Navi Mumbai, January 9: The D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai is all set for the high-voltage first match of the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2026 between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI) on Friday evening. RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana won the toss and opted to bowl first. She may be considering to take advantage of the dew factor in the second part of the game.
Smriti Mandhana and Mumbai Indians captain Harmanpreet Kaur stepped out on the field for the toss. Harmanpreet flipped the coin, which fell into Smriti's favour. Smriti Mandhana opted to field first and invited Mumbai to bat first in the high-voltage clash.
The live coverage of the game will start after the opening ceremony concludes.
Pitch Report
The pitch at the DY Patil Stadium looks firm and well-prepared, with a layer of grass on top. It should offer consistent bounce and good carry, which will help batters play their shots freely.
The square leg boundary is just 53 metres, making it a tempting scoring area, while the offside (61m) and straight boundary (66m) also give batters room to find runs.
Fast bowlers may get some movement early on with the new ball and with dew expected in January, chasing could become easier later in the evening.
Playing Elevens
MI Playing XI: Nat Sciver-Brunt, G Kamalini (WK), Amelia Kerr, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Amanjot Kaur, Nicola Carey, Poonam Khemnar, Shabnim Ismail, Sanskriti Gupta, Sajeevan Sajana, Saika Ishaque
RCB Playing XI: Smriti Mandhana (C), Grace Harris, Dayalan Hemalatha, Richa Ghosh (WK), Radha Yadav, Nadine de Klerk, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Prema Rawat, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell
Mumbai Indians suffered an early setback before the start of the game as their star player Hayley Matthews has been ruled out of the opening game as she is unwell. Mumbai and her fans will be hoping for her to recover soon and she can join the team as early as possible.
