WPL 2026: After three weeks of riveting action, the Women's Premier League 2026 is approaching the end of its league stage on Sunday, Feb. 1. The Delhi Capitals take on the UP Warriorz in the final league game before we head to the play-offs. Having finished at the top of the five-team standings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru are already through to the finals. The Gujarat Giants became the second team to qualify and book their place in the eliminator on Tuesday, Feb. 3, after beating the Mumbai Indians.
MI DC and UPW Qualification Scenario Explained:
The result of the MI-GG clash means that the scenario of advancing to the play-offs and booking the eliminator with the Giants is straightforward for Delhi. Jemimah Rodrigues & co need to only defeat the Warriorz to make it through with 8 points in their hand. The three-time runners-up, who have won 3 of their previous 7 league games, will replace defending champions MI at the third spot on the table.
If the Warriorz defeat DC, however, the net run-rate will come into play and give MI a glimmer of hope. Despite winning only 3 out of their 8 league games, MI are still alive in the competition due to a positive NRR of 0.059. Harmanpreet Kaur & co will qualify if the Warriorz snatch a marginal victory against the Capitals, who would then end with 6 points but with a negative NRR. The Capitals stand at -0.164 before the first ball against the Warriorz.
For the Warriorz, it will take a miracle for them to advance to the play-offs after having won just two out of their previous seven league games. Meg Lanning's side also has the worst NRR of -1.146. For any chance of progressing to the eliminator, the Warriorz will have to not just defeat the Capitals but bag a win so huge that their NRR takes them past the Mumbai Indians in case of a three-way tie of 6 points.
The Capitals could've booked their spot in the next round already had they closed out their games against the Giants earlier in the campaign. Jemimah's team lost both their encounters against them in the 20th over after bringing the equation down to single-digit runs in their respective chases.
On the other hand, the Mumbai Indians would be regretting their 11-run loss to the Giants on Friday, Jan. 30. Despite skipper Harmanpreet's knock of 82 not out off 48 balls, MI failed to chase down the target of 168 for what could've been their fourth win. The Warriorz would be bitterly disappointed with their overall campaign, especially with their two heavy losses to the RCB and the Giants. The huge dent to their NRR from those losses means that even a massive turnaround against the Capitals wouldn't likely be enough.
WPL 2026 Eliminator And Final Date, Time And Venue
The eliminator of the 2026 Women's Premier League will be played on Tuesday, Feb 3, at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara. Gujarat Giants will face either MI, DC, or UPW to qualify for the finals.
The final of WPL 2026 will be played on Thursday, Feb 5, at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara. Either of GG, MI, DC, or UPW will face Smriti Mandhana's RCB in the 2026 Women's Premier League Final.
Both matches will begin at 7:30 p.m. IST.
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