For Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fans, Ee Sala Cup Namde, which roughly translates to “this year the Cup is ours”, finally turned into a reality as Smriti Mandhana-led side made it count when it mattered the most for them, beating Delhi Capitals by 8 wickets to lift the Women’s Premier League (WPL) title at the Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium on Sunday. As a result, this is the title for the RCB franchise in both men’s and women’s cricket.

Until the big final, Smriti Mandhana-led RCB had to endure losses in their four previous head-to-head meetings with the Capitals at the WPL.

Delhi Capitals had themselves to blame for their adventurous approach in the final after opting to bat on a Kotla track where there was spin on offer for the slower bowlers.

The Capitals were on track till the powerplay with young Shafali Verma (44) and skipper Meg Lanning (23) setting the tone with a 64-run opening stand before the RCB spinners got into their act with Sophie Molineux (3/20) striking thrice in the 8th over to reduce the hosts to 64/3.

Thereafter, it was one-way traffic for the RCB spinners, making full use of the conditions, with Shreyanka Patil (4/12) and Asha Sobhana (2/14) running through the middle and lower order batting to eventually bundle the home side for 113 in 18.3 overs. The RCB spin trio accounted for 9 of the 10 wickets and in return leaked mere 46 runs from their combined 10.4 overs.

In reply, Sophie Devine (32) and captain Smriti (31) got RCB to a strong start by putting on 49 runs with Devine unleashing her full range of shots against Delhi spinner Radha Yadav before being trapped in front by Shikha Pandey. But the joy was momentary for the Kotla crowd that turned up in numbers as Smriti and Australian star Elise Perry (35 not out) added 32 runs for the second wicket to take RCB within sniffing distance of the victory before Smriti departed.

Needing another 32, young Richa Ghosh (17 not out) and Perry kept the required run-rate under control and ensured that there were no more hiccups in RCB’s way to lift the WPL trophy as the RCB players rushed into the middle to celebrate the moment.

Star all-rounder Elise Perry took the Orange Cap after ending as the tournament’s highest run-scorer with 346 runs while Shreyanka Patil bagged the Purple Cap, picking 13 scalps.