DC's fourth shot at elusive trophy as RCB look to make winning a habit

Both teams have had contrasting campaigns, and their respective marquee names will hold the key in the big game

Shashank Kishore

Feb 4, 2026, 1:24 PM • 1 hr ago

Big Picture

The grand finale of WPL 2026 carries a distinct India-South Africa flavour, much like the World Cup final two months ago. But the epicentre is Vadodara and not Navi Mumbai, the traditional home of Indian women's cricket. However, that won't make the occasion any less special.

The marquee names line up symmetrically. Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues on one side; Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh on the other. Marizanne Kapp and Laura Wolvaardt on one side, Nadine de Klerk on the other.

Threading between these big stars are two high-impact overseas allrounders from West Indies and Australia, each having contributed to their team's journey to the final in their own way.

Chinelle Henry has been an unheralded star for Delhi Capitals (DC). Her three-for in the Eliminator may have gone unnoticed in the larger scheme of things, but it was as important as Shafali and Lizelle Lee's opening stand or Rodrigues' cameo. For Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Grace Harris has filled an even larger void. In Ellyse Perry's absence, she has become the powerplay enforcer, dominating attacks and setting up games for the likes of Ghosh and de Klerk to finish.

The prospect of these two sides pitted against each other in the final seemed an unlikely prospect even during the auction. Mumbai Indians appeared the obvious frontrunners, having retained the core that delivered two titles in three seasons.

RCB, meanwhile, were without Perry, and when they opted to replace her with an uncapped Indian fast bowler in Sayali Satghare, fully aware that Pooja Vastrakar would be unavailable for much of the season, the knives were out. Satghare has since become a key strand in RCB's seam attack.

Thursday's final also brings a contrast to their journeys to the final. RCB took the route DC did for three seasons running - winning six out of their eight games to top the group. DC have scraped through a sequence of must-win games and will now play their third knockout in five days.

DC is chasing that elusive fourth attempt at glory to help bring silverware to a franchise that is yet to win a major; RCB is looking at making winning titles a habit, attempting a hat-trick of wins (IPL included).

In each of the three previous finals, the winner of the Eliminator has gone on to win the title. Will Thursday be any different?

Team news and likely XIs

RCB are likely to back Vastrakar to play as a specialist batter. While she has begun bowling in the nets, a call has been taken to ease her in, given she has returned to competitive cricket after 15 months. Arundhati Reddy's lack of form is the only other area of concern that could potentially bring in legspinner Prema Rawat into the equation.

RCB (probable): 1 Smriti Mandhana (capt), 2 Grace Harris, 3 Georgia Voll, 4 Richa Ghosh (wk), 5 Radha Yadav, 6 Nadine de Klerk, 7 Pooja Vastrakar, 8 Shreyanka Patil, 9 Sayali Satghare, 10 Arundhati Reddy/Prema Rawat, 11 Lauren Bell

DC are likely to be unchanged. In fact the 13 players they've used this season are the fewest resources a team has used across four WPL seasons.

DC (probable): 1 Shafali Verma, 2 Lizelle Lee (wk), 3 Laura Wolvaardt, 4 Jemimah Rodrigues (capt), 5 Marizanne Kapp, 6 Chinelle Henry, 7 Niki Prasad, 8 Sneh Rana, 8 Minnu Mani, 9 Nandni Sharma, 11 Shree Charani

In the spotlight

Smriti Mandhana has been the captain-in-waiting for at least three years. A WPL triumph in 2024 stirred conversations. A second triumph in 2026 could be the stepping stone for a change that could become inevitable post the T20 World Cup in June-July. At 29, Mandhana has shown she's ready. It's in India's best interests to ensure they don't lose out on her as captain in her prime.

Shafali Verma and Lizelle Lee up against Lauren Bell will be a contest to watch. Bell has been a perennial new-ball threat, with her late outswing especially. The 116 dots she has bowled as the most this season. The opening duo blasted 75 in the powerplay in chase of 169 in the Eliminator. Both come into the final high on confidence, with an approach that could potentially set up the game for DC.

Stats and trivia

DC are 3-0 in matches where Shafali and Lee have put on a half-century stand

All of DC's five wins this season have come in chases

Nandni Sharma's 16 wickets are the most for an Indian bowler in a WPL season

Grace Harris' strike rate of 181 is the highest among batters who've faced at least 50 balls this season

RCB have the best death overs economy - they concede at 8.27. DC are second at 8.37

Pitch and conditions

While it couldn't be ascertained if this was a fresh surface, there's decent grass cover to bind it. Support staff of both sides had a long, hard look even as the captains did their pre-final photo shoot. There wasn't as much dew on Tuesday as there was when the tournament first moved to Vadodara in mid-January. That could keep spinners in play for a long time.

Quotes

"I was trying way too hard. And the last two games, I just let go. I backed myself, didn't even go and practice because I was tying to hit every ball perfectly and get everything right. I remember one of the interviews I heard, it's like the butterfly, the more desperate you are, the more further it goes away. But the more you just let go, it comes and sits on your shoulder. And that's what I did."

DC captain Rodrigues on rediscovering her fluency

"Yeah, it was very important. Six days of thinking about cricket, who's going to come, what's going to happen and all of that. It's better that we went off for the first two or three days. It was a good break for all of us because, of course, there were a lot of back-to-back games in the first three days."

RCB captain Mandhana on the six-day break heading into the final

Shashank Kishore is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo

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