Virat Kohli was left elated at RCB women’s team’s victory as he joined the celebrations via video call before taking to Instagram to post a one-word story
They weren’t carrying the baggage of a title drought for the men’s team, but for those emotional fans who flocked to the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday evening and ones to stayed awake at home to watch the victorious moment, it marked the end of 16 years of hurt and disappointment. The Smriti Mandhana-led side defeated Delhi Capitals by eight wickets in the WPL 2024 final, in front of a cheering full house, to clinch their maiden title both as a women’s team and for the franchise overall.
Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli react after RCB lift WPL title
Once the spin combination of Shreyanka Patil (4/12) and Sophie Molineux (3/20) orchestrated a DC collapse to 113 all out, there could have been only one winner. The hosts had started off on a stellar note with Shafali Verma and Meg Lanning stitched a 64-run opening stand, but Molineux’s triple-wicket over saw Delhi lose their all their 10 wickets for just 49 runs.
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In reply, efforts from their talismanic skipper Mandhana (31), Sophie Devine (32) and the impactful Ellyse Perry (35 not out) saw RCB wrap up the chase with three balls to spare.
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Following RCB’s maiden WPL title win, former India cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag were all praise for side. The former India captain tweeted: “Congratulations to the @RCBTweets women’s team for bagging the @wplt20 title. Women’s cricket is well and truly on the rise in India,” while Sehwag wrote: “Many congratulations RCB on winning the WPL. Great temperament shown in crunch situations and deserving winners. #WPLFinal.”
A generation of RCB fans have waited to see the franchise lift a title. The men’s side reached the Indian Premier League (IPL) final thrice – 2009, 2011 and 2016. Virat Kohli, a former captain of the team, was part of all those three finals, the last one as a skipper.
On Sunday, Kohli was left elated at the victory of the women’s team as he joined the celebrations at the stadium via video call before taking to Instagram to post a one-word story. It read: “Superwomen.”
Here are the reaction from other former and current RCB players…
Mandhana and Co.’s WPL victory in just their second attempt will now put pressure on the RCB men’s team with the 2024 season of the IPL starting next week. RCB will play in the season opener at home in Bengaluru against defending champions Chennai Super Kings on March 22.
