Royal Challengers Bengaluru sealed a spot in the WPL 2026 final with a thumping eight-wicket win over UP Warriorz in Vadodara on Tuesday.
The win took Royal Challengers Bengaluru to the top of the table with 12 points and confirmed their direct entry into the final. UP Warriorz are now virtually out of the tournament.
It was a must-win game for UP Warriorz, who needed a victory to stay alive in the playoff race. Instead, they slipped further after another one-sided defeat.
UP Warriorz started brightly after promoting Deepti Sharma to open. Deepti and Meg Lanning added 72 runs for the first wicket and looked set for a big total.
Deepti top-scored with 55 off 43 balls, while Lanning chipped in with 41. The opening stand gave UPW early momentum on a good batting pitch.
The game turned sharply once RCB struck in the middle overs. Nadine de Klerk led the charge with four wickets for 22 runs, breaking UPW’s spine.
Grace Harris supported well with two for 22 as UP Warriorz collapsed from 74 without loss to 143 for eight. The late surge never came, leaving them well short of a competitive total.
Chasing 144, RCB came out with clear intent. Harris produced one of the knocks of the season, smashing 75 off just 37 balls with 13 fours and two sixes.
She added a match-winning 108-run stand with Smriti Mandhana, who played a calm hand and brought up her fifty in just 26 balls.
RCB raced to the target in only 13.1 overs, finishing with 41 balls to spare and completely dominating the contest from start to finish.
The result left UP Warriorz stranded at the bottom of the table with four points and the worst net run rate, despite having one match left.
For RCB, the win underlined their all-round strength as they head into the final full of confidence and momentum.