RCB lock horns with Mumbai Indians in WPL 2026 curtain-raiser

All roads lead to Navi Mumbai as RCB gear up for the WPL 2026 season opener that kickstarts tomorrow. The fourth edition of the tournament will be bigger than anything you have ever seen and the Royal Challengers are all set to rumble.

With Smriti Mandhana returning to the helm of affairs, this will be her fourth season as the captain of RCB. However, this year, she will have a flurry of fresh faces alongside her to take the challenge head on. From Georgia Voll to Grace Harris, Linsey Smith to Radha Yadav, RCB did sign a handful of experienced campaigners in the side to bolster their ranks.

The defending champions, Mumbai Indians, will be coming in with some intense firepower. For RCB, the key element to get into their rhythm will be to pick the right combination.

With star power in Smriti Mandhana, Georgia Voll, Grace Harris, Nadine de Klerk, Richa Ghosh, Lauren Bell and Linsey Smith leading the charge, they will have to slot the right blend of players in order to get the perfect XI in place. Apart from that, the presence of experience will be crucial for the Royal Challengers as they hope to launch another title bid.

Venue watch:

The surface in Dr. D.Y Patil Stadium has been a tricky one to bat on in the first innings. With the pitch exhibiting traces of spongy bounce, one has to apply themselves smartly enough to get going with the runs. However, in the second half, with dew coming in, batting gets tentatively easier and chasing will definitely be on the cards of the team winning the toss.

Match details:

Match – Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Venue – Dr. D.Y. Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai

Date –9th January, 2026

Time – 7:30 PM

Head-to-head:

Matches played - 7

RCB - 4

MI – 3

Squads:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru:

Smriti Mandhana, 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

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