The Women’s Premier League continues to grow in stature with every season, and the 2026 edition — the fourth since the BCCI launched the tournament — delivered a fitting final between the competition’s two most consistent sides.
## Season Format and Dates
The 2026 WPL ran from January 9 to February 5, played across two venues: Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium for the first phase, and Vadodara’s Kotambi Stadium for the closing stretch, including the eliminator and final. It was the first time the tournament moved into a January-February window and the first time it did not clash with major international fixtures.
## The Road to the Final
Royal Challengers Bengaluru finished as league-stage table toppers, earning a direct route to the final. Delhi Capitals, meanwhile, reached their fourth consecutive WPL final by winning the eliminator against Gujarat Giants — a remarkable run of consistency for a franchise still chasing its maiden title.
## The Final: RCB’s Record Chase
Royal Challengers Bengaluru won by six wickets at the Baroda Cricket Association Stadium in Vadodara on February 5, 2026, chasing down 204 built on a 165-run partnership between Smriti Mandhana and Georgia Voll — the biggest partnership in WPL history. Mandhana was named player of the match as RCB claimed their second WPL title.
## Where This Leaves the League
– **Champions:** Royal Challengers Bengaluru (2nd title)
– **Runners-up:** Delhi Capitals (4th consecutive final appearance without a title)
– **Standout stat:** 165-run Mandhana-Voll stand, a new WPL record
Delhi’s run of four straight finals without a win is becoming one of the more talked-about storylines in the women’s game — a mirror, in some ways, of the men’s franchise cricket rivalries that dominate conversations around the [IPL points table](/ipl-points-table-explained) each year.
## Why WPL 2026 Matters for the Bigger Picture
The tournament’s continued growth sits alongside a broader boom in women’s franchise cricket, from [The Hundred](/the-hundred-tournament-guide) in England to the Big Bash. With RCB now holding trophies in both the men’s IPL and the WPL after their [2026 IPL title defence](/ipl-2026-match-schedule-and-fixtures), the franchise has quietly built one of the more dominant dual-team eras in Indian cricket history.
Expect the mega-auction cycle and any expansion talk for WPL 2027 to be among the biggest storylines heading into next season.