Follow UsRoyal Challengers Bangalore won the 2024 Women’s Premier League on Sunday (March 17) but the journey to the top wasn’t an easy one. Their last league match against defending champions Mumbai Indians was a must-win and Ellyse Perry helped them emerge victorious by a comfortable margin.
Perry once again stood tall in the Eliminator against the same opponent and Bangalore somehow managed to win it by five runs. Then came the final against Delhi Capitals and RCB didn’t put a foot wrong after the first powerplay. Delhi were 64/0 at the end of seven overs before losing seven wickets for just 23 runs. They were eventually bowled out for 113, which RCB got with eight wickets to spare.
"The first thing I did was I went to the dressing room and sat. It's hard to celebrate the way others do. I don't know, there's some defect,” said RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana.
"The feeling hasn't sunk in, maybe it'll take time. It's hard to come out with a lot of expressions at the moment. The only thing I want to say is how proud I am of the bunch. We've been through ups and downs, the way they stuck together and got us through the line was amazing to watch.
"The Bangalore leg was really good, we won three out of five, but in Delhi we had two tough losses. We spoke of how our last three games were effectively like a quarterfinal, semi-final and final. We had to step up at the right time. In tournaments like these, you need to peak at the right time, maybe we saved our best for the last."
Delhi were in complete control of the game before Sophie Molineux dismissed Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues and Alice Capsey in the space of one over to turn the game in RCB’s favour. "We've been following her for a very long time," Mandhana said.
"I remember her bowling against us in the one-day series (in 2021), which we nearly won when we went to Australia. I think she was the difference between the Australian team and the Indian team and, at that time, the way she bowled in the last four-five overs, it always stuck with me somehow - her performance.
"The last two years have been really tough on her with a few injuries. She went through ACL and I can feel that ACL pain (having gone through it myself), so really, really happy for her. The way she came back - she was really clear. Not only today but even in the eliminator, to bowl that kind of a 19th over (four runs and a wicket against Mumbai). So, really, really happy for her and I think she is definitely a special player."
Talking about appointing Luke Williams as RCB’s head coach before the season, Mandhana said: “Last year taught us a lot of things. We spoke of what went wrong, what went right, both as player and captain. The management backed my ideas when I went to them after the tournament. They said this is your team, build it the way you want to. It's been amazing. They've been through a lot as well, for them to have this trophy is also really exciting."
So, winning the WPL has to be one of the top moments of Mandhana’s career, right?
"I think for RCB it's a lot more. I'm not the only won who has won the trophy, the team has won it. To win it as a franchise is really special. It hasn't sunk in yet, but it feels definitely like one of the top five moments. Definitely, a World Cup win will top it.
"We've always heard that one statement always Ee Sala Cup Namde. I want to say now, Ee Sala Cup Namdu."