RCB raced to 100 in simply 7.5 overs — the second-fastest staff hundred in WPL historical past.
Harris fetched a large full ball and drilled it via the leg-side fence earlier than dropping to at least one knee to launch an enormous 86-metre six over deep midwicket, her fourth most of the innings.
On the different finish, Mandhana performed with trademark grace and assurance and sealed the chase with Richa Ghosh after Harris bought out with simply seven wanted to win.
Despatched in to bat, UPW have been 36 for 1 within the powerplay earlier than dropping 4 wickets within the house of eight balls to hunch to 50/5 within the ninth over.
From that precarious place, Dottin and Deepti stitched collectively an unbroken 93-run stand from 72 balls to present their aspect one thing to defend.
Deepti anchored the innings with an unbeaten 45 off 35 balls, hitting 5 fours and a six, whereas Dottin chipped in with a fluent 40 not out from 37 balls, together with three fours and a six.
The duo shifted gears within the dying overs, scoring 67 runs within the final six to prop up UPW.
Dottin took on off-spinner Shreyanka Patil with a boundary and a six within the fifteenth over, whereas Deepti launched into Nadine de Klerk for a straight six within the penultimate over.
The ultimate over yielded 15 runs, with Deepti smashing two fours off Shreyanka and Dottin including one other boundary.
UP Warriorz had began cautiously, with Lauren Bell bowling a decent opening spell and eradicating Harleen Deol for 11 (14 balls) whereas conserving the run fee at underneath six an over.
Shreyanka was launched within the remaining over of the powerplay and virtually struck instantly when Meg Lanning edged to Arundhati Reddy, however replays confirmed the ball had brushed the turf.
Phoebe Litchfield then tried to grab the momentum, hitting back-to-back boundaries and later hitting Shreyanka for a giant switch-hit six over deep cowl.
However Shreyanka (2/50) had the final phrase in the identical over, eradicating each Lanning (14) and Litchfield (20). Litchfield, who had raced to twenty off simply 9 balls, mistimed a drag-down and was caught by Mandhana at mid-on.
South African all-rounder Nadine de Klerk (2/28) then struck twice in an over, dismissing Kiran Navgire (5) and Shweta Sehrawat (0), triggering the collapse earlier than Dottin and Deepti staged the restoration.
