UP Warriorz will start with a clear edge when they take on a struggling Gujarat Giants in Vadodara on Thursday, as the race for the remaining two playoff spots in the Women's Premier League heats up.
IMAGES from the WPL match played between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and UP Warriorz on Monday.
Healy has struggled with fitness issues since last year's T20 World Cup. Playing for Sydney Sixers in the ongoing Women's Big Bash League (WBBL), she also struggled for rhythm.
'That would be ideal for the fans, for the game, and for the growth of the WPL.'
In absence of Pooja, RCB handed the responsibility of bowling to new recruits -- England left-arm spinner Linsey Smith, Arundhati Reddy and de Klerk as they managed to keep the opponents to 154-6.
Mandhana, Voll guide RCB to fourth consecutive win in WPL
Delhi Capitals, the losing finalists of the first three seasons, have not made an ideal start under the new leadership of Jemimah Rodrigues. It is still early days but Rodrigues and Co. would be desperate to get their campaign back on track.
Winless in the first three outings, the Warriorz opened their account on Thursday, beating defending champions Mumbai Indians by seven wickets, and they are set to face each other for the second time in three days.
In a first for the tournament, the WPL final will not be played over the weekend, but on Thursday, February, probably to avoid a clash with the men's T20 World Cup, which begins the same week in India and Sri Lanka.
Medium pacer Sophie Devine and spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad stole the spotlight as Gujarat Giants survived anxious moments to edge past Delhi Capitals by three runs.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Mumbai Indians by three wickets in Women's Premier League match.
RCB appoint Malolan Rangarajan as women's team head coach
WPL 2026 auction to be held on November 27 in New Delhi
Harmanpreet, Mandhana, Rodrigues among players retained for WPL 2026: Report
The seasoned duo of Meg Lanning and Sophie Devine were also among the marquee picks. Giants bought Devine for Rs 2 crore, while UP Warriorz landed Lanning for Rs 1.90 crore.
The franchise chose to retain only former Under-19 World Cup winner Shweta Sehrawat as part of a fresh approach for the upcoming season.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia believes a first Women's World Cup win for India would be a seminal moment, much like Kapil Dev's team in 1983.
After getting retained by UP Warriorz for Rs 3.2 crore (Rs 32 million) ahead of the upcoming Women's Premier League, star Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma said there is no pressure of the price tag on her and, if anything, it motivates her to do well in the fourth edition of the tournament.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Smriti Mandhana on Thursday said three titles in three years was an amazing result for the franchise following the win in the Women's Premier League final in Vadodara.
Skipper Jemimah Rodrigues starred with a fluent 41 as Delhi Capitals crushed Gujarat Giants by seven wickets in the WPL 2026 Eliminator to seal a fourth consecutive final berth.
Both teams will be hoping their key players step up as the league phase reaches a decisive stage.
The incident occurred during the 11th over of Delhi's chase of 155 when their inform batter Lee was adjudged stumped for 46 after a lengthy third-umpire review.
Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals by 50 runs in Women's Premier League match in Navi Mumbai.
Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan said Shweta Sehrawat has shown remarkable growth as a player and a leader, backing the young all-rounder to build on her steady rise in the Women's Premier League (WPL).
Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Smriti Mandhana on Thursday said the Indian women's cricket team is aiming to be the best across formats and the WPL is going to have a major role in this mission after being a key contributor to their maiden ODI World Cup triumph.
'A total of 19 players have registered in the highest base-price bracket of Rs.50 lakh, 11 players in the Rs. 40 lakh bracket, and 88 players in the Rs.30 lakh bracket.'
Sara Arjun at the airport... Manisha at Salman's office... Mrunal promotes film...
Australian batter Phoebe Litchfield's commanding knock of 78 off just 40 balls went in vain as Gujarat Giants beat UP Warriorz by 10 runs in a high-scoring Women's Premier League match, Navi Mumbai, on Saturday.
Sophie Molineux will take over as Australia's all-formats captain after Alyssa Healy retires at the end of the upcoming home series against India.
Nadine de Klerk's four-fer, followed by a match-winning half-century, powered RCB to open their account with a win in the opening match of WPL 2026 against MI on Friday in Navi Mumbai.
Sophie Devine starred with a breathtaking 95 and a superb final over under pressure to steer Gujarat Giants to a thrilling four-run win
Harleen Deol bounced back from the disappointment of being retired out with a match-winning half-century twenty-four hours later as UP Warriorz downed defending champions Mumbai Indians by seven wickets for their first victory of WPL 2026, in Navi Mumbai, on Thursday.
In WPL, domestic players make the difference, they are match-winners: Sophie Devine
Abhishek Sharma has proved to be unstoppable with the bat for India in T20 Internationals, hitting 1297 runs in 33 matches at a strike rate of 194.74.
New Zealand captain Sophie Devine has called for a review of fielding rules and boundary lengths in women's cricket, saying current conditions give batters too much of an advantage.
Harman's record as captain untouchable, she has another 4-5 years to offer: Jhulan Goswami
The BCCI has secured a lucrative Rs 270 crore (Rs 2,700 million) sponsorship deal from Google's AI platform Gemini ahead of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL).
De Klerk said she just struck to the basics while bowling and it helped her reap rich dividends.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will look to build on those gains when they take on a star-studded UP Warriorz in the WPL in Navi Mumbai on Monday.
Yo Yo Honey Singh turned the DY Patil Stadium into a full-blown concert arena as the WPL opening ceremony set the perfect tone for the season opener in Navi Mumbai on Friday.
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