Navi Mumbai, Jan 12 (NationPress) The captain of UP Warriorz, Meg Lanning, acknowledged that her team was thoroughly outmatched by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who achieved a nine-wicket victory with 47 balls remaining in their Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 encounter at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy on Monday evening.

“No, we did not anticipate this! We aimed to kick off with a couple of wins. RCB outplayed us tonight. It simply wasn't our night,” Lanning reflected post-match. “They bowled exceptionally well from the outset and placed us under pressure. They never allowed us to settle into the game. We have a lot to improve on. The positive aspect is that more matches are lined up soon, so we will quickly move forward.”

RCB's success in this match was primarily due to a remarkable partnership between Smriti Mandhana and Grace Harris, who formed a formidable opening stand that led RCB to chase down a modest target of 144 runs with ease. Grace Harris delivered an outstanding performance, scoring 85 runs off only 40 balls, while Smriti Mandhana remained unbeaten at 47.

The duo's opening partnership of 137 runs became RCB's highest for the first wicket, making the victory seem inevitable before the match concluded; at the point RCB lost their first wicket, they only needed 7 runs from 74 balls.

Lanning shared her admiration and frustration regarding Harris's performance. “It’s quite challenging when she finds her rhythm. She can hit all over the field and demonstrated her ability to play straight down the ground,” she mentioned. “Once she gets settled, she’s incredibly difficult to contain. She possesses immense power. Unfortunately, she found her rhythm tonight, and we were unable to stop her.”

Lanning recognized that UP Warriorz struggled to gain momentum with the bat. “We didn’t get started at all, which was unfortunate. We accumulated too many dot balls early on, including myself. We must improve in that area,” she stated. “We don’t want to take anything away from RCB; they bowled extremely well from the start and prevented us from scoring freely.”

Choosing to bowl first, RCB's effective opening bowlers dismantled the UP Warriorz top order, putting them in a precarious situation early on. UP Warriorz managed a late recovery, thanks to Deepti Sharma (45 not out) and Deandra Dottin (40), who formed a sixth-wicket partnership worth 93 runs, raising their final score to 143 runs. This partnership also marked the second-highest sixth-wicket partnership in WPL history.

Reflecting on the bowling strategy, Lanning commented on Shikha Pandey’s use of cross-seam deliveries with the new ball. “Shikha is among the top bowlers in this competition, and she varies her approach. Sometimes she seeks swing, and other times she hits the pitch harder,” she said. “It didn’t quite work out tonight, but that’s how it goes.”

With this win, RCB ascended to the top of the points table with four points, while UP Warriorz need to regroup quickly as they face a busy schedule ahead in the tournament.