Calmness is commonly mentioned in Royal Challengers Bangalore’s comeback story in the Women’s Premier League 2024.

Ellyse Perry praised new coach Luke Williams for instilling a feeling of calmness in the RCB team after they had qualified for the playoffs. Williams noted the same thing about Smriti Mandhana’s captaincy before the Eliminator. Mandhana recognized it as her team’s strength before and after winning the final.

And championship-winning captain Mandhana was a picture of serenity during the ebb and flow of the Championship match against the Delhi Capitals and the subsequent pandemonium.

She tracked the course of the Shafali Verma six, which flew over the bowler’s head like a child tracing a shooting star in the night sky, and then dashed out to speak with a sad Renuka Thakur. She watched helplessly as DC plunders 61 on the powerplay and led the squad in a strategic time-out to discuss keeping to their guts and strategies. When she spotted Asha Sobhana rushing in for a catch toward covers that was always hers, Mandhana cautioned her bowler, just missing a collision, before joining her in a group embrace to celebrate the crucial wicket.

Her calm shined through a solid innings of 31 (39 balls) in RCB’s final-over chase of Delhi’s 113, with the skipper avoiding any of the showy strokes that have cost her her wicket in the past. She wasn’t among those ready to sprint as the ball left Richa Ghosh’s bat and reached the fence on a single bounce. She did not participate in the first mid-pitch huddle, which included Ghosh and non-striker Perry, as well as their Indian colleagues. She wasn’t in the second or third batch. Mandhana, who had taken a second-row seat in the dugout since her expulsion, raised her arms in jubilation as she saw Ghosh fulfill “some unfinished business” and praised each of the staff and management before being the final to cross the ropes and join the team’s celebration.

If there was one shot that exemplified how fast she learned the “ins and outs of captaincy,” to use Meg Lanning’s words, this was it.

After the traditional handshakes with the opposition camp, Mandhana walked straight up to the locker room and sat down quietly. Loud celebrations aren’t her style; “maybe some defect,” she joked afterward. As Shreyanka Patil tried to urge her colleagues to dance to the Academy Award-winning song Natu Natu, Mandhana stood by the Capitals dugout, hugging her India teammates in a comforting hug.

The same level-headedness was on show when Mandhana placed RCB’s elusive triumph as one of her top five career highs, ultimately ending its supporters’ decade-plus wait to hear the words: “Ee Sala Cup Namdu [this year, the cup is ours]”.

Moments later, a shy grin transformed into full-blown laughter when the trophy, now adorned merely with red ribbons, was displayed next to her. Even with the adrenaline rush of becoming the first RCB captain to raise a trophy for the club in 17 years, she made sure to give a shout-out to the whole fanbase first, while still keeping her sights fixed on the greater prize, a World Cup for India.

“More than anything, the way the supporters have shown out for every match, whether in Bangalore or Delhi… and the management… they’ve been through so much in the previous 15 years, being so close and all that. They’ve just been incredible throughout. Even last year, when we weren’t performing well, the only thing they said was, ‘Are you okay?’ That meant a lot to me as a player.

“When management demonstrates that type of (confidence), there’s something worth playing for and winning for. My first impression was, “Wow, the fans of the RCB franchise will be overjoyed.” The management is all in tears. I was delighted to see them and the entire bunch. We’ve gone through a lot in this tournament, from not knowing if we’d make the Eliminator to that insane Eliminator and now this final. The entire bunch simply kept at it. One thing we did for certain was fly back.

Even today, I believe we fought back quite successfully. Maybe I can’t communicate individually, but there’s a lot of gratitude for the fans, the franchise as a whole, and this entire group,” Mandhana remarked, holding the trophy.

Perhaps all of this serenity came naturally to a captain whose team had taken complete control of the game after a forgettable first powerplay. That she was able to do so on Sunday night demonstrated how she put the disappointment of the debut year behind her and returned to her joyful demeanor and self-deprecating wit, which had nearly vanished during the previous campaign.

Mandhana turned her team’s fortunes around by making the proper decisions before the WPL began. After spending India’s off-season at The Hundred, she delved into the task of returning the management’s confidence. She decided to skip the 2023 WBBL to participate in the Indian domestic white-ball season and become better acquainted with her teammates and opponents. Navigating from the lows of five straight defeats in the first year of franchise leadership, which admittedly “changed something deep within,” to this ultimate high in just 12 months has been a steep learning curve, with lots of lessons learned.

The one thing I’ve learned is to trust in myself,” Mandhana said following RCB’s title-winning eight-wicket victory at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. “I figured that was something I lacked. Last year, when everything went wrong, I doubted myself. That was a serious internal conversation about how I needed to continue to believe in myself. That was the most significant learning experience for me.

“Even today, six overs and 60 runs, we had a couple of plans that didn’t work out. Several field sets did not go our way. The only thing that remained consistent was my belief. I wasn’t in a panic. I was calm today, which was a valuable lesson for me. That was wonderful. I was able to have a clear chat with the bowlers since the Indian batsmen were preparing to bat. So I talked to them about bowling certain balls and seeing what happens. Eventually, those wickets arrived. So it was important to be extremely explicit when that panic button was touched. It was primarily about continuing to have trust in my team and myself.”

While Mandhana was beaming after the win, it couldn’t have been easy being Meg Lanning after the Delhi Capitals were outplayed and lost their second consecutive WPL crown, both times after qualifying outright.

However, Lanning smiled as she applauded the opponents and authorities before running to the DC dugout. In alone, the Orange Cap she wore and relinquished during RCB’s hunt received the brunt of her rage. Lanning threw it hard on the floor in rage before putting on her DC cap. When the cameras focused on the losing camp, tears began to flow, despite Lisa Keightley and Annabel Sutherland’s efforts to console. As much as she attempted to disguise it, it was a rare display of emotion from the typically stoic Lanning, whose all-conquering aura was tested for the second year in a row.

When Mandhana was struggling last year, the Australian was one of the first to see him. Rest assured, the RCB captain will be stopping by shortly.