The Royal Challengers Bangalore Women scripted history on Sunday by winning the second season of the Women’s Indian Premier League 2024. The black and gold side beat Delhi Capitals Women by 8 wickets to clinch the title at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
This is RCB’s first-ever T20 title across both WPL and the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Chasing 114, RCB started off cautiously, getting just 18 runs in their first four overs. Openers Smriti Mandhana and Sophie Devine did not take many risks, except for two boundaries by the New Zealand batter.
RCB started cautiously, scoring 25/0 in the powerplay, with Smriti (12*) and Sophie (13*) unbeaten.
Devine let her arms loose in the seventh over, smashing Radha Yadav for three fours and a six. She got 18 runs from that over, taking RCB to 43/0 in seven overs. With a couple by Devine, RCB reached the 50-run mark in eight overs.
Shikha Pandey ended the threatening stand between Mandhana and Sophie, trapping the latter leg-before-wicket for 32 in 27 balls, with five fours and a six. RCB was 49/1 in 8.1 overs.
RCB’s superstar all-rounder Ellyse Perry was next up at the crease and brought up RCB’s 50-run mark in 8.2 overs.
Halfway through the innings, RCB was 56/1, with Perry (3*) and Smriti (21*) unbeaten. For the next few overs, DC managed to keep the RCB batters shut, maintaining a low run rate. A boundary each by Mandhana and Perry in the 13th over by Arundhati Yadav eased off some pressure, taking the score to 72/1 in 13 overs.
The budding partnership was finally broken by Minnu Mani, who got the wicket of skipper Smriti for 31 in 39 balls, with three fours. The left-handed batter’s mistimed shot fell into the hands of Arundhati Reddy at mid-on. RCB was 82/2 in 15 overs, needing 31 in the final five overs.
An economical 16th over by Alice Capsey brought down the equation to 27 runs in the final four overs. In the next over by Mini, RCB gathered nine runs, including a four by Richa Ghosh, leaving the team with 18 runs to get in three overs.
The following over by Jonassen also produced a boundary by Perry, leaving RCB with 11 runs to get in two overs. RCB’s equation came down to five runs in the final over. Richa hit the winning shot, finishing RCB’s innings at 115/2 in 19.3 overs, with Richa (17*) and Perry (35*) unbeaten. Minnu and Shikha each took a wicket.
Earlier, after being asked to field first, the RCB spinners, particularly Sophie Molineux and Shreyanka Patil, helped the side overcome a solid start by Delhi Capitals openers Meg Lanning and Shefali Verma and bundled out the hosts for 113 after completing the first innings in the final of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
Brief Score: Delhi Capitals 113 all out (Shefali Verma 44, Meg Lanning 23, Shreyanka Patil 4/12) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore