Royal Challengers Bengaluru collected a second Women’s Premier League crown on Thursday evening, overhauling Delhi Capitals’ imposing 204-4 with two balls to spare and six wickets in hand. The match, played on a true Surat surface, is now the highest-scoring women’s T20 final on record.
“We definitely did think that it’s a good surface to bat on,” captain Smriti Mandhana said moments before lifting the trophy. “But, of course, 200-plus in the final is definitely a good score. I thought that in the last four overs, we definitely bowled well and pulled it [back] a little better. Again, credit to Lauren Bell. I mean, 400 [runs scored] in a match and she goes for like four overs, 20-odd runs. That, for me, is a match-winning spell.”
Bell’s 4-0-19-0, laced with 12 dot balls, was the lone spell that kept Delhi’s middle overs in check. Every other RCB bowler travelled at nine an over or worse, so holding the Capitals to anything near 200 felt a small victory at the halfway mark.
Grace Harris fell early in reply, yet Mandhana and teenager Georgia Voll stitched 165 from just 92 deliveries, swatting spin and pace alike. Voll, who had the lion’s share of the strike during the powerplay, set the tempo; Mandhana caught up and then burst clear, collecting her fastest WPL fifty in 23 balls and finishing with 87 from 41.
“Yeah, of course, Volly led the way,” Mandhana added. “She had almost all the strike in the powerplay, but her intent was really spot-on. And I remember telling the girls 10 or 15 days back that I have a feeling that Volly will get a match-winning knock in the final and [I’m] really happy, really happy for her.”
The skipper was quick to spread the praise further, noting that the side have played the entire season without Ellyse Perry, who withdrew for personal reasons. The coaching group, said Mandhana, filled that gap by spelling out precise roles well before a ball was bowled.
“One thing which has stood out for me is the way support staff has been around the girls, the role clarity was given,” she said. “Not only now, when the auction happened and everyone got phone calls that this is what we are looking for from you, this is the batting order, or this is the phase we want you to bowl in.”
That clarity translated into confidence when the target read 205. “I feel girls are working extremely hard. And that’s one thing which really shoots up your belief,” Mandhana explained. “When you work hard in the gym, when you’re putting in the hard yards, you have that belief that any score you can chase it down… Having said that, what Volly did, I feel, was really special.”
Delhi, led by stand-in captain Jemimah Rodrigues, slipped to a fourth consecutive final defeat. Rodrigues top-scored with a brisk 62 and later spoke of “frustration mixed with pride”, pointing out that the side “did almost everything right until the last three overs with the ball”. Capitals coach Jonathan Batty echoed that sentiment, admitting Bell’s economy “took 15 runs off our total” and that Voll’s shot selection “never allowed us a breather”.
There is no panic in the Delhi camp, according to Rodrigues, only a renewed resolve to “find that extra two per cent” before next season. For now, the night and the silverware belong to RCB, a side that keeps discovering fresh match-winners even when star names are missing.
