Virat Kohli was in splits when Faf du Plessis pronounced Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) slogan ‘Ee Sala Cup Namde’ (This year the cup is ours) as ‘Ee Sala Cup Nahi’ last year. A year later, the cup belonged to RCB for the first time in their rich cricketing history. Ending RCB’s trophyless run in franchise cricket, Smriti Mandhana’s Bangalore side outclassed Delhi Capitals (DC) in the final of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) on Sunday.
Inaugural runners-up Delhi Capitals failed to extend their winning run against RCB in the summit clash of the WPL 2024 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Unexpected finalists RCB hammered DC by eight wickets to seal their maiden T20 title in Delhi’s backyard. RCB’s first win over DC in five meetings ended Bangalore’s 16-year wait for a T20 title. With RCB’s women rewriting history in the summit clash of the WPL, former Bangalore skipper Kohli video called women’s team captain Mandhana.
ALSO READ: Smriti Mandhana keeps RCB’s date with history as Bangalore claim maiden WPL title with 8-wicket win over DC
Virat Kohli makes special phone call as RCB lift WPL title
Kohli congratulated Mandhana and her team via the video call before RCB lifted the WPL trophy at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. After video calling the RCB skipper, batting icon Kohli also took to Instagram where he shared a noteworthy post for Banaglore’s ‘superwomen’. Kohli’s post and his interaction became an instant hit among the fans on social media. RCB superstar Glenn Maxwell and legendary West Indies opener Chris Gayle were also effusive in their messages for the women’s side of the Bangalore-based franchise.
DC vs RCB: What happened in the WPL final 2024?
Batting first in the WPL 2024 final, DC made a positive start with skipper Meg Lanning (23 off 23) and Shafali Verma (44 off 27), adding 64 runs for the first wicket. However, Delhi Capitals suffered back-to-back three setbacks in the final as Australia’s left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux orchestrated the downfall of the hosts. Molineux got the better of Shafali, Jemimah Rodrigues and Alice Capsey to make sure the final gets turned into a low-scoring encounter.
Emerging as the pick of the bowlers, RCB’s Shreyanka Patil picked up four wickets as DC folded for 113 in 18.3 overs. Though Lanning was successful in taking the game into the final over, Ellyse Perry’s unbeaten knock of 35 off 37 balls powered RCB to an eight-wicket win over DC. While Perry remained unbeaten, captain Mandhana (31) and Sophie Devine (32) chipped in with crucial knocks to help RCB lift their maiden WPL title.
