Smriti Mandhana-led Royal Challengers Bangalore ended their campaign on a high by clinching their maiden WPL triumph with eight-wicket over Delhi Capitals at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Sunday, March 17.
RCB were exceptional with their all-round show as their bowlers rattled Delhi Capitals batting line-up and bundled Meg Lanning-side out for 113. Then, Ellyse Perry (35*), Sophie Devine (32) and skipper Mandhana (31) guided Royal Bangalore Challengers to chase down the target in 19.3 overs despite batting seemed difficult in the second innings.
The title clash almost went down the wire with Richa Ghosh hitting the winning four to take home past the finishing line and complete the title run. With this win, Royal Challengers Bangalore finally ended 16-year drought of winning the premier league.
It was a big moment for Royal Challengers Bangalore as a franchise as they earned their maiden title in Indian Premier League or Women's Premier League. What RCB men's team couldn't achieve in 16 years was accomplished by the women's team in just 2 WPL seasons.
Cricket fratnerity was in all praise for Royal Challengers Bangalore for ending the long title drought. Chris Gayle, Mithali Raj, Virender Sehwag, Glenn Maxwell, Sachin Tendulkar, AB de Villiers and many other cricketers hail RCB for their outstanding performances throught WPL 2024.
Here's how Cricket Fraternity reacts to RCB's maiden WPL Triumph
'Hard for me to come out with expressions': Smriti Mandhana
RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana admitted that it was difficult to describe in words about the moment after clinching their maiden WPL title. Mandhana stated that she is happy with her players and last WPL season helped them to rectify their mistakes.
"Feeling hasn't still sunk in. Hard for me to come out with expressions. One thing I'll say is I'm proud of the bunch. Our Bangalore leg was really good. We came to Delhi and had two tough losses. That's what we spoke about that we need to step up at the right time." RCB skipper said at the post-match presentation
"We came to Delhi and had two tough losses. That's what we spoke about that we need to step up at the right time. These tournaments are about peaking at the right time. Last year taught us a lot of things. What went wrong, what went right. Management just said this is your team, build it (your way). Thumbs up to them. For RCB, it's a lot more. I'm not the only one who won the trophy, the team has won the trophy." She added.
Royal Challengers Bangalore had a disappointing campaign in the inaugural WPL season last year as they finished fourth in the league with just four points from 8 games and failed to qualify for playoffs. This time, Smriti Mandhana and her team redeemed themselves and completed their title run.
