Ee Sala Cup Namdu: Smriti Mandhana relishes WPL triumph as RCB fans realise dream

Ee Sala Cup Namdu, Smriti Mandhana signed off with one final comment in the presentation ceremony after winning their maiden title in the Women’s Premier League.

Sunday, 17 March turned out to be a historic day for the Royal Challengers, who won their first-ever title in their 16-year history. Mandhana, not a native Kannada speaker, gave the message to the loyal RCB fans that this year, the cup was finally theirs and it was not a dream any more.

“I think I have a message for the and I think the most loyal fanbase nothing would have happened without the kind of support they shown throughout. One statement that always comes up is Ee Saala Cup Namde. Finally, I want to say Ee Saala Cup Namdu. It was important to say it for the fans,” Mandhaha said in the presentation ceremony.

Royal Challengers outplayed Delhi Capitals on Sunday, March 17. Playing at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, RCB first bowled out Delhi Capitals for just 113 runs and then later chased the target down with 8 wickets in hand. Opening the batting with Sophie Devine, Mandhana did not panic and patiently notched up runs to put her team in a commanding position.

After her dismissal, Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry took control of the scene and remained unbeaten at 35 to see the side through.

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Mandhana was asked about the feeling of winning the title. The RCB captain replied that the feeling had not sunk in yet and it might take a little bit of time to understand the gravity of it.

“It still hasn’t sunk in. Will take time. I’m really proud of the team. We stuck together. Happy to get over the line in the finale. We did well in the Bengaluru leg. Came to Delhi and lost two matches. It’s great that we made a comeback,” Mandhana said.

On the day, RCB put faith in their spinners – Sophie Molineux and Shreyanka Patil when Shafali Verma was dominating in the first innings of the match. In fact, Delhi had notched up 61 runs in the powerplay, the joint-highest score in this season’s WPL. However, Molineux’s triple-wicket over brought RCB back into the game and Delhi – from 64/0 were bundled out for 113 runs.

“The management backed my ideas. They showed full faith in me. All thanks to them. The title win means a lot to the fans. One of my top-5 wins. A World Cup victory would always stay No. 1,” Mandhana said in the presentation ceremony.