\u201cNo, of course, not! We hoped to start with a win or two. We were outplayed by RCB tonight. Not our best night,\u201d Lanning said after the defeat. \u201cThey bowled well up front and put us under pressure. Then never let us in the game with the bat. So, plenty to work for us. The good thing is that the games are coming thick and fast. So, we will move on pretty quickly.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
RCB's dominance in this match stemmed from a fine partnership between Smriti Mandhana and Grace Harris against UPW, both sharing an opening stand that was as fierce as they could be. The massive partnership allowed RCB to easily reach a modest target of 144 runs. Grace Harris smashed an incredible 85 runs off just 40 balls while Smriti Mandhana was not out on 47 at the time of the partnership.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The two players' partnership of 137 runs for the first wicket of RCB became the highest opening partnership in the franchise's history, and the chase had already been effectively concluded before the end of the match; at the point when RCB lost their first wicket, the team only needed to score 7 runs off 74 balls to win the match.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Lanning reserved special praise \u2014 and frustration \u2014 for Harris. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty difficult when she gets going. She plays all around the ground and also showed how well she can play straight down the ground,\u201d she said. \u201cOnce she gets into that rhythm, she\u2019s hard to stop. She has brute force. Unfortunately, she got going tonight. We couldn\u2019t stop her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Lanning admitted UP Warriorz never found momentum with the bat. \u201cWith the bat, we never got going, unfortunately. We chewed too many dot balls up front, including me. We need to be better there,\u201d she said. \u201cDon\u2019t want to take anything from RCB. They bowled extremely well up front and never let us get away.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
RCB decided to bowl first, and their impressive opening bowlers dismantled the UP Warriorz top order and left them in danger of losing early. UP Warriorz made a late recovery thanks to Deepti Sharma (45 not out) and Deandra Dottin (40) after they built a partnership of 93 runs for the sixth wicket, which lifted their final score to 143 runs. The partnership also became the second-highest sixth-wicket partnership in WPL history.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Lanning admitted UP Warriorz never found momentum with the bat. \u201cWith the bat, we never got going, unfortunately. We chewed too many dot balls up front, including me. We need to be better there,\u201d she said. \u201cDon\u2019t want to take anything from RCB. They bowled extremely well up front and never let us get away.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
With this win, RCB moved to the top of the points table with four points, while UP Warriorz were left to regroup quickly as the games continue to come thick and fast in the tournament.<\/p>\r\n\r\n