Hosts Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will take on Mumbai Indians (MI) in arguably the most anticipated clash of the Bengaluru leg of the 2024 Women’s Premier League (WPL) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
The hosts come into the fixture after having suffered their first defeat of the second season by 25 runs to Delhi Capitals – on a day when the bowling misfired and the experience of Ellyse Perry was sorely missed with the bat in the middle-order.
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Despite the defeat, there were quite a few positives for RCB on Thursday. The batting of Smriti Mandhana, who looked in regal form against DC, almost single-handedly dominated the powerplay with some audacious shots to all parts of the ground.
Nadine de Klerk, who was brought in for Perry, impressed with the ball in the middle overs and it would be interesting to see RCB look to incorporate her in the playing XI on Saturday. The key for RCB to take the early upper hand while bowling first or second will be to utilise the new ball better than what they did on Thursday and make some inroads into the MI batting line-up.
The form of Sabbhineni Meghana has been a huge positive for RCB and the runs from her bat will once again be critical for their chances on Saturday. If Perry returns to the playing XI, it will also allow the hosts to push Richa Ghosh to five to add more depth to the batting, in the middle-order.
The Mumbai Indians come into the match on the back of their first defeat of this season, losing to UP Warriorz by seven wickets. The reigning champions fielded a slightly weakened side in their previous match, opting to rest regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and fast bowler Shabnim Ismail who were suffering from niggles.
Following the loss on Wednesday, head coach Charlotte Edwards confirmed that Kaur should be fit for Saturday’s match, which is likely to bolster the middle-order batting for MI. The reigning champions will hope for the left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque to put in a good bowling performance and complement the likes of Ismail, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Amelia Kerr.
The Chinnaswamy Stadium has seen a packed house for each of RCB’s three home matches and the scene promises to be no different on Saturday when the women in red and gold and the women in blue face off against each other in a mouth-watering contest.
What: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians, Match 9, Women’s Premier League 2024
When: March 2, 2024, 7:30 PM IST
Where: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
Likely Playing XIs
The hosts will hope that all rounder Ellyse Perry would have recovered in time to strengthen the batting and bowling departments.
RCB: Sophie Devine, Smriti Mandhana (c), Sabbhineni Meghana, Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh (wk), Georgia Wareham, Sophie Molineux, Shreyanka Patil, Simran Bahadur, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Thakur Singh.
The return of Kaur would bolster the MI batting line-up significantly as they look to return to winning ways and they will also hope for Ismail to be fit for the marquee clash.
MI: Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, S Sajana, Pooja Vastrakar, Shabnim Ismail, Keerthana Balakrishnan, Saika Ishaque.
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