WPL 2024: Five life lessons to learn from RCB Women’s triumph. Royal Challengers Bangalore Women beat Delhi to clinch maiden WPL title.
Royal Challengers Bangalore Women’s team won their maiden Women’s Premier League title in their first final appearance. They created history and brought cheer to RCB fans who have until now seen empty cupboards. The WPL 2024 season for RCB has been a memorable with some life lessons for people from all walks of life, not just in the cricketing world alone.
Here’s a look at some of the top life lessons to learn from the RCB Women’s team's successful WPL 2024 season.
Focus on the present, put the past behind
A lot of people carry their past baggage that makes it difficult for them to move on and achieve success in life. The RCB Women’s team had a horrible season last time out. They were placed second last in the league stage and at one stage were winless after five games. But come 2024 WPL, the RCB women’s team put the disappointment of the past season behind and took fresh guard in the competition, starting off the tournament with two straight wins. The last season’s debacle didn’t hinder their progress in the 2024 campaign, and slowly and steadily, they scripted a dramatic turnaround at the business end of the tournament to win their maiden WPL title.
It's not how you begin, but how you end
In any field or job, there is initial energy or enthusiasm to complete a task. But more often than not, as the task becomes monotonous, the motivation drops and the work is not completed or poorly executed. In the 2024 WPL, the RCBW had a fluctuating performance. They won their first two games, lost the next two, won again, then lost two more games. This left them in a position where they needed to win their final league game to secure a spot in the playoffs.
But even if they win, they’d still have to win the next two playoff fixtures to lift the title. RCB then lifted their game, first trouncing Mumbai by 7 wickets then defeating the same opponent again in the Eliminator by the slimmest of margins to qualify for the final. They ultimately defeated Delhi Capitals in the final to lift the title. RCB lifted their game at the business end of the tournament to go all the way, amplifying that ending well is important to complete a job not only in cricket but in real life as well.
Read More: WPL 2024: Perry, Shreyanka and Richa among architects of Mandhana-led RCB’s maiden title victory
Self-belief
Having self-belief is a recipe for success in any field. RCB women’s team showed that in the Eliminator when they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. All looked lost for RCB when Mumbai needed 20 runs off 18 balls with 7 wickets in hand to make it to the second straight final. But RCB fought back giving away just 14 runs and taking 3 wickets in the last 18 balls to win the match by 5 runs. It speaks volumes about the self-belief the RCB Women had in them to pull off a heist from any position. If it had not been for self-belief, RCB would have seen their hopes butchered by Mumbai captain Harmanpreet Kaur herself. But the RCB women’s team’s self-belief helped them enter the final and ultimately win the title.
Keep calm under pressure, make the most of an opportunity
Delhi Capitals were off to a thunderous start in the final, galloping to 64/0 in 7 overs with their openers going great guns. But RCB never panicked and kept their cool, waiting for an opportunity to bounce back. Shafali Verma gave RCB the opening by holing out in the deep. Delhi batters then panicked, trying to maintain the momentum provided by the openers. In the process, they lost another two wickets in the same over bowled by Sophie Molineux.
DC batters then folded like a pack of cards, losing their 10 wickets for 49 runs after the opening stand of 64 runs. Once again, RCB played sensible cricket while chasing 114 to win. Never for once did they look to blast the opposition out, and rather played risk-free cricket to overhaul the target. Calmness can go a long way to turn adversity into success – something that DC floundered when batting.
A calm leadership can do wonders
Winning or losing a cricket match can depend on how the captain or the leader responds to challenges and motivates the players to keep their chin up despite things not going well. Most importantly, a true leader leads from the front. Smriti Mandhana executed these traits to perfection and gave real-life leadership lessons to pick up from her.
She never looked tense in any situation and remained calm throughout. Her infectious smile executed the vibe that ‘all is well’ or under control. The same rubbed off on her teammates as well. RCB produced a come-from-behind performance consecutively in play-offs to register a memorable triumph. Moreover, she led from the front during the chase in the final, playing risk-free shots to make a well-composed 31 to steer her side home.
Read More: WPL 2024: Mumbai’s teamwork and Delhi’s top show in both batting & bowling sets them apart
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