Smriti Mandhana's captaincy face stern test against idol Meg Lanning as WPL awaits new champion

On the eve of the Women's Premier League 2024 final, Smriti Mandhana and Meg Lanning addressed the media. Mandhana shared how awestruck she was left when an already superstar Lanning flicked a pacer for a six during her first tour to Australia in 2016. Seven years down the line, Mandhana is a superstar and Lanning does not have anything left to prove to anyone.

"The 2016 tour was the first time I was playing Australia in Australia and I remember she had properly flicked a pace bowler over fine leg for a six, and I was like 'oh, that's some shot!' She probably won't remember that," Mandhana said on Lanning in a pre-match press conference. 

RCB in WPL 2023 and 2024 is a different story. After just managing to stay one place above the dead-bottom in WPL 2023, Mandhana has led her team on the cusp of history this season as the RCB side has a shot at glory. It was an off season for them in 2023 but come 2024, they have found match winners in the team. Asha Shobana, Ellyse Perry and Smriti Mandhana in her own right have been the torchbearers of the team. 

The way Mandhana has led her troops is also a thing to cherish. She has been part of some pretty tense games this season and has managed her bowlers to some great extent. "Whenever I saw her, I saw the look in her eyes which said give me the ball. It's just her second WPL season but she is experienced domestically and good to see her perform well," Mandhana had said on Asha Shobana after the spinner's five-wicket-haul heroics handed RCB a two-run win against UP Warriorz out of nowhere.

In the Eliminator against the probably strongest WPL side - Mumbai Indians, Mandhana and the team held their nerves to derail the defending champions in a partly run-chase of 136. "Smriti and Sophie Devine were the ones who were trying to keep us calm and it was really cool from them," Georgia Wareham said after the thrilling win over MI. 

These are the things a captain has to do but to implement it to the best when it is most challenging speaks volumes of the skills of a leader. Mandhana has shown it pretty well this season. 

She also shared what Lanning had adviced her after a botched-up campaign in 2023. "Should I answer this before the match," Mandhana said with a smile in the presser. "Jokes aside, last year wasn't the greatest for RCB as well as for me. After the second match against DC, she came up to me and we had a conversation of 10-15 minutes, which is really cool because how much ever you play - you play international cricket for some time - when you are going through something like that, a little conversation with someone who understands batting as much as you do [points to Lanning] really helps.

"It really taught me as well [about] how to look up to other players from other teams if they're not doing well. From the time I debuted [in international cricket in 2013], Meg Lanning was the top run-scorer for Australia, and [I] had always looked up to her. I remember the 2016 tour [of Australia] where, for the first time, I was playing against Australia in Australia. I remember really properly that time she had flicked a pace bowler over fine leg for a six and I was like, 'Oh, that's some shot'. She won't probably remember that. But that time I was like, 'Okay, if you really want to play, be good at cricket, that's something you really need to improve'. But I will keep that thing aside for tomorrow's match and focus on trying to play the best cricket and beat them," Mandhana added.

Meanwhile, Lanning also had her thoughts clear and said that Mandhana was one player the Australian team always wanted to get rid off early in the innings. "Whenever we came up against India, we always used to talk about Smriti and how we could get her out early - because we knew how dangerous she could be," Lanning said. "She is a proven match-winner in any conditions. She's on her own leadership journey as well, going through ups and downs, and it sounds like Smriti is really starting to understand the ins and outs of that, and has done an excellent job with RCB this year," Lanning said.

The two have history in their sights. What both the men's teams have not been able to do in 16 years in IPL, one of them will deservingly earn that on a Sunday night at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. It's a stern test for Mandhana the captain against Lanning, who has everything in her trophy cabinet but for a WPL trophy.