WPL 2024 Match 1: Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals | Squads | Players to watch | Pitch | Weather | Live streaming
The second season of Women’s Premier League (WPL) gets underway from February 23 with a repeat of the inaugural season’s finale. It is Harmanpreet Kaur’s Mumbai Indians taking on Meg Lanning’s Delhi Capitals at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Squads
Mumbai Indians: Amanjot Kaur, Amelia Kerr, Chloe Tyron, Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Hayley Matthews, Humairaa Kazi, Isabelle Wong, Jintimani Kalita, Natalie Sciver-Brunt, Pooja Vastrakar, Priyanka Bala, Saika Ishaque, Yastika Bhatia, Shabnim Ismail, Sajeevan Sajana, Amandeep Kaur, Fatima Jaffer, Keerthana Balakrishnan
Delhi Capitals: Meg Lanning (captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Alice Capsey, Arundati Reddy, Jess Jonnasen, Laura Harris, Marizanne Kapp, Minnu Mani, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Shafali Verma, Shikha Pandey, Sneha Deepthi, Taniya Bhatiaa, Titas Sadhu, Annabel Sutherland, Aparna Mondal, Ashwani Kumari
Head-to-Head
Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals have played three matches against each other, with Mumbai having their nose ahead with a 2-1 win margin.
Players to watch out
Hayley Matthews: It is quite rare to see an opening batter picking the most number of wickets in a tournament. In the last season, this West Indian all-rounder was not only great with the bat but also exceptional with the ball. The right-arm off-spinner claimed 16 wickets and was the joint-highest wicket-taker in the tournament. With the bat, she muscled 271 runs and was the fifth-best. Mumbai Indians have a fantastic multi-faceted player in Matthews.
Natalie Sciver-Brunt: Another phenomenal all-rounder in the Mumbai Indians’ camp is England’s Natalie Sciver-Brunt. She was the second leading run getter in WPL 2023 with 332 runs. This right-handed batter will again form the backbone of the team’s batting. Besides her batting, she bowled useful overs for her team and snapped 10 wickets.
Meg Lanning: The former Australian captain may have hung up her boots from playing international cricket last year around this time, but she has plenty of gas left in the tank. The 31-year-old continues to play domestic cricket for Victoria and features in the WBBL, too. In WPL 2023, the captain of Delhi Capitals was the Orange Cap winner, scoring 345 runs, the highest in the competition.
Shafali Verma: India’s swashbuckling right-handed opening batter of India will open the batting for Delhi Capitals. She is one of the most fearless batters in women’s cricket and makes a good pair with her captain, Lanning. The duo are like fire and ice, with Verma as the aggressor and Lanning as the calming influence. In WPL 2023, Verma smashed 252 runs at a strike rate of 185, which was the best in the tournament.
Pitch
Historically, the venue is known to produce truckloads of runs, given the flat surface and smaller boundaries. Expect similar playing conditions and plenty of fours and sixes. If you are a bowler, this is definitely not where you would want to play. However, employing variations will be the order of the day for the bowlers.
Weather
The weather is expected to be pleasant, with temperatures hovering around 23 degrees Celsius in the evening. There will be no cloud cover and no chance of rain. Humidity will be around 28%.
Match details
Date: February 23, 2024
Time: 7:30 PM
Venue: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Live streaming: Jio Cinema, Sports 18