Royal Challengers Bengaluru completed a stunning record by winning the Women’s Premier League trophy for the second time. Delhi Capitals lost their fourth straight final in the WPL.
RCB won their first WPL title in 2024. Now, they’ve won it the second time. It was a spectacular chase of 204 runs from RCB, which they achieved with two balls to spare. RCB captain Smriti Mandhana (87 off 41) and Georgia Voll from Australia (79 off 54) were key architects of the chase.
Both players put up a record-breaking stand of 165 runs off just 92 balls after they lost Grace Harris in the second over for just nine runs. The RCB batters brilliantly exploited thier match ups. Smriti Mandhana became the top scorer of the tournament with 377 runs.
Voll was dismissed when RCB required 30 runs to win, and Richa Ghosh followed Voll just after seven deliveries. Despite playing such an impactful innings, Mandhana couldn’t stay and finish it by herself. She fell in the penultimate over when she was bowled by Chinelle Henry.
Radha Yadav was dropped by the Delhi fielders off just her first ball. With just 10 runs needed, she hit two boundaries off the last over to help RCB go over the line. The two fours from Radha Yadav off the third and fourth delivery of the 20th over finished the game.
This defeat will sting for the Delhi Capitals as they have been the most consistent team in the WPL. They have been beaten in every final in the tournament’s history.
Here is what Mandhana said after the game.
“I’m very pleased. Three titles as a franchise [two women’s and one men’s] in the past three years is amazing.”
“We knew 200-plus was a good score, but we pulled it back in the final four overs, and I want to say Lauren Bell, to concede 19 in four overs, that was a match-winning spell.”
Delhi Captain Jemimah Rodrigues praised her team’s spirit. She said, “I couldn’t be more proud of this team. This season hasn’t been easy for us, but the character we showed to reach the finals – I couldn’t ask more.”
After batting in the first innings, the Capitals would have been delighted to score 204 in 20 overs. Shefali Verma and Lizelle Lee started well and scored 49 runs for the first wicket. Rodrigues (57) and South African Laura Wolvaardt (44) also put up a good show and made a partnership of 76 runs in just 51 balls.
