Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Women skipper Smriti Mandhana has said that the team ‘saved their best of the last’ after winning their maiden Women’s Premier League (WPL) title.
RCB beat Delhi Capitals in a one-sided match on Sunday (Mar 18) to win the WPL 2024 trophy – their first silverware as a franchise across Indian Premier League (IPL) and WPL.
“We spoke of how our last three games were effectively like a quarterfinals, 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,” said Mandhana after the match.
The skipper acknowledged that the feeling of winning the title will take time sink in but praised the team for sticking together through all ups and downs.
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“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,” she said.
RCB had started their campaign with two consecutive wins before losing the track a bit. The team, however, persevered through to eventually book a place in the final.
“The Bangalore leg was really good, we won three out of five, but in Delhi we had two tough losses,” Mandhana said while reflecting on the team’s campaign.
Speaking on what it means to win the the WPL title, Mandhana said: “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,” she added.
Mandhana played a crucial role with 39-ball 31 during RCB’s chase as they reached the 114-run target in the last over with eight wickets in hand.