Former India and Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli congratulated women’s team captain Smriti Mandhana via a video call on the sidelines of the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi after the franchise won its first league title by defeating Delhi Capitals by eight wickets in the Women’s Premier League 2024 final on Sunday.
The Royal Challengers, who are yet to win a title in the men’s tournament — Indian Premier League — finally broke its jinx and claimed the first championship across leagues due to this win.
Virat, who led RCB to the IPL final in 2016, spoke with Sophie Molineux and Georgia Wareham after Smriti. Notably, he was also called to give a pep talk to the women’s franchise in 2023, when RCB began the season poorly, losing the first five games.
RCB veterans Dinesh Karthik and Glenn Maxwell also posted on X (formerly Twitter) to congratulate the franchise for their first title win.
HIGHLIGHTS | DC VS RCB WOMEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE 2024 FINAL
Chasing 114, RCB rode on valuable contributions from Sophie Devine and Ellyse Perry to cross the finish line in the last over.
Earlier, Shreyanka Patil was the wreaker-in-chief for RCB. She picked four scalps and helped her team restrict DC to just 113 in 18.3 overs.
Molineux turned the match for the Royal Challengers by removing Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues and Alice Capsey in a single over. RCB spinner accounted for nine wickets, the most by any team in the WPL history.
Source Agencies
