BENGALURU: Allen Abhishek, a hard-core Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fan, makes sure that each time the team plays the finals, he watches till the end. He did the same on Sunday evening when the RCB women’s team clinched an eight-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals to claim their maiden title in the Women’s Premier League (WPL). The win was special as it broke a jinx of almost 16 years. What was different this time for Abhishek though? “We usually skip the post-match presentation as soon as we know that the team is losing the match. We don’t want to see another team lifting
the cup. For the first time, we actually saw the winning moment and have been rewatching it since, just to relive the winning experience,” says an emotional Abhishek.
The win is a huge deal for many RCB fans like him, an emotion that was evident on the streets of Bengaluru. “After the win, I went to Church Street where people were dancing and embracing each other,” says Abhishek, who also co-founded the fan page RCB fan army.
Having been a pioneer and ardent promoter of women’s cricket from the ’70s, Geeta Parthasarathi beams with pride at RCB’s triumph. “Women’s cricket has arrived and they have just shown that they are as good, if not better than the Indian men’s team in terms of talent and skills. It’s a great motivation for other women to take up cricket as a professional game. It’s a milestone in the history of women’s cricket,” says Parthasarathi, who recalls the struggles to promote women’s cricket back in the day.
Watching RCB lift the cup was a dream come true for Kannadigas and it was no different for Karnataka’s off-spinner Chandu V. “This is the moment every cricketer from Karnataka has been waiting for. This means a lot to everybody,” says Chandu. As a cricketer, she had a few high points during the tournament. “Our Karnataka hudugi Shreyanka Patil played extremely well, winning the Purple Cap for her 13 wickets in this season. This is a wonderful moment for any player,” she adds.
For actor Chaithra J Achar, who recalls the moment when Ellyse Perry’s iconic shot smashed a car window, the win feels personal having waited for this day ever she since she was a child. “I have grown up from being a child to an adult hoping to see this day,” says Achar with a laugh, adding, “Watching the men’s team not making it to the top has been very disappointing. So someone picking the trophy for us is a delightful moment. Now, I hope the men’s team gets the trophy, too, and it becomes a double win for us.”