Picture : Twitter/wplt20
Following her side’s maiden Women’s Premier League (WPL) title win, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Smriti Mandhana said a poor performance in the inaugural season taught her and the team a lot, as she thanked the team management and fans for continuously backing and supporting her.
An all-round Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) led by yet another solid knock by Ellyse Perry and brilliant bowling spells from spinners Shreyanka Patil and Sophie Molineux captured their first-ever Women”s Premier League (WPL) title after defeating Delhi Capitals by eight wickets in the title clash at Arun Jaitley Stadium . This win comes after a second-last-place finish in the inaugural edition, in which they won just two matches out of eight.
DC won the toss and elected to bat first. Openers Shafali Varma (44 in 27 balls, with two fours and three sixes) and skipper Meg Lanning (23 in 23 balls, with three fours) started off really well for the team with a quickfire 64-run opening stand.
However, Shreyanka Patil (4/12), Sophie Molineux (3/20) and Asha Sobhana (2/14) helped RCB bounce back just after the powerplay and removed Delhi batters one-by-one, triggering an unfathomable batting collapse. DC was all out for 113 in 18.3 overs.
In the chase of 114, RCB put on a 49-run opening stand, powered by Sophie Devine (32 in 27 balls, with five fours and a six).
However, RCB was tested by Delhi bowlers in middle overs and skipper Smriti Mandhana (31 in 39 balls, with three fours) departed at a crucial juncture to leave RCB at 82/2 in 15 overs. However, Ellyse Perry (35* in 37 balls, with four boundaries) and Richa Ghosh (17* in 14 balls, with two fours) finished the chase with three balls left. Minnu Mani and Shikha Pandey took a wicket each for DC.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah took to X to congratulate RCB
ಇಂದಿನ #TATAWPL ಫೈನಲ್ ಪಂದ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಡೆಲ್ಲಿ ತಂಡವನ್ನು ಮಣಿಸಿ ಆರ್.ಸಿ.ಬಿ ತಂಡ ಚಾಂಪಿಯನ್ಶಿಪ್ ಅನ್ನು ಮುಡಿಗೇರಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿದೆ. ಇಡೀ ಪಂದ್ಯಾಕೂಟದುದ್ದಕ್ಕೂ ಸಂಘಟಿತ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನ ನೀಡಿರುವ ನಮ್ಮ ಹುಡುಗಿಯರ ಆಟ ಅಭಿನಂದನಾರ್ಹ. ಕ್ರಿಕೆಟ್ ಪ್ರೇಮಿಯಾದ ನನಗೆ ಈ ಗೆಲುವು ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಖುಷಿಕೊಟ್ಟಿದೆ.
ಆರ್.ಸಿ.ಬಿ ಅಭಿಮಾನಿಗಳ ದಶಕಗಳ ಕನಸು ಇಂದು… pic.twitter.com/39HqqJyjVs
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) March 17, 2024
