‘I did not expect that the campaign will go this way’ - Smriti Mandhana reflects on RCB’s terrible WPL season

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had a horrendous campaign in the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL). The Smriti Mandhana-led side finished in the fourth place with four points on the WPL points table, having won only two of their eight matches. 

After getting knocked out at the group stage of the first-ever WPL season, RCB skipper Mandhana said that she did not anticipate the franchise's fourth-placed finish in the tournament. The star batter added that they will figure out their flaws and will make a strong comeback next year.

"The kind of team we have, and the kind of balance that we have, I did not expect that the campaign will go this way. At this moment, you feel a lot of things, like what we could have done better,” Mandhana said on RCB Match Day. 

"Definitely sad that we could not make it to the top three, but I think it's the first season and there are a lot of things to work on as a player and as a team, and as a captain. I'm sure we will go back and comeback harder and stronger,” she added.

Mandhana went on to say that the team now has a better chance of bouncing back as they know what can go wrong. She also said that the whole team stood up together even after facing five straight losses, stating it as the biggest takeaway from the season.

"We now know what can go wrong. Now that we know that, I think we will be much prepared next year. The whole setup stuck together even though we lost the first five matches, and I think that was the biggest takeaway,” she said. 

Smriti Mandhana is the most expensive player of the inaugural edition of the WPL, bought by RCB for a whopping INR 3.4 crore. But the 26-year-old failed to live up to the price tag in terms of her batting or captaincy throughout the season. Notably, the India vice-captain managed to score only 149 runs in eight matches this season. 

RCB were knocked out from the WPL after UP Warriorz beat Gujarat Giants on Monday, March 20. However, RCB looked to end their campaign with a win over Mumbai Indians but the Harmanpreet Kaur-led team handed them a four-wicket defeat in their final league-stage match on Tuesday. 

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