Navi Mumbai, Jan 12 (IANS) Former captain Deepti Sharma’s rescue act of unbeaten 45 and Deandra Dottin’s 40 not out helped UP Warriorz Women put up a score of 143/5 in 20 overs against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the fifth match of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai.

UP Warriorz produced a remarkable recovery to reach 143 for 5 in 20 overs, clawing their way back from a precarious 50 for 5, thanks to a superb, unbeaten 93-run sixth-wicket partnership between Dottin and Deepti.

After being asked to bat first, the Meg Lanning-led side started well with the bat but suffered an early setback courtesy of tight bowling from RCB bowlers. Harleen Deol (11), who was pushed up to open the innings with Meg Lanning (14), was unable to get going, while their captain also struggled early on to get into her innings. Phoebe Litchfield (20) batted with great intent early on, but then repeated last match’s mistake and didn’t match her quick start with more runs.

The wheels came off quickly for UPW. Poor shot selection by Kiran Navgire (5) and Shweta Sehrawat (0) in the middle caused the team to lose its momentum, as they fell from 50/3 down to 50/5 and looked to be heading for an embarrassing total.

However, momentum changed in Warriorz’ favour as both Dottin (40 not out) and Deepti (45 not out) were able to absorb the pressure and counterattack in a controlled manner. Early in their innings, the two players took turns rotating the strike and punishing anything that wasn’t on line before adding an unbeaten 93 runs together for the sixth wicket, which left UPW in a solid position to get a competitive total with 143/5 and something to bowl at for their bowlers.

The stand also etched its place in WPL history. It became the second-highest sixth-wicket partnership in the league, behind only the 109-run unbroken stand between Poonam Khemnar and Deepti Sharma against Gujarat Giants in Delhi in 2024, and ahead of the 69-run partnership between Grace Harris and Deepti Sharma against RCB at the same venue in 2023.

For RCB, Lauren Bell once again impressed with the new ball, returning figures of 1 for 16. Shreyanka Patil provided key breakthroughs by dismissing Meg Lanning and Phoebe Litchfield in the same over, though she proved expensive at the death to finish with 2 for 50.

Nadine de Klerk created history by becoming the first bowler in WPL to take wickets with her first two deliveries, but she went wicketless thereafter and ended with 2 for 28. Linsey Smith and Arundhati Reddy were economical in their spells, rounding off an otherwise solid bowling effort.

Brief scores:

UP Warriorz Women 143/5 in 20 overs (Deepti Sharma 45 not out, Deandra Dottin 40 not out; Nadine de Klerk 2-28; Shreyanka Patil 2-50 ) against Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women

–IANS

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