Then there were two: the team from home and the team that has had unrestricted support, treating every location as their home. Meg Lanning is aware that when Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi square off in the WPL 2024 final, a sizable contingent of supporters will be present at Feroze Shah Kotla, which is sold out. Smriti Mandhana is aware that her side’s supporters are being borrowed and that they will need to repay her squad on Sunday, March 17.
Delhi Capitals have a point to prove as they are back-to-back direct finalists. Lanning hasn’t exactly won any in the franchise cricket circuit, but he’s also not exactly used to losing trophies. Even though they were the most reliable players, they lost to Hamranpreet Kaur’s Mumbai Indians in the 2023 silver medal game—a team that RCB had defeated in the Eliminator this season.
DC made it to the finals with one game remaining after suffering two devastating losses in the round-robin phases, and they were rewarded for their consistency and steadiness in their starting lineup. They lost two points to a fearless six from S Sajana on the first night of play in Bengaluru. In Delhi, they mishandled a well-planned pursuit by the narrowest of margins, giving UP Warriorz a slim chance to make the playoffs. However, similar to the previous season, Washington’s final league game was reduced to a formality with only a direct ticket to the championship game needed to seal the deal.
The opening duo of Jemimah Rodrigues 2.0, Marizanne Kapp, the smiling assassin with the new ball, and Jess Jonassen, the ultimate fighter who has channeled the energies after a national setback to make a strong statement, have all performed admirably for the Capitals over the course of the last two seasons. If one were to pick a favorite spot, it would most likely be the lower-middle order that is underexposed. Furthermore, RCB has demonstrated in the last two games just how huge of a crack it can be.
Large enough to allow them to upset the reigning champs and sneak into their first-ever final. The RCB spin trio of Asha Sobhana, Sophie Molineux, and Shreyanka Patil deserves credit for their bravery in defending a mere 20 off 18 overs as Mumbai humiliated the 135-run chase after losing their captain in the final overs. Ellyse Perry, though, has undoubtedly played a more significant overall role in helping the club win two straight games—both of which were against MI—and given them a sniff.
Even though they haven’t played with the same consistency as their opponents in the end, RCB has shown that they are capable of upsetting the apple cart on occasion. They have made a name for themselves after a terrible first year and been all but written off even before the current campaign began. A variety of players have come through in big moments to support the club as they overcome obstacles of all kinds. Mandhana has also bounced back from a challenging transition to full-time leadership, taking the Orange Cap for a short while and even inspiring changes in her bowling. Several members of the RCB camp have remarked that her composure has also affected the team. The last obstacle, however, will present unidentified pressures: a situation in which her opponent can have a very slim advantage even though they call it a match of evens.
Both the Capitals and the RCB have persevered through their unique paths to reach this point. Even in the men’s counterpart, the two franchises have only ever placed as bridesmaids in the past. On Sunday, a new champion will be crowned. Only time will tell if it’s the hosts or the crowd favorites.
When: March 17 @ 7:30 p.m. IST on Sunday
Where: Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium
What to anticipate: The center pitch, which guarantees many runs to those who put in the effort, even has boundary sizes. Perry reinforced the significance of scoring runs in a crucial game, despite Mandhana’s doubts during RCB’s powerplay. Since Dew hasn’t presented many challenges, the captain will probably decide to bat first when tossing.
Group News
The Delhi Capitals
In their most recent league match, the Capitals benched a pacer (Titas Sadhu) in favor of an additional spinner (Minnu Mani), and they may remain with the same lineup. If there’s one area where Marizanne Kapp’s fitness is questionable, it’s because she’s missed matches after pulling up sore on a few occasions in the past. She was included in DC’s final XI, and the runners-up from the previous year would like to see the (joint) top wicket-taker in the competition on the field tomorrow.
Likely XI: Meg Lanning (C), Shafali Verma, Alice Capsey, Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp, Jess Jonassen, Arundhati Reddy, Taniyaa Bhatia (wk), Shikha Pandey, Minnu Mani/Titas Sadhu
Bangalore’s Royal Challengers
In that heartbreaking chase against DC, she did her share to put Ghosh back on the field, but Disha Kasat did not take advantage of the chance to bat long and pull the RCB out of a hole. The first-time finalists would be debating whether to bring back S Meghana, who head coach Luke Williams stated had a key role in their early victories. Given the vital experience Sophie Devine offers to the core of the leadership team, it’s probable that she’ll get another chance even though she hasn’t fully lived up to her promise thus far.
Potential XI: Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham, Smriti Mandhana (C), Sophie Devine, S Meghana/Disha Kasat, Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh (wk), Sophie Molineux, Asha Sobhana, Shraddha Pokharkar, and Renuka Thakur
Were you aware?
– Meg Lanning (308), the first-ever Orange Cap champion, needs just four runs this season to reclaim it from Ellyse Perry (312).
– At the WPL, Smriti Mandhana is 82 runs short of joining the 500-run club. She will follow Perry as the only RCB player to do this.
What they expressed
“We’ve had a nice few additional days of relaxation. We’ve had a nice mix of socializing off the field, like a nice meal and some lighthearted conversation the other night, and training over the past few days. That’s the way we’ve prepared for the entire competition, letting people take care of themselves as necessary. We feel like we’re in a great place for tomorrow. We’re incredibly happy to be involved in what we know is going to be an amazing game, and we’ve given ourselves the chance to go out there and win it. We’re excited to face it and hopefully put up our finest performance of the competition.” – DC captain Meg Lanning discusses the team’s activities since they qualified for the finals.
It was crucial for us this year to avoid dwelling on the men’s side’s events since occasionally they increase the pressure. We were just thinking, let’s not get too worked up about what’s happened over the last fifteen years or keep relating [with the similarities], since we’re only two seasons in. Our discussions over the past 25 days have always centered on having fun in each other’s company while paying close attention to the procedures and proper instruction. The fact that it’s the final doesn’t mean we want to make any sudden changes. We’ll still practice today as we have for the past 25 days, and we’ll be back stronger tomorrow.” – RCB captain Smriti Mandhana places a strong emphasis on maintaining team dialogue and training routines regardless of the match profile.
