The 2026 edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) continues to deliver high-octane drama, and the fifth match between UP Warriorz (UPW) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the DY Patil Stadium was no exception.
On a humid Monday evening in Navi Mumbai, RCB captain Smriti Mandhana won the toss and elected to field, a decision that paid immediate dividends thanks to a masterclass in spin bowling by the rising sensation, Shreyanka Patil.
Patil, who has rapidly become a linchpin in the RCB bowling attack, turned the game on its head during the eighth over. While the Warriorz were looking to stabilize after the early loss of Harleen Deol, Patil produced a double-blow over that sent two of the world’s most dangerous batters back to the dugout, effectively dismantling the UPW top order in a matter of six deliveries.
Shreyanka Patil dismantles UP Warriorz batting core with two quick wickets
The game shifted momentum at the start of the seventh over. Meg Lanning, the veteran Australian legend and UPW skipper, had been struggling to find her usual rhythm, sitting on 14 off 20 balls. Patil tossed up a tempting delivery full and just outside off-stump. Lanning, looking to break the shackles, cleared her front leg for a powerful swipe across the line. However, the flight deceived her; she failed to middle the shot, resulting in a high, swirling catch toward deep mid-wicket. Radha Yadav, displaying exceptional athleticism, charged in from the fence and executed a superb lunging catch.
The misery for the Warriorz didn’t end there. On the final ball of the same over, Patil struck again. Phoebe Litchfield, who had looked dangerous with a strike rate of 181.81, fell victim to a deceptive drag-down delivery. While it sat up to be hit, Litchfield couldn’t get the necessary elevation to clear the inner ring. She swatted the ball flat and hard, but it went straight down the throat of Mandhana at mid-on. In a single over, Patil had removed the two biggest threats in the UPW lineup, leaving the Warriorz reeling at 50/3.
Here’s the video:
Two HUGE wickets!
Shreyanka Patil turning it around for @RCBTweets ❤️
Updates ▶️ https://t.co/U1cgf01ys0#TATAWPL | #KhelEmotionKa | #RCBvUPW pic.twitter.com/l6hDpBrfX1
— Women’s Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) January 12, 2026
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UP Warriorz crumble under pressure against disciplined RCB lineup
The fallout from Patil’s over was catastrophic for the Warriorz. The scoreboard told a grim story of a faulty start that quickly turned into a full-blown collapse. Following the dismissals of Lanning and Litchfield, Kiran Navgire and Shweta Sehrawat both fell in the very next over to Nadine de Klerk, leaving the team in a dismal state at 50/5 after 8.2 overs.
The Warriorz’s scoring rate plummeted as RCB’s bowlers tightened the screws. By the 16th over, UPW crawled to 100/5, with Deepti Sharma and Deandra Dottin forced into a counterattack just to survive. The powerplay yielded only 36 runs for the loss of one wicket, but it was the post-powerplay period that broke the spine of the Warriorz’s innings.
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This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.
