Watch: Smriti Mandhana and Ellyse Perry break down in tears after RCB Women lose it like RCB Men

Smriti Mandhana and her teammates along with Ellyse Perry were heartbroken after RCB suffered an agonizing defeat against Delhi Capitals in the 17th match of WPL 2024. Richa Ghosh scored a whirlwind century but it was not enough for RCB to win the crucial game as they lost it by just 1 run.

Batting first, Delhi Capitals posted a competitive total of 181 for 5 in the allotted 20 overs. Captain Meg Lanning and Shafali Varma gave the Capitals a good start by adding 54 runs for the first wicket before both of them departed in quick succession to leave their team 2 down for 60.

However, Jemimah Rodrigues and Alice Capsey did not let RCB capitalize on the twin breakthroughs and added 97 runs for the third wicket. Shreyanka Patil broke the stand by dismissing Rodrigues for 60 before sending back Capsey for 48.

Smriti Mandhana and her teammates are heartbroken:

Chasing 182, RCB lost the wicket of their captain Smriti Mandhana cheaply. The India opener could score just 5 runs before being sent back by Capsey. The likes of Sophie Molineux (33), Ellyse Perry (49), and Sophie Devine (26) got the starts but could not stay till the end or convert the starts into big scores.

Both Molineux and Devine departed in quick succession to leave RCB reeling at 93 for 3 before Richa joined Devine in the middle. The duo steadied the ship before deciding to launch the attack when RCB needed 57 runs from the last five overs While Devine departed in the 18th over, Richa stayed till the end and was run out on the final ball when two runs were required.

Richa hit two sixes in the final over when RCB needed 17 runs and completed a 28-ball fifty but could not take her team over the line. The RCB players were heartbroken after the defeat as they struggled to deal with the loss.

On Monday (March 11), RCB posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) in which their head coach Luke Williams could be seen trying to cheer up the dejected players.

Watch:

Ecstacy one moment, agony the very next! So near yet so far. 🥺💔 The girls were heartbroken after coming second by the barest of margins, and coach Luke tried to cheer them up before the all important game against Mumbai! 🙌#PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB #SheIsBold #WPL2024 #DCvRCB pic.twitter.com/gECE6nmnC7

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) March 11, 2024

Ellyse Perry and Smriti Mandhana's emotions after last night. pic.twitter.com/A6aOBNIeXA

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 11, 2024

With three wins from seven games, RCB are currently third in the points table. They will face Mumbai Indians in their last league game on Tuesday.