WPL 2026 | Match 5: RCB vs UPW | Preview and Predictions

Royal Challengers Bengaluru will continue to maintain their winning run as they face off against a UP Warriorz side that are coming off a close loss in Match Number 5 of the 2026 WPL season.

Here is the Preview and Prediction for the game.

WPL 2026 | Match 5: Royal Challengers Bengaluru  vs UP Warriorz | 19:30 IST, 12 January 2026

Royal Challengers Bengaluru kickstarted their campaign with a thrilling victory against the Mumbai Indians in the curtain-raiser of the 2026 season. Nadine de Klerk was the star of the show for Smriti Mandhana’s side as she took her side home on the last ball of the game as she finished things off in style by getting the required 18 runs off the final over. The South African hard-hitter has time and again shown how crucial she is in such situations and this innings once again cemented her reputation as one of the fiercest players in the death overs.

However, there will be concerns and issues that the 2024 Champions will need to address. Pooja Vastrakar will miss at least 2 weeks of the season, meaning the presence of an Indian seamer will be dearly missed. The batting will have to pick themselves up despite the victory because after a strong start, there was a middle-order collapse that almost took the game away from their grasp if not for de Klerk’s heroics later on. 

RCB’s fielding left a lot to be desired as well, especially the two dropped chances of S. Sajana, who made full use of those lives and played a huge role in leading MI to a very competitive total at the end of it. 

All things said and done, while the side will be happy with the win to start things off, they will have to avoid repeating the mistakes against the Warriorz that almost ended up costing them the game last time around.

The new-look UP Warriorz fell to a 10-run defeat against the Gujarat Giants in their campaign opener. The batting display by Phoebe Litchfield showed why she is one of the stars of the future as she displayed her repertoire of shots and her new-found power game too, smashing 5 sixes en route to her 78, which formed the backbone of her side’s run-chase. While she was ably supported by the likes of Asha Sobhana and Shweta Sehrawat, the top and middle-order failed to offer any sort of support with the bat. The likes of Kiran Navgire, Harleen Deol, and Deepti Sharma all fell for single-digit scores, while skipper Meg Lanning was struggling for fluency in her innings of 30. 

Even the bowling was not really up to the mark, with everyone except Shikha Pandey and Sophie Ecclestone going above 10 runs an over. Against an RCB side that have a formidable amount of options with both the bat and ball, the Warriorz will have to ensure that they are on the top of their game right from the outset if they want to stand a chance of getting a positive result from this game.

While the UP Warriorz definitely have the quality and the wherewithal to produce a victory, it is very hard to look past the Royal Challengers Bengaluru being the favourites for this game. They have the positive momentum and look like the more well-rounded team that will make fewer mistakes than their opponents. 

Fantasy 11: Smriti Mandhana ( c ), Phoebe Litchfield, Meg Lanning, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Nadine de Klerk, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Bell, Shreyanka Patil, Linsey Smith, Shikha Pandey.

Winners Prediction: Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Venue: Dr. D.Y. Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai