RCB’s road to the WPL 2026 final

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru qualified for their second WPL final, winning six games out of eight in the group stages. In less than 12 hours from now, they will be duking it out with the Delhi Capitals in what can be a replay of the 2024 WPL summit clash.

The journey until the finale for the Royal Challengers has been nothing short of wondrous. Conjuring twists from the very jaws of defeat to almost dominating games, RCB’s latest season has seen the entire unit coming together as a formidable force.

The latest iteration of the fray started with a thriller between Mumbai Indians and RCB. The curtain-raiser of the tournament featured an absolute banger as both sides went jousting until the very end. Batting first, Mumbai Indians totted up 154/6. Nadine de Klerk was the pick of the RCB lot with figures of 4/26.

RCB got off to a fine start but soon encountered a mountain of odds stacked up against them. Just when it felt like all hopes were lost, Nadine de Klerk came out firing on all cylinders and from practically a position of no return, she propelled the Royal Challengers to a humdinger victory. She stayed unbeaten for 63 from just 44 balls, while also bagging the Player of the Match award for her all-round display.

RCB made easy work of UP Warriorz in the following fixture as they called the shots throughout the battle. Bowling first, the Warriorz were restricted to 143/5. De Klerk once again spearheaded the bowling charge while Grace Harris unleashed her destructive self to blow away the Warriorz completely.

RCB stuttered early in their contest against the Gujarat Giants. Reduced to 43/4 while batting first, they needed something special to turn the equation around. Radha Yadav emerged as their beacon of salvation, smashing 66 off just 47 balls. She found a perfect partner in Richa Ghosh who scored 44 off 28 and from thereon, it was all RCB dictating the show. The bowlers were clinical as they wrapped up the Giants within just 150 runs.

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru made it four in four as they took down Delhi Capitals in their next game. Delhi had an early stutter and despite a fightback from Shafali Verma and Lucy Hamilton, the RCB bowlers kept them under check. Smriti Mandhana entered the fray and left everyone stunned as her fiery knock combined with Georgia Voll’s well-orchestrated 54 took RCB home.

Up next in the first game of the return leg, RCB were up against the Giants and they were once again confronted with the early jitters. Gautami Naik’s masterclass in the center saw RCB sail through the fire of baptism, posting 178 on the board. A combined display of brilliance from Sayali Satghare and Nadine de Klerk left Gujarat reduced to 117/8 at the end of 20 overs. With five wins from the first five games, RCB seized the qualification berth and was in the hunt for the final with just one more game to seize.

That is when RCB suffered two back-to-back defeats, the first one against the Delhi Capitals followed by the Mumbai Indians. The clash against Mumbai Indians saw RCB crumble early in the game. However, Richa Ghosh had other plans as she almost dragged RCB to the finish line, single-handedly. With the equation tending to get a bit nervy, the Royal Challengers effaced all fears, clinching the final berth with a thumping win against the UP Warriorz in their final group stage game.

Despite a resounding start from the Warriorz, a clinical performance from Nadine de Klerk rattled them. Grace Harris rolled her arms for the first time and walked away with a brace. When RCB came out to bat, it was Harris taking charge, smashing 75 off just 37 balls to win the game for RCB. She had support from her skipper, Smriti Mandhana who stayed unbeaten for 54 from 27.

Tomorrow, RCB lock horns with Delhi Capitals for the second time. The last time this happened was in 2024 and RCB walked away with the bragging rights. With one final chapter to be penned, one can expect this to be a full-blown cracker of a contest.