Freedom and comfort: Lauren Bell and Grace Harris on how they’ve adapted into their roles at RCB

RCB pulled off a thrilling last-ball win in their WPL 2026 season opener against the Mumbai Indians, a win that was highlighted by contributions across the board.

One of the early tone setters was seamer Lauren Bell, who was unplayable in her debut for RCB. Bell gave away just 14 runs from her four overs and bowled 19 dot balls, a jaw-dropping stat in the context of recent big-hitting that has emerged in the women’s game.

Speaking on her role and the clarity behind it, on the pre-match episode of RCB Game Day, Bell said, “It’s been great, obviously Malo’s been really clear on what they want me to do, and obviously I'm coming in and taking wickets and trying to impact the game. So, yeah, I'm really clear and I feel really comfortable with what my role is.”

While Bell was on song with the ball, Grace Harris walked out to open the batting for RCB and was in her zone from ball one, which she pulled away to backward square leg for a boundary.

Harris impressed with a 12-ball 25 that got RCB off to a flying start, and the dynamic Aussie spoke about how trust in the lower order all-rounders coming good with the bat enables her to explode at the top.

She said, “With picking a fair few all-rounders, at the top, you have a bit more freedom to really go after your shots and have a higher impact. Especially getting the team off to a flying start in the Powerplay.”

Grace and Smriti Mandhana put on 40 for the opening stand in 3.5 overs before the partnership was broken. The former spoke about how depth in batting plays into how the top order can go big early on.

She added, “Really enjoying batting with Smriti - although I might talk a little bit more than what she's used to - but it means that you can go out there and have a lot more freedom and clear thinking on how you want to approach batting, because you know that you've got the depth in behind you.”