How RCB Women Clinched the First WPL Title!

(RCB Women with the WPL Season 2 Title)

From “Ee Sala Cup Namde” to “Ee Sala Cup Namdu,” the RCB Women's team showcased its dominant performance across the second Women's Premier League season, which helped the franchise to secure its first title. From losing several matches in the initial stages of the game to winning consecutive games towards the end of the tournament, the RCB Women were able to defy expectations and end the long wait of the fans to watch the RCB franchise lift the title. There were several factors that contributed to the domination of the RCB Women's team across the second WPL season. They dominated the tournament entirely, winning the WPL title, Ellyse Perry winning the Orange Cap, Shreyanka Patil winning the Purple Cap, and various other titles were also won by the team. In this blog, we will be discussing the various factors that helped the team to dominate the second WPL edition with ease.

1. Quality Decisions by Team Management

One of the most important factors regarding RCB Women’s championship win was the quality decisions made by the team management. In the initial stages of the tournament, they were struggling to secure wins, but the management knew exactly who the right player would be for the team to get them to the playoffs. The management brought out some strategic changes to the team, which helped them to turn over the matches and secure their spot in the playoffs to ultimately win the title.

(RCB Women’s management team at the Auction)

This was also attributed to the practices and decisions by the team coaches, which shaped the players regarding the situations which they could be facing in the upcoming matches. During the first WPL season, Ben Sawyer was announced as the Head Coach of the team, under whom the team finished at the 2nd last spot. Luke Williams took his place during the 2nd season and helped RCB Women's team to make the most unexpected comeback in the league stages of the tournament to win their first WPL title.

2. Youngsters Received Opportunity

Another important aspect that contributed to the dominance of the team in the WPL season was the performances given by the youngsters. Various other teams in the tournament supported the youngsters less as compared to the Royal Challengers Bangalore Women's Team. The team was able to give chances to the youngsters in the initial stages of the tournament, which saw various changes in the team to build up a perfect lineup for the upcoming matches of the season. One of the youngsters who showcased their impressive talent upon receiving the opportunity was Shreyanka Patil, who also won the Purple Cap in the tournament. In the final match against Delhi Capitals Women, she bowled an impressive spell of 4 wickets while conceding 12 runs in just 3.3 overs.

(Shreyanka Patil with the Purple Cap)

Her impressive bowling spells towards the final stages of the tournament also played an important role in the team's win. The team also gave the opportunity to Richa Ghosh, who is another youngster in the India Women's cricket team scenario. Richa is known among the fans now for her impressive wicket-keeping and aggressive batting style, which helped her to turn the matches to RCB Women's favour in the initial stages of the tournament. In the league stage match against Mumbai Indians Women, which was a decider game, Richa Ghosh scored 36 runs in 28 balls and created a much-needed partnership with Ellyse Perry for the win.

3. Experienced Foreign Players

The RCB Women's team chose their foreign players during the auction with full knowledge and confidence, which helped them perform dominantly in the second season. The team had several foreign players who played important roles, including names like Ellyse Perry, Georgia Wareham, and Sophie Molineux. Ellyse Perry was one of the most important players among them all, who helped the team in the most crucial matches of the tournament. In the match against the Mumbai Indians, which was RCB Women's last league stage game, Ellyse Perry dominated with the bat and ball, taking 6 wickets and scoring 40 runs.

(Ellyse Perry after her match-winning performance against MI Women)

Her all-round skills helped RCB Women to lift the title, as Ellyse Perry also finished the tournament as the highest run scorer. Sophie Molineux played an important role for the team with the ball, taking up 3 wickets in the final match against Delhi Capitals, which also included the much-needed wicket of Shafali Verma. Although Georgia Wareham was not able to give the match-winning performances, her contribution was available to the team in the tough situations of the game.

4. Smriti Mandhana’s Captaincy

One should not forget the role of the captain of the team who has won the title. Smriti Mandhana, the opening batsman and the captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore, showcased the example of leading from the front, which helped the team to secure their first Women's Premier League title. Throughout the tournament, Smriti scored 300 runs for the team across ten matches, which also included a high score of 83 runs. Although she missed her century in this tournament yet again, her performances showcased that Smriti didn't play for the personal milestones she played to help her team secure the win.

(RCB Women’s team captain, Smriti Mandhana with the trophy)

Along with that, some strategic decisions she made during the matches also played an important role in turning the games in the favour of Royal Challengers Bangalore Women. This showcased that Smriti came into the matches with a proper game plan for each and every player in the opposition to ensure that they wouldn't stand a chance against the team in the tournament.

5. Supportive Middle Order

The main aspect that saved the batting line-up of the Royal Challengers Bangalore Women in most of the games was their supportive middle order. Although their top order was strong, consisting of Smriti Mandhana, Ellyse Perry, and Sophie Devine, the team also had an aggressive middle order, which helped them to turn the tables even if the top-order batters failed to perform.

(Richa Ghosh after a match-winning knock against UP Warriorz)

Having experienced players like Sophie Molineux and Georgia Wareham, along with youngsters like Disha Kasat and Richa Ghosh, the RCB Women's team ensured that their batting line-up wouldn't fall to a collapse. Richa Ghosh played an important role in the middle order of the team's batting line-up, as her aggressive batting skills helped the team a lot in various matches. Richa has been known among the fans for her impressive strike rate towards the death overs of the game, which has helped the batting line-up of the team to a great extent.

6. Backing from the Fans

Last but not the least was the backing which the team received from the fans. The RCB fans are known to be the most loyal fanbase all over the world, as they have been supporting the team since the inaugural season of the IPL. Moreover, in the Women's Premier League, the RCB franchise is known to be the most popular team among all the other teams present in the tournament.

(RCB fans celebrating after the Women’s team win in the finals)

Whether the matches were being played at their home ground, Chinnaswamy Stadium, or the away ground, Arun Jaitley Stadium, the fans reached almost everywhere to support the team. This support from the loyal fanbase helped the team of Royal Challengers Bangalore Women to lift the title of the 2nd WPL season and enlightened the fans' patience to watch the RCB franchise lift a title. Many players of the team even revealed that their main source of confidence was the loyal fanbase of the team and its support in every match.

What to expect next from the RCB team?

Therefore, these factors played an important role in the Royal Challengers Bangalore Women's dominant performance in the second WPL season. All these factors worked together and contributed to the team's performance in the tournament. The fans even hope that the men's team will also lift the title by having a look at the changes that could be strategically made to the team to make them even stronger in the Indian Premier League, as they were in the IPL 2016 season.