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WPL Review: Can Mumbai recover from a lukewarm start?

26 January 2026 07:26| © MWP
By:CS Chiwanza
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Intro: There are only two rounds of matches left in the league phase, and the race for the top three couldn’t be any closer. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are the only safe team, having punched their ticket to the playoffs with a victory over the Gujarat Giants last week Monday.

The Giants (6), Delhi Capitals (6), Mumbai Indians (4), and UP Warriorz (4) are fighting for the other two spots. Experience in knockout matches and team cohesion will count for more as the matches turn into must-win contests for the four sides competing for second and third place.

Match of the Week: We often consider close matches as the best but, sometimes, a clinical dismantling can just be as impressive. More so if the comprehensive victory is against a team that looked unbeatable. RCB was hunting their sixth win in a row this season when they ran into an inspired Capitals outfit that scuppered their plans.

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The Capitals’ bowling attack ran through the RCB batting order, restricting them to 109 in 20 overs, before consuming a mere 15.4 overs to score 111/3 to claim their third win. It was a clinical display with bat and ball.

Batter: Gautam Naik walked out onto a tough pitch and put on a masterclass in batting in bowler-friendly conditions. The RCB star, who was on 10 from 14 at one point, showed great application in the first half of her innings before she exploded to a match-winning 55-ball 73. Her score helped RCB get to an above par 178/6, before their bowlers restricted the Giants to 117/8.

Bowler: Nandani Sharma put on a display of great death bowling when the Capitals downed RCB. The pacer left the RCB lower-order in sixes and sevens with her variations of pace.

She conceded a mere six runs in the 17th and 19th overs, and claimed three wickets to finish her day with 3/26 in four overs. The three scalps raised her tally for the season to 13 wickets. She is now the leading wicket-taker and has ownership of the Purple Cap.

Performance: Rajeshwari Gayakwad has an impressive resume. The 34-year-old spinner has five tests, 64 WODIs, and 58 WT20Is under her belt. She has also been a fixture in the WPL since the league’s inception, and yet recorded her best bowling figures in the tournament last week.

She took an outstanding 3/16 in four overs for the Giants against the Warriorz. The left-arm spinner was so good that she even completed a run-out in her last over of the match. Her effort also helped the Giants secure a 45-run victory.

Overseas Player: Marizanne Kapp is aging like fine wine. The Capitals know that they are guaranteed at least a single wicket in the powerplay if they give the South Africa allrounder the new ball. However, Kapp didn’t just deliver an early wicket when the Capitals faced RCB on Saturday, she guaranteed victory.

Kapp took two wickets for 17 runs to help reduce RCB to a below par score, before striking the winning runs in the chase. She was unbeaten on 19 from 15 at the end of the contest. Her performance earned her the Player of the Match award.

Talking Point: Mumbai has never missed out on a playoff berth, but could 2026 be the year that the powerhouse is dumped out of the tournament in the group stages? The Harmanpreet Kaur-captained side has lost four games out of the six they have played and are one of the two teams with four points to their name.

The other is UP Warriorz. Mumbai will face RCB and the Capitals in their next two assignments. They need to bring their A-game, otherwise they will be knocked out in the group stages, which will be a first for them.

Look out for: Are the Capitals on an upward curve? The Jemimah Rodrigues-captained side had an indifferent start to the season; they lost their first two games, won against the Warriorz, and then were humbled by RCB.

Rodrigues and company got their revenge on RCB when they thumped the defending champions by seven wickets. The win came on the back of yet another seven-wicket win over Mumbai two days earlier. They will play the Giants and the Warriorz next, which gives them a shot at a four-match winning streak.

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