The ongoing 2nd edition of the Women’s Premier League is living up to all the excitement and hype it had before the tournament got underway. The tournament was expanded to a couple of cities, Bangalore and Delhi. We continue to witness, exciting, edge-of-the-seat low-scoring, and high-scoring thrillers. Let’s see what are the Qualification scenarios for each team in WPL 2024.
The first half (23rd February to 4th March 2024) of the tournament was scheduled in Bangalore (Match 1– Match 11) and the 2nd half (5th March to 17th March 2024) of the tournament is scheduled to take place in Delhi, including the eliminator and the final. Mumbai Indians led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur became the first team to qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament after a thrilling victory over Gujarat Giants. Harmanpreet Kaur played a pivotal role in helping her side get over the line as she stayed unbeaten on 95, scoring at an impressive strike rate of 197.91. It is the highest individual score by an Indian in the history of the WPL and the 3rd highest individual score in WPL. The battle to book a place in the knockout stages of the tournament intensifies, three slots are up for grabs as we are approaching the business end of the tournament.
We will have a look at the qualification scenarios for the teams in contention for a spot in the final four.
Gujarat Giants:
Gujarat Giants led by skipper Beth Mooney are having a season to forget so far, with a solitary victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore when they managed to get over the line by 19 runs. They had a similar campaign in the Inaugural edition of the league when they just managed a couple of victories against Delhi Capitals and RCB.
Gujarat Giant’s destiny for the playoffs in the ongoing edition of the WPL is no longer in their hands and are on the verge of elimination. They’ll not only need to win their remaining two games but win it big against UP Warriorz and the Delhi Capitals and hope that RCB loses their remaining two games against Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians.
UP Warriorz:
UP Warriorz led by skipper Alyssa Healy managed to make it to the eliminator in the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League. However, they ended up on the losing side by a massive 72-run margin against the eventual champions Mumbai Indians.
In the ongoing 2nd edition of the WPL, they had a poor start to their season losing their first couple of matches against RCB and DC. however, they bounced back with a couple of victories on the trot against Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants. They stunned the home side Delhi Capitals in their last game as they got over the line by one run in an edge-of-the-seat thriller.
They have just one game left and with three wins and three defeats, they currently have six points and can get to a maximum of eight points if they manage to win their last game against Gujarat Giants. They will then have to hope that RCB loses both their games in order, for them to go through to the playoffs.
Royal Challengers Bangalore:
RCB led by skipper Smriti Mandhana had a poor campaign in the inaugural edition of the WPL as they just managed a couple of victories against UP Warriorz and Gujarat Giants. However, they had a contrasting start to the ongoing 2nd edition of the WPL with a couple of victories against UP Warriorz and Gujarat Giants. However, their campaign seems to have gone downhill as they have just managed a solitary win against UP Warriorz in their next four games so far.
For them to make it to the playoffs, they have their fate in their hands as they just need to win their remaining two matches of the season against RCB and Gujarat Giants to make it to the knockout stages of the tournament.
Delhi Capitals:
Delhi Capitals led by skipper Meg Lanning had a great season in the inaugural edition of the WPL. They finished at the top of the points table with 12 points from eight games and earned a direct qualification into the final courtesy of the top-of-the-table finish in the league stages.
They had a disappointing start to the ongoing 2nd edition of the WPL as they suffered a 4-wicket defeat against the defending champions Mumbai Indians.
However, they bounced back strongly with four victories on the bounce before suffering a heart-breaking one-run defeat against the UP Warriorz in an edge-of-the-seat thriller. They are comfortably placed at the 2nd position on the points table so far with eight points from six games including four victories. Delhi Capitals just need a victory and get to 10 points in their last two games of the season as far as the league stages are concerned.