India, Feb. 6 -- Finals expose nerves. They also reveal character. And Smriti Mandhana showed that she could rise above the nerves and live the moment in the most emphatic manner possible.

Chasing the biggest total in a Women's Premier League final, she seized the chase, strangled the middle overs with the assurance of someone who knew the game was hers. With a 41-ball 87, she played a captain's knock, completing a historic chase and helping Royal Challengers Bengaluru win their second WPL title in three years.

For the first time in franchise cricket history, the men's and women's units of a franchise hold the trophies in both WPL and IPL. It may seem like it, but RCB did not bludgeon their way to a six-wicket win over Delhi Capitals. T...