The first two games of Women's Premier League 2024 were bonafide cliffhangers. Harmanpreet Kaur's Mumbai Indians first beat Delhi Capitals courtesy Sajeevan Sajana's last-ball six in the season-opener, and the Royal Challengers Bangalore edged out UP Warriorz by two runs in a last-over thriller the next day, on the back of Asha Sobhana's superb five-wicket haul. (Full Coverage | Schedule And Points Table)
While the games provided thrill-a-minute rides to cricket lovers, they would have left those on the losing side hurting. It is now time for those two wounded teams - Delhi Capitals and UP Warriorz - to lock horns in match 4 of WPL 2024, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday, February 26.
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The two teams have faced off twice before, in the inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League. Delhi had won on both occasions comfortably. In the first clash, Meg Lanning's team racked up a tall total of 211 and then restricted UP to 169/5 to post a 42-run victory. The second duel saw Delhi come up trumps by five wickets, a performance that was eventually followed by the team ending up runners-up.
Squads
Delhi Capitals Women: Alice Capsey, Arundhati Reddy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Jess Jonassen, Laura Harris, Marizanne Kapp, Meg Lanning, Minnu Mani, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Shafali Verma, Shikha Pandey, Sneha Deepthi, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Titas Sadhu, Annabel Sutherland, Aparna Mondal (wk), Ashwani Kumari.
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UP Warriorz Women: Alyssa Healy, Anjali Sarvani, Deepti Sharma, Grace Harris, Kiran Navgire, Chamari Athapaththu, Laxmi Yadav, Parshavi Chopra, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, S. Yashasri, Shweta Sehrawat, Sophie Ecclestone, Tahlia Mcgrath, Dani Wyatt, Vrinda Dinesh, Poonam Khemnar, Saima Thakor, Gouher Sultana.
Let's take a look at three key player battles that could shape the outcome of the DC-W vs UPW-W game.
Shafali Verma Vs Sophie Ecclestone
Explosive India opener Shafali Verma has the ability to dismantle bowling attacks at will, on her day. She was dismissed cheaply in the opening game of WPL 2024 but every team knows how dangerous the 20-year-old can be, when on song.
To quell that danger, the Warriorz have 24-year-old left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone in their ranks. Acclaimed for her accurate bowling and low economy rate, Sophie became the world's No. 1-ranked T20I bowler as per the ICC rankings at the age of just 20. She will be eyeing Shafali's scalp early doors.
Meg Lanning Vs Deepti Sharma
The Delhi Capitals skipper Meg Lanning is as reliable as it gets with the bat. With an average of 47 and a strike rate over 137 in her last 10 outings, the senior pro knows exactly how to anchor, yet pace her innings in the shortest format.
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Standing in her way would be the wily India off-spinner Deepti Sharma, who has an economy rate of 6.07 in T20Is and knows how to snuff out wickets at key intervals. Deepti will want to see Meg's back early to put her team in the ascendancy.
Tahlia McGrath Vs Shikha Pandey
Right-handed batter Tahlia McGrath has been consistency personified in T20Is as well as franchise cricket T20s, and has an average of 46.29 paired with a destructive strike rate of 155.02 in her last 10 games.
But she will have to be careful against veteran India seamer Shikha Pandey, who can move the ball prodigiously. Her big in-swinging deliveries have caused the downfall of many a batter, and Shikha will aim to do the same against Tahlia.
