At the BCA Stadium, Kotambi in Vadodara on Thursday, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated Delhi Capitals by six wickets to win their second Women’s Premier League championship.
With flawless ease, RCB accomplished the highest successful chase in a WPL final in 19.4 overs after captain Jemimah Rodrigues top-scored with 57 to lead DC to 203/4.
With the triumph, RCB became the first team to win the championship after leading the group stage standings and the first team to hold the IPL and WPL titles at the same time.
With 87 off 41 balls, 12 fours, and three sixes, captain Smriti Mandhana delivered her most elegant and outstanding WPL performance to date.
After managing just six runs from her first five deliveries, she began to accelerate magnificently, hitting boundaries nearly every over. Smriti became the mainstay of RCB’s dominant chase, and her knock also made her the tournament’s top run scorer.
Georgia Voll, who scored an incredible 79 off 54 balls with 14 boundaries, and Smriti shared a commanding 165-run partnership off 92 balls. The fact that there were at least one boundary in each over of the chase demonstrated how dominant their batting performance was.
Radha Yadav made sure RCB crossed the line with consecutive boundaries despite a slight wobble at the finish, which was caused by DC pitching pace-off deliveries. This led to joyous emotions in the dugout.
Despite having the greatest first innings total in a WPL final, DC, playing their fourth straight final, was the victim of the Smriti-Georgia masterclass, blasting the ball all over the park and suffering yet another heartbreaking loss.
Georgia proceeded with her strokeplay, cutting and driving Marizanne for consecutive fours after flicking Chinelle through midwicket and scooping over short fine leg for boundaries. There was no relief for DC even after Nandni Sharma was introduced; Georgia swiped her for four before Smriti slogged and swept her for two boundaries.
Before the former and later struck a four off Minnu Mani and Shafali Verma, respectively, Smriti expertly pierced off-side field. The two took a boundary apiece against N Sree Charani of Georgia, smashing her over mid-off.
Smriti danced down the field to loft Charani over long-on after catching a short ball from Nandni over square leg for six. Smriti raised her half-century by lofting Sneh Rana over additional cover for four after Georgia raised her fifty.
Smriti responded to Marizanne’s reintroduction in the 14th over with lofted drives that went straight down the ground and over mid-off. RCB was winning the chase when Georgia hoicked Nandni over midwicket and Smriti once more glided down the pitch to loft Minnu over mid-off to score more boundaries.
Smriti’s dismissal for 87 after Chinelle uprooted her leg-stump left RCB on a challenging pitch, despite Georgia and Richa Ghosh falling in short succession after holing out to long-on off Minnu and Nandni, respectively. However, Radha’s successive boundaries off Charani—crunching over cover and lofting over cover-point—secured the trophy victory for RCB.
In the past, Jemimah took control with a dazzling knock after Lizelle Lee and Shafali Verma gave the early momentum. She demonstrated her incredible timing and ability to find gaps with breathtaking simplicity to score eight boundaries.
Chinelle Henry had a brilliant cameo of 35 off only 15 balls to help Delhi surpass the 200-run threshold, while Laura Wolvaardt contributed a helpful 44 off 25 balls. Chinelle’s final touch had such an impact that DC scored 55 runs in the final four overs.
With a run of 0-19 in four overs, Lauren Bell was the only bright spot for RCB with the ball. However, the rest of the attack struggled with their lines and lengths, providing scoring opportunities in every over. Following Jemimah’s departure in the sixteenth over, RCB mounted a brief comeback, but their dreams were crushed by Chinelle’s late pyrotechnics.
Jemimah demonstrated her full range in the crucial 12th over, cover-driving, sweeping, and cutting Shreyanka for three boundaries before slicing fiercely off Radha Yadav. In the 15th over, Jemimah reached her half-century before being caught by deep square leg off Sayali Satghare for 57.
However, in the last overs, Laura and Chinelle launched a vicious attack. In the 18th over, Chinelle in particular tore into Nadine de Klerk, hitting four boundaries and a six to amass 24 runs. In the last over, both of them hit boundaries off Sayali, giving up 15 runs. Laura was then run out while trying a desperation second run, as DC set RCB up for a difficult chase that they dominated.
Shreyanka Patil, an off-spin bowling all-rounder for RCB, called their Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 victory “very special” and dedicated it to captain Smriti Mandhana, citing difficulties the captain has faced recently.
“Very unique to me. My WPL return season. I couldn’t have hoped for more. This crowd is lovely and has always been there for us, even though there were 200 on the board. I want to express my gratitude to every single member who has supported us. Additionally, the viewers in Bangalore and Karnataka would like to express their gratitude to you all,” she stated.
The winning runs were made by left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Radha Yadav, who commended the management for helping the players and getting them ready for stressful situations. “Everyone is overjoyed. This group has put in a lot of effort. The management has supported the players and fulfilled our requests. In fact, they’ve provided us much more than we requested. They deserve this victory.
“As athletes, we work hard; sometimes we see the results, and other times we don’t. But congratulations to the management for their hard work. Our management was really helpful. How can we enhance the skills we already possess? They supported us in discovering those paths,” she remarked.
Brief Scores:
Delhi Capitals 203/4 in 20 overs (Jemimah Rodrigues 57, Laura Wolvaardt 44; Arundhati Reddy 1-40, Sayali Satghare 1-46) lost to
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 204/4 in 19.4 overs (Smriti Mandhana 87, Georgia Voll 79; Chinelle Henry 2-34, Minnu Mani 1-19) by six wickets