Rosa Simkin (@rosatalksball) – 15/03/24
Date – 15/03/24
Time – 7:30pm (Local – GMT +5:30), 2:00pm (UK – GMT)
Location – Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Where to Watch – Sports18 Network (Local), Sky Sports Cricket (UK)
My Prediction – Mumbai Indians Win
My Tournament Guide – https://rosatalksball.com/2024/02/22/2024-womens-premier-league-everything-you-need-to-know/
This years Women’s Premier League is reaching its conclusion on Sunday, but the action isn’t over just yet as reigning champions The Mumbai Indians take on RCB in the eliminator this afternoon. RCB have had a transformative season, after struggling in last year’s tournament and enter their first eliminator in the second year of the tournament, as they look to overcome Mumbai to face the Delhi Capitals at their home ground on Sunday.
Here is my match preview for one of the biggest games of the season, from the head to head records to all of the teams information – you don’t want to miss the perfect guide.
Order of Content – Head to Head (2024 Fixtures), The Squads, Mumbai Indians (Bio, Word from the side, Last time out – quotes, 2024 stats so far, players to watch), RCB (Bio, Word from the side, Last time out – quotes, 2024 stats so far, players to watch) & The final standings of the group stage.
Head to Head (2024 Fixtures Bios & Tournament Wide Stats):
Head to Head (ALL GAMES) – 4 Games; Mumbai Indians (3 Wins), RCB (1 Win).
Match 1 – 2nd of March:
Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore first came together in match 9 of the tournament, infront of a home RCB crowd. After losing the toss, RCB were put into bat by Mumbai and struggled to get going, with openers Smriti Mandhana and Sophie Devine both only achieving 9 runs. Thankfully for the sides, a flourish in the middle from Ellyse Perry (44* from 38) and later on by Georgia Wareham (27 from 20) helped them reach an arguably defendable score, ending their 20 overs on 131/6. Nat Sciver-Brunt and Pooja Vastrakar were in the wickets with 2 each.
Mumbai started their chase on a positive note, with openers Yastika Bhatia (31 from 15) and Hayley Matthews (26 from 21) providing a solid foundation for the later order to chase down the runs. Amelia Kerr top scored however, with 40* from just 24 balls as Mumbai chased down the total in just 15.1 overs, ending their innings on 133/3. Sophie Devine, Georgia Wareham and Shreyanka Patil each took one wicket each for RCB as they attempted to defend their total.
Match 2 – 12th of March:
Funnily enough the two sides met for their second clash of the season just three days ago, in the final game of this seasons group stage, with RCB requiring a win to secure qualification to the finals. After a poor showing from the Mumbai Indians however, they were bowled out for 113 from 19 overs after being put into bat by RCB. This in spite of the two openers creating a steady platform, with Hayley Matthews reaching 26 from 23 and the innings top scorer Sajeevan Sajana scoring 30 off 21 after stepping up for injured Yastika Bhatia. Ellyse Perry was the star of the innings, taking the best figures in WPL history with 6/15 from her four overs.
RCB made the chase look, as was fact, extremely simple despite early wobbles from their openers, with Mandhana going for 11 and Molineux going for 9, both victims of Bala’s quick hands behind the stumps. Australia’s Ellyse Perry once more stood up however, scoring 40* from 38 balls as she helped her side reach the eliminator which of course also wouldn’t have been possible without Richa Ghosh’s 36* from 28 balls. Ismail, Matthews and Sciver-Brunt took one wicket a piece in their sides defeat.
It’s safe to say that Mumbai will be looking to put on a MUCH better showing this afternoon, with RCB looking to build on their form from their last battle with the reigning champions.
The Squads:
*OS indicates an Overseas player*
Mumbai Indians – Amanjot Kaur, Amelia Kerr (OS), Chloe Tyron (OS), Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Hayley Matthews (OS), Humairaa Kazi, Issy Wong (OS), Jintimani Kalita, Nat Sciver-Brunt (OS), Pooja Vastrakar, Priyanka Bala, Saika Ishaque, Yastika Bhatia, Shabnim Ismail (OS), Sajeevan Sajana, Amandeep Kaur, Fatima Jaffer, Keerthana Balakrishnan
Royal Challengers Bangalore – Smriti Mandhana (C), Asha Sobhana, Disha Kasat, Ellyse Perry (OS), Nadine de Klerk (OS), Indrani Roy, Shradda Pokharkar*, Renuka Singh, Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil, Sophie Devine (OS), Georgia Wareham (OS), Ekta Bisht, Kate Cross (OS), Shubha Sateesh, S Meghna, Simran Bahadur, Sophie Molineux (OS)
*RCB – Kanika Ahuja (Injury) & Heather Knight (ECB Selection Requirements) replaced by Shraddha Pokharkar & Nadine de Klerk*
Mumbai Indians
The Mumbai Indians are in fairly familiar territory as they head into the eliminator this afternoon. This time last tournament, they were readying themselves to face the UP Warriorz in a similarly matched game. Last time round they smashed the Warriorz, reaching the final and then going all the way, beating the Delhi Capitals and becoming the first ever champions of the tournament.
With the final set-up with the Delhi Capitals once again, Mumbai will be hoping to overcome RCB today as they continue their journey for a second WPL title.
“Perry bowled well tonight, it was an outstanding spell. Maybe if we’d gotten to 140, who knows. We had the chance to put RCB under pressure. We didn’t take our chances, so, look, it wasn’t our best night. We are second in the competition, and we have a massive game come Friday. Our thoughts are firmly now on Friday.” – Mumbai Head Coach Charlotte Edwards post Mumbai’s loss to RCB last game.
“That’s what I enjoy most about in this competition, watching those youngsters come through. Watching Shabnam Shakil last night and what an exciting prospect she is. What a lovely girl she is, I met her the other night. Shreyanka Patil playing for India. There is some wonderful talent India is blessed with,” Edwards reckons. Even Richa Ghosh is only 20. The rest of the world must watch out because this talent is coming though. It will only unearth more in the future, which is very exciting for Indian cricket.” – Mumbai Head Coach Charlotte Edwards on the WPLs young talent.
Last Time Out:
*See second match in “Head to Head” section for details of fixture*
“We are prepared for the next game. And this happened before the Eliminators so we are taking this as a good time. Don’t you think that history is repeating? We went through this last year as well, just before the Eliminators there were little ups and downs, but we bounced back in the Eliminator and played one-sided against them. So we’re taking this as a good luck sign hoping that we are going to repeat the same history this year with the same results as last year.” – Mumbai batting coach Devika Palshikaar.
She bowled very well today. None of us took the responsibility to bat deep. We tried our best [with the ball]. Unfortunately, we dropped some chances. Our bowlers were giving their 100% but there were not enough runs on the board. We did not bat according to how she was bowling. But she [Perry] bowled really well, we should give credit to them. Today’s game will teach us a lot of things. We will sit together and see how we make our plans for the next game. – Captain Harmpreet Kaur on Perry’s stunning performance.
2024 Stats so Far:
4s – 149
6s – 27
Top 5 Wicket Takers:
- Shabnim Ismail (South Africa) – 8 Wickets, 24.0 Overs, 17.87 Average & 5.95 Economy.
- Nat Sciver-Brunt (England) – 8 Wickets, 23.0 Overs, 24.62 Average & 8.56 Economy.
- Saika Ishaque (India) – 7 Wickets, 22.0 Overs, 23.14 Average & 7.36 Economy.
- Amelia Kerr (New Zealand) – 7 Wickets, 22.0 Overs, 28.57 Average & 9.09 Economy.
- Pooja Vastrakar (India) – 5 Wickets, 21.3 Overs, 31.6 Average & 7.34 Economy.
Top 5 Run Scorers:
- Harmanpreet Kaur (India) – 235 Runs, 6 Innings, 58.75 Average & 146.87 Strike Rate.
- Amelia Kerr (New Zealand) – 188 Runs, 8 Innings, 31.33 Average & 133.33 Strike Rate.
- Yastika Bhatia (India)- 185 Runs, 7 Innings, 26.42 Average & 131.2 Strike Rate.
- Hayley Matthews (West Indies) – 165 Runs, 8 Innings, 20.62 Average & 113.79 Strike Rate.
- Nat Sciver-Brunt (England) – 149 Runs, 8 Innings, 18.62 Average & 117.32 Strike Rate.
Players to Watch:
Harmanpreet Kaur (India) – The Indian National Team and Mumbai Indian’s skipper has had a highly positive 2024 campaign, after struggling for form heading into the tournament. She tops the scoring for Mumbai, with 235 runs in just 6 innings, placing her 7th in the overall rankings. From a leadership perspective, arguably the tournament has also been positive, with good rotation among the bowlers. Her 95* from just 48 balls against Gujarat Giants was particularly memorable, as Mumbai chased down the required total of 191 with just one ball to spare in their innings. Kaur scored an unbelievable 77 from just 29 balls in the final 6 overs, as she steered her side to a crucial victory. Kaur is one who can step up in the big moments, and therefore is definitely one to watch.
Shabnim Ismail (South Africa) – Shabnim Ismail was picked up by Mumbai in the draft, after being released from the UP Warriorz after minimal involvement in their campaign last year. My opinion of her during this tournament can only be positive, not only did she reach the 82 mph mark, recording the fastest delivery in the history of women’s cricket at 82.1 mph (or 132.1 km/h) she tops the wicket taking charts for the side, with 8 wickets. This in spite of missing two games due to injury. Her pure pace with some added flare is definitely worth keeping an eye on in today’s clash.
Yastika Bhatia (India) – The 23-year-old opening batter has played a key role to Mumbai’s advancement to this stage of the tournament, thanks to her ability to score from the start of the innings and contribute towards a platform, for later batters to build on. She missed the clash against RCB on Tuesday through injury, but the hopes are she can return to the line-up today to help the side at the top of the order.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
RCB have well and truly left the difficulties of their 2023 season behind them, as they enter the eliminator for the first time in their history. Their win against Mumbai last time out was to thank for their place here, as they finished third in the rankings at the conclusion of the group stages. After gaining the opportunity to start their campaign in front of home fans in Bengaluru, with the first 11 games of the tournament being hosted their, they took the advantage of a home crowd to gain 2 victories in the first 2 games, and despite losses in their next 2, they gained a further two victories to outscore UP Warriorz by two points, ending their campaign with eight.
“We’re really excited to qualify for the playoffs. To be able to do that, we’ve needed different contributors at different times. Except we haven’t been anywhere near perfect!” – Head Coach Luke Williams on RCBs qualification for the eliminator.
Last Time Out:
*See second match in Head to Head section for details of fixture*
“The last match, losing by one run, is not a great thing, given the effort everyone put. That was the whole conversation that one run does not make us a bad team. We played good cricket that day as well. We had a good training session yesterday and wanted to come back. There was calmness today. We were not rushed. Good effort and the way Pez bowled, it was brilliant to watch. Today’s match was very important for us to get going.” – Captain Smriti Mandhana on her side’s ability to turn around after a hard loss.
“Sometimes, it just goes your way. Really nice to play a great match with the girls. It was an important game and nice to get a win over them – first time in the competition. I really enjoyed bowling. Sometimes, I am just getting walloped all around the ground, then some days it is like this. The ball nipped around a little bit and it was fun.” – POTM Ellyse Perry on her performance.
2024 Stats so Far:
4s – 139
6s – 37
Top 5 Wicket Takers:
- Asha Sobhana (India) – 9 Wickets, 21.0 Overs, 17.55 Average & 7.52 Economy.
- Sophie Molineux (Australia) – 8 Wickets, 30.0 Overs, 30.25 Average & 8.06 Economy.
- Shreyanka Patil (India) – 7 Wickets, 14.0 Overs, 18.42 Average & 9.21 Economy.
- Ellyse Perry (Australia) – 6 Wickets, 10.0 Overs, 11.0 Average & 6.60 Economy.
- Sophie Devine (New Zealand) – 6 Wickets, 20.0 Overs, 26.0 Average & 7.80 Economy.
Top 5 Run Scorers:
- Smriti Mandhana – 259 Runs, 8 Innings, 32.37 Average & 145.5 Strike Rate.
- Ellyse Perry – 246 Runs, 7 Innings, 61.5 Average & 130.15 Strike Rate.
- Richa Ghosh – 226 Runs, 7 Innings. 45.2 Average & 152.7 Strike Rate.
- Sabbhineni Meghana – 168 Runs, 6 Innings, 33.6 Average & 112.75 Strike Rate.
- Sophie Devine – 94 Runs, 8 Innings, 13.42 Average & 127.02 Strike Rate.
Players to Watch:
Ellyse Perry (Australia) – Ellyse Perry is never not a name to watch, the Australian all-rounder has dominated the world stage for as long as I can remember. However her recent performances in red and gold certainly cement her as one to watch heading into this eliminator. Last time out, against today’s opponents Mumbai she took the most wickets in the history of the tournament, ending her spell after four overs with figures of 6/15. She backed up that performance with bat, scoring 40* from 38 deliveries.
Richa Ghosh (India) – Richa Ghosh is certainly one of India’s rising stars, the 20-year-old wicket-keeper batter is already a regular appearance maker for the Indian national team. This tournament has been a stand out for the youngster, as she’s been in the runs scoring 226 runs from just 7 innings, making her RCBs third highest scorer. She’s also shone behind the stumps, making eight stumpings and taking two catches. Last time out she helped steer RCB to this game, scoring 36 from 28 balls and taking a stumping.
Asha Sobhana (India) – Asha Sobhana has cemented herself as a real talent this tournament, the 32-year-old spinner tops RCBs bowling rankings this year, taking 9 wickets so far. Her star performance was certainly against the UP Warriorz back on the 24th of February where she became the first Indian player to take a five wicket hall, ending with figures of 5/22 from her four overs.
2024 Standings at Conclusion of Group Stage:
