Virat Kohli's special Instagram story for RCB Women fills hearts with pride

India batting ace and former Royal Challengers Bangalore Men’s team captain Virat Kohli took to Instagram last night and congratulated the Smriti Mandhana-led RCB Women for their WPL title win. It was the South Indian outfit’s first-ever title in the domestic franchise circuit as they grabbed hold of the trophy by handing an 8-wicket defeat to the Meg Lanning-led Delhi Capitals.

It was a historic moment for the RCB franchise and its fan base who waited for more than 15 years to see their favorite team claim the coveted silverware. It was a terrific comeback produced by Smriti Mandhana’s side after a disappointing WPL season 1 where they had won just 2 games from 8 league matches. This year even though RCB Women’s charge to the final wasn’t convincing enough on the day of the final they came out all guns blazing.

Virat Kohli labels Smriti Mandhana and Co. as “Superwomen”

Instagram story by Virat Kohli for RCB team. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/tBLvIUBaMY

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 17, 2024

Soon after RCB Women won against Delhi Capitals in a one-sided affair, Virat Kohli, who recently joined the RCB camp for IPL 2024, had a special appreciation post for the Women’s team. Virat Kohli labeled Smriti Mandhana and Co. as “Superwomen”. Now the pressure is on the Men’s team to win the richest T20 league of the world which has eluded them for more than a decade.

The Men’s team will get to the task at hand when they step out on the field to take on reigning champions Chennai Super Kings on March 22nd at the MA Chidambaram stadium. Just as former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri had put it, the pressure and onus is now on the Faf du Plessis-led side to replicate what the Women’s team did.

Most of the RCB fans were a little frightened when Smriti Mandhana captained the side towards their first WPL final appearance this season, which is similar to the route the Men’s team took. During the 2009 IPL edition (season 2), RCB had set up a final meeting against Deccan Chargers whose abbreviation too, was DC as they had beaten the Anil Kumble-led side by 6-runs at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.

But there was no doubting the Women’s team who reached the final after winning 4 and losing 4 in the league phase. Their last-gasp win or escape against reigning champions Mumbai Indians was perhaps their most special victory of the season.

Smriti Mandhana unable to express herself after the title win

Following the 8-wicket win, Smriti Mandhana was finding it hard to describe her feelings in words. She highlighted the terrific effort from her team which had suffered two losses against Delhi Capitals in the league phase. Mandhana said that she was proud of their performance and that they brought their peak performance just at the right time.

“Feeling hasn’t still sunk in. Hard for me to come out with expressions. One thing I’ll say is I’m proud of the bunch. Our Bangalore leg was really good. We came to Delhi and had two tough losses. That’s what we spoke about that we need to step up at the right time. These tournaments are about peaking at the right time.” – Smriti Mandhana said after the match.