An improved show with bat and ball helped Royal Challengers Bangalore not only register its first-ever win against Mumbai Indians in the Women’s Premier League but also make it to the playoffs of the tournament for the first time. Captain Smriti Mandhana credited the RCB management for its support to players and staff alike.
“Last season didn’t go our way. It wasn’t a bad team. We didn’t step up and play the cricket we wanted to play. A lot of hardwork and thought has gone into this over the past 12 months, not only from my side but all the support staff and the RCB management. For them to show their faith in all of us was just amazing,” Smriti told reporters after her side’s seven-wicket win against MI on Tuesday.
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“I wouldn’t say that (this has been a) really satisfying campaign still, but we had a lot of ups and downs, but that’s how WPL and T20 cricket is. You’ll have good days and bad days.”
“One important talk we had was to not look at the other games as its not in our hands. It takes away the cricketing talk. We treated it as quarterfinal, semifinal, final and spoke about playing our best cricket,” she said.
Smriti hailed crowd support for the franchise in both legs.
“I was surprised to see the whole crowd chanting RCB during the match against Delhi Capitals. It’s not something you expect to see. At the end of it, women’s cricket is the winner. Of course, franchise has its own fan base for the last 15-odd years. Their expectations and whatever they say about us - good or bad -- is important to have in the group because it motivates us to do better for them. As women cricketers, we’ve wanted this to happen and it is an amazing thing to watch it happen,” she said.
RCB will face MI in the eliminator on Friday.
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