Image: Georgia Voll and Smriti Mandhana put up the highest 165-run stand / © X (Twitter)
After losing their first wicket to Grace Harris, captain Smriti Mandhana and Georgia Voll formed an unprecedented partnership, leading their team to capture both franchises’ Championship titles and making history by winning the WPL & IPL Championships consecutively & indefinitely.
In achieving a successful ending to this season, RCB achieved yet another major milestone by successfully chasing down the most runs scored in either WPL or IPL finals without having previously made 175 runs against any league or international competition.
The target that RCB overcame in terms of being the largest target that was ever achieved by a team in any type of T20 final will have an impact on the future of women’s cricket and may help increase interest among all demographics for women’s sports overall.
The overall total also represents the most runs ever chased down in WPL history, as RCB bettered their 202-run successful chase in the 2025 season against the Gujarat Giants.
The match featured RCB winning their first-ever toss and choosing to bowl; Lizelle Lee was very aggressive with 37 off 30 balls, including 3 fours and 3 sixes. Shafali Verma also played a role with her 20 off 13 balls,s including 3 fours, giving RCB a great start. Jemimah Rodrigues then took over with an outstanding captain’s knock with 57 off 37 balls, including 8 fours, and, along with Laura Wolvaardt, who scored 44 off 35 balls, including 3 fours and 2 sixes, built a 76-run partnership, putting RCB back into contention in this match.
RCB suffered a huge setback when they were about to regain control, with Chinelle Henry scoring an explosive 35 runs off just 15 balls, including 4 boundaries and 2 sixes, helping DC to a final total of 203 runs (WPL final record) for 4 wickets in 20 overs.
RCB lost Grace Harris early in the chase at 8 runs but put on a 165 partnership together between Smriti (87 runs from 41 balls; 12 fours, 4 sixes) and Georgia Voll (79 runs from 54 balls; 14 fours). Their quick runs continued to push DC back with each shot. With 3 back-to-back wickets from DC very late in the game and only 2 balls left to play, RCB’s Radha (12 not out) and Nadine (7 not out) successfully chased the required runs to score 6 wickets in hand.
Mandhana was named the “Player of the Match”.