Match no. 15 of the ongoing 2024 edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) will feature a face-off between Delhi Capitals and UP Warriorz. The game is slated for the 8th of March, 2024, at the Shri Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, and live action commences at 7:30 PM Indian Standard Time (IST).
With only a defeat in the curtain-raiser, followed by 4 straight wins, the Capitals lead the 5-team points table, while the Warriorz with a couple of wins and 3 losses are seeded 4th.
Squads:
Delhi Capitals – Meg Lanning* (C), Marizanne Kapp*, Aparna Mondal, Sneha Deepthi, Alice Capsey*, Titas Sadhu, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav, Minnu Mani, Ashwani Kumari, Arundhati Reddy, Taniya Bhatia, Laura Harris*, Shikha Pandey, Jess Jonassen*, Poonam Yadav, Annabel Sutherland*
UP Warriorz – Alyssa Healy* (C), Tahlia McGrath*, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Chamari Athapaththu*, Anjali Sarvani, Deepti Sharma, Laxmi Yadav, Parshavi Chopra, Grace Harris*, Sophie Ecclestone*, Kiran Navgire, Saima Thakor, Shweta Sehrawat, Uma Chetry, Poonam Khemnar, Soppadhandi Yashasri, Gouher Sultana, Danni Wyatt*
Players to watch out:
Shafali Verma
The 20-year-old opening batter amassed 252 runs, including the highest of 84, from 9 WPL appearances last summer. With an ongoing successful season, Shafali has further impressed in the WPL and only recently registered consecutive scores of 64* and 50. In her previous couple of outings, she departed on scores of 13 and 28 and will be backed to capitalize on these starts.
Shikha Pandey
The 32-year-old pacer in the ’23 WPL struck 10 wickets at an economy rate of 6.59 from 9 outings while also chipping in with the bat. Continuing her decent form from domestic games, Shikha has bagged 4 wickets from 5 games this edition, returning figures of 1/27, 1/28, and 1/27 in her previous outings. She is handy with the bat and can be counted on for all-round efforts.
Alyssa Healy
The 33-year-old keeper-batter, striking at 141.34, added 253 runs, including the highest of 96*, from 9 outings last edition. Alyssa had a quiet start to her campaign this time around but has managed a return to form, and her scores from her previous three outings read 33, 33, and 55. It’ll be expected of the seasoned campaigner to make the most of this form, leading the tally.
Chamari Athapaththu
The 34-year-old all-rounder in Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) has racked up 2651 runs, including the highest of 113, from 120 outings, while from 65 bowling innings has taken 40 wickets. Chamari was in outstanding form in the lead-up to the WPL, her inaugural stint, but is yet to leave her mark, having had one decent outing out of two. She’ll be relied upon for the goods, both with bat and ball.
Pitch:
The 22-yard strip at Shri Arun Jaitley Stadium offers a good batting deck, as reflected in the average score in the 160s. However, the wicket poses a challenge for batters during the middle overs, especially against spinners.
Weather:
Despite cloudy skies, the likelihood of rain is minimal, promising an uninterrupted game. The temperature is forecasted to hover around 19°C, with light winds and humidity of 42%.
Fantasy playing XI:
Alyssa Healy, Shafali Verma, Meg Lanning, Jemimah Rodrigues, Chamari Athapaththu, Marizanne Kapp, Grace Harris, Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone, Jess Jonassen, Radha Yadav
Match details:
Date – March 8, 2024
Time – 7:30 PM IST
Venue – Shri Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Broadcast – The game will be live-streamed on Jio Cinema and telecasted on Sports18.