Shastri dumbfounded at RCB captain Smriti Mandhana getting loudest cheer in WPL 2024 final: ‘Know this is Delhi but…’

One would expect more cheers for the home side Delhi Capitals, who were the first to qualify for the final, making their second successive appearance on the WPL summit clash. But at toss, it was more evident which team had more fans present at the venue, and it left former India head coach Ravi Shastri dumbfounded.

DC skipper Meg Lanning won the toss on Sunday and opted to bat first, going by the popular opinion of putting runs on the board first to create pressure on the opponents.

“I feel that’s the best chance to win the game. The pitch looks good and we’ll have to bat well. What has happened before is irrelevant, we’re up against a great team and we need to play well,” said the Aussie before revealing that Delhi made no changes to their playing XI.

Shastri, who was the presenter at toss, then called RCB captain Mandhana, and the Delhi crowd went berserk. Dumfounded at the reaction from the spectators, the former India cricketer said: “I know this is Delhi but it seems like Bengaluru.”

Mandhana could only smile at the reaction from the crowd and Shastri, before she admitted that RCB would have liked to bat first as well. Bangalore, who made their maiden WPL final after beating defending champions Mumbai Indians in the Eliminator on Friday, made only one change to their side – Meghana in for Disha Kasat.

“We would have batted first as well, but I think it doesn’t really go well, we will have to bowl well, stick to our plans and play some good cricket. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs so far, but we need to be at our best tonight. This is the 4th match on the same wicket, the last game, it played slow,” she said.

This is the third time RCB and Delhi are facing each other in WPL 2024 and the 2023 runner-up won both the matches. Marizanne Kapp’s all-round show helped DC beat Bangalore by 25 runs last month before the two played out a thriller in Delhi where Richa Ghosh’s 29-ball 51 went in vain as the hosts won by just one run to qualify for the final last Sunday.