RCB Crowned WPL 2026 Champions as Smriti Mandhana Break DC’s Final Hopes

On Thursday, Royal Challengers Bengaluru won their second WPL title by pulling off a record chase against Delhi Capitals in the Women's Premier League 2026 final at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara.

DC scored 203 runs with Jemimah Rodrigues leading the way with 57 off 37 balls. This was the highest score in a WPL final for a short time. Lauren Bell's four-over spell of 0/19 was the best value for RCB.

With two balls left, RCB pulled off the highest successful run chase in WPL history, thanks to a record 165-run partnership between Smriti Mandhana (87 off 41) and Georgia Voll (79 off 54).

RCB also held the record before this one, when they chased down Gujarat Giants' 202 in the WPL 2025 opener.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru won their second Women's Premier League title. The first time was in 2024, when RCB won by eight wickets. It was DC's fourth straight loss in a WPL final.

Lizelle Lee and Shafali Verma helped DC get to 49 in the powerplay, but then they both fell in quick succession. Lee hit a steady 37 off 30 balls, and Shafali's quick 20 off 13 balls kept the pace up.

The game picked up speed when Laura Wolvaardt and captain Jemimah Rodrigues teamed up. In 51 balls, the two added 76 runs for the third wicket. Wolvaardt was fluent during her 44 off 25, and Rodrigues kept things steady in the middle overs. 

Jemimah got to her half-century in 32 balls and seemed ready for an even bigger finish, but she missed a full toss on 57.

Chinelle Henry then hit an unbeaten 35 off just 15 balls late in the game to help DC break the 200 mark.

Grace Harris's early dismissal could have stopped RCB's long chase, but Mandhana and Georgia Voll batted clearly.

Mandhana got to her half-century in just 23 balls, which is the fastest in the WPL. Voll got to his fifty in 37 balls. 

They put together a huge 165-run partnership for the second wicket, keeping the asking rate within reach and slowly wearing down Delhi's attack. RCB had already passed 150 by the 14th over.

Voll's wrong charge finally gave Delhi a break, but by then RCB was already at 174/2 in the 17th over. Richa Ghosh joined Mandhana, but she quickly walked back to the pavilion.

With seven wickets left, RCB needed 18 runs off the last 12 balls. Chinelle Henry got rid of Smriti Mandhana in the second-to-last over, which made the game more exciting.

Radha Yadav made sure of the win by hitting back-to-back boundaries on the third and fourth balls of the last over, which was needed to win.

RCB got a direct spot in the WPL 2026 final earlier in the tournament by winning six games and getting 12 points in the league stage. DC came in third in the table and made it to the final by beating the Gujarat Giants by seven wickets in the Eliminator. 

Smriti Mandhana won the Orange Cap for the 2026 WPL season by scoring 377 runs in nine matches. Sophie Devine of the Gujarat Giants won the Purple Cap with 17 wickets.

In the WPL 2026 final, the Delhi Capitals scored 203 runs in 20 overs (Jemimah Rodrigues 57; Arundhati Reddy 1/40) and lost to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who scored 204 runs in 19.4 overs (Smriti Mandhana 87, Georgia Voll 79; Chinelle Henry 2/34) by six wickets.

Winners of the WPL 2026 awards
Smriti Mandhana (RCB) won the Orange Cap.
Sophie Devine (GG) won the Purple Cap.
Sophie Devine (GG) is the Most Valuable Player.
Nandani Sharma (DC) is the Emerging Player of the Season.