Navi Mumbai: With the help of Grace Harris’ 85 runs in 40 balls, Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated UP Warriors by nine wickets in the Women’s Premier League match on Monday. UP Warriors recovered from the failure of the top order on the basis of innings of Deandra Dottin and Deepti Sharma and scored 143 runs for five wickets. In reply, Harris completed the fastest half-century of the season in 22 balls. He hit ten fours and five sixes in his innings. With their second consecutive win, former champions RCB have now reached the top of the table.

Captain Smriti Mandhana scored unbeaten 47 runs with the help of nine fours in 32 balls which included nine fours. Both of them made the match one-sided by making a partnership of 137 runs for the first wicket. RCB achieved the target in 12.1 overs. Australian batsman Harris took 32 runs in one over of Dottin which proved to be decisive. He first hit a four on the no ball, after which he hit three sixes and two fours. He took 17 runs in the over of leg spinner Asha Shobhana.

RCB completed their hundred in 7.5 overs, which is the second fastest team century in the history of WPL. Earlier, when sent to bat, UP Warriors had lost one wicket at the score of 36 runs in the powerplay.

After this, four wickets were lost within eight balls due to which the score in the ninth over was 50 runs for five wickets. After this, Dottin and Deepti made an unbeaten partnership of 93 runs in 72 balls and took the team to a respectable score.

Playing an important role in India’s title win in the World Cup, Deepti, who was the ‘Player of the Tournament’, scored 45 runs in 35 balls with the help of five fours and one six. Dottin scored 40 runs in 37 balls which included three fours and a six. Both of them batted aggressively in the death overs and added 67 runs in the last six overs. Dottin hit a four and a six off off-spinner Shreyanka Patil in the 15th over. Whereas Deepti hit Nadine de Klerk for a six in the 19th over. In the last over, Deepti hit two fours off Shreyanka while Dottin also hit one four, taking the total to 15 runs. Earlier, UP Warriors had a bad start.

RCB’s Lauren Bell took the wicket of Harleen Deol (11) for just 16 runs in four overs. Shreyanka had dismissed Mag Lanning as soon as she came, but in the replays it was clear that Arundhati Reddy’s hand had touched the grass while taking the lower catch. Meanwhile, Phoebe Lichfield hit two fours off Shreyanka and hit a six in deep cover. Shreyanka took the wickets of both Lanning (14) and Lichfield (20). Lichfield was caught by RCB captain Smriti Mandhana at mid-on. South African fast bowler Nadine de Klerk sent Kiran Navgire (5) and Shweta Sehrawat (0) to the pavilion.