The fourth season of the Women’s Premier League kicked off in grand style on Friday night at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai, combining glamour, music and high-quality cricket. While the opening ceremony grabbed plenty of attention, it was RCB pacer Lauren Bell who made the biggest early impact once the action began, delivering a superb maiden over to set the tone for WPL 2026.

Before the first ball was bowled, the crowd witnessed a star-studded ceremony. Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Sandhu opened the event with an inspiring speech highlighting the power and progress of women in sport and society. She was followed by actor Jacqueline Fernandez, who lit up the stage with a high-energy dance performance. The celebrations peaked when rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh thrilled fans with his chart-topping hits, ensuring a memorable start to the season.

Lauren Bell’s maiden over gives RCB a perfect start in WPL 2026

Once the festivities concluded, Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Smriti Mandhana won the toss and elected to field against Mumbai Indians. The decision paid off immediately. Given the new ball, Lauren Bell produced a dream opening over, swinging the ball sharply and using her height to extract extra bounce.

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Watch the video:

🚨 Lauren Bell Arrived in WPL

1st Over - 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
2nd Over - 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0
3rd Over - 0, 0, WD, 0, 4, 1, W

She considered only 7 Runs in 3 overs with one big wicket of Amelia Kerr.

She is literally the Josh Hazelwood of RCB women's 🔥🥶pic.twitter.com/891xxEai5L

— Tejash (@Tejashyyyyy) January 9, 2026

A fabulous WPL debut so far for Lauren Bell, who bowled two overs and conceded just a single run for RCB! ❤️👌#LaurenBell #MIWvRCBW #Mumbai #Sportskeeda pic.twitter.com/u4NrnqaN7c

— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) January 9, 2026

Bowling to Amelia Kerr, Bell repeatedly beat the outside edge, asking serious questions with every delivery. Kerr was pinned in her crease as Bell maintained a tight line and length, conceding no runs in the first over of WPL 2026. The maiden over not only built early pressure on Mumbai Indians but also lifted the energy within the RCB camp.

Although Mumbai found some relief later through G Kamalini’s crisp boundaries, RCB’s strong start was built on Bell’s disciplined spell. Her opening over was a clear statement of intent, underlining Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s plans to begin the new Women's Premier League season on a dominant note.

Lauren Bell is yet to feature in the Women’s Premier League (WPL), but her dream will end for the 2026 season of the tournament as she will turn up for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The England pacer has a decent experience of the shortest format, having collected 50 wickets in 36 innings of the Women’s T20Is at an average of nearly 19 and a strike rate of 15.4 with an economy rate of around seven. 

Lauren Bell will join the Australia all-rounder, Elysse Perry, in the squad, which will be a massive balancing prospect for the franchise in the bowling department. Bell has been a successful campaigner in the Women’s The Hundred event where she has collected 60 wickets in 41 innings at an average of around 15 and an economy rate of under seven.

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Bell can swing the ball in both ways and use the powerplay to pick wickets, which will be important for the Bengaluru, besides pushing their spinners to attack in the second half of the innings.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru add Lauren Bell in WPL 2026 mega auction for INR 90 lakh

Coming into the auction, Bengaluru already had packed their core group in the presence of their captain and star opening batter of the Indian team, Smriti Mandhana along with the young wicket-keeper lower-order batter, Richa Ghosh, in the squad. They also had Shreyanka Patil as the Indian spinner in the squad.

Bengaluru started the auction with the inclusion of the Australia top order batter, Gorgia Voll, besides having Nadine de Clerk from South Africa as the all-rounder will be important along with Ghosh to contribute fiercely with the bat.

The fourth edition of the tournament will be held from January 09 to February 05, 2026, at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai and Vadodara being confirmed as the two host venues.

Updated squad for Royal Challengers Bengaluru ahead of WPL 2026

Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry, Shreyanka Patil, Georgia Voll (Rs. 0.60 crore), Nadine de Klerk (Rs. 0.65 crore), Radha Yadav (Rs. 0.65 crore), Lauren Bell (Rs. 0.90 crore), Linsey Smith (Rs. 0.30 crore), Prema Rawat (Rs. 0.20 crore-RTM),

Southern Brave Women continued their good run with a clear 29-run win over Welsh Fire Women in Southampton. Batting first, Brave made 106/8, with skipper Georgia Adams steadying the innings with an unbeaten 30. In reply, Welsh Fire struggled badly and ended at 77/9, as Lauren Bell bowled brilliantly, taking 4 wickets for just 20 runs.

The Brave lost early wickets with Maia Bouchier 2 runs and Laura Wolvaardt 8 runs falling quickly. Danni Wyatt-Hodge added a useful 24, while Freya Kemp 18 runs and Chloe Tryon 8 runs chipped in. The key knock came from captain Georgia Adams, who stayed unbeaten on 30 and helped her side cross the 100-run mark. Welsh Fire bowlers Hayley Matthews (2/10) and Shabnim Ismail (2/9) kept the pressure on with tight spells.

Chasing 107, Welsh Fire never found their footing. Captain Tammy Beaumont top-scored with 28 from 33 balls, while Hayley Matthews (16) gave some support, but no other batter could stand up. The Brave bowlers stayed on top, with Lauren Bell leading the way, taking 4 wickets for 20 runs. Welsh Fire folded for 77/9, giving Brave a comfortable victory and another 4 points on the table.

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Southern Brave Women chased down 126 with one over left to win by 8 wickets. Their bowlers first kept Spirit to a low score, and then Laura Wolvaardt’s unbeaten half-century made the chase easy. Spirit struggled for runs and kept losing wickets. Cordelia Griffith fought hard with 44, and Charli Knott hit 36, but no one else could stay long.

Mady Villiers took 3 wickets for Brave and Lauren Bell also bowled well. Brave started strong with Maia Bouchier scoring 43. Laura Wolvaardt stayed till the end with a fine 56 not out, and Sophie Devine added the finishing touches. Only Issy Wong took wickets for Spirit, but Brave never looked in trouble and won easily.

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