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MI vs RCB toss update: Smriti Mandhana wins WPL 2026 opener's first-mini battle; Opts To Bowl

Abhinav Tyagi

WPL match 1 toss - (Source: X.Com)WPL match 1 toss - (Source: X.Com)

On Friday, January 9, the fourth edition of Women's Premier League (WPL) is underway and Mumbai Indians locked horns against Royal Challengers Benglauru for the opening game at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. 

Smriti Mandhana and Harmapreet Kaur walked for the toss and eventually, RCB won the coin flip and elected to field first. Talking about the playing XI, Hayley Matthews misses out for MI, while RCB have named a balanced side with  Grace Harris, Nadine de Klerk, Lauren Bell and Linsey Smith as four overseas options.

MI vs RCB: Playing XIs

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women 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 Women 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

MI vs RCB: Captains Thoughts

Smriti Mandhana (Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women Captain): "We would like to field first today because we think dew plays a huge part at the DY Patil Stadium and it's a chasing ground. We will look to bowl tight lines and restrict them to a good total."

"Amazing. The girls have jelled up pretty quickly. It's a young group. The overseas players have come in and it just feels like a fun group and the preparations have been really good. Everyone has worked really hard and we can't wait for the season to start."

Harmanpreet Kaur (Mumbai Indians Women Captain): "Well, we all know, the dew is a factor here. So, we were going to bowl first. The preparation has been great. We have been practising for the last 10 days. Everyone is looking in good touch. Unfortunately, Hayley Matthews is not playing tonight. She is not well. Nicola Carey is making her debut tonight."

WPL toss preponed for opening ceremony

Notably, the toss usually takes place at 7:00 pm IST, but for the opening game of WPL 2026, the toss was preponed by 15 minutes because of the opening ceremony. Following the toss, the BCCI organised a 45-minute ceremony, where celebrities like Honey Singh and Jacqueline Fernandez performed for the Navi Mumbai crowd.