RCB Crowned WPL 2026 Champions

Match Recap

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) clinched their second Women's Premier League title in convincing fashion, defeating Delhi Capitals (DC) by 6 wickets with 8 balls remaining at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on February 5, 2026.

The result was never truly in doubt once Smriti Mandhana and Georgia Voll came together in the 4th over after RCB had lost two early wickets. The pair added 165 runs — the highest partnership in WPL history — for the third wicket, dismantling DC's total of 203 with clinical efficiency.

Smriti Mandhana — Player of the Match

Mandhana's 96 off 61 balls was a captain's innings of the highest quality. Coming in at No. 3 after RCB lost two wickets inside the powerplay, she anchored the chase with elegant stroke-making — cutting, pulling, and driving with the authority of someone in the form of her life.

She fell four runs short of a century, caught at long-on attempting a big hit, but by then RCB needed just 18 runs from 24 balls with four wickets in hand. It was a performance that capped an outstanding season — she finished as the tournament's top run-scorer with 377 runs at an average of 47.

Georgia Voll — Breakthrough Performance

The player of the moment was Georgia Voll, the Australian import who announced herself on the WPL stage with a composed 58* off 42 balls. At just 21, Voll played with the maturity of a veteran — rotating strike, finding boundaries at will, and crucially holding her nerve when Mandhana departed.

Voll's inclusion in the playing XI ahead of Sophie Devine in the final was a tactical call by Mandhana and the RCB management, and it paid off spectacularly. She is expected to be one of WPL 2027's most sought-after overseas signings.

Harmanpreet Kaur's Fighting 74

For Delhi Capitals, captain Harmanpreet Kaur scored a brilliant 74* off 42 balls to drag her team to a competitive 203 — a total that looked par on a batting-friendly surface but ultimately fell short. She was the only DC batter to truly dominate, with support from Alice Capsey (31) in a 58-run partnership.

DC's bowling struggled to contain RCB's top order, with Shreyanka Patil (2/28) being the pick of the bowlers. The loss marks DC's fourth consecutive WPL final defeat — they have now lost finals in 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026.

WPL 2026 — Final Points Table

WPL 2026 — Top Performers

WPL 2027 — What to Expect

WPL 2026 confirmed the tournament's status as the premier women's domestic T20 competition in the world. With Smriti Mandhana leading a dominant RCB side and emerging talents like Georgia Voll and Nandani Sharma making their mark, the 2027 season — expected to expand to 7 teams — will be even more competitive.

The tournament runs from January 9 to February 5 each year, coinciding with India's post-IPL window. All 22 matches were streamed live on JioCinema and broadcast on Sports18, reaching a cumulative audience of 28 million viewers across the season.