Lauren Bell spent two seasons warming the bench at UP Warriorz. Ahead of the third, they released the English pacer, who then went unsold at the auction. In the mega-auction ahead of WPL 2026, RCB staved off competition from Mumbai Indians to sign the lanky pacer who’s proven worth every rupee of her INR 90 lakh contract. Ask the Warriorz.
At the heart of RCB’s bowling dominance this season has been Lauren Bell’s new-ball control, which has repeatedly choked UPW’s scoring in the PowerPlay. In her first game of the season against her former franchise, Bell’s tight 4-0-16-1 with 15 dots on Navi Mumbai’s high-scoring track, dictated tempo early on with her relentless accuracy. On Thursday in Vadodara, she once again delivered a similar punch, conceding only 21 runs in her four overs while sending down 14 dots. Even as Meg Lanning and new opener Deepti Sharma tried to wrest control, Bell’s precision had two high-calibre batters tied up for the better part of her PowerPlay spell that included 10 dots, before eventually the left-hander found her shots.
RCB bowling coach Anya Shrubsole said Bell’s impact at RCB goes beyond wickets. “Even if she’s not picking up wickets, she’s keeping things really tight from her end,” Shrubsole said after a comprehensive eight-wicket win, adding that Bell and the other PowerPlay bowlers “have been a huge part of why we’re in this position.”
Bell may not be topping the wicket-takers charts at WPL, but discipline with the new ball has shone through in 116 dots she has sent down in the season so far, out of 192 deliveries. The second-best is Marizanne Kapp with 92. Bell’s dot-ball percentage of 60.4 is the highest among bowlers who’ve sent down at least five overs in the PowerPlay this season; her economy of 5.62 at the end of RCB’s league stage is second only behind Kapp (5.57 in 7 innings).
Away from the spotlight, over the last couple of years, Bell had worked hard on adding outswingers to her repertoire, besides her USP that is the inswingers. “It’s been pretty tough at times behind the scenes and credit to her to come to a tournament like this and perform how she has,” said Shrubsole, who has been a mentor for Bell at both England and Southern Brave setups.
Shrubsole also revealed that Bell was a priority acquisition for RCB at the mega auction given the team’s need for a breakthrough PowerPlay bowler. “We were clear that we really wanted a strong PowerPlay bowler,” she said. “Bell was the one we ideally wanted. It was always going to go down to the auction order, but luckily her name came up first and we were able to get her. And she’s shown why we were so keen to have her here.”
After bagging a couple of wickets, Harris’s bigger role on the night came with the bat ©BCCI
While UPW did manage to navigate the Bell threat upfront, especially through left-hander Deepti who belatedly went on the offensive, the damage only shifted hands. Warriorz’s fragile middle-order came undone against the part-time offspin of Grace Harris. Nadine de Klerk was the one to break through after a strong opening stand with a double-wicket over, before Harris – another one of UPW’s exes – joined the party.
Bowling for the first time this WPL, Harris got rid of the in-form Harleen Deol and the dangerous Chloe Tryon in successive overs to see UPW slip from 74/0 to 103/4, from where they could never recover.
Shrubsole credited skipper Smriti Mandhana’s instincts for the move to bring Harris into the attack. “Grace is someone who, as a cricketer, she makes things happen. I wouldn’t say it was plan A, but Smriti clearly had a gut instinct.
“Smriti thought about bowling her the other day as well when Nat [Sciver-Brunt] was going, but she didn’t. Smriti had a bit of instinct to try it today, and Grace is never the one to say a no. Credit to her; she picked up two key wickets and that gave her good bit of confidence going into her batting innings as well.”
Harris’s bigger role on the night, of course, came with the bat as she sent the UPW attack on a leather hunt with a blistering 37-ball 75 in a 108-run partnership with fellow opener Mandhana. This was Harris’ second half-century of the season, and incidentally the last one too came in a very similar clinical dismantling of her former side in the reverse fixture of the league. Her 40-ball 85 in Navi Mumbai then had helped RCB take down the exactly similar target of 144 in just 12.1 overs, courtesy of a 137-run opening stand with the captain.
On Thursday, RCB didn’t just outplay UPW, they let a couple of familiar faces inflict maximum damage. For the table-toppers, the statement win was direct ticket to the WPL 2026 finale next Thursday. For UPW, a harsh reminder that in T20 cricket familiarity can be such a double-edged sword.