Mandhana: Bell bowled a match-winning spell, Voll's intent was spot-on

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Smriti Mandhana called her team's achievement of winning two WPL titles in three years "amazing" and credited Lauren Bell and Georgia Voll for their roles in winning Thursday's final.

Chasing a stiff 204 - the highest total in a women's T20 final - against Delhi Capitals, RCB got home with two balls remaining and six wickets in hand. While all other RCB bowlers went for at least nine an over, Bell returned frugal figures of 4-0-19-0 with as many as 12 dot balls. Without that spell, Mandhana felt RCB might have been chasing an even bigger target.

"We definitely did think that it's a good surface to bat on," Mandhana said before collecting the trophy. "But, of course, 200-plus in the final is definitely a good score. I thought that in the last four overs, we definitely bowled well and pulled it [back] a little better. Again, credit to Lauren Bell. I mean, 400 [runs scored] in a match and she goes for like four overs, 20-odd runs. That, for me, is a match-winning spell."

RCB lost Grace Harris early in their chase before Mandhana and Voll put on a stunning 165 in just 92 balls. The partnership brought the equation down to an eminently gettable 30 off 21 balls. Voll raced away initially before Mandhana put her foot to the pedal to bring up her fastest WPL half-century, off just 23 balls. She finished with 87 off 41 balls, with a strike rate of 212.19.

"Yeah, of course, Volly led the way," Mandhana said. "She had almost all the strike in the powerplay, but her intent was really spot-on. And I remember telling the girls 10 or 15 days back that I have a feeling that Volly will get a match-winning knock in the final and [I'm] really happy, really happy for her. She's been working extremely hard on her game. I saw her practicing extra in the last two-three days. So I'm happy that it came, it paid off for her."

RCB played this season without their ace allrounder Ellyse Perry, who opted out for personal reasons, and Mandhana credited the support staff for giving players role clarity.

"One thing which has stood out for me is the way support staff has been around the girls, the role clarity was given," she said. "Not only now, when the auction happened and everyone got phone calls that this is what we are looking for from you, this is the batting order, or this is the phase we want you to bowl in. And that really helps. Credit to Malo [Malolan Rangarajan, head coach], Anya [Shrubsole, bowling coach], RX [Muralidhar, batting coach] sir. I mean, the roles were pretty clear for all the girls. And when that happens in the right way, I feel our job is pretty easy to come in and just lead the way.

"I feel girls are working extremely hard. And that's one thing which really shoots up your belief. When you work hard in the gym, when you're putting in the hard yards, you have that belief that any score you can chase it down, anything you can do. So once that happens, I feel 200 on the board, we all felt really confident that we could chase it down. Having said that, what Volly did, I feel, was really special."

Jemimah Rodrigues, who saw DC go down in three finals in a row as vice-captain and watched it again now as captain, praised her side for showing the "character" she expected from them through the season and on the day of the final.

"I think I couldn't be more proud of this team," she said. "It wasn't easy for us, but the kind of character our girls showed for us to just make it to the finals is something I'm so proud of. And you know, I couldn't ask for anything better."

Like Mandhana did for RCB, Rodrigues top-scored for DC with 57 off 37 balls in a crucial stand of 76 for the third wicket with Laura Wolvaardt, which set the platform for Chinelle Henry to take off in the death overs with 35 off 15 balls.

"I think 204 in a final is always a great score," Rodrigues said. "Hats off to the way we played as a team. I think we've been great. You know, if ever you wanted our team to fire and click, it was today. And I think we did that really well. There's always, you know, 'okay, we could have done this better, that better.' But I think everyone fought hard, everyone gave their all, and sometimes that's all that's important."