SMRITI, GEORGIA SHINE AS RCB OUTCLASS DC TO LIFT SECOND WPL TITLE
New Delhi, Feb 06, 2026 : Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) clinched their second Women’s Premier League title after beating Delhi Capitals by six wickets at the BCA Stadium, Kotambi, in Vadodara on Thursday. After captain Jemimah Rodrigues top-scored with 57 to take DC to 203/4, RCB completed the highest successful chase in a WPL final in 19.4 overs with immaculate ease.
The victory also made RCB the first team to win the title after finishing on top of the group-stage standings, and the first franchise to hold both IPL and WPL crowns simultaneously. Captain Smriti Mandhana produced her finest and classiest WPL innings, scoring 87 off 41 balls, laced with 12 fours and three sixes.
She managed only six runs from her first five deliveries but accelerated spectacularly thereafter, striking boundaries almost every over. Her knock also made her the tournament’s leading run-scorer, as Smriti became the backbone of RCB’s dominant chase.
Smriti shared a decisive 165-run partnership off 92 balls with Georgia Voll, who made a sublime 79 off 54 balls, studded with 14 boundaries. Every over of the chase featured at least one boundary, a statistic that underlined the dominance of RCB’s batting effort.
Despite a slight wobble at the end, thanks to DC’s pace-off deliveries, Radha Yadav ensured RCB crossed the line with successive boundaries and triggered celebratory scenes in the dugout. DC, playing their fourth consecutive final, were at the receiving end of the Smriti-Georgia masterclass, as the duo sent the ball to all parts of the park and inflicted yet another painful defeat on the Capitals, despite them posting the highest first-innings total in a WPL final.
Chasing 204, Grace Harris struck two early boundaries — a drive and an inside edge — off Marizanne Kapp in the opening over before being beaten by movement and low bounce from Chinelle Henry, who castled her through the gate for nine. Smriti got going with a stylish off-drive for four, while Georgia opened her account with a flick and a drive off Marizanne for boundaries.
Georgia continued her strokeplay by flicking Chinelle through midwicket and scooping over short fine leg, before cutting and driving Marizanne for back-to-back fours. Despite Nandini Sharma’s introduction, there was no respite for DC as Georgia swiped her for four before Smriti slogged and swept her for two boundaries.
The duo took a boundary each off N Sree Charani — Georgia hitting her over mid-off while Smriti pierced the off-side field with precision — before they collected fours off Minnu Mani and Shafali Verma respectively.
Smriti pulled a short ball from Nandini over square leg for six before dancing down the pitch to loft Charani over long-on. After Georgia raised her fifty, Smriti brought up her half-century by lofting Sneh Rana over extra cover for four. DC continued to offer lengths suited to RCB, as Georgia cut and pulled Sneh Rana for boundaries.
Chinelle returned to be greeted by a sweep from Smriti that cleared backward square leg, before Georgia’s powerful pull beat the deep fielder for another boundary. Charani’s return in the 13th over saw Smriti pull and punch off the back foot for fours, while Georgia got low to pull for the third boundary of the over.
Marizanne’s reintroduction in the 14th over was met with lofted drives from Smriti straight down the ground and over mid-off. After Georgia hoicked Nandini over midwicket and Smriti once again danced down the pitch to loft Minnu over mid-off, RCB were cruising.
Though Georgia and Richa Ghosh fell in quick succession — both holing out to long-on off Minnu and Nandini respectively — Smriti’s dismissal for 87, after Chinelle uprooted her leg stump, left RCB momentarily cautious. But Radha’s consecutive boundaries off Charani — lofting over cover-point and crunching one through cover — sealed the title for RCB.
Earlier, after Lizelle Lee and Shafali Verma provided the early momentum, Jemimah took charge with a sparkling knock, showcasing sublime timing and the ability to pick gaps with ease to hit eight boundaries.
Laura Wolvaardt chipped in with a useful 44 off 25 balls, while Chinelle Henry played a blistering cameo of 35 off just 15 balls to power Delhi past the 200-run mark. Such was the impact of Chinelle’s finishing that DC plundered 55 runs in the final four overs.
For RCB, Lauren Bell was the lone bright spot with the ball, returning figures of 0-19 in four overs, while the rest of the attack struggled with their lines and lengths. RCB staged a brief comeback after Jemimah’s dismissal in the 16th over, but Chinelle’s late fireworks dashed their hopes.
DC began cautiously, managing only nine runs in the first three overs before Lizelle broke free by walloping Sayali Satghare for two sixes. Shafali then struck successive boundaries off Arundhati Reddy before perishing to a sharp catch by Richa Ghosh for 20.
Lizelle continued the assault, hammering Shreyanka Patil for three fours and a six in the seventh over, before Nadine de Klerk provided the breakthrough by dismissing her for 37, as she miscued a slog to long-on. Jemimah then came in and looked fluent against both pace and spin, striking boundaries through cover, extra cover, and point. With Laura settling in, the pair kept the scoreboard moving.
The 12th over proved pivotal as Jemimah showcased her full range — cover-driving, sweeping, and cutting Shreyanka for three boundaries before slicing fiercely off Radha Yadav. Jemimah soon reached her half-century in the 15th over before falling for 57, caught at deep square leg off Sayali Satghare.
However, Laura and Chinelle unleashed a brutal assault in the death overs. Chinelle, in particular, tore into Nadine in the 18th over, smashing four boundaries and a six to collect 24 runs. The duo added a boundary each off Sayali in the final over, yielding 15 runs, before Laura was run out attempting a second run, as DC set RCB a daunting target that was eventually chased down in dominant fashion.
Brief Scores:
Delhi Capitals 203/4 in 20 overs (Jemimah Rodrigues 57, Laura Wolvaardt 44; Arundhati Reddy 1-40, Sayali Satghare 1-46) lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru 204/4 in 19.4 overs (Smriti Mandhana 87, Georgia Voll 79; Chinelle Henry 2-34, Minnu Mani 1-19) by six wickets