WPL 2025 – RCB captain Smriti Mandhana – began and ended the season on a excessive; misplaced halfway someplace’

03/12/2025 6:17 PM

WPL 2025 – RCB captain Smriti Mandhana – began and ended the season on a excessive; misplaced halfway someplace’

Smriti Mandhana has had a tough WPL 2025, each as captain of a crew that did not make the knockouts and as a batter with inconsistent returns. Title winners from 2024, RCB completed second-last this time, simply above bottom-placed UP Warriorz, and that too due to a superior internet run price.

Mandhana’s manner and perspective at her last press convention of this season after a morale-boosting 11-run win against Mumbai Indians, nevertheless, mirrored that of a wiser and pragmatic captain ending on a excessive, and never a sullen chief after a disappointing season. She grew to become barely philosophical too, virtually summoning the cricketing Gods and rued that if her crew had clinched a few of the essential moments, RCB may need even topped the desk this season.

The defending champions began their marketing campaign with two wins earlier than stuttering to 5 straight losses that value them a knockout spot.

“Yeah, we had been simply having a joke submit the match that we began the season on a excessive, ended it on excessive and halfway, we simply misplaced someplace,” Mandhana stated after the sport on Tuesday. “Just about that sums up our season. However yeah, having misplaced quite a lot of gamers from final season submit the public sale, positively we had our considering sneakers on in between the public sale and the season. However the best way we began, I actually thought that we’re in it.”

Other than accidents to a few of their match-winners from final season, similar to Asha Sobhana, Shreyanka Patil and Sophie Molineux, the most important blow for RCB was that they did not win even one out of their 4 house video games this season, in stark distinction to 2024 after they gained three out of 5 in Bengaluru.

What harm them additional was that on their house floor, the place native followers once more thronged the stadium, RCB misplaced two matches by agonizingly shut margins: by 4 wickets with one ball to spare to MI after which a tied conflict towards Warriorz, which they lost in the Super Over.

“I feel in Bangalore, quite a lot of issues did not go our manner,” Mandhana stated. “However I’m actually pleased with the best way the crew confirmed the character. Shedding quite a lot of shut matches is just not simple on a crew and I feel we misplaced first two to a few matches, which had been fairly shut. However everybody was actually optimistic, which is one thing I’m actually happy [about] as a captain. You win or lose. Typically in franchise cricket, these items go your manner and also you win it. However when it would not go your manner, and the crew sticks collectively is a crew for me.”

What additionally did not work for RCB at house was the toss issue. Groups profitable the tosses had been solely opting to chase because the league moved from Vadodara to Bengaluru to Lucknow and at last Mumbai, and with the dearth of dew and large totals within the first innings, chasing groups had been profitable most of these matches.

RCB, of their house leg, misplaced all 4 tosses and had been inserted by oppositions. At their house stretch additionally got here Mandhana’s personal lean patch of kind, which meant the crew largely relied on No. 3 Ellyse Perry for the majority of scoring, however their totals had been by no means sufficient.

“Typically, there’s one thing known as cricketing God, which I consider rather a lot in,” Mandhana stated. “You do quite a lot of issues proper and within the final two or three overs, issues do not go your manner. We gained [the title] final 12 months by profitable these moments. And this 12 months, within the first two matches in Bangalore, we could not make these moments ours, which is, I really feel, a turning level for us, particularly the primary two matches.

“Trying again, I would not need to throw anybody beneath the bus saying that will have modified it. All of us, collectively as a crew, may have contributed much more. Me as a batter within the mid part, I used to be not in a position to rating quite a lot of runs.

“I feel particularly the Bangalore leg, dropping the toss, not many groups may truly put up greater than 160, however we may do this solely as a result of the best way she [Perry] batted on the market. Simply actually good to have her across the crew, round all of the Indians as nicely, as a result of [there’s] rather a lot to take from her, lot to study from her. And I’m positive lots of people within the crew watch her and attempt to take quite a lot of issues from her. And I hope that it solely grows nicely for Indian cricket as a result of individuals like that make you’re employed actually onerous.”

The opposite optimistic for RCB was the massive hitting of Richa Ghosh, whose strike price of 175.57 was the perfect within the crew (minimal 30 balls confronted). She smashed 13 sixes and 25 fours on her technique to tallying 230 runs off 131 balls this WPL. She ended the RCB marketing campaign additionally in fashion, notably going after the skilled quick bowler Shabnim Ismail. Ghosh scooped and reverse scooped towards Ismail and reverse swept Hayley Matthews for boundaries on her technique to 36 off 22 on Tuesday.

“She is simply wonderful to look at,” Mandhana stated of Ghosh. “I’ve seen her develop all through the final three seasons of WPL and with the Indian crew. The best way she will be able to change the sport single-handedly is a sight to look at. When she is on the market, the opposite dugout cannot sit peacefully, and no equation is much less or extra for her.

“I imply for us to chase 223-odd runs [against Warriorz] and simply dropping by ten runs and the best way she batted… For batters like us, we see smaller aspect [of the boundary], however for batters like Richa, they simply see the ball and hit with their energy, in fact.

“The number of pictures is one thing she has actually labored on. Folks at all times simply relate Richa with quite a lot of energy however the cuts, the reverse sweeps immediately, which she switched hit. Plenty of issues have gone into quite a lot of work and her work ethics have been actually good for the previous 12 months. [I am] actually completely happy for her, and I hope she retains going as a result of she batting like that’s wonderful indicators for Indian cricket.”

Vishal Dikshit is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo