Vadodara, Feb 6 (IANS) Delhi Capitals head coach Jonathan Batty felt gutted after her team suffered its fourth straight final loss as Royal Challengers Bengaluru put on a spectacular show to chase down 204 runs to clinch their second title in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 title clash played at BCA Stadium (Kotambi).

Batty felt the batters did their job well, carrying the momentum from the eliminator to record the highest first-innings score at Vadodara, but it was disappointing to end on the losing side once again.

“It’s really tough to take. Having played so well in the Eliminator earlier in the week, and coming into this game with momentum, putting a really good score on the board, I was proud of the way we went about our business with the bat. Twenty overs in, you think, ‘Okay, it’s a good score; if we bowl well here, we’ve got a very good chance.’ It’s really disappointing to come out on the wrong end of it again. But full credit to RCB; obviously, those two batters, Georgia Voll and Smriti, played absolutely fantastically,” Batty said in a post-match presser.

Despite the loss, Batty heaped praise on the team’s fightback at the end and taking the match to the last over, where RCB needed ten runs to win the match.

“I’m really proud of our team’s effort to still be in the game there, where it looked like it was drifting for a period of time, to still be in that last over and lose with only two balls to go – I think we showed a lot of fight, a lot of heart. But I think the game kind of summed up our season, that we did certain bits really well and other bits kind of fell away at times as well.”

The head coach also lauded Jemimah Rodrigues for the way she led the team throughout the tournament, leaving a mark in her captaincy debut. “Hugely proud of Jemi. I think, particularly losing the first couple of games of the tournament, she was probably under quite a bit of pressure there. She brought her energy and her experience to the table. Obviously, batting-wise, she contributed a lot of runs as well through the tournament. I thought she made outstanding decisions as captain throughout the whole tournament.”

“Her leadership grew and grew as we went through it as well. So, I’m really proud of the effort she’s put in. She’s thrown her heart and soul into this season. So, I’m looking forward to seeing where she takes that over the next few years as well,” Batty added.

–IANS

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