Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) outclassed Delhi Capitals (DC) by eight wickets in the 11th match of the Women’s Premier League 2026 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. After winning the toss, RCB invited Delhi Capitals to bat first. Lauren Bell (3/26 in four overs) and Sayali Satghare (3/27 in three overs) struck early to put DC under pressure. As a result, Delhi Capitals were struggling at 10/4 after just nine balls of their innings.
A blazing half-century by Shafali Verma, along with a fiery knock from Lucy Hamilton, helped Delhi Capitals post 166 runs in 20 overs. In reply, Smriti Mandhana and Georgia Voll made the chase look easy. Although Smriti Mandhana missed her century by four runs, RCB won the match with ten balls to spare. Georgia Voll also scored a fluent half-century.
Early bowling burst puts DC under pressure
For the third time this season, RCB’s new-ball bowlers set up the match early. After choosing to bowl, Lauren Bell and Sayali Satghare struck hard, taking four wickets in the first nine balls of the innings.
Delhi Capitals found themselves in deep trouble early. Despite a fighting half-century from Shafali Verma and a quick 36 off 19 balls from debutant Lucy Hamilton at No. 9, DC could only reach 166. It was a competitive total, but never quite enough against an in-form RCB batting line-up.
Bell, Satghare make the "new ball talk"
Playing her first WPL season, Lauren Bell continued to impress with the new ball. She began with a short delivery that Lizelle Lee pulled confidently for four. But Bell quickly changed her approach. She followed up with a swinging yorker that crashed into leg stump as Lee stayed back expecting another short ball.
Just two deliveries later, Bell struck again. After bowling outswingers, she got one to nip back sharply and beat Laura Wolvaardt through the bat-pad gap, dismissing her for a two-ball duck.
At the other end, Sayali Satghare, playing in place of the unwell Arundhati Reddy, also made an immediate impact. Jemimah Rodrigues scooped her first ball for four, but Satghare adjusted her line outside off. Rodrigues went for a soft dab and chopped the ball onto her stumps. On the very next delivery, Marizanne Kapp was beaten by a length ball that stayed straight and hit the top of off.
After just two overs, DC were struggling at 10 for 4.
Shafali steadies DC with counterattack
While wickets kept falling at the other end, Shafali Verma had faced only the first ball of the match. When she finally got strike in the third over, she started nervously but soon found her rhythm.
She hit two sixes off Satghare and followed them with two boundaries in the next over. After five overs, DC had 41 runs, and Shafali alone had scored 30 of them.
She continued her attack during the powerplay. She benefited from a dropped chance off Shreyanka Patil and then took 19 runs from the final over of the fielding restrictions with a six-six finish. DC reached 60 for 4 after six overs.
Shafali then had little strike for a while but eventually brought up her half-century from 27 balls. Her innings ended on 62 from 41 balls when she mistimed a slower delivery from Bell to backward point.
Mandhana, Voll make chase look easy
Chasing 167, RCB lost Grace Harris early. Marizanne Kapp, who had dismissed Harris five times in 24 innings before this match, once again had the upper hand. Harris looked unsure and eventually lofted a mistimed shot to wide mid-off.
Georgia Voll, brought into the XI in place of D Hemalatha, joined Mandhana at No. 3. Voll started cautiously, allowing Mandhana to play freely. Mandhana punished the bowlers early with pulls and square drives, hitting boundaries off Lucy Hamilton, Kapp, and Nandani Sharma.
RCB reached only 37 for 1 after six overs, but Mandhana soon shifted gears. She attacked spinners N Shree Charani and Sneh Rana, using placement more than power. She reached her half-century from just 31 balls and kept the chase firmly under control.
Big partnership seals result
Mandhana and Voll added 142 runs for the second wicket. It became the third-highest partnership for any wicket in WPL history. Mandhana eventually fell for 96, denied a century by Hamilton’s sharp fielding.
Voll then carried the innings forward calmly. She brought up her half-century from 41 balls and stayed unbeaten to finish the chase. RCB won with eight wickets in hand and ten balls remaining.
Smriti Mandhana became the ninth batter to reach the 90s in the Women’s Premier League. For most of her innings, she looked ready to finally end the tournament’s long "century drought". She needed only four more runs, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru were just 12 runs away from their target of 167.
However, Mandhana was denied her hundred when Lucy Hamilton pulled off a sharp diving stop at backward point. Mandhana was dismissed for 96, four runs short of history. Still, her effort proved more than enough as RCB sealed their fourth straight win of the season.
With this win, RCB completed the Navi Mumbai leg of WPL 2026 with four wins from four matches. Delhi Capitals, meanwhile, suffered their third loss in four games. The dominant performance also set the tone for the Vadodara leg, which begins on January 19. Stay tuned with JUSZNEWS for regular updates!