Bengaluru, May 20 (IANS): The Indian women’s vice-captain Smriti Mandhana heaped praise on the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for making a stupendous fightback in the second half of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 to enter the playoffs. RCB had lost seven out of their first eight matches, before winning six games in a row, the latest of which was beating defending champions Chennai Super Kings by 27 runs in a must-win clash at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday to book their place into the Eliminator against Rajasthan Royals at Ahmedabad on Wednesday.

“I just realised that watching the match is much more stressful than actually playing. But really happy that we got a really good score and coming back here reminded me of first playing at the Chinnaswamy. But really happy with the way the boys have fought back throughout the season,” said Smriti in a video posted on RCB’s social media accounts on Monday.

Smriti, who captained RCB Women to their first Women’s Premier League (WPL) title earlier this year in New Delhi, was in attendance for Saturday’s match alongside her teammates Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Singh Thakur, with India teammate Jemimah Rodrigues joining in as well.

“We also won the first two to three matches and then had a few matches where you could not perform. No one tries to go out and not perform, so it really takes a lot of guts to come back from that position and have a chance to still qualify. That itself shows the character that this team has,” she added.

Shreyanka, the leading wicket-taker in WPL 2024, felt playing a high-stakes game was easier than watching the game from the stadium.

“Definitely playing is easier. For every ball, I am giving some reaction while watching. When you are on the field, you know what’s happening. But when you are sitting out, I don’t know how to express as every ball and moment has a reaction.”