Smriti Mandhana, Anushka Sharma grace RCB's IPL 2026 opener against SRH
IPL 2026: Anushka Sharma, Smriti Mandhana, Shreyanka Patil, and Jemimah Rodrigues were present at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru for the opening match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Anushka Sharma and Smriti Mandhana were present at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, cheering on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) during their IPL 2026 opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Saturday, March 28. Jemimah Rodrigues and Shreyanka Patil were also in attendance.
Among them, Mandhana and Shreyanka wore the RCB jersey, representing their involvement with the franchise in the Women’s Premier League (WPL). Mandhana and Shreyanka were recently part of the RCB team that won the WPL title earlier this year, defeating Jemimah Rodrigues’ Delhi Capitals in the final.
MANDHANA, SHREYANKA IMPRESS FOR RCB
Mandhana was pivotal in RCB’s second WPL title in 2026, excelling both as captain and batter. She finished as the tournament’s highest run-scorer with 377 runs in nine innings, earning the Orange Cap and consistently leading her team from the front.
In the WPL final against Delhi Capitals, Mandhana delivered a match-winning performance, scoring 87 runs off 41 balls under pressure to anchor RCB’s chase of 204 — the highest successful run chase in WPL history — and was named Player of the Match.
Shreyanka also impressed, taking a five-wicket haul against Gujarat Giants. Her stellar performance earned her a spot in the T20I series against Australia, where she further shone by winning the Player of the Match award in the series decider at Adelaide Oval.
Jemimah, on the other hand, helped the Capitals finish as runners-up in WPL 2026. Taking over from Meg Lanning as captain, she faced her share of challenges as the Capitals flirted with an early exit from the tournament.
In the final against RCB, Jemimah scored 57 off 37 balls, but her innings went in vain as DC lost by six wickets. It marked the fourth consecutive season that the Capitals fell short in the WPL final.
Shreyanka, Jemimah, and Mandhana are set to feature in the five-match Women’s T20I series against South Africa, starting on April 17. The trio is also expected to play a crucial role in the Women’s T20 World Cup later this year in England.
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