Team India’s Virat Kohli congratulated Smriti Mandhana and her Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on winning their second Women’s Premier League (WPL) title. The 37-year-old took to Instagram to praise the players for keeping the franchise’s flag flying high, stating they should be proud of their achievements.
The Royal Challengers, which had beaten the Delhi Capitals in the WPL 2024 final, triumphed on Thursday, February 5, in Vadodara. With such a huge target as 204 in the championship decider Bengaluru lost the prolific Grace Harris at the cost of 9 in the second over.
Nevertheless, their team came back to the game as a result of a 165-run partnership between captain Smriti Mandhana (87) and Georgia Voll (79). The last over needed ten deliveries and they still had two to go across the line.
Taking to Instagram, Kohli wrote:
“Champions again 🏆⭐️⭐️. Keeping the rcb flag flying high and something that each one of you can be Proud of. To smriti @smriti_mandhana and the whole squad and the management team, a big congratulations for this tremendous victory. You guys deserve this undoubtedly. Enjoy the moment and embrace the love of our amazing fans.”
Kohli had to wait 18 years for IPL glory, which arrived in 2025, when the men’s team defeated the Punjab Kings in the final in Ahmedabad.
“RCB fans, I feel, are the best in the world” – Smriti Mandhana
During the post-game presentation, Smriti Mandhana stated that she knew it was an excellent batting surface and praised Voll for his intent during the powerplay. ESPNcricinfo cited the left-hander as saying:
“Very pleased. RCB fans, I feel, are the best in the world. Wherever we play, we get support. Whatever we do is for them. Three titles in three years for the franchise, it is amazing. We definitely did think it was a good surface to bat on. But 200-plus is a good score in a final. In last few overs, we bowled well. Credit to Bell – 400 in a match and she goes for 20 odd runs. Voll led the way. She had almost all the strike in the powerplay and her intent was spot on. I had a feeling she would get a match winning knock in the final.”
In addition, the RCB captain was voted Player of the Match in the final after scoring 87 off 41 balls.
