Cruel déjà vu struck Delhi Capitals again, but this one hurt differently.
Another final. Another heartbreak. Only this time, DC were right there. Smriti Mandhana’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru survived a late scare to pull off a nervy six-wicket win and seal their second WPL title in Vadodara on Thursday.
For a while, it felt like this might finally be Delhi’s night.
Jemimah Rodrigues played the innings of a captain who wanted history rewritten. Her fluent 57 off 37 balls anchored a ferocious batting effort as DC piled up a towering 203/4. Laura Wolvaardt (44* off 25) and Lizelle Lee (37 off 30) kept the pressure relentless, before Chinelle Henry arrived with pure violence — 35 off just 15 balls — turning a strong total into a monstrous one.
RCB
were sharp early, conceding just nine runs in the first three overs. Then Lizelle Lee detonated two sixes off Sayali Satghare, and the game blew wide open. A silky 76-run stand between Rodrigues and Wolvaardt drained the bowlers, and at the break, 203 felt huge.
It wasn’t.
RCB wobbled briefly when Henry bowled Grace Harris first ball — DC’s last real smile. Then Mandhana and Georgia Voll took over and torched the final. Voll found the rope at will, while Mandhana went into full destroyer mode. Henry, Kapp, Rana, Nandini — everyone got punished.
By halfway, RCB were cruising at 100/1. Both batters raised rapid fifties, Mandhana overtook Harmanpreet Kaur for the Orange Cap, and by 15 overs it was 161/1 — the highest partnership for any wicket in WPL history.
Then… chaos.
Minnu Mani removed Voll. Nandini Sharma dismissed Richa Ghosh. Suddenly it was 24 off 12. Then Henry knocked over Mandhana — just short of a century. Game on.
Ten needed off six. Radha Yadav and Nadine de Klerk at the crease.
Cue Radha. Two crunching fours. Game over.
RCB took the scenic route, but they got there — becoming the first team finishing top of the table to win a WPL title, and Mandhana the second captain to lift two WPL trophies.
For Delhi? A brutal stat remains: four finals, four losses. And somehow, it hurts more every time.
