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Royal Challengers Bangalore put in a comprehensive display in the final as they beat the Delhi Capitals to clinch the Women’s Premier League 2024. RCB’s spinners first orchestrated a stunning collapse of the Delhi batting order and they restricted them to just 113 runs. In response, Smriti Mandhana and Ellyse Perry never allowed any jitters to creep in as they won the match by 8 wickets.
The Women’s Premier League (WPL) is a Twenty20 cricket league for women in India. It’s managed and owned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The inaugural season was held in March 2023, where Mumbai Indians emerged as the champions. Matches were hosted in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, played between five franchises. The ongoing second season is taking place in February and March 2024, with matches being held in Bangalore and Delhi.
The WPL is an extension of the Women’s T20 Challenge, which started as a single-match event in 2018 and expanded to a three-team, three-match competition in 2019, 2020, and 2022. In February 2022, the then BCCI President Sourav Ganguly revealed plans to create a women’s version of the Indian Premier League (IPL). This new league would replace the Women’s T20 Challenge. By August, these plans had progressed further, and in October, the BCCI announced the consideration of a five-team tournament scheduled for March 2023.
The league’s format follows the structure of the IPL. Five teams – Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, Royal Challengers Bangalore and UP Warriorz play against each other twice in a round-robin format. The top three teams with the most points move on to the playoff stage of the competition. The inaugural season of the league was held from March 4 to March 26, 2023, featuring a total of 22 matches. Mumbai Indians defeated the Delhi Capitals in the final to lift their first trophy.
List of Women’s IPL winners
| Year | Winning Team | Captain |
| 2023 | Mumbai Indians | Harmanpreet Kaur |
| 2024 | Royal Challengers Banglore | Smriti Mandhana |
In the final of the WPL 2023, Delhi Capitals’ captain Meg Lanning won the toss and chose to bat first against Mumbai Indians. However, this decision didn’t work out well for Delhi as they struggled to get momentum and kept losing wickets regularly. Issy Wong performed exceptionally well, taking three wickets during the Powerplay overs. These early setbacks affected Delhi’s performance, and they couldn’t recover from it.
At one point, their score was 79/9, indicating a difficult situation for them. However, a partnership between Shikha Pandey and Radha Yadav turned things around. They managed to score 52 runs in 24 balls, hitting three sixes and five fours, which helped Delhi Capitals reach a defendable total.
Mumbai Indians lost two early wickets in their chase. However, the experience of Harmanpreet Kaur and Nat Sciver-Brunt played a crucial role in guiding them to victory and securing the title.
Read More: Latest IPL Winners List And Runner-Up (2008 – 2024): Detailed Analysis
WPL Winners Most Valuable Player
In 2024, Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma who played for UP Warriorz was given the Most Valuable Player in th 2024 WPL. On receiving the award, Deepti Sharma said: “I played my actual game, kept belief in myself with different shots at right occasions.”
| Year | Player Of The Tournament |
| 2023 | Hayley Matthews (271 Runs, 16 Wickets) |
| 2024 | Deepti Sharma (295 Runs, 10 wickets) |
WPL Orange Cap Winners List
Australian all-rounder and one of the best players in the game, Ellyse Perry claimed the orange cap for scoring the most runs in the WPL 2024 season. She amassed a record-breaking 347 runs in a single season, surpassing Meg Lanning’s 2023 record of 345 runs. For her achievement, Perry received INR 5 lakh.
| Year | Winner | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 50s | 100s | 4s | 6s |
| 2023 | Meg Lanning (DC-W) | 9 | 345 | 49.28 | 139.11 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 6 |
| 2024 | Ellyse Perry(RCB) | 9 | 341 | 69.4 | 125.72 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 7 |
WPL Purple Cap Winner List
Young RCB player, Shreyanka Patil was awarded the purple cap for taking the most wickets in the tournament. Her record-breaking four-wicket haul in the final brought her season total to 13, earning her the honor. Shreyanka will also receive INR 5 lakh.
| Year | Winner | Matches | Wkts | Av | ER | 4W | 5W | BBI |
| 2023 | Hayley Matthews (MI-W) | 10 | 16 | 12.62 | 5.94 | 0 | – | 3/5 |
| 2024 | Shreyanka Patil (RCB) | 8 | 13 | 12.08 | 7.3 | 2 | 0 |
Most Runs in WPL 2023
Former Australia captain, Meg Lanning holds the record for the most runs in the WPL and has earned the Orange Cap. In the 2023 season, she scored 345 runs across 9 matches, with 2 fifties, averaging 49.28 and maintaining a strike rate of 139.11. Lanning hit 50 fours and 6 sixes, leading the Delhi Capitals to the final of the Women’s Premier League.
Suggested Read: Highest Team Score in IPL
| Player | Team | Matches | Inns | Runs | HS |
| Meg Lanning | Delhi Capitals | 9 | 9 | 345 | 72 |
| Nat Sciver-Brunt | Mumbai Indians | 10 | 10 | 332 | 72* |
| Tahlia McGrath | UP Warriorz | 9 | 8 | 302 | 90* |
| Harmanpreet Kaur | Mumbai Indians | 10 | 9 | 281 | 65 |
| Hayley Matthews | Mumbai Indians | 9 | 9 | 271 | 77* |
Most Wickets in WPL 2023
Hayley Matthews topped the list of wicket-takers in the WPL 2023 – she picked up 16 wickets in 10 games, including four three-wicket hauls. With a bowling average of 12.62 and an economy rate of 5.94, she played a crucial role in the Mumbai Indians’ 2023 title win. England’s Sophie Ecclestone was the second-highest wicket-taker in the WPL 2023. She took 16 wickets in 9 matches, boasting a bowling average of 14.68 and an economy rate of 6.61.
| Player | Team | Matches | Inns | Wkts | BBI |
| Hayley Matthews | Mumbai Indians | 10 | 10 | 16 | 3/5 |
| Sophie Ecclestone | UP Warriorz | 9 | 9 | 16 | 4/13 |
| Amelia Kerr | Mumbai Indians | 10 | 10 | 15 | 3/22 |
| Issy Wong | Mumbai Indians | 10 | 10 | 15 | 4/15 |
| Saika Ishaque | Mumbai Indians | 10 | 10 | 15 | 4/11 |
Know about WPL 2024
The 2024 Women’s Premier League is currently underway. The tournament involves five teams and is taking place from February 23 to March 17, 2024. Each team is facing every other team twice, once at home and once away, in a double round-robin format. After completing this double round-robin league, the top three teams with the highest aggregate points move on to the playoffs. The team with the most points automatically secures a spot in the final match.
The tournament kicked off with the opening match between the defending champions Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Capitals on February 23, 2024, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. The final match is scheduled to take place on March 17, 2024, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. A total of 60 players were retained by their respective teams from the previous season for WPL 2024.
Most Runs in WPL 2024
After the WPL 2024 final, Ellyse Perry of RCB emerged as the leading run-scorer with a total of 347 runs. Meg Lanning is in second place, followed by Smriti Mandhana of RCB in third with 300 runs. Mandhana scored 31 runs in the final match before getting out. Deepti Sharma is now in fourth place with 295 runs, while Beth Mooney of Gujarat holds the fifth position with 285 runs in 7 matches.
| Player | Team | Matches | Inns | Runs | HS |
| Ellyse Perry | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 9 | 9 | 347 | 66 |
| Meg Lanning | Delhi Capitals | 9 | 10 | 331 | 60 |
| Shafali Verma | Delhi Capitals | 9 | 8 | 309 | 71 |
| Smriti Mandhana | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 10 | 9 | 300 | 80 |
| Deepti Sharma | UP Warriorz | 8 | 9 | 295 | 88* |
Most Wickets in WPL 2024
In the WPL 2024, Shreyanka Patil led the wicket-taking charts with 13 wickets in 8 matches. She conceded 157 runs and recorded two four-wicket hauls. Asha Sobhana followed closely, securing 12 wickets in 10 matches from 26.0 overs and 156 balls, with an average of 15.42 and a five-wicket haul, conceding 185 runs. Sophie Molineux also claimed 12 wickets in 10 matches, bowling 228 balls over 38.0 overs, with an average of 23.17 and conceding 278 runs.
Marizanne Kapp, with 11 wickets in 7 matches, bowled 168 balls over 28.0 overs, averaging 16.00 and giving away 176 runs. Sophie Ecclestone also took 11 wickets in 8 matches, delivering 189 balls in 31.3 overs, with an average of 18.82 and conceding 207 runs.
| Player | Team | Matches | Overs | Wkts | BBI |
| Shreyanka Patil | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 8 | 21.3 | 13 | 4/22 |
| Asha Shobana | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 10 | 26 | 12 | 5/22 |
| Sophie Molineux | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 10 | 38 | 12 | 3/20 |
| Marizanne Kapp | Delhi Capitals | 7 | 28 | 11 | 3/5 |
| Sophie Ecclestone | UP Warriorz | 8 | 31.3 | 11 | 3/20 |
FAQs about Women’s IPL Winners
Q) Who has taken the most wickets in WPL 2023?
A) Hayley Matthews was the top wicket taker in WPL 2023, with 16 wickets in 10 matches.
Q) Who is the Purple Cap holder in WPL 2024?
A) Shreyanka Patil is the Purple Cap holder in WPL 2024 – she picked up 13 wickets in the season.
Q) Which Indian bowler has taken the most wickets in WPL 2024?
A) Shreyanka Patil has taken the most wickets by an Indian player as she picked up 13 wickets at an economy rate of 7.30.
Q) Who won the Women’s Premier League 2024?
A) Royal Challengers Bangalore won the Women’s Premier League 2024 by defeating Delhi Capitals in the final.
Q) How did the Women’s Premier League (WPL) evolve?
A) The WPL evolved from the Women’s T20 Challenge – this started as a single-match event in 2018 and expanded to a multi-team competition in subsequent years.
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