News
Smriti Mandhana had what the doctor would call a high-grade fever and what her coach, Malolan Rangarajan, preferred to label “massive, massive flu”. Either way, the RCB captain turned up in Vadodara, shrugged off the shivers and peeled off 87 from 41 balls to chase down Delhi Capitals’ 204 with six wickets and five deliveries to spare. The win gives Royal Challengers Bengaluru a second Women’s Premier League title, and Mandhana leaves the tournament as its leading run-scorer with 377.
Key facts first
• Capitals 203 for 5, driven by Alice Capsey’s brisk 64, looked a touch above par.
• RCB replied with 206 for 4, Mandhana setting the tempo once Georgia Voll (48 off 30) had knocked the shine off the new ball.
• A boundary arrived in every over of the chase – a small detail that underlined how relentlessly RCB kept the rate in check.
Now, how did a batter struggling to breathe manage to bat that quickly? Rangarajan, trophy propped beside him at the post-match press chat, tried to explain.
“Massive, massive flu,” he began. “She was seriously unwell with a high fever.” Even so, when he checked on his captain in the afternoon, Mandhana’s reply was, “‘Nahi, Malo, koi problem nahi, I’ll be there.’” The coach shook his head, half amazed, half amused. “That’s the person Smriti is.”
Mandhana started quietly – 6 from 5 balls by the fifth over – while Voll attacked Marizanne Kapp. Then she flicked a switch. Left-arm spinner Sree Charani, so miserly all season, leaked 23 in her second over as Mandhana backed away, carved through point, then crossed her stumps to find the mid-wicket gap with the same length ball. Sneh Rana fared no better; an inside-out loft over long-off felt almost pre-meditated.
“I think she saved one of her best innings for the final,” Rangarajan said. “The way she batted was….inhuman? I don’t even know the word to use.”
Technically, it was a master-class in pacing. One over of scouting, two overs of placement, and by the tenth she was 44 from 23, the asking rate dipped below ten and Delhi never recovered. Jemimah Rodrigues kept swapping fielders but, as Rangarajan put it, “she was in control of what she wanted to do.”
Training clues
Mandhana had batted only twice in the nets all week. “She trained two days prior to the game and… her last session was among the best she had batted,” the coach noted. The shift, he felt, started three nights earlier when RCB, after two defeats, faced UP Warriorz for a direct route to the final. Mandhana’s unbeaten 54 off 27 then “matched her high-tempo approach with consistency” and convinced her the aggressive template would hold even on a slower surface.
Those inside RCB say captain and coach have refined a simple routine: short conversations, clear plans, little fuss. “We’ve worked now for four years together,” Rangarajan said. “With Smriti, I think both of us know exactly what our roles are within the tournament. So it’s very clear between us, good camaraderie, I—” he broke off, laughing at his own earnestness, before adding that all he really did on final day was remind her to hydrate.
Capitals’ perspective
Delhi were sporting after the defeat, though understandably flat. Rodrigues admitted they were “probably 15 short” despite Capsey’s late surge. The off-spinners had been their trump card all season, yet only one of the 12 overs of spin went for less than six. “Smriti took the game away in that middle phase,” Rodrigues conceded. “Sometimes you tip your hat.”
Friendly rivalry
Mandhana’s opposite number did at least emerge with the consolation of the tournament’s best catch – Rodrigues tumbling at extra cover to remove Richa Ghosh – but that was as good as it got for the Capitals. Voll’s miscued pull fell just out of reach, Heather Knight finished the job, and Mandhana finally allowed herself a wry grin once the winning single trickled to long-on.
Perspective
A second trophy is validation for a squad that lost its first three matches last year, then rebuilt quietly instead of rebooting. For Mandhana, there is the personal milestone of being player of the match in a major final, something critics used to suggest was missing from her CV.
She did it while, as Rangarajan kept reminding everyone, fighting “massive, massive flu”. Perhaps the last word should belong to the captain but, true to her understated style, she limited herself to a brief nod during the presentation: “I just wanted to contribute. We had a job to do.”
Job done – sniffles and all.
