WPL 2026: DC take on MI in must-win clash
What's the story
The 13th match of the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2026 will see Delhi Capitals take on Mumbai Indians. The game is scheduled for Tuesday, January 20, at BCA Stadium in Kotambi, Vadodara. It promises to be an important clash as DC sit at the bottom of the table with just one win from four matches, while MI are currently second with two wins from five games. Here is the match preview.
Details
Match details and venue conditions
The upcoming match will be televised on the Star Sports Network and streamed live on JioHotstar. The action will get underway at 7:30pm IST. Meanwhile, the pitch at BCA Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara, is expected to provide a fair contest with early assistance for spinners and some swing for pacers with the new ball. Batters can score heavily if they settle down due to consistent bounce.
Team challenges
MI's top-order woes and DC's bowling struggles
MI have tried four opening combinations in five games, but their run rate in the first six overs is just 6.5, the lowest among all teams. The new combinations have resulted in an opening-partnership run rate of 5.68, which is also the lowest this season and third-lowest overall in WPL history. Meanwhile, DC's bowlers have managed only three powerplay wickets in four matches - the least by any team this season.
Match preview
Team news and possible line-ups for MI and DC
DC recently gave Australia left-arm quick Lucy Hamilton her debut after all-rounder Chinelle Henry was injured. If Henry is still unavailable, DC could field the same XI that lost to RCB. On the other hand, MI made two changes in their last match against UP Warriorz - resting Shabnim Ismail to make way for Hayley Matthews and bringing in debutant medium-pacer Kranthi Reddy for an unavailable batter Poonam Khemnar.
Line-ups
Probable XI of the two teams:
Delhi Capitals Probable XI: Shafali Verma, Lizelle Lee (wk), Laura Wolvaardt, Jemimah Rodrigues (c), Marizanne Kapp, Lucy Hamilton, Sneh Rana, Niki Prasad, Minnu Mani, Nandni Sharma, Shree Charani. Mumbai Indians Probable XI: Hayley Matthews, Gunalan Kamalini (wk), Amelia Kerr, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Amanjot Kaur, Nicola Carey, Sajeevan Sajana, Sanskriti Gupta, Nalla Kranthi Reddy, Triveni Vasistha.
Player spotlight
Key players to watch out for
DC will depend on Marizanne Kapp to lead from the front. She is the only DC bowler who has bowled her full four-over quota in every match so far, taking three wickets at an economy rate of 6.06. On MI's side, Nicola Carey has been in great form lately, recording 137 runs at a strike rate of 145.74 and seven wickets. Harmanpreet Kaur has scored 199 runs this season at a strike rate of 148.50.
Past performance
A look at their past meetings
Coming to the head-to-head record, the Capitals have four wins and five defeats against MI. In their previous meeting this season, MI dominated DC with Sciver-Brunt and Harmanpreet scoring half-centuries. Carey and Amelia Kerr also contributed with three-fors each. Chasing a target of 196 runs, DC faltered early in the powerplay at 33 for 4 and never recovered from there, eventually losing by a margin of 50 runs.