Mandhana's Prophecy Comes True as Voll's Match-Winning Knock Powers RCB to WPL Glory

In a thrilling Women's Premier League final that will be remembered for years to come, Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Smriti Mandhana revealed that she had predicted weeks in advance that teammate Georgia Voll would deliver a match-winning performance in the championship decider. Her prophecy came true spectacularly as RCB chased down a mammoth 204-run target to secure their second WPL title with six wickets and two balls to spare.

"I remember telling the girls 10 or 15 days back that I have a feeling that Volly will get a match-winning knock in the final," Mandhana said gleefully in the post-match celebrations. "I am really happy for her. She's been working extremely hard on her game. I saw her practicing extra in the last two, three days. So I'm happy that it paid off for her."

Record-Breaking Partnership

The foundation of RCB's historic chase was built on a monumental 165-run partnership between Mandhana and Voll that came off just 92 deliveries. Mandhana herself was sensational, scoring the fastest WPL half-century (23 balls) and the highest individual score in a WPL final (87 off 41 balls). Meanwhile, Voll played the perfect supporting role with a crucial 79 off 54 deliveries.

"Yeah, of course, Volly led the way," Mandhana acknowledged. "She had almost all the strike in the PowerPlay, but her intent was really spot on."

Voll echoed similar sentiments about batting alongside her captain: "It's awesome watching her go about it. Just to sit at the other end and watch how she strikes the ball - one of the cleanest hitters I've ever seen and just effortless. To be able to share the wicket out there with her and put a dent in that target was super special to be a part of."

Overcoming the Pressure

Facing Delhi Capitals' imposing total of 203/4, built largely on Chinelle Henry's explosive 15-ball 35 at the backend, RCB showed remarkable composure. Mandhana revealed that the team never lost belief, even when facing the highest total ever chased in a WPL knockout game.

"We definitely did think that it's a good surface to bat on. But of course, 200-plus in a final is definitely a good score," Mandhana said. "I feel the girls are working extremely hard and that's one thing which really shoots up your belief when you work hard in the gym, when you're putting in the hard yards, you have that belief that any score you can chase it down, anything you can do."

Credit to Support Staff and Preparation

Mandhana was particularly effusive in her praise for the support staff, highlighting the role clarity provided to players well before the season began. "One thing which has stood out for me is the way support staff has been around the girls, the role clarity was given," she explained.

"Not only now, just after the auction happened, everyone got phone calls, saying this is what we are looking from you. This is the batting order or this is the phase we want you to bowl in. And that really helps. Credit to Malo [Malolan Rangarajan], Anya [Shrubsole], RX [Murali] sir and the roles were pretty clear for all the girls and when I think that happens in the right way, I feel our job is pretty easy to come in and just lead the way."

Game-Changing Bowling Performance

While the batting heroics stole the headlines, Mandhana made special mention of Lauren Bell's bowling performance, which she described as match-winning. Bell finished with figures of 0-19 that included 12 dot balls and just two fours conceded.

"Credit to Lauren Bell. I mean, 400 in a match and she goes for like four overs, 20-odd runs. I mean, that's for me is the match-winning spell," Mandhana emphasized.

Radha Yadav, another key performer for RCB, reflected on the team's preparation: "We used to do situational practise, that different types of situations will be there, we need to hit these many runs with few balls, you will have to defend as a bowler or, you will have to chase as a batter, so we practised all those situations a lot."

Team Spirit and Belief

The victory was particularly sweet for RCB as they broke the curse of teams failing to qualify for finals after having a week's break for directly qualifying. The team spent their break in Goa, with Voll sharing: "Couple of soda waters! It was obviously nice to have a bit of a break, head to the beach. It was just nice to have a couple of days off and then back into training."

Shreyanka Patil perfectly captured the team's spirit: "Though we win, we lose, we never stop smiling there. So I think that's what has brought us here... After the second time-out, we did have a chat saying that if we restrict them to 180, 185, it'll be a good one but yes we gave, I think they went about 20 runs extra than what we thought but the way Smriti and Voll played it was a brilliant innings in the middle, it just made it look even more easier."

Grace Harris revealed her motivational approach during the innings break: "I just said to the girls sometimes you only get this opportunity once and to really take it. I may have tried to be intelligent and quote Roger Federer, one of my favorite, successful athletes. He only won 54 per cent of all of his points so I just said to the girls 'listen, you only have to win 54 per cent to win so let's give it a good crack'. And look what happened!"

A Special Dedication

Shreyanka Patil dedicated the win to three special people: "I would love to mention three things, I would say three people: number one Smriti because she has gone through a lot in the last one and a half months so this win is very special. I would love to dedicate this win to her, Malo and Anya because today is Anya's son's birthday, first year so I would love to wish him a happy birthday, and again Malo for the first time he's head coach for the team and I think it's a special win for all of us."

The victory marks RCB's second WPL title in three seasons, cementing their status as one of the dominant forces in women's franchise cricket and validating Mandhana's faith in her teammates' abilities to rise to the occasion when it mattered most.