That’s sports for you. In a thrilling T20 match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, the Royal Challengers Bangalore triumphed over the Mumbai Indians by just five runs in the Eliminator, securing their spot in the Women’s Premier League final for the first time. Smriti Mandhana was overwhelmed with joy, while Harmanpreet had a tough time accepting the loss, seen trying to compose herself as she congratulated the RCB players.

During the chase, Mumbai Indians seemed to have the game under control, with Harmanpreet and Amelia Kerr batting confidently. However, RCB staged a late comeback, with Shreyanka Patil and Sophie Molineux bowling brilliantly in the final overs, restricting MI’s scoring.

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Despite a valiant effort by MI, they fell short of the target. RCB’s captain, players, and fans were in disbelief at the unexpected turn of events.

Mandhana expressed her happiness, praising her team’s bowling and fielding efforts, especially highlighting Asha Sobhana’s exceptional last over. RCB will now face Delhi Capitals in the WPL 2024 final at the same venue on Sunday.

Batting first, Delhi Capitals made 181 runs for 5 wickets in 20 overs. Captain Meg Lanning and Shafali Varma gave their team a good start with 54 runs for the first wicket. But they both got out quickly, leaving their team at 60 runs for 2 wickets.

Even though RCB got these two important wickets, Jemimah Rodrigues and Alice Capsey made a strong partnership, adding 97 runs for the third wicket. Shreyanka Patil finally broke their partnership by getting Rodrigues out for 60, followed by Capsey for 48.

Smriti Mandhana and her teammates are heartbroken:

In the chase for 182 runs, RCB faced an early setback as their captain Smriti Mandhana was dismissed cheaply, scoring only 5 runs before being sent back by Capsey. Despite getting off to promising starts, players like Sophie Molineux (33), Ellyse Perry (49), and Sophie Devine (26) couldn’t stay till the end or convert their starts into big scores.

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Both Molineux and Devine were dismissed in quick succession, leaving RCB struggling at 93 for 3, before Richa joined Devine in the middle. The pair stabilized the innings before stepping up the attack when RCB needed 57 runs from the last five overs. Although Devine departed in the 18th over, Richa remained till the end but was unfortunately run out on the final ball with two runs needed.

Richa’s valiant effort, including hitting two sixes in the final over and completing a 28-ball fifty, wasn’t enough to secure victory for RCB. The team was left heartbroken after the defeat, finding it tough to cope with the loss.

On Monday (March 11), RCB shared a video on X (formerly Twitter) where their head coach Luke Williams tried to lift the spirits of the disappointed players.

Currently, with three wins from seven games, RCB holds the third position in the points table. Their final league match is against Mumbai Indians on Tuesday.