"We saw very best of Smriti Mandhana": Ex-NZ cricketer hails RCB skipper after franchise's 2nd WPL title

Vadodara (Gujarat) [India], February 6 (ANI): Former New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Katey Martin hailed skipper Smriti Mandhana after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) second Women's Premier League (WPL) title win, saying that everyone got to saw at her "very best", playing "some of the best shots" she has ever played, which left bowlers clueless.
Skipper Smriti came in clutch during the record chase of 203. Despite the early wicket of Grace Harris, she and Georgia Voll posted a record-breaking partnership that helped RCB to their second WPL title and a historic double of holding the IPL and WPL titles at the same time.
Speaking during 'JioStar's 'Match Centre Live', Katey said, "I think we saw the very best of Smriti Mandhana, not just because of the runs she scored, but because of what she means to this team and everything she has been through over the last couple of months. To be a World Cup champion, a WPL champion, and the mainstay of a side she truly adores is special. We saw some of the best shots I've ever seen Smriti play. When she's in that kind of form, you genuinely have no answers, apart from crossing your fingers and hoping she makes a mistake. What a moment for her and for her team."
She finished the season as the top run-getter, scoring 377 runs in nine matches at an average of 53.85 and a strike rate of over 153, with three fifties. This is the second-best WPL season by a batter, next to Mumbai Indians (MI) star Nat Sciver Brunt's monstrous 2025 season with 523 runs at an average of 65.38 and a strike rate of over 152 with five fifties.
She also joined the stalwarts Nat-Sciver, UP Warriorz skipper Meg Lanning, MI captain Harmanpreet Kaur and DC's opener Shafali Verma as the fifth player to complete 1,000 WPL runs. She has made 1,023 runs in 35 matches at an average of 31.00 and a strike rate of 136.76, with seven fifties, with her best score of 96.
Mandhana's 23-ball fifty is the fastest half-century in a WPL final. She is also the batter involved in most century stands in WPL history, with six such partnerships, outclassing Nat Sciver Brunt.
Also, Katey said that DC skipper Jemimah Rodrigues's loss and her close friend Mandhana's triumph, which keeps DC trophyless despite four successive final appearances, "says everything about cricket" and she could get "fifth time lucky" next year.
"You make your best friends in this game and lifelong memories. I have no doubt Jemimah will come back year after year. She's grown immensely from this tournament, not just as a player but as a captain. She should hold her head high, and maybe next year, she'll be saying, 'Fifth time lucky, Smriti," she concluded.
Coming to the match, RCB won the toss and opted to bowl first. Lizelle Lee (37 in 30 balls, with three fours and three sixes) and Shafali Verma (20 in 13 balls, with three fours) put their team to a flying start. A 76-run stand for the third wicket between Jemimah Rodrigues, who played a captain's knock of 57 in 37 balls, with eight fours and Laura Wolvaardt (44 in 35 balls, with three fours and two sixes) brought them back to the game. Just when RCB threatened to pull things back, Chinelle Henry (35* in 15 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) played a fiery cameo to power DC to 203/4 in 20 overs, the highest in a WPL final.
In the chase, RCB lost Grace Harris (8) early, but a 165-run stand between Smriti (87 in 41 balls, with 12 fours and three sixes) and Georgia Voll (79 in 54 balls, with 14 fours) pierced DC's chances with every hit. DC threatened to pull things back with three quick wickets in the final few overs, but Radha Yadav (12*) and Nadine de Klerk (7*) chased the total with six wickets and two balls in hand.
Mandhana was adjudged the 'Player of the Match' award. (ANI)