Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Smriti Mandhana disclosed that she couldn’t hear anything during her video call interaction with India’s renowned batsman Virat Kohli, but his happiness was evident after RCB’s triumph in the Women’s Premier League Season 2.
With a commanding performance, RCB secured an 8-wicket win over Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium to claim their inaugural WPL title. Following the match, Kohli joined the post-match festivities via video call and conversed with skipper Mandhana and the team.
During the post-match press conference, Mandhana mentioned her inability to hear Kohli due to the noise, expressing her intention to meet and chat with him in Bangalore.
“I couldn’t hear anything he was saying because it was too loud; he just gave a thumbs-up, and I reciprocated. I will meet him. He seemed happy with a bright smile. I recall his presence last year and a pep talk, which greatly helped me personally and the team. He has been associated with this franchise for the past 15 years, so I could sense his happiness, but due to the noise, I couldn’t hear him. Maybe I’ll talk to him when we go to Bengaluru,” Mandhana stated in the post-match press conference.
RCB’s spinners dominated the first innings, neutralizing DC’s explosive start. Sophie Molineux led the attack, but 21-year-old off-spinner Shreyanka Patil emerged as the game-changer for RCB. She claimed a four-wicket haul and swiftly wrapped up the tail to limit DC to a below-par total of 113.
“Shreyanka has been outstanding; the first few matches didn’t go her way. I remember having a chat with her, and she was quite down about a few things. On March 17th, I told her that we were going to achieve something special, and little did I know it would come true, and she would get the purple cap. I’m genuinely happy for her. She’s been incredibly hardworking, and I believe she’s the most well-rounded player to emerge in the last two years in international cricket,” Mandhana praised Shreyanka.
In the final, DC won the toss and opted to bat first, with openers Shafali Varma and skipper Meg Lanning providing a rapid 64-run opening partnership. However, RCB rallied to restrict them to 113.
In response, RCB comfortably chased down the target with three balls to spare and eight wickets in hand.
