WPL 2026: RCB-W rewrite history, lift second trophy

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women create history by winning their second WPL trophy. Smriti Mandhana’s RCB-W defeated Jemimah Rodrigues-led Delhi Capitals Women by 6 wickets in the finals. RCB played outstanding cricket throughout the season and qualified directly for the final. On the other hand, Delhi Capitals' losing streak in the finals continued this year as well, with the team losing for the fourth consecutive year.

Delhi Capitals posted a mammoth total of 203/4 after being invited to bat first. Skipper Jemimah Rodrigues played a brilliant half-century, while Laura Wolvaardt contributed 44 runs. Apart from them, openers Lizelle Lee (37) and Shafali Varma (20) gave a good start. While Chinnelle Henry amassed a quick 35 off 15 in the final overs. For RCB, Sayali Satghare, Arundhati Reddy, and Nadine de Klerk shared 1-1 wickets. 

After the first innings’ conclusion, it seemed that the Delhi Capitals had a big total, and this time, they finally broke their losing finals curse. However, Smriti Mandhana and Georgia Voll had some different plans. After losing Grace Haris (9 runs) in the 2nd over, both Mandhana and Voll put on a quick and steady 165-run partnership in just 92 balls. Voll scored 79 off 54, including 9 fours, while Mandhana scored 87 runs in just 41 balls, including 12 fours and 3 sixes. From here, Delhi Capitals took 3 quick wickets, but Radha Yadav and Nadine de Klerk held their nerves and finished the match in RCB’s favour. 

For a match-winning 87 off 41, RCB-W skipper Smriti Mandhana received the player of the match award. While Gujarat Giants’ Sophie Devine became the player of the tournament, scoring 243 runs and claiming 17 wickets. 

With RCB W winning, it's the first time that both the men's and women's titles have been held by one franchise ever. Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s men’s side is currently the defending IPL champion. Under Rajat Patidar’s captaincy, they won the IPL 2025 title. At one point, until 2024, this franchise didn't have a single trophy, but in the last three years, this franchise has won a trophy every year. And now their trophy count has reached 3. Since the start of the WPL, the number of trophies won by the RCB franchise has been continuously increasing, which is further enhancing the value of the franchise. DC-W is the second team to lose four finals in women’s franchise cricket after the Brisbane Heat.

After winning the title, Smriti Mandhana thanked all RCB fans, supporters, coaching staff and especially teammates. She also praised Georgia Voll's incredible 79-run innings. 

"Very pleased. RCB fans are the best in the world. We get support wherever we play. Three tiles in three years for the franchise, it is amazing," said Mandhana, who overcame recent off-field setbacks to excel in the tournament.

"I have to thank all the RCB fans again for turning up in huge numbers. This one's for you guys. And I said that, I said this in 2024, I'll say it again, that this time it's - Ee sala cup namdu 2"

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's icon player Virat Kohli also congratulated RCB-W for winning the title again and shared a winning note on his Instagram. 

RCB’s WPL 2026 title campaign

Royal Challengers Bengaluru started their WPL 2026 campaign with a significant win on the last ball over the previous edition and two-time champions, the Mumbai Indians. Following this, RCB claimed 4 more consecutive victories, with easy victories over the Gujarat Giants twice, the Delhi Capitals, and the UP Warriorz. RCB was totally dominating the tournament, ensuring their playoff berth after the conclusion of just 5 games. Following this, Delhi Capitals defeated them in their sixth match, which was RCB’s WPL 2026 first loss. 

In the very next match, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Mumbai Indians also defeated the RCB, which dealt a major blow to Smriti’s side's hopes of reaching the final. However, RCB defeated UP Warriorz in their last league match to qualify directly for the final. In the end, they defeated Jemimah Rodrigues’ side in the finals and clinched their 2nd WPL title. The two teams also faced each other in the 2024 WPL finals, where RCB emerged victorious.