Lucknow, March 09 (HS): The journey of defending champions Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 has come to an end. The Smriti Mandhana-led Bangalore team suffered a 12-run defeat against UP Warriors, knocking them out of the playoff race.

In this match played at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, UP Warriorz batted first and scored a huge score of 225 runs. The star of this innings was 21-year-old Georgia Wall, who scored an unbeaten 99 runs. She hit 11 fours and 5 sixes in his 56-ball innings. Apart from this, Kiran Navgire played a blistering innings of 46 runs in just 16 balls. Grace Harris (39) and Deepti Sharma (18) also contributed significantly to the team’s score.

RCB, which came out to chase the huge target, needed an aggressive start, but captain Smriti Mandhana’s (4) poor form continued in this match as well. Alice Perry (28) and Shabbinaini Meghna (27) hit some big shots, but could not take the team across. Richa Ghosh (69) hit a quick half-century in 33 balls and gave the team hope of victory, but she was dismissed by Deepti Sharma, giving a blow to RCB’s chances of comeback.

When RCB’s defeat was almost certain, Sneh Rana played an explosive innings of 26 runs in 6 balls. She hit 3 sixes and 2 fours off Deepti Sharma’s balls in the 19th over, making this over the most expensive over in the history of WPL. However, she could not lead the team to victory and RCB managed to score only 213 runs.

With the result of this match, the three teams reaching the playoffs were also decided. Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants confirmed their place in the playoffs, while Delhi Capitals had already entered the next round.

With RCB’s fifth consecutive defeat, their journey in this season ended. On the other hand, UP Warriors, who were already out of the tournament, ended their campaign with a win.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar