Mumbai Indians Eliminator Scenario: Two-time winners and defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) have their Women’s Premier League (WPL 2026) playoffs qualification had their hopes dangling on the fate of the DC vs UPW clash tonight (February 1). The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side had managed to win just three games out of the total eight matches and accumulated six points, which isn’t enough to guarantee a qualification. This raises the question – what MI need to qualify for WPL 2026 Eliminator?
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Gujarat Giants (GG) have already confirmed the top two spots, respectively. RCB are in the final by virtue of their top-of-the-table finish, and there was spot for one more team, which will join Gujarat Giants in the WPL 2026 Eliminator.
With Delhi Capitals and UP Warriorz also in contention, there was a fat chance for MI qualification for WPL 2026 playoffs? However, with DC winning the match by five wickets, they are through the Eliminator.
Jemimah Rodrigues had won the toss and elected to field first. Meg Lanning was plumb for a golden duck, derailing all hopes set by UP Warriorz. They managed to post 122/8, with only two batters scoring in the 20s. While Delhi Capitals fumbled and lost wickets easily, they eventually won the match by five wickets.
Let’s take a look at how the Mumbai Indians WPL 2026 qualification scenario was faring:
Delhi Capitals Win – The three-time finalists were on six points from seven games. After they managed to secure a win over UPW, the equation became simple. DC now have a total of eight points with the victory, and they will advance to the Eliminator with Mumbai Indians and UP Warriorz getting knocked out of the playoffs race.
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If UPW had won – UP Warriorz had four points from seven games, and a win in their last fixture would get them level on points with Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians. However, UPW’s run-rate is the worst amongst all the teams at -1.146, while MI have the second-best after RCB at +0.059. Thus, for UP Warriorz to qualify, they needed to secure a massive victory by 156 runs (approx) over the Capitals to surpass MI’s NRR. While it seemed highly improbable, a loss guranteed that both teams are knocked out from WPL 2026 playoffs.
The only way Mumbai Indians could qualify for WPL 2026 Eliminator is if UPW beat Delhi Capitals and they do it with a margin of less than 156 runs. In that case, all three MI, DC, and UPW would have been on six points, but Mumbai would have progressed based on superior NRR.
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