Royal Challengers Bangalore won their maiden Women’s Premier League (WPL) title after their spinners restricted Delhi Captials to 113, setting the stage for an eight-wicket victory with just three balls to spare in New Delhi on Sunday.
Chasing a modest total, Bangalore started slowly and weathered the loss of openers Sophie Devine (32) and captain Smriti Mandhana (31) before Ellyse Perry (35 not out) and Richa Ghosh (17 not out) led them to victory in the final over.
Delhi captain Meg Lanning won the toss and chose to bat, the same decision she made last year when her team lost the final of the inaugural edition to Mumbai Indians.
Shafali Verma (44) and Lanning (23) started well with a blistering 64-run opening stand in seven overs before Sophie Molineux (3-20) put the stops on their charge with three wickets in four balls.
Sobhana Asha (2-14) and Shreyanka Patil (4-12) then chipped in with wickets at regular intervals to clean up the middle order and tail as Delhi collapsed and were dismissed for 113 in 18.3 overs.
Delhi’s Shikha Pandey (1-11) and Minnu Mani (1-12) had some success in containing Bangalore’s run rate in the first 12 overs, but Perry and Ghosh regained the momentum in the last five overs, to ensure victory.