MI face RCB in WPL 2026 opener: Preview and stats
What's the story
The Women's Premier League (WPL) 2026 is set to witness an exciting clash as Mumbai Indians (MI) take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The match will be played at the DY Patil Stadium, a venue of historical significance. MI captain Harmanpreet Kaur and RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana will be leading their respective teams in what promises to be an exciting encounter. Here's more.
RCB
Key details of RCB Women and probable XI
With Ellyse Perry pulling out of the season, RCB are likely to have Georgia Voll open alongside Mandhana. D Hemalatha or Gautami Naik can play at No. 3. It remains to be seen whether Pooja Vastrakar, who's under an injury cloud, is available for selection. RCB Women (probable): Smriti Mandhana (captain), Georgia Voll, D Hemalatha/Gautami Naik, Grace Harris, Richa Ghosh (wk), Nadine de Klerk, Pooja Vastrakar/ Sayali Satghare, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Arundhati Reddy, Lauren Bell.
MI
Key details of MI Women and probable XI
Defending champions MI Women have a settled XI. MI Women boast experience in the form of Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet and Shabnim Ismail. MI Women come into this contest as the favorites. Mumbai Indians (probable): G Kamalini (wk), Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, Poonam Khemnar, S Sajana, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail, Saika Ishaque.
Numbers
Player focus: Here are the key stats
Amelia Kerr is the leading wicket-taker in women's T20s. Recently, she became the first woman to take 400 T20 wickets (402), as per ESPNcricinfo. In the WPL, she has bagged the 2nd-most wickets (40). In 29 WPL games, MI's Matthews owns the most wickets (41). She averages 17.56. Among batters, MI's Sciver-Brunt owns the most runs in WPL, having scored 1,027 runs at 46.68. In 27 matches, Harmanpreet owns 851 runs at 40.52. She has smashed 5 fifties.
Information
A look at the H2H record
MI and RCB Women have met 7 times so far in the WPL. MI have won 4 times with RCB claiming three wins. Last season, the two teams shared the spoils, winning one encounter each from 2 meetings.
Words
I want to bat freely, says Harmanpreet
Harmanpreet opened up on the expectations she set for herself this season. "I think as a batter I want to bat freely because this is the only platform where I don't put a lot of pressure on me because this is something where I can execute myself however I want. It's a very important tournament for me and I just want to contribute for my team as much as I can," she said to reporters.