Batters make big run-rate gains in the WPL | Number Theory

One of the features of the men’s IPL in the past three seasons has been a rapid pick-up in the scoring rate

One of the features of the men’s Indian Premier League (IPL) in the past three seasons has been a rapid pick-up in the scoring rate. It was shaped by taking greater risks in the first six overs, when fielding restrictions were in place, and via shot-making that fetched four or six runs. Some similar patterns are on view in the ongoing Women’s Premier League (WPL), the women’s equivalent of the city franchise-based T20 cricket league. At roughly the half stage of the 2026 season, the average run rate this year is the highest across its four editions.

Women’s Premier League (WPL) is the women’s equivalent of the city franchise-based T20 cricket league.

• Scoring gains

  The WPL is a smaller version of the IPL. While the IPL has 10 teams, the WPL has five teams, resulting in fewer matches. While the 2025 IPL saw 74 matches being played, the WPL in each of its four seasons is a run of 22 matches. Further, while the IPL is mostly truly played on a ‘home’ and ‘away’ concept, and thus across several grounds that are a recurrent feature, the WPL is a moving tournament played across fewer and designated venues. For example, there are just two venues in the 2026 season. In terms of the scoring rate, the third WPL season in 2025 was a breakout of sorts. For the first time, the average run rate in the WPL crossed 8 runs per over, and ended at 8.08. The women cricketers have added further to those gains in the 2026 season. After match 12 of the 22-match season, the average run rate in the WPL stood at 8.47 runs per over.

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• Pushing boundaries

  As many as 11 of those first 12 matches were played at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. All the remaining matches are being played at Vadodara. The first three matches in Vadodara have yielded a lower haul of runs, as compared to DY Patil, and thus the final season average has several dynamics to contend with and could even drift lower. For now, the women batters are chasing a sense of greater possibilities. One expression of that is the number of boundaries and sixers they have struck. Both these metrics have seen a marked upswing in both the 2025 and 2026 WPL seasons. For the 2026 season, which comes in the wake of the Indian women winning the T20 World Cup, the average of about 39 boundaries and 11 sixers per match is the highest ever in the WPL.

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• Starting and finishing

  In the 2026 WPL season, women batters have registered significant gains in both phases of an innings that have a greater situational context. These are the powerplay period (overs 1 to 6, when the bowling side can place only two fielders outside the 30-yard circle) and the death overs (overs 17 to 20, when batters are game for greater risk). In both these phases, the WPL has seen a greater inching up of the average scoring rate in the 2026 season. For overs 1-6, the average scoring rate is nearing 7.5. For overs 17-20, it is nearing 10 runs per over. Amid both these metrics scaling new highs, the 2.47 differential between these two averages in the 2026 season is also the lowest it has been in these four seasons. This signals a small step towards convergence of scoring rates across game phases, something the IPL has been seeing.

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• Scoring charts

  At about its two-third stage, the 2026 season stands at an intriguing stage, with all five teams in contention for the three playoff spots. One team, Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women (RCB), has broken away and registered five wins on the trot. The other four are all separated by only 2 points (equivalent of one win). Amid this tightness in the table standings, at the halfway stage, all five teams were scoring at an average of above 8 runs per over and at a faster rate than they did in the 2025 season. RCB led the scoring rate, followed by Gujarat Giants. As of January 22, they are the top two teams in the standings. Having said that, if the Vadodara ground continues to be less batter-friendly, changes could ensue in the scoring rate and the pecking order.

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