Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Smriti Mandhana was crying after her team won the final of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024. The Bengaluru-based franchise defeated Delhi Capitals in the final to claim their first title.
Smriti Mandhana played a pivotal role in Royal Challengers Bangalore winning the trophy. The captain led from the front and made sure to end the franchise’s title drought. The season was a rollercoaster for them but they made sure to give their best in the finals.
Royal Challengers Bangalore dominated the WPL final and took the game by a margin of 8 wickets. They were asked to bowl first and produced a sensational effort with the ball. Early on, the visitors were under pressure as DC were on a strong 64-run stand and that too at a fast pace.
However, after that Sophie Molineux changed the entire complexion of the game. She produced a triple wicket, which triggered the collapse of the Delhi Capitals. After that, Shreyanka Patil did what she does best: weave the web around the opposition.
She picked four wickets while Asha Sobhana bagged two scalps as Delhi Capitals scored just 133 runs. RCB adopted a cautious approach with the bat at first. Sophie Devine (31) and Smriti Mandhana (31) added 49 runs together which set the platform for the team.
After that, Ellyse Perry (35*) played an unbeaten hand for the team before Richa Ghosh (17*) scored the runs of the innings. RCB won the game by 8 wickets and secured the second edition of the Women’s Premier League at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
When RCB women won the WPL 2024, captain Smriti Mandhana was emotional as she took the field. The video of that went viral on the Internet. Here is the clip of the captain with tears in her eyes after the victory.
– Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (@Hanji_CricDekho) March 17, 2024
Now it’s Ee Sala Cup Namdu – Smriti Mandhana after WPL win
That trophy-lifting moment! 🙌 🙌
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Smriti Mandhana receives the #TATAWPL Trophy 🏆 from Mr. Roger Binny, BCCI President and Mr. Jay Shah, Honorary Secretary of BCCI 👏 👏#Final | @JayShah | @RCBTweets | @mandhana_smriti pic.twitter.com/pYrNYkZdca
— Women’s Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) March 17, 2024
Smriti Mandhana spoke about winning the WPL 2024 final. She admitted that feeling hasn’t sunk in yet, but she is proud of the way her team played. She highlighted how hard last season taught them a lot. Speaking after the match, she explained:
“The feeling hasn’t sunk in yet. It’s hard for me to find expressions. One thing I will say is that I’m proud of the group. Our time in Bangalore was really good. We reached Delhi and suffered two tough defeats. That’s what we talked about and that we must take a step forward at the right time. These tournaments are about peaking at the right time. Last year taught us many things. What went wrong, what went right. Management just said this is your team, build it (your way).”
Smriti Mandhana further added that there have been many statements about Ee Sala Cup Namde but now they can proudly say that it is Ee Sala Cup Namdu. She said:
“A round of applause for them. For RCB, it is much more. I’m not the only one who won the trophy, the trophy was won by the team. I’m not the person to talk about what I feel. Maybe it’s in the top five. Obviously, a World Cup would be the best. Have a message for the fans: the most loyal fan base. One statement that always comes up is Ee Sala Cup Namde. Now it’s the Ee Sala Namdu Cup”, he concluded.