RR vs RCB: 'Watching RCB's match is stressful...' - Smriti Mandhana shares brutally honest take

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women's (RCB-W) captain Smriti Mandhana has shared her honest views on watching the matches of RCB, labelling it as a stressful experience.

The 27-year-old Smriti Mandhana earlier this year became the first-ever RCB captain to win a major trophy as she guided her star-studded RCB-W line-up to the WPL 2024 title.

The high-voltage WPL final was played between the Meg Lanning-led Delhi Capitals Women (DC-W) and the Smriti Mandhana-led Royal Challengers Bangalore Women (RCB-W) on Sunday, March 17 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi and RCB-W won the match by 8 wickets while chasing a small 114-run target.

Smriti Mandhana played a key role in the success of RCB-W as she scored 300 runs in 10 matches at an average of 30.00 and a strike rate of 133.92. She hit two fifties in the competition with her best knock of 80 runs coming against the UP Warriorz.

Meanwhile, Smriti Mandhana was present at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru for the virtual knockout match of IPL 2024 between Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Faf du Plessis-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Saturday, May 18. She watched the match from the stands along with RCB teammates Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, and Renuka Singh as well as star cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues.

In the match, Royal Challengers Bengaluru posted a huge total of 218/5 on the board and then restricted CSK to 191/7 to win the match by 27 runs. With the victory in the match, RCB sealed the 4th and final spot in the Indian Premier League 2024 playoffs.

I just realised that watching the match is much more stressful than actually playing - Smriti Mandhana

Smriti Mandhana was elated after RCB qualified for playoffs and speaking in a video shared by Royal Challengers Bengaluru on their official social media handles, she lauded the players for their exceptional fightback.

"I just realised that watching the match is much more stressful than actually playing. But really happy that we got a good score and coming back here reminded me of first playing at the Chinnaswamy. Happy with the way boys have fought back throughout the season,” Mandhana stated.

Smriti Mandhana further lauded the character of RCB stars for making a strong comeback from a difficult position to seal a playoff spot.

“We also won the first two to three matches and then having a few matches where you could not perform. No one tries to go out and not perform, so it takes a lot of guts to come back from that position and have a chance to still qualify. That itself shows the character that this team has,” Mandhana added.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru will next be seen in action when they take on Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator of the Indian Premier League 2024. The match will be hosted at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on May 22.