"Finally Ee Sala Cup Namdu" - Cricket fraternity reacts as RCB's 16-year-long trophy drought ends
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeated Delhi Capitals (DC) in the final to win the second edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL), thereby ending the franchise's 16-year-long wait to win a title in the premier league.
In what turned out to be a low-scoring game, RCB clinched a victory in the final over of the second essay as the tournament saw a new team lifting the title. DC put up a strong performance in their attempt to defend the total, but RCB batters pulled it off ultimately.
Meg Lanning led Delhi to their second consecutive final but was eventually left in tears as RCB snatched a win to grab the silverware. DC started the first innings well, but a terrible collapse saw them dropping to 113 all out from 64/0. While batting seemed to be difficult in the second innings, RCB batters showed great composure to tackle all obstacles and cross the finish line.
The cricket fraternity was left in awe as legends of the game and pundits lavished praise on RCB for scripting history in the 17-year-long legacy of the franchise.
Here are some of the top reactions:
Smriti Mandhana leads RCB to maiden WPL Trophy
Delhi Capitals faced disappointment in the WPL finals again after losing the closely contested affair to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2024 edition.
After winning the toss and opting to bat first, DC started on a high note as Meg Lanning and Shafali Verma stitched a 64-run partnership before the latter found her way back to the pavilion in the eighth over. Sophie Molineux breathed fire as she picked up three wickets in an over to induce DC's batting collapse.
Dismissing Verma on the first ball of the eighth over, Molineux followed it up with a dot ball before striking twice in two deliveries to dismiss Jemimah Rodrigues and Alice Capsey for ducks. Asha Sobhana then dismissed the dangerous middle-order batters- Marizanne Kapp and Jess Jonassen to add pressure on DC.
What followed next was absolute dominance by all-rounder Shreyanka Patil, who picked up a four-wicket haul to put curtains on DC's innings. The RCB spinners wreaked havoc as DC were bowled out for 113 runs in 18.3 overs.
Coming out to chase, Mandhana and Sophie Devine played brilliantly and kept rotating the strike while also finding gaps on regular intervals for boundaries. Their 49-run partnership was broken by Shikha Pandey, but Mandhana and Ellyse Perry kept the momentum in their side's favor.
It was a cut-throat battle as Lanning got the right bowlers at the right time in the game, which kept RCB under pressure. The players, too, were brilliant on the field, saving several runs on the boundary ropes.
The equation came down to RCB needing five to win off the last over. Arundhati Reddy tried her best to keep Perry and Richa Ghosh in check, but the wicketkeeper-batter found the gap and finished the chase off in style with a boundary as RCB lifted their maiden WPL title.