In pictures | WPL 2024 final: Smriti Mandhana & RCB's shot at WPL glory against Delhi Capitals
WPL 2024 finalist RCB's captain and batter Smriti Mandhana is not new to leadership in top-tier cricket. Mandhana, 27, led her state side Maharashtra’s senior team in domestic cricket from teenage, and serves as India vice-captain now. Mandhana also led one of the sides in the now-defunct Women’s T20 Challenge, the Trailblazers. What you need to know about Smriti Mandhana's WPL stats and leadership cred.
Can RCB win their first title ever - across the WPL and IPL: It’s been quite the turnaround for Smriti Mandhana’s Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) from the first edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) to the second. After finishing fourth in the five-team competition and being eliminated in the league stage in WPL 2023, RCB have changed their fortunes considerably and find themselves one win away from what could be the franchise’s first title across the WPL or the men’s Indian Premier League (IPL). (Photo credit: RCB)
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WPL 2024 campaign: It’s not been all smooth-sailing for Smriti Mandhana’s RCB, though. They won four of their league-stage matches in 2024 and lost as many. Two successive defeats led to as many defeats on the trot, followed by a win and another two campaign-threatening successive losses, the second of those a narrow one-win loss to the Delhi Capitals (DC), who sealed their direct qualification for Sunday’s final with that victory. RCB, however, pulled off a decisive upset in their final round game, beating defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI). Their playoffs spot sealed by virtue of finishing third on the points table, RCB set up a clash with Harmanpreet Kaur’s MI again, in the Eliminator on Friday. Mandhana’s proactive captaincy played a part in RCB eking out a five-run win that sent them through to the final. (Photo credit: RCB)
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Blowing hold and cold as a batter: As with her side’s overall campaign so far, Smriti Mandhana’s form with the bat has also been up and down. The left-hand opener’s scores in the last nine innings leading into the WPL 2024 final have been (most recent first): 10, 11, 5, 24, 80, 9, 74, 43 and 13. Her WPL career-best score of 80 crowned her impressive touch during the Bengaluru leg of WPL 2024, where the season’s first 11 matches were played. The move to New Delhi hasn’t worked in Mandhana’s favour yet as a batter. But it would be quite the timing if she rediscovers her batting mojo on Sunday night. (Photo credit: RCB)
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Juggling captaincy and batting duties: Neither aspect of cricket is new to Smriti Mandhana, 27. Having led her state side Maharashtra’s senior team in domestic cricket from teenage, the India vice-captain has had her share of opportunities to learn the ropes of captaincy in top-tier cricket. At the now-defunct Women’s T20 Challenge, the competition that paved the way for WPL and ran for four seasons between 2018 and 2022, Mandhana had led one of the sides, the Trailblazers, across all four iterations and led them to the title in the third edition in 2020 with a match-winning 49-ball 68. Deputy to captain Harmanpeet Kaur in the national side, Mandhana, who has led India in stand-in capacity a few times, will face her biggest test as a leader in the WPL final as she goes up against the most successful in international cricket, former Australia captain Meg Lanning. (Photo credit: RCB)
