Credit: BCCI
Former India captain Mithali Raj has showered praise on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for their comprehensive win against Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2025. In the fourth match played at Vadodara, Smriti Mandhana led her side from the front and handed Bengaluru success with her scintillating 81-run innings off 47 balls. Riding on her knock, the defending champions pulled off the target of 142 in 16.2 overs and with eight wickets in hand. Mandhana got assistance from Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who scored 42 off 33.
Winning the toss, RCB skipper Mandhana put Delhi to bat first. Pacer Renuka Singh led the Challengers’ bowling unit from the front and delivered the first breakthrough to her team in the form of Shafali Verma in the opening over of the match. Except for Jemimah Rodrigues (34 off 22), no batter looked comfortable against Bengaluru’s disciplined bowling. Delhi capitulated on 141 in 19.3 overs and Renuka ended up as the highest wicket-taker in the innings with 3/23 figures in her four-over spell. The speedster’s superb bowling performance also got her the Player of the Match award. After that, Mandhana played a captain's knock as RCB chased the target with 22 balls to spare.
Impressed with Bengaluru’s majestic display against the 2023 runners-up, Mithali said on JioHotstar, "Right from the first over when Renuka Singh dismissed Shafali Varma, RCB took control of the game. From that moment on, Smriti Mandhana has not put a foot wrong. Every bowling change she made resulted in a breakthrough. The way she led the innings, along with Danni Wyatt, provided a strong foundation for their batting line-up."
RCB dominates the points tally
With two consecutive wins, RCB have started their title defense aggressively as they are now sitting at the top of the points tally with four points. Following Bengaluru, Gujarat Giants and Delhi are in the second and third positions respectively with both sides winning one game each.
Mumbai Indians (MI) and UP Warriorz (UPW) are yet to open their account on the points table. After the drubbing, Capitals will face Warriorz on February 19 while Bengaluru will clash with the 2023 champions Mumbai on February 21.
