
Devadyuti Das
Devadyuti Das is a passionate sports reporter and editor with experience of over 20 years in sports media. He has covered almost every sport for print and digital media. While Cricket is his first lov ... Read More
The reigning Women’s Premier League (WPL) champions Mumbai Indians led by Harmanpreet Kaur will open the defence of their title against former winners Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the opening match of the WPL 2026 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Friday (January 9). It will be an emotional return for both Harmanpreet Kaur and RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana, who had won the historic ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 title at this same venue last year.
Smriti Mandhana has endured a tough and turbulent couple of months in her personal life after her marriage to Bollywood music composer Palash Muchchal ended unceremoniously. The RCB star batter bounced back from the disappointment and has focussed her attention on performing on the cricket field.
Mandhana’s RCB will miss the services of star Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry, who has pulled out of the entire season. They are likely to replace Perry with her Australian teammate Georgia Voll, who is expected to open the batting with her skipper Mandhana.
Indian pacer bowler Pooja Vastrakar is still under injury cloud for RCB with youngster Sayali Satghare set to replace her if she fails to pull up fit. For the defending champions MI Women, wicketkeeper G. Kamalini will be opening the innings with West Indies star Hayley Matthews and England star Nat Sciver-Brunt coming in at No. 3 followed by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.
What makes #TATAWPL different?
️ Hear it from your captains #KhelEmotionKa | @DelhiCapitals | @Giant_Cricket | @mipaltan | @RCBTweets | @UPWarriorz pic.twitter.com/KIZNxwoQCx
— Women’s Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) January 9, 2026
Here are all the details about MI-W vs RCB-W WPL 2026 match no 1…
The MI-W vs RCB-W WPL 2026 match no 1 will take place on Friday, January 9.
The MI-W vs RCB-W WPL 2026 match no 1 will be held at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
The MI-W vs RCB-W WPL 2026 match no 1 will begin at 730pm IST. The toss for the match will be held at 7pm.
The MI-W vs RCB-W WPL 2026 match no 1 will be available LIVE on TV on Star Sports network channels in India.
The MI-W vs RCB-W WPL 2026 match no 1 will be available for livestreaming on JioHotstar website and app.
Mumbai Indians Women: G Kamalini (wk), Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, Poonam Khemnar, S Sajana, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail, Saika Ishaque
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women: Smriti Mandhana (c), 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
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