Navi Mumbai: Grace Harris produced a breathtaking display of power-hitting en route to a 40-ball 85 to script Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s emphatic nine-wicket win over UP Warriorz in their Women’s Premier League match here on Monday.
UP Warriorz had recovered admirably from a dramatic collapse to post 143/5, thanks to a superb rescue act by seasoned all-rounders Deandra Dottin and Deepti Sharma.
Harris then smashed the fastest fifty of the season, racing to the landmark in just 22 balls before finishing with a scintillating knock that was studded with 10 fours and five sixes.
The second successive victory lifted the former champions to the top of the standings.
Skipper Smriti Mandhana played the perfect foil with an elegant unbeaten 47 from 32 balls, including nine boundaries, as the pair put on a 137-run stand to make it a no contest.
RCB chased down the target in just 12.1 overs, significantly boosting their net run rate. Chasing 144, Harris set the tone in a brutal powerplay assault that left UP Warriorz shell-shocked. She tore into Deandra Dottin with a stunning exhibition of clean hitting, plundering 32 runs from one over that effectively decided the contest.
The Australian started by clobbering a no-ball for four and followed it up with three towering sixes and two more boundaries in a sequence. Harris repeatedly cleared mid-wicket and mid-on with effortless power, bringing up her half-century in no time.
The onslaught continued against leg-spinner Asha Sobhana, whom Harris punished in a 17-run over as RCB raced to 100 in just 7.5 overs -- the second-fastest team hundred in WPL history. Harris fetched a wide full ball and drilled it through the leg-side fence before dropping to one knee to launch a huge 86-metre six over deep midwicket, her fourth maximum of the innings.
At the other end, Mandhana played with trademark grace and assurance and sealed the chase with Richa Ghosh after Harris got out with just seven needed to win.
Sent in to bat, UPW were 36 for 1 in the powerplay before losing four wickets in the space of eight balls to slump to 50/5 in the ninth over. agencies