‘She Was My Coach Tonight’: Danni Wyatt-Hodge Praises Smriti Mandhana

Smriti Mandhana and Danni Wyatt-Hodge are made for each other as batting partners. While Smriti elegantly finds the boundaries with ease, the English opener at the other end bludgeons the ball. The pair was their belligerent best against Delhi Capitals on February 17, with a 107-run partnership. 

In the aftermath of their eight-wicket win, the English opener praised Smriti, stating that she was the ‘coach’ for her in the clash against DC. 

“She [Smriti] keeps me very calm. She was my coach tonight which was helpful. We played for Southern Brave, we know each other's games. RCB is a great franchise, they have been very welcoming,” Danni Wyatt-Hodge said after the match. 

“Surface was on the slower side. She kept telling me to get forward, I was staying back. She just batted so well tonight. It is a pleasure to bat with her,” she added.

Smriti also hailed the performance of the bowling unit, who managed to restrict the talented Delhi batting order to just 141 after 20 overs. RCB’s skipper also reckoned that DC were at least 15-20 runs short on the day. 

“Very pleased. The bowlers did a great job restricting DC to below 150. In fielding, we saved 15-20 runs. The strategy was to bowl more pace. Depending on the conditions, Baroda doesn't play twice the same way,” Smriti said in the post-match presentation. 

“Renuka and Joshitha were great. As a team, we are proud. Ekta as well, was great. Danni and I know each other well. The bowlers did a great job. We kept going on, and the runs came,” she added. 

With two wins out of two, RCB top the WPL 2025 table with four points, with Gujarat Giants second with two points.