By Piyush M Padwale
The 4th edition of the Women’s Premier League 2026 concluded with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) beating the Delhi Capitals (DC) by 6 wickets in a thrilling last over finish with 2 balls to spare in the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara on Thursday, 5th February 2026.
After winning the toss, RCB elected to bowl first. Batting first, DC put up a fighting score of 203 for 4 in 20 overs, reaching the highest ever total in a WPL final. DC’s skipper Jemimah Rodrigues top-scored for the team with a powerful 57 off 37 balls.
The South African duo of Laura Wolvaardt and Lizelle Lee added significant contributions of 44 and 37 runs, respectively. Adding to this was an electrifying cameo by Chinelle Henry, who boosted DC’s total with a quick 35 off 15 balls.
RCB took the fight to the last over. They managed to cross the target in 19.4 overs, making it the most successful chase in a WPL final.
RCB captain Smriti Mandhana led from the front with an amazing 87 off 41 balls, which included the quickest half-century in WPL history, earning her the Player of the Match award.
Another key contributor to the chase was Georgia Voll, who contributed with a strong 79 off 54 balls. Mandhana and Voll stitched a partnership of 165 runs for the second wicket, the largest ever partnership in a WPL final, until it was finally broken by Minnu Mani.
Chinelle Henry took key wickets, dismissing RCB openers Grace Harris and Smriti Mandhana. After a brief top-order collapse in the latter stages of the game, Radha Yadav struck crucial boundaries in the last over off Nallapureddy Charani to seal RCB’s 2nd win.
Despite a commendable batting performance by the DC, they were unable to break their final jinx, suffering their fourth consecutive final loss in a WPL final.
RCB’s win not just cements their position as a great team, but also marks a major milestone for skipper, Smriti Mandhana, as an elite run-scorer, who not just won the orange cap for scoring the most runs, but also surpassed 1000 career runs in the Women’ s Premier League.