As the tournament’s business end draws near, both the Mumbai Indians and the UP Warriorz, who have been inconsistent in their WPL 2024 campaigns thus far, will be looking to establish some consistency.
After five games, both teams have won three, with MI having a victory total more than the Warriorz. MI will be looking to bounce back after losing to Delhi Capitals early in the Delhi leg. With a loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore in their most recent game, the fourth-place Warriorz will be hoping to bounce back in their first game in Delhi.
With the exception of Saika Ishaque and Pooja Vastrakar, MI’s bowlers did not perform well in the previous game. Their top order was also disappointing, with three players scoring in the single digits among the top four. After recovering from a quadriceps injury, Harmanpreet will likely take the lead and hope for better play from the hitters.
They may put extra pressure on the already vulnerable attack by following the lead set by RCB, who sent all of the UPW bowlers—aside from Sophie Ecclestone—on a leash. With just three half-centuries thus far from Alyssa Healy, Grace Harris, and Kiran Navgire, UPW’s hitters have also not exactly gotten off to a great start and will be keen to make up for it.
When: March 7 at 7:30 p.m. IST on Thursday.
Where: Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium
What to anticipate: The Delhi leg of the WPL 2024 began with a high-scoring match, but DC won easily after posting a first-inning total of 192. Following the defeat, Harmanpreet Kaur said that although they were expecting dew in the second innings, it didn’t materialise and that the ball also stayed quite low. Although the sample size for this competition in Delhi is tiny, the captain who wins the toss may be forced to chase again due to the known characteristics of the pitches.
News for the team:
Mumbai Indians: MI will probably start with the same lineup despite their most recent defeat.
Amanjot Kaur (c), Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Matthews, Pooja Vastrakar, S. Sajana, Shabnim Ismail, Humaira Kazi, Saika Ishaque, and Hayley Matthews are the probable starting eleven.
UP Warriorz: Uma Chetry took Vrinda Dinesh’s spot in the competition when the latter was forced to withdraw owing to a shoulder ailment. To provide some variation, UPW may consider substituting the youthful legspinner Parshavi Chopra for Rajeshwari Gayakwad, who proved costly in the last game.
The probable eleven are: Alyssa Healy (c & wk), Kiran Navgire, Chamari Athapaththu, Grace Harris, Shweta Sehrawat, Deepti Sharma, Poonam Khemnar, Sophie Ecclestone, Saima Thakor, Anjali Sarvani, and Rajeshwari Gayakwad/Parshavi Chopra.
What they expressed:
“The lesson was clear: just play the way you naturally play. We were unfortunately unable to get off to a strong start and lost early wickets, which placed pressure on us. Even if our top order didn’t work out, we managed to close the difference. We would have obtained such outcome if our top order had succeeded. The wicket was excellent. The field has a high point value. After MI’s defeat to DC, bowling coach Jhulan Goswami said, “Unless you play rash shots, it is difficult for bowlers to get you out.”
A squad of highly skilled international cricket players is competing against a squad of less experienced Indian domestic players. The exposure in this competition will bring those levels (fielding) closer together. However, I would argue that compared to domestic cricketers, international cricket players smash the ball far harder. The fielders are therefore under a great deal more strain.” – Head coach of UPW Jon Lewis on the team’s poor fielding.
