Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Delhi Capitals by eight wickets in the WPL 2024 Final, clinching their maiden title at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday. Chasing 114, RCB reached 115/2 in 19.3 overs, as Richa Ghosh hit the match-winning four. Meanwhile, Ellyse Perry top-scored for Smriti Mandhana's team, with an unbeaten knock of 35 of 37 balls.
Initially, Delhi won the toss and opted to bat. DC openers Meg Lanning and Shafali Verma got a good start. But Shafali's (44) dismissal in the eighth over to Sophie Molineux turned the tide of the match as two more wickets fell in the same over. Other than the Aussie, even Shreyanka Patil was in sensational form, taking a four-wicket haul.
Also Read | Smriti Mandhana keeps RCB's date with history as Bangalore claim maiden WPL title with 8-wicket win over DC
Speaking after the win, RCB captain Mandhana couldn't control her emotions. During the presentation ceremony, she found it hard to describe what she was feeling, and also concluded with a symbolic statement for RCB's fans.
"Feeling hasn't still sunk in. Hard for me to come out with expressions. One thing I'll say is I'm proud of the bunch. Our Bangalore leg was really good. We came to Delhi and had two tough losses. That's what we spoke about that we need to step up at the right time. These tournaments are about peaking at the right time. Last year taught us a lot of things. What went wrong, what went right," she said.
{{/usCountry}}"Feeling hasn't still sunk in. Hard for me to come out with expressions. One thing I'll say is I'm proud of the bunch. Our Bangalore leg was really good. We came to Delhi and had two tough losses. That's what we spoke about that we need to step up at the right time. These tournaments are about peaking at the right time. Last year taught us a lot of things. What went wrong, what went right," she said.
{{/usCountry}}"Management just said this is your team, build it (your way). Thumbs up to them. For RCB, it's a lot more. I'm not the only one who won the trophy, the team has won the trophy. I'm not the person to talk about what I feel. This is in top five maybe. Obviously a World Cup would top it. Have a message for the fans - the most loyal fanbase. One statement that always comes up is Ee Sala Cup Namde. Now it's Ee Sala Cup Namdu. Kannada is not my first language but it was important to say it for the fans," she further added, finishing in Kannada, which is the native language of Karnataka.
The match saw veteran Perry end as the Orange Cap winner with 347 runs in nine matches. Meanwhile, Shreyanka clinched the Purple Cap with a sensational performance.