RCB, UP Warriorz look to improve upon scratchy starts
RCB barely beat MI on the opening night, while UPW made a losing start against Gujarat Giants
S Sudarshanan
11-Jan-2026 • 7 hrs ago
Nadine de Klerk took RCB to victory in their opening game • BCCI
Big picture
A new opening pair, a middle-order collapse and one batter keeping the team in the hunt - Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and UP Warriorz (UPW) had a similar pattern in their opening games, even if they had different results.
RCB captain Smriti Mandhana began breezily before getting dismissed cheaply. Grace Harris' explosiveness had given RCB a quick start but they then lost 5 for 25 to cede the advantage. While the idea of power-hitting spread across the line-up - like Richa Ghosh at No. 4, Nadine de Klerk at No. 6 - was right, it was down to de Klerk's clutch performance for RCB to cross the line.
On the other hand, UPW's new captain Meg Lanning had a scratchy start to her season. But Phoebe Litchfield, batting one drop, more than made up for it with her inventive strokeplay. Early signs are Harleen Deol and Deepti Sharma could be expected to bat in the middle order, to perhaps delay the entry point of Shweta Sehrawat and Deandra Dottin.
Because of how they line up, the roles D Hemalatha and Kiran Navgire play for either side become crucial. Hemalatha batted at No. 3 with Ellyse Perry missing the season. But she couldn't put away deliveries that targeted her stumps and pads. Navgire had a brief stay at the crease, but she needn't look too far behind for inspiration, coming off a domestic season where she was consistent while being explosive.
Monday night in Navi Mumbai will give us more insights into the approach of these two sides, with UPW's first night game of the season.
Team news
In their opening match, RCB went in with a line-up that played a batter less, had Radha Yadav batting at No. 5, and Prema Rawat's legspin was unused. Expect them to go in unchanged, given they are coming off a win.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (probable): 1 Grace Harris, 2 Smriti Mandhana (capt), 3 D Hemalatha, 4 Richa Ghosh (wk), 5 Radha Yadav, 6 Nadine de Klerk, 7 Arundhati Reddy, 8 Shreyanka Patil, 9 Prema Rawat, 10 Linsey Smith, 11 Lauren Bell
Despite losing a few middle-order wickets in succession, UPW were able to take the chase close, which could make them back the previous XI.
UP Warriorz (probable): 1 Kiran Navgire, 2 Meg Lanning (capt), 3 Phoebe Litchfield, 4 Harleen Deol, 5 Shweta Sehrawat (wk), 6 Deandra Dottin, 7 Deepti Sharma, 8 Sophie Ecclestone, 9 Asha Sobhana, 10 Shikha Pandey, 11 Kranti Gaud
Big question
Lanning has been dismissed by left-arm spin just once in the powerplay in the WPL. RCB have two of that kind in Radha Yadav and Linsey Smith, the latter generally bowls with the new ball. Given their other spin options, RCB have the option of switching their fourth overseas player by getting in Georgia Voll, an extra batter, in place of Smith.
In the spotlight: Lauren Bell and Shweta Sehrawat
Lauren Bell is not new to the WPL per se - she was part of the UPW set-up before - but left quite a mark on her debut. She got the big, hooping outswingers going and had Amelia Kerr all at sea. She bowled three overs in her opening burst, taking the wicket of Kerr, and was done with her spell by the ninth over of the innings. Even with a small sample size, Bell has enjoyed the upper hand against Lanning - 12 runs, 23 balls, one wicket - and the early exchanges should set the tone again on Monday.
There have been two things that Shweta Sehrawat had to adjust to coming into WPL 2026. She is a natural top-order bat, but has often played in the middle order for UPW. So this domestic season, she batted in the middle order in the Senior T20 Trophy as well as the Under-23 T20 Trophy for Delhi, returning strike rates of 144.57 and 157.89, respectively. She showed a glimpse of her power against GG. Secondly, she has worked on her wicketkeeping a fair bit under the keen eyes of Abhishek Nayar, and the opening game showed there's still some way to go. She missed Ashleigh Gardner's stumping early in the innings and the batter went on to score an enterprising half-century.
Key stats
- Shikha Pandey vs Smriti Mandhana is a battle to watch out for. Pandey has dismissed Mandhana five times in 42 balls, with the RCB captain scoring only 45 runs.
- De Klerk has been in red-hot form in Indian conditions. UPW could turn to Deepti to haul her back. Against her, de Klerk has scored 23 runs off 21 balls for two dismissals. In the recent ODI World Cup, de Klerk scored 16 off the 15 balls she faced against Deepti for one dismissal.
- Lanning is 18 away from becoming the second player to 1000 runs in the WPL.
- Shreyanka Patil has bowled 12 balls to Lanning for just 12 runs and two wickets. Both of those came in RCB's victorious 2024 campaign.
Pitch and conditions
While it is true that chasing teams have had it slightly easier in Navi Mumbai, each of the two matches on a double-header Saturday saw teams batting first successfully defending their totals. Seamers have found assistance and have conceded runs at 6.66 per over in the powerplay, which could hold the key to teams' fortunes. Moreover, dew hasn't been a massive factor.
S Sudarshanan is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @Sudarshanan7