Out of contention after consecutive home defeats, UP Warriorz had little to lose and played without hesitation to eliminate defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru from the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 with a 12-run victory in Match 18 at the Ekana Stadium here on Saturday. The highest aggregate total of 438 runs in a WPL game resulted in both sides being knocked out, confirming the playoff teams: Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, and Mumbai Indians.
UP Warriorz’s victory enabled them conclude the season with eight points while also securing playoff positions for Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants with two games remaining.
Georgia Voll produced a magnificent unbeaten 99 off 56 balls, while the rest of the team batted around here as UP Warriorz smashed 225/5 in 20 overs, the greatest total in Women’s Premier League (WPL) ever.
RCB embarked on the greatest ever chase of 226 runs and nearly matched it owing to brilliant innings by Richa Ghosh, who raced to 69 off 33 balls, hitting six fours and five sixes, and Sneh Rana, who slammed a six-ball 26, in a merciless exhibition of power-hitting.
But Richa went early as RCB reached 170 for the cost of five wickets after rescuing them from 80/4. Sneh Rana then got into the act, hammering Deepti Sharma for 28 runs in the penultimate over, including a no-ball, hitting her India colleague 4,6,6,4+nb, and 6 before being caught in the deep while attempting another big smash. Her exploits propelled RCB from 43 from 12 balls to 15 from six. But Renuka Singh was out on the third ball of Voll’s over, and RCB fell short by 12 runs.
Despite losing skipper Smriti Mandhana early in the playoffs, the defending champions started brightly and finished at 70/2. Richa then grabbed command of the game, hitting some incredible shots all around the pitch, taking advantage of the short boundaries. She hit five massive sixes, but her ejection delivered a significant blow to RCB’s ambitions.
Sophie Ecclestone and Deepti Sharma took three wickets for 25 and 50 runs, respectively, as UP Warriorz chipped away at the RCB batting, bowing to scoreboard pressure.
Earlier, UP Warriorz, looking to finish their season on a high note, took advantage of the benign RCB bowling to post a big score, surpassing Delhi Capitals’ 223/5 in 20 overs against RCB in 2023.
Voll delivered a stunning knock, hitting 17 boundaries and one six at a strike rate of 176.78 to drive UP Warriorz. She was unfortunate to miss a well-deserved maiden century by failing to score two runs off the final ball. She finished with 99 not out, the joint greatest individual score in WPL history, matching Sophie Devine’s mark. She scored 77 runs for the first wicket with Grace Harris, 71 for the second wicket with Navgire, and 43 for the third wicket with Chinelle Henry.
When asked to bat first, UP Warriorz appeared to have found their groove, as Grace Harris and Voll scored 67 runs in six overs, the best score in the power play this season.
Harris hit Kim Garth’s first two deliveries for boundaries before blasting Renuka Singh for a straight six. In the third over, she hits a hat-trick of fours off Garth, including a scoop beyond short fine leg, and two more boundaries – a thump through the point and a drive through deep square and deep midwicket – before being run out while attempting a non-existent single. She hit 39 off 22 deliveries, and UP were 77/1 in the eighth over.
Georgia Voll took on Renuka Singh at the other end, blasting three boundaries in four balls in the fourth over. She slog-swept Charlie Dean for a six on her first delivery in the WPL, then added two fours for 14 runs in her first over.
The RCB bowlers bowled short and wide, while skipper Mandhana brought the spinners from the side with the shortest boundaries, and the UPW hitters had a good time at their expense.
Kiran Navgire was as merciless in her approach, hitting 46 off 16 balls, including a half-tracker off Ellyse Perry for a six before hammering Georgia Wareham for two sixes in the tenth over. She hit Renuka Singh for two fours and two sixes in a 22-run over before holing out to Perry at long-on off Wareham, missing out on the quickest fifty in the WPL. She nailed two boundaries and five maximums during her brief appearance.
Voll went on to score her second successive fifty off 31 balls, including nine fours and one six. Chinelle Henry smashed 19 off 15 balls, and the RCB bowlers slowed things down as Voll missed her century. UP Warriorz lost two wickets in a dramatic last over, including a run out off Deepti Sharma on the final ball, leaving Voll stranded on 99.
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