Image Source : BCCI/WPL

Image Source : BCCI/WPL

The Royal Challengers Bangalore captain, Smriti Mandhana, showed what true leadership means after it was revealed she played the WPL final despite having a 103°F fever the night before the match. The 29-year-old led RCB to their second WPL title with a heroic inning of 87 runs and won the Player of the Match award in the final against Delhi Capitals.

Smriti Mandhana Played the WPL 2026 Final With a 103°F Fever

RCB defeated DC in the WPL 2026 final on Thursday night to clinch their second WPL title. RCB chased down the target of 204 in the final thanks to Georgia Voll’s 79 runs off 54 balls and captain Smriti Mandhana’s 87 off 41 balls.

Smriti was also named Player of the Match in the final. She was magnificent at the final match, but what makes her inning even more special is that she had a 103-degree fever a day before the final. She captained the side for the whole 20 overs and also played one of the iconic innings in the finals of WPL history.

Royal Challengers Bangalore posted a video on social media where the team’s coach revealed that Smriti had a 103-degree fever on the 4th of February, and on the 5th, she played a match-winning knock.

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Batting first, Delhi Capitals posted a massive total of 203 with amazing innings from Jemimah Rodrigues, Laura Wolvaardt, and Chinelle Henry. While chasing the target, RCB lost Grace Harris early on for just 9 runs. However, after her wicket, Smriti and Voll built a partnership and put all the pressure on DC and eventually won the game by 6 wickets.

Notably, this is the second title of the RCB in the Women's Premier League. The first time they won was in 2023, and now with the 2026 title, the RCB has become the joint most successful WPL team along with the Mumbai Indians, who also have 2 trophies.

Smriti Mandhana also won the Orange Cap of the season. She scored the most runs, 377 in 9 matches, with an average of 53.85 in WPL 2026, followed by her India teammate Harmanpreet Kaur and Nat Sciver-Brunt.