Royal Challengers Bangalore won their maiden Women's Premier League (WPL) title after their spinners restricted Delhi Captials to 113, setting the stage for an eight-wicket victory with just three balls to spare in New Delhi on Sunday.
Chasing a modest total, Bangalore started slowly and weathered the loss of openers Sophie Devine (32) and captain Smriti Mandhana (31) before Ellyse Perry (35 not out) and Richa Ghosh (17 not out) led them to victory in the final over.
Delhi captain Meg Lanning won the toss and chose to bat, the same decision she made last year when her team lost the final of the inaugural edition to Mumbai Indians.
Shafali Verma (44) and Lanning (23) started well with a blistering 64-run opening stand in seven overs before Sophie Molineux (3/20) put the stops on their charge with three wickets in four balls.
Sobhana Asha (2/14) and Shreyanka Patil (4/12) then chipped in with wickets at regular intervals to clean up the middle order and tail as Delhi collapsed and were dismissed for 113 in 18.3 overs.
Delhi's Shikha Pandey (1/11) and Minnu Mani (1/12) had some success in containing Bangalore's run rate in the first 12 overs, but Perry and Ghosh regained the momentum in the last five overs, to ensure victory.
"Finals are funny games," Molineux said after winning the player of the match award. "We knew it was going down to the wire."
Over the last few years, the Ee Sala Cup Namde (The Cup is ours this time) slogan of Royal Challengers Bangalore has remained the pet troll of social media army. But not anymore after this Sunday!
RCB off-spinner Shreyanka Patil, who ended up as the highest wicket-taker in WPL with 13 scalps, shared that sentiment and relief after the triumph.
"They keep saying 'Ee sala cup namde' and we got it. That's it guys, it is for the fans," said Patil.
She lauded RCB women's head coach Luke Williams for keeping the dressing room calm.
"Day in and day out we put our hard work. We felt like family. We did not know Luke much. During the last game that we won against Mumbai, he had tears. We are looking forward to continuing this," she added.
The talismanic Elysse Perry topped the run-makers' chart in this WPL with 347 runs, and the Australian all-rounder said the support for the teams throughout the event was very heartening.
"Pretty bonkers, to be honest. It's another level for us - the support for all the teams has been phenomenal and it's been unbelievable," she said.
Perry praised spinner Shreyanka and her compatriot Sophie Molineux for changing the complexion of the match after DC raced to 64 for no loss.
"She turned the match on its head. The rest of the spinners backed her up."
"Shreyanka is such a young player and she has got the world at her feet. It was a special performance," said Perry.
While the Bangalore men's team have never won the Indian Premier League (IPL) title despite reaching the final three times, the women's team triumphed in the WPL's second season, ending the franchise's trophy drought.
"Bangalore fans are the most loyal... nothing could have happened without them," Mandhana said to the cheers of her team's supporters who were present in large numbers despite the game being held in Delhi.
"They have waited for this a very long time."
