UP Warriorz’s react on their Super Over win, back-to-back season wins and more…

In the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025, Sophie Ecclestone guided UP Warriorz to a thrilling four-run win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) as the match witnessed a last-ball run-out, two huge sixes in the last over, and the first-ever Super Over in WPL history. After being put in to bat, RCB amassed a solid 180/6, with Ellyse Perry leading the innings with an incredible, undefeated 90 off 56 balls. With 18 required off the last over, UP Warriorz had a challenging task in response.

Ecclestone under pressure remained composed and hit two consecutive sixes off Renuka Singh before hitting a boundary to reduce the equation to just two runs from two balls. Kranti Goud was left to complete the task after a single off the penultimate delivery, and the tensions were immense. Behind the stumps, Richa Ghosh displayed a flash of genius that forced Ecclestone to retreat and led to WPL’s first-ever Super Over.

Richa Ghosh and Smriti Mandhana appeared to be the starting lineup for Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Super Over against UP Warriorz. Sophie Ecclestone, who was instrumental in forcing the Super Over, was getting ready to bowl in the meanwhile.

“I’ve never been nervous while bowling in a cricket game in the past 5 years. Felt it was a great pitch out there and the ball was skidding nicely and just had to nail a few of my yorkers,” remarked Sophie.

Sophie limited RCB’s hitters with full and straight bowling, giving up just three runs off the first five balls. Smriti Mandhana was under pressure to hit a match-winning maximum off the last delivery, but Ecclestone’s accurate delivery saved the big shot and gave UP Warriorz a thrilling victory. Ecclestone’s valiant actions demonstrated her strong nerves.

“As a spinner it’s not easy to defend 9 runs in 6 balls because me (Deepti Sharma) being an off spinner I can understand but she (Sophie) backed herself that she will bowl and showed initiative for the team,” shared skipper Deepti Sharma, following the win and fully crediting Ecclestone for her all-rounder performance.

Sophie took two wickets in a strong bowling performance against the Gujarat Giants to start the season. She then took another wicket against the Delhi Capitals; however, she gave up 31 runs. After a quiet 3rd game, Ecclestone won the Player of the Match for her outstanding performance against RCB in the fourth game. She forced the Super Over by hitting a vital 33 from 19 balls with the bat, which included two sixes and a boundary in the last over. Ecclestone bowled with poise and accuracy, giving up only four runs while defending eight runs in the Super Over to give her team back-to-back win.

“It was great to contribute, I feel like I’ve not contributed enough like I would have wanted, so, it was nice to go out there and hit a few sixes and get on my own way how I do things and probably got us back in so great position,” said Sophie on her outing against RCB.

At just 25, she is the top-ranked T20I bowler in the world and has a reputation for performing well under distress. Her place as one of the WPL’s most influential players was cemented by her remarkable performance with the bat and the ball.

“I was under a lot of pressure but felt good about my partnership with Uma (Chetry) and before it was good to build the match from the position we were in, it was very crucial for us,” said Shweta Sehrawat.

Following early losses, her (Sehrawat) partnership with Uma assisted UP Warriorz in stabilising their innings. Both hitters did a good job by rotating the strike and keeping the scoreboard moving, which helped the team stay in the game even though they were pursuing a difficult target.

“We were waiting for this win for quite some time when we were playing back in Vadodara. We were positive we have a good team. We just need one match and as a team we had belief we will be able to do it and it only happened when we played as a team,” said Deepti Sharma.

UP Warriorz needed a victory to get back on track after a string of defeats. Their combined bat and ball performance demonstrated their potential, and going back to Bengaluru, where they have previously had success, allowed them to regain their winning formula. With consecutive wins, the UP Warriorz have moved up the standings and are once again in the running for the playoffs.

“This was a very important match for us because we lost two matches back-to-back, of course after winning third and fourth was important for us to win to go up in the standings,” quoted all-rounder Poonam Khemnar.

As they try to continue their winning streak, their impressive results in Bengaluru, a venue that has frequently favoured them and which the squad views as fortunate, have raised team morale going forward.

(Quotes sourced from video posted by WPLT20 on Instagram)

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