Could Goa break unsettle RCB? Smriti Mandhana opens up ahead of WPL final

WPL 2026: Smriti Mandhana said that Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are fresh for the final against Delhi Capitals (DC) after they spent their one-week break enjoying in Goa.

Smriti Mandhana said that the one-week break for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Goa would help the team recharge ahead of the WPL 2026 final against Delhi Capitals (DC) at Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara.

RCB last played on January 29 and spent the break enjoying Goa’s beaches. Players were free to relax in their own ways—some partied, some soaked up the sun, some played golf, while others, like Shreyanka Patil and Radha Yadav, danced. Mandhana took it all in, along with replacements Arundhati Reddy and Sayali Satghare, who joined the squad in place of Ellyse Perry.

The 29-year-old Mandhana explained that after playing back-to-back games, the team needed the break to refresh and recharge, helping them regain energy and focus ahead of a high-pressure final.

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"Yeah, it was very important. Six days of thinking about cricket, who's going to come, what's going to happen and all of that. It's better that we went off for the first two or three days. It was a good break for all of us because, of course, there were a lot of back-to-back games in the first three days,” Mandhana said in the press conference before the final.

Mandhana, who has scored 290 runs from eight matches, said that after relaxing in Goa, RCB have trained hard to prepare for the final. She added that simply sitting in their hotel rooms with no cricket for a week wouldn’t have helped the team.