TACTICAL PREVIEW
Follow UsRoyal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have turned their season around, making it through to the playoffs for the first time. Smriti Mandhana was quick to credit the management and support staff for the belief after they made it through, but can they now go all the way? Can the women’s side achieve what the men’s side have never been able to achieve in 16 Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons?
Mumbai Indians (MI), on the other hand, will hope to brush off their thrashing at the hands of RCB in their previous game as a one-off and look to make it to their second final in a row. Unlike RCB, MI have historically had no issues winning one title after the other, but rest assured they will not use that as an excuse to go easy on their opponents on Friday (March 15).
Things to watch out for
Mandhana is pivotal in the powerplay
Mandhana has been a vital cog for RCB in the powerplay, accounting for nearly 48% of the runs. Whenever the southpaw has gotten out inside the first six overs, RCB have managed to get more than 40 just once in five attempts. However, every time she's survived the first six overs, they've scored 40+ runs every single time (3/3), even breaching the 50-run mark twice.
Can Kerr get back among the wickets?
On Wednesday (March 13), Amelia Kerr won the Debbie Hockley Medal for the second year in a row at the New Zealand Cricket Awards. While the all-rounder has played her part with the bat with 188 runs at a strike rate of 133.33, which includes five scores of 23 and above, she has not been at her best with the ball. In fact, she has not picked a single wicket in her last five matches after picking up seven in her first three.
Can Ismail continue her good run?
Shabnim Ismail delivered the fastest ball in women’s cricket in WPL 2024 and has been consistent when it comes to wicket-taking as well. She has not gone wicket-less even once in the tournament so far. She is MI’s leading wicket-taker with eight scalps, out of which five have come in the powerplay – the most in the phase after Marizanne Kapp (8). She is also the most economical bowler in the tournament (min 5 overs), conceding at just 5.7 RPO.
Ground details
The Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, has produced good surfaces for the spinners, with the slower bowlers having picked up nearly 60% of the wickets here in WPL2024 so far. They have also been more economical (7.8) and have struck at regular intervals – striking once every 24.7 runs, 18.9 deliveries apart. The pacers, too, have played a pivotal role here, especially in the powerplay, where they have accounted for nearly 52% of the wickets, but it is the spinners who have been far more economical, conceding at 6.4 runs per over, compared to pacers’ 7.6.
The average first innings score in Delhi this season has been 161. Six out of nine games have been won by the team batting first here. However, the team chasing won the last two games comfortably. Could be a tricky decision for the captain to make at the toss.
Tactical insights
Ellyse Perry will have her tail up having scalped the best figures in WPL two days ago, picking up six wickets. She got the wickets of the dangerous Harmanpreet Kaur and Nat Sciver-Brunt in the last game, and she has an enviable record against both of them, having gotten the better of them seven times in T20s. Will we witness another Perry masterclass in Delhi?
Also Read: Perry-Perry too spicy for Mumbai Indians.
RCB will look to unleash their spinners on Hayley Matthews the moment she walks into the crease, given her low returns against them. This season, she averages just 13 (SR 97.5) against spin and this further drops down to 6.2 (SR 78.1) against left-arm orthodox spinners, having fallen prey to them four times this season already. The likes of Sophie Molineux, Asha Sobhana, Shreyanka Patil, and Georgia Wareham will all be licking their lips at the prospect of bowling to Matthews. Molineux in particular, being a left-arm spinner.
Probable XI:
RCB will not want to change their winning combination, but MI will bring Yastika Bhatia back into the XI, provided she is fully fit, in place of Priyanka Bala.
RCB: Smriti Mandhana (c), Sophie Molineux, Ellyse Perry, Sophie Devine, Richa Ghosh (wk), Georgia Wareham, Disha Kasat, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, Shraddha Pokharkar, Renuka Thakur Singh
MI: Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, S Sajana, Pooja Vastrakar, Humaira Kazi, Shabnim Ismail, Saika Ishaque
