WPL 2024: Smriti Mandhana in Tears, Richa Ghosh Dejected as RCB’s Nail-Biting Defeat to DC Deals Dims Their Chance to Reach Playoffs

WPL 2024: Smriti Mandhana and team left heartbroken after defeat against DC

The Women's Premier League (WPL) 2024 saw an exciting match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium for the third consecutive night. Delhi Capitals, who defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by one run, became the second team to qualify for the playoffs, behind the defending champion Mumbai Indians. With a fiery 29-ball fifty-one, Richa Ghosh led RCB in a heroic comeback, but he was unable to duplicate the feat Harmanpreet Kaur accomplished for Mumbai Indians the night before, as the visitors lost the run chase, severely harming their chances of making the playoffs.

RCB lost skipper Smriti Mandhana early in Sunday's 182 run chase in New Delhi, but they rallied behind Sophie Molineux and Ellyse Perry's 80-run partnership. The Delhi Capitals made a comeback, dismissing both batsmen in the span of five deliveries, but RCB established another combination between Sophie Devine and Ghosh that would score 49 runs.

Marizanne Kapp dismissed Devine after the timeout, enabling Ghosh to pursue the run by himself. The wicketkeeper-batter hit two sixes to cut the deficit to 2 off 1 with 17 needed off the last over, but her nerves got the better of her and she was caught just short of leading RCB to an incredible victory.

"Tough loss to take," said Mandhana in the post-match presentation. "We have seen a lot of Richa in WPL and international cricket, Perry was going well, unfortunately she got run out. The game could have gone anywhere in the last ball and good on Delhi as well to keep their nerve and win. One run does not make us a bad team. Good effort with the shorter boundary to restrict them to 180. We really believed that we could chase this down."

Ghosh stayed there for a long time, head bowed, inconsolable, until rivals Shafali and Jemimah Rodrigues comforted her. Meg Lanning, the DC skipper, arrived and gave her a hug too. Mandhana, too, was devastated and fought back tears when RCB lostto make it to playoffs for the second time in a row.