Royal Challengers Bengaluru chasing a record total in the Women’s Premier League final. Chasing 204 in the summit clash against Delhi Capitals, RCB finished the job with two balls to spare and six wickets to spare. Top batsmen Smriti Mandhana and Georgia Voll dominated the proceedings with a 165-run partnership that brought yet another heartbreak to Delhi in the 2026 season. After the match, the RCB captain revealed what was behind them winning their second title in the competition.
Mandhana credited the team for working incredibly hard behind the scenes. The RCB side have followed what they have stopped calling the ‘Virat Kohli route’, putting a lot of emphasis on fitness and spending long hours in the gym to ensure they are one of the fittest teams in the tournament. That preparation ended up making the difference as RCB eventually marched into the final after taking an early lead early in the season.
WPL 2026 Final, RCB vs DC: Highlighting | Scorecard
Smriti Mandhana also spoke about the belief in the team, especially their confidence in chasing big totals during the season. While the side failed in their only high-scoring chase against Mumbai Indians earlier in the tournament, Mandhana said the team had backed themselves to get the job done on the ground in Vadodara.
“I feel like the girls work extremely hard, and that’s one thing that really builds your belief. When you work hard in the weight room and put in the hard yards, you believe that any score can be chased down, that anything is possible. The whole group is made up of very hard-working girls who put themselves into it. So when that happens, even with the 200 on the board, we all really believed that what Volching was was really sure. strange,” said Mandhana.
WPL: Mandhana credits Role Clarity
The RCB captain also credited the backstage staff for his role right from the start of the season. Mandhana revealed that the support staff adopted an analytical approach and ensured that roles were clearly defined for each player even before the tournament began.
“One thing that stood out for me was the way the support staff moved around the girls. Roles were made very clear very early on. Right after the auction they all got phone calls to explain what was expected – this is the batting order, these are the phases you’ll be pitching in. That really helps. Thanks Malo, Anya, Mr. RX and all the staff. When the roles are clear, it’s a lot easier for the players and the management and it’s a lot easier for me as the captain. Mandhana said.
The 2026 title is RCB’s second in the competition. With this win, RCB became the first ever franchise to hold both the IPL and WPL titles simultaneously.
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Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
February 6, 2026
