Speaking to reporters, Smriti Mandhana opted to shut down an unwanted Virat Kohli question after RCB claimed their first-ever WPL title.
Smriti Mandhana ended Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) 16 years of disappointment by guiding the Bangalore-based franchise to their first-ever T20 title. Mandhana’s RCB side outclassed Delhi Capitals (DC) in the final-over thriller of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 at the famous Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday. After propelling RCB to their maiden title in the T20 league, Mandhana gave an interesting take on comparisons with superstar Virat Kohli on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters, Smriti Mandhana shut down an unwanted Virat Kohli question(PTI-X (screengrab))
While Mandhana is the face of the women’s RCB side, Kohli has been leading the batting charge of the men’s team since the inception of the world’s richest T20 league – the Indian Premier League (IPL). Opener Mandhana masterminded RCB’s first-ever title in the second season of the WPL. Kohli-starrer RCB side is yet to end their barren run in the IPL. The Bangalore giants have contested three finals in the IPL. With Faf du Plessis as captain, RCB failed to make the playoffs in the IPL last year.
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Smriti Mandhana shuts down unwanted Virat Kohli question
Responding to a reporter query after RCB scripted history at the WPL 2024, Mandhana said that it’s not fair to undermine Kohli’s achievements for the Royal Challengers. “The title is one thing, but what he (Kohli) has achieved for India is remarkable. So, I don’t think that comparison is right in terms of where my career is and what he has already achieved,” Mandhana said.
‘The reason why I do not like the comparison is…’
Mandhana scored 31 off 39 balls in the low-scoring final of the WPL at Delhi last week. Ellyse Perry’s unbeaten knock of 35 (37) and Sophie Molineux’s bowling heroics powered RCB to an eight-wicket win over DC in the summit clash. RCB skipper Mandhana smashed 300 runs in 10 games for Bangalore at the WPL 2024. “The reason why I do not like the comparison is that what he has achieved is great; he has been an inspirational person. A title does not define a lot of things; we all respect him and I feel like the respect has to be right up there for Virat. So, there is nothing different from me as well,” the RCB skipper added.
