Mandhana Proud of Strong Finish Despite RCB’s Missed Chances:

Even though they did not make it into the playoffs in WPL 2025, Smriti Mandhana, captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru who lifted the trophy in 2024 said she was happy with the character the team showed in the tournament, especially after finishing their season on a high by beating Mumbai Indians. During the event, Mandana commented on how a couple of close games came as a loss, which eventually cost them a spot in the playoffs, however, he praised the players for sticking to the team even when things did not look promising.

After discussing the phrase, Mandhana explained that, “We were just having a joke post the match that we started the season on a high and ended it on a high. Midway we just lost somewhere. So, I think that pretty much sums up our season.”

“Losing a great many matches in succession is quite hard on a team. Like I said, we lost… first two to three matches were pretty close for all of us. Positivity was in the group till the last match in Lucknow. Everyone was… like we were really thinking that we have a chance and everyone wanted to really go out there and win it. As a captain, I’m really pleased that we actually had that will. Whether you win or lose, sometimes in franchise cricket luck is on your side. But when the team comes together and it doesn’t go your way? That is a team for me.”

RCB was on a roll at the start of the season winning their first two matches, only to be met with five consecutive defeats. To make it worse, four of these losses came at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Their first two home games were tragic. They lost the first game to the Mumbai Indians by one ball and the second game to the UP Warriorz in a Super Over. Smriti Mandhana explained how she thought these losses were the tipping point of the RCB team's downfall but she wasn’t about to point fingers.

I believe we played our first two games in Bangalore. Last season, we ended up winning those types of matches. It's always frustrating when you do many things right and for some reason, in the last two or three overs, things just don't go right. Last year, we won by winning those moments, and this year, during the first two matches in Bangalore, we weren't able to make those moments ours. I think that is a turning point for us, particularly the first two matches. We were right in the game until the 38th over. We were feeling as if it was our match, but in the last two or three overs, it was all turned upside down. That's cricket; it happens, but I reckon those were the two matches that, had we claimed victory, we would be sitting at the top of the table now.

It is difficult to mention any one thing that I would want to throw under the bus. With regards to the entire team, *together I feel we could have done so much more*. Personally, I was a mid phase batter and during that time, I was not scoring a lot of runs which did not help the team at all. I think that everyone, whether you win or lose has a role to play, and every single person contributes to the outcome. As a team, there are lots of things we bear the responsibility for. I can’t look back to pinpoint a specific moment because I believe that is not the right approach. As a captain of the team, what I know is through out the tournament, we were not able to seize the moments the way we planned and that’s something we are going to work on," Mandhana added.