Elimination threatened UP Warriorz will play table toppers Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Match 18 of the 2026 Women’s Premier League season at Kotambi Stadium on 29th January 2026. 

Here is our Preview and Prediction for the game. 

Women’s Premier League 2026 | Match 18: UP Warriorz vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 19:30 IST, 29 January 2026

Three defeats in their first three fixtures left them in a difficult spot, but two back-to-back wins against the Mumbai Indians followed by a comprehensive defeat at the hands of Gujarat Giants in Match 14 has now left them in a do or die situation. The Warriorz hold destiny in their own hands with two wins  securing a playoff spot, however, a defeat here would make things extremely difficult with Meg Lanning’s side already holding the worst net run rate in the league. 

That said, they need several players to step up and do a job if they want to progress beyond the league phase. In the batting department, new acquisition Phoebe Litchfield leads the runscoring chart with 243 runs with skipper Lanning close behind (207 runs), Harleel Deol (150 runs) has also chipped in with a couple of good knocks, however, the rest the batting lineup has failed miserably. 

The bowling department has been even worse. They are yet to take 10 wickets against a single opposition without their recent 8-wicket haul against the Gujarat Giants currently the highest. Sophie Ecclestone is currently the highest wicket-taker with six while both Deepti Sharma and Shikha Pandey sit next with five wickets each.

Having started their campaign in exact contrast to the Warriorz, winning five in five to sit at the top with a healthy lead, two back-to-back defeats have rocked the RCB boat, however, only two points separates first from second. Moreover, what’ll be more worrying for them is the fact that it’s twice on the bounce that their top and middle-order has collapsed while their bowlers have looked ineffective on those same strips. 

Despite those defeats, RCB have already qualified for the knockouts, however, they’d want to get back to winning ways before they enter the playoffs. In the batting department, skipper Smriti Mandhana leads the runscoring chart with 236 runs in seven innings, while Richa Ghosh with her 90 off 50 deliveries against the Mumbai Indians – albeit in a losing cause – reminded everyone what mayhem she can cause on her day, however, they’d definitely like to see some more from their middle-order. 

In the bowling department, it has been a complete team effort with Lauren Bell and Nadine de Klerk leading the way with 11 wickets apiece while Shreyanka Patil has nine, and Sayali Satghare has eight. Given that they are the first team to book their place for the playoffs – they can use these fixtures to fine tune certain aspects of their game that they feel they can still be better at. 

In terms of weather forecast and pitch report, conditions are expected to be clear and ideal for Cricket. Unlike DY Patil Sports Academy, runs have been hard to come by at the Kotambi Stadium with the slow nature of the wickets giving bowlers a slight edge. 

Looking ahead to this fixture, the UP Warriorz come into this in a do-or-die situation while the Royal Challengers are also looking for a guaranteed first spot. However, both teams come into this fixture with their batters struggling and bowlers hitting a slump, but looking at RCB’s core team we are backing them to get back to winning ways. 

Fantasy XI: Grace Harris, Meg Lanning, Smriti Mandhana, Phoebe Litchfield (vc), Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Nadine de Klerk (c), Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Bell, Shreyanka Patil, Shikha Pandey, Sayali Satghare

Venue: Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara 

Winners Prediction: Royal Challengers Bengaluru