Royal Challengers Bengaluru etched their name in WPL lore with a second title, overpowering Delhi Capitals by six wickets in the final showdown at Vadodara’s BCA Stadium. A record-breaking chase highlighted the dominance of Smriti Mandhana and Georgia Wolvaardt.
Batting first after the toss loss, Capitals amassed 203/4. Shafali Verma (20) and Lizelle Lee (37) blazed 49 in 5.5 overs. At 72/2, Jemimah Rodrigues (57, 37 balls, 8 fours) and Laura Wolvaardt (44) countered with 76 runs, before Chinelle Henry (35*) and Wolvaardt added 54 to fortify the total.
RCB’s Sayali Satghare, Arundhati Reddy, and Nadine de Klerk effected timely breakthroughs with one wicket each.
Chasing 204, RCB stumbled to 9/1 with Grace Harris gone. Mandhana and Wolvaardt’s 165-run blitz (92 balls) shifted momentum. Wolvaardt departed for 79 (54 balls, 14×4) at 174/2; Mandhana’s 87 (41 balls, 12×4, 3×6) and Richa Ghosh’s 6 followed.
Radha Yadav (12* off 5 balls, 2×4) remained cool under pressure, guiding RCB to victory in 19.4 overs. For Capitals, Chinelle Henry (2 wickets), Nandini Sharma, and Minnu Mani (1 each) fought valiantly.
RCB’s second crown follows 2023/24 glory. Capitals miss out in their fourth final appearance, with Mumbai Indians holding the first and third edition honors.