Welcome to Sportstar’s Highlights of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 opener between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Friday at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
HIGHLIGHTS
PLAYING XIs
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Smriti Mandhana (c), Grace Harris, D. Hemalatha, Richa Ghosh, Radha Yadav, Nadine de Klerk, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Prema Rawat, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell
Mumbai Indians: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), G Kamalini, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, Nicola Carey, Poonam Khemnar, Shabnim Ismail, Sanskriti, S Sajana, Saika Ishaque
TOSS NEWS
Royal Challengers Bengaluru wins the toss, elects to bowl against Mumbai Indians.
“We would like to bowl tight lines and restrict them since we know it’s a high-scoring pitch,” says RCB captain Smriti Mandhana.
“We know the dew factor will come in later and wanted to field first as well. Hayley (Matthews) will not play tonight because she’s not well.
Nicola Carey will make her debut,” says MI skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.PITCH REPORT
Expect it to be a high-scoring affair with a bit of swing on offer due to some grass on the pitch. Average first innings score at this ground is since 2024 is around 165.
Our reporter Lavanya Lakshmi Narayanan is on the ground at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, bringing you the latest updates ahead of the match:
PREVIEW
A little more than two months after India clinched its maiden ICC women’s title at the 50-over World Cup at this venue, the D.Y.
Patil Stadium will kickstart the 2026 edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL).The elephant in the room: a T20 World Cup around the corner, where a jilted Indian side which fumbled at the final hurdle in 2020 is hoping to redeem itself.
When Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru kickstart proceedings in the tournament’s fourth chapter, the Indian think tank will have its eyes and ears open to see if one of the many players on the fringes of the Indian team makes a good enough elevator pitch for a return to the national side.
Read the full preview by Lavanya Lakshmi Narayanan | Players on the fringes take centre stage as audition for Women’s T20 World Cup begins
LIVE STREAMING INFO
When is the Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru WPL 2026 match?
The Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru WPL 2026 match will begin at 7:30 PM IST on Friday, January 9, at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. The toss will take place at 7 PM IST.
Where to watch the Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru WPL 2026 match LIVE?
The Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru WPL 2026 match will be telecast on the Star Sports network and live streamed on the JioHotstar platform.
SQUADS
Mumbai Indians: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews, Amanjot Kaur, G. Kamalini, Amelia Kerr, Shabnim Ismail, Sanskriti Gupta, Sajana Sajeevan, Rahila Firdous, Nicola Carey, Poonam Khemnar, Triveni Vasistha, Nalla Reddy, Saika Ishaque, Milly Illingworth.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Smriti Mandhana (C), Richa Ghosh, Sayali Satghare, Shreyanka Patil, Georgia Voll, Nadine de Klerk, Radha Yadav, Lauren Bell, Linsey Smith, Prema Rawat, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Grace Harris, Gautami Naik, Prathyoosha Kumar, D. Hemalatha
Published on Jan 09, 2026
