Who Won WPL 2026? RCB Champions — Results, Standings & Full Review
Last updated: 14 February 2026 · Tournament complete
Royal Challengers Bengaluru won WPL 2026. Smriti Mandhana scored 87 off 41 balls as RCB chased down 204 in 19.4 overs to beat Delhi Capitals by 6 wickets in the final at Vadodara on February 5. It is RCB’s second WPL title, tying Mumbai Indians’ record. Mandhana finished with the Orange Cap — 377 runs at a strike rate of 153. Delhi Capitals lost their fourth consecutive WPL final. This page contains the full standings, scorecard, top performers, and an honest audit of our pre-tournament prediction.
WPL 2026 Final Standings
| # | Team | P | W | L | Pts | NRR | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 8 | 6 | 2 | 12 | +1.247 | 🏆 Champions |
| 2 | Gujarat Giants | 8 | 5 | 3 | 10 | -0.168 | Eliminator (lost) |
| 3 | Delhi Capitals | 8 | 4 | 4 | 8 | -0.055 | Final (lost) |
| 4 | Mumbai Indians | 8 | 3 | 5 | 6 | +0.059 | Eliminated |
| 5 | UP Warriorz | 8 | 2 | 6 | 4 | -1.076 | Eliminated |
Top 3 qualified for playoffs. 1st placed team went directly to the final.
RCB’s campaign was built on consistency. Six wins from eight league matches, the best NRR in the tournament by a mile (+1.247), and direct qualification to the final. They peaked at exactly the right moment.
The surprise package was Gujarat Giants — finishing second in the league stage, ahead of Delhi Capitals and defending champions Mumbai Indians. Sophie Devine’s all-round brilliance (17 wickets, world-class all-rounder) drove their best-ever WPL season.
The Final: RCB Chase Down 204
WPL 2026 Final · February 5, Vadodara
RCB 204/4 (19.4 ov) beat DC 203/4 (20 ov) by 6 wickets
Delhi Capitals — 203/4 (20 overs)
RCB — 204/4 (19.4 overs) ✓
Player of the Match: Smriti Mandhana — 87 off 41 balls (12 fours, 3 sixes, SR 212.19)
Delhi Capitals posted 203/4 — a strong total anchored by Jemimah Rodrigues’ composed 57 off 37. Wolvaardt struck 44 off 25 and Chinelle Henry’s 15-ball 35 blitz at the death made it look like a winning score.
It was not.
Mandhana came out swinging. Her 50 off 23 balls was the fastest half-century in a WPL final. By the time she was dismissed for 87, the game was decided. Georgia Voll’s steady 79 off 54 provided the platform. Their 165-run second-wicket partnership — the biggest in WPL history — broke the chase wide open.
RCB reached the target with 2 balls to spare. The highest successful chase in WPL history. An innings that will be replayed for years.
Top Performers: Orange Cap, Purple Cap & MVP
🏏 Leading Run-Scorers — Orange Cap
| Player | Team | Inns | Runs | Avg | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 Smriti Mandhana | RCB | 9 | 377 | 53.86 | 153.25 |
| Harmanpreet Kaur | MI | 8 | 342 | 68.40 | 150.66 |
| Nat Sciver-Brunt | MI | 7 | 321 | 64.20 | 151.42 |
| Lizelle Lee | DC | 10 | 320 | 32.00 | 139.13 |
| Laura Wolvaardt | DC | 10 | 317 | 45.29 | 135.47 |
🎯 Leading Wicket-Takers — Purple Cap
| Player | Team | Wkts | Avg | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 Sophie Devine | GG | 17 | 22.36 | 8.31 |
| 🥇 Nandani Sharma | DC | 17 | — | — |
| Nadine de Klerk | RCB | 16 | — | — |
Sophie Devine was named tournament MVP for her all-round contributions: 17 wickets plus 95 off 42 balls (SR 226) against Delhi Capitals.
Mandhana’s season in numbers: 377 runs, 9 innings, average 53.86, strike rate 153.25. She crossed 1,000 career WPL runs — the fastest player to the milestone. Her highest score of 96 off 61 balls came against DC in the league stage, a preview of the damage she would inflict in the final.
Nandani Sharma was the breakout star. The uncapped DC leg-spinner took 17 wickets including the first hat-trick by an uncapped player in WPL history. At 21, she announced herself on the biggest stage.
Nat Sciver-Brunt hit the season’s only century — 100* off 57 balls for MI. Despite individual brilliance from Sciver-Brunt and Harmanpreet, MI’s bowling could not support the batting.
Prediction Audit: What We Got Right & Wrong
We publish predictions. We also publish results. Here is the honest audit.
📊 Pre-Tournament Prediction vs Actual Results
| Team | Our Prob | Pre-Match Odds | Our Call | Actual Finish | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mumbai Indians | 33% | 3.85 | ✓ BACK (+7%) | 4th (3-5) | ❌ Wrong |
| UP Warriorz | 22% | 4.90 | ⏸ MONITOR | 5th (2-6) | ⚠️ Overrated |
| Delhi Capitals | 20% | 5.00 | — FAIR | 3rd → Final | ~Correct |
| RCB | 13% | 4.50 | ✗ AVOID (-9.2%) | 🏆 1st — Champions | ❌ Badly wrong |
| Gujarat Giants | 12% | 7.60 | — OUTSIDER | 2nd (5-3) | ⚠️ Underrated |
Prediction Result
Our outright pick was wrong
We recommended backing Mumbai Indians at 3.85 with a +7% edge. MI finished 4th. We said avoid RCB at 4.50. RCB won the title. If you followed our advice, you lost your stake. We own that.
Where the Model Failed
1. We overweighted squad continuity. MI retained 10 of 11 title-winning players. We treated that as a decisive advantage. It wasn’t. Continuity can breed complacency. RCB’s hunger — having lost in 2025 — mattered more than MI’s comfort.
2. We badly misjudged the Ellyse Perry impact. We downgraded RCB by ~10 percentage points for Perry’s withdrawal. The logic seemed sound — Perry scored 372 runs in WPL 2025. But Mandhana didn’t just cover for Perry. She elevated her own game. Her 377 runs at SR 153 exceeded Perry’s 2025 output. The Wisden team of the tournament recognised Mandhana’s captaincy evolution — she grew into the void Perry left.
3. We underrated Georgia Voll. Voll, uncapped at international level, scored 79 in the final and formed the record-breaking partnership with Mandhana. Our model had no data on her. She wasn’t in any pre-tournament analysis. This is a known weakness of quantitative models — they cannot predict breakout performances from unknown players.
4. We overrated Meg Lanning’s impact on UP Warriorz. Lanning was supposed to transform UPW. They finished last. Leadership alone does not fix a thin squad. UPW’s bowling was exposed badly (worst NRR at -1.076).
5. Gujarat Giants were invisible to us. We gave them 12% — the lowest probability. They finished second. Sophie Devine’s all-round dominance (17 wickets, key innings of 95) was the difference. Our model underweighted individual match-winner potential.
Season Highlights & Records
204/4
Highest successful chase in WPL history — RCB in the final
165 runs
Mandhana-Voll — biggest partnership in WPL history
23 balls
Mandhana's 50 — fastest half-century in a WPL final
100* (57)
Sciver-Brunt — season's only century, for MI
Hat-trick
Nandani Sharma — first by an uncapped player in WPL
0 from 4
DC's finals record — longest losing streak in women's T20 franchise cricket
This was the highest-scoring WPL season. Average boundaries per match climbed to ~39 — a tournament record. Batting-friendly pitches in both Navi Mumbai and Vadodara meant bowlers had to be exceptional to survive. The ones who did (Devine, Nandani Sharma, de Klerk) stood out precisely because conditions were stacked against them.
Delhi Capitals: The Cursed Finalists
Four finals. Four losses. No other team in women’s T20 franchise cricket anywhere in the world has a streak like this.
DC beat Gujarat Giants in the Eliminator to reach the final. Then posted 203/4 — a score that wins most T20 finals. Rodrigues batted beautifully. Wolvaardt was explosive. Henry finished with venom.
It still wasn’t enough.
The counterargument — which we made pre-tournament — is that three final losses doesn’t prove choking. T20 finals are high-variance. But four starts to look like a pattern. DC were outplayed by a better team on the day, but the psychological weight of repeated final losses cannot be dismissed. New captain Jemimah Rodrigues did everything she could. DC’s problem isn’t talent. It isn’t captaincy. It might simply be that in the decisive moments, the pressure of history weighs heavier on them than on their opponents.
What This Means for WPL 2027
The tournament landscape has shifted:
- RCB are the team to beat. Mandhana has become the most complete player in women’s T20 franchise cricket — runs, captaincy, and composure under pressure. If she and Voll return, RCB enter 2027 as favourites.
- MI need a rethink. Continuity failed them. A 3-5 record with the most expensive squad is underperformance. The IPL men’s team faces similar questions about whether stability breeds stagnation.
- Gujarat Giants are legitimate contenders. Devine’s MVP season proved they can compete with anyone.
- DC’s fourth final loss is a scar. Whether they can shake it for a fifth attempt remains to be seen.
- UP Warriorz’s rebuild failed. Lanning’s arrival did not fix deeper squad problems.
We will publish our WPL 2027 winner prediction when squads and odds are available. For now, the lesson is clear: the model must better account for individual brilliance, captaincy evolution, and the danger of overweighting past results in a league this young.
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WPL 2026 Results FAQ
Who won WPL 2026?
Royal Challengers Bengaluru won WPL 2026, defeating Delhi Capitals by 6 wickets in the final on February 5, 2026, in Vadodara. Smriti Mandhana scored 87 off 41 balls as RCB chased down 204.
Who won the Orange Cap in WPL 2026?
Smriti Mandhana (RCB) won the Orange Cap with 377 runs in 9 innings at a strike rate of 153.25. She also won Player of the Match in the final.
Who won the Purple Cap in WPL 2026?
Sophie Devine (Gujarat Giants) and Nandani Sharma (Delhi Capitals) shared the Purple Cap with 17 wickets each. Devine was named MVP of the tournament.
What was the highest score in WPL 2026?
RCB's chase of 204/4 in 19.4 overs in the final set the record for the highest successful chase in WPL history. Smriti Mandhana (87) and Georgia Voll (79) put on a 165-run partnership — also a WPL record.
How many titles has RCB won in WPL?
RCB have won 2 WPL titles (2024 and 2026), tying Mumbai Indians' record. Smriti Mandhana is the second captain after Harmanpreet Kaur to win multiple WPL titles.
What were the WPL 2026 final standings?
1st: RCB (6-2, +1.247 NRR), 2nd: Gujarat Giants (5-3, -0.168), 3rd: Delhi Capitals (4-4, -0.055), 4th: Mumbai Indians (3-5, +0.059), 5th: UP Warriorz (2-6, -1.076).
Did Delhi Capitals win a WPL title?
No. Delhi Capitals have reached all four WPL finals (2023, 2024, 2025, 2026) but lost every time — twice to MI, once to RCB in 2024, and again to RCB in 2026. It is the longest finals losing streak in women's T20 franchise history.
When does WPL 2027 start?
WPL 2027 dates have not been announced yet. Based on previous seasons, expect the tournament in January–February 2027. We will update this page when the schedule is confirmed.
Tournament Review — February 2026
RCB Won. Our Pick Didn't. Here's What We Learned.
We predicted Mumbai Indians. Royal Challengers Bengaluru won convincingly. Smriti Mandhana's 377-run, Orange Cap season — peaking with 87 off 41 in the final — proved that individual brilliance can override squad depth. Our model missed it. We've documented the lessons above and will incorporate them into future predictions.
RCB
Champion
6-2
League Record
377
Mandhana Runs
4-0
DC Finals Lost
Key Takeaways
- ● Champion: RCB — topped league (6-2, +1.247 NRR), chased 204 in the final
- ● Player of Tournament: Mandhana — Orange Cap (377 runs), fastest WPL final fifty
- ● Our pick (MI) failed: Finished 4th (3-5). Squad continuity ≠ guaranteed success
- ● Model lesson: Individual brilliance and captaincy evolution can override quantitative squad analysis
For live predictions during the T20 World Cup, see our T20 World Cup 2026 hub with match-by-match tips. For the upcoming men's franchise season, read our IPL 2026 winner prediction.
Originally published January 6, 2026 as a pre-tournament prediction. Updated February 14, 2026 with full results and prediction audit. Betting involves risk. Please gamble responsibly.