WPL 2025: Qualification Scenarios Explained For MI, RCB, UPW And GG

Following an enthralling Bengaluru leg, the Women's Premier League (WPL) action will now shift to Lucknow. With five wins in seven matches, Delhi Capitals have already punched their ticket to the playoffs.

The other four teams will now battle for the remaining two spots. The next four round-robin matches will be played at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, while the other two will be hosted at Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium. While DC tops the current WPL standings, Mumbai Indians remain second with six points. Both teams have an opportunity to finish at the top of the table.

DC can achieve the feat for the third consecutive season if they beat Gujarat Giants in the last group game and MI lose one of the two matches. In case of DC losing to GG, the net run rate (NRR) is likely to come into consideration. Let's take a look at the qualification scenarios of the other four teams:

MI have three matches left to be played in the league stage. They need two victories to qualify with ten points. If MI win all three remaining games, they will dethrone DC to clinch the top spot and directly progress to the final. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side will play their last two matches at home, which will no doubt be an added advantage for them. Two losses mean MI will need to surpass Royal Challengers Benglauru and one of UP Warriorz and Gujarat Giants in terms of the NRR. 

UPW currently hold the third place in the league table but share the same points (four) with RCB and GG. The Deepti Sharma-led side will face GG, MI and RCB in their last three matches. Winning all these matches will guarantee a playoff spot for UPW. If they manage two victories, one of them has to be against GG. The Giants will also need to drop points either against DC or MI. If UPW finish with six points alongside RCB and GG, the equation will be determined by the NRR.

RCB find themselves in a tricky situation, having lost four consecutive matches on home soil. The reigning champions must win their remaining two matches against UPW and MI to qualify for the playoff with eight points. If they manage six points, a top-three finish will become quite difficult for them. In that case, RCB will be eliminated if two of UPW, MI or GG finish with 8 points.

GG remain in a slightly better position than RCB despite having a poor NRR of -0.450. Gujarat will play three more matches this season and have a chance to finish with 10 points. They can qualify with two wins if they defeat UPW and MI, provided the Warriorz lose to either Mumbai or RCB.

However, if GG manage to beat MI or DC but lose to UPW, their qualification chances will depend on other results. For them to stay in contention, RCB must defeat the Warriorz but lose to MI, while UPW must also lose to MI. In this scenario, the three teams will end up with six points, making qualification dependent on net run rate.