Mumbai Indians have another chance to qualify for the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2024 final. The defending champions will meet Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Eliminator of the 2024 edition of the tournament at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Friday. The winner of the Eliminator will meet Delhi Capitals, the franchise that reached the finals for the second consecutive year.
WPL Eliminator: Why Royal Challengers Bangalore could win
Smriti Mandhana-led RCB will be a bit more confident than usual after their first win over the Mumbai franchise earlier this week, courtesy a masterclass show by Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry. On the other hand, Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. will hope that the loss was a one-off incident. They are ahead in the head-to-head race.
RCB will have an edge over Mumbai in the knockout clash as they have the momentum. Their entry into the playoffs reflects a much improved unit from last season when they finished fourth. Skipper Mandhana, Perry, and wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh have shown sparks in the batting department with over 200 runs in the season.
Ellyse Perry, who had not claimed a single wicket in the season, delivered the best bowling figures (6/15) in the history of the WPL in the last encounter against the Mumbai Indians. Spinners Asha Sobhana and Sophie Molineux have impressed with nine and eight wickets, respectively.
WPL Eliminator: What Mumbai Indians could win
MI opener Yastika Bhatia, who missed the last match, is expected to return in the WPL 2024 Eliminator to bolster the batting department, although Priyanka Bala put up a promising show with the bat. She scored 19 off 18 with two fours.
WPL Eliminator 2024: Win prediction
Predictions have massive limitations in sports, of course. Mumbai Indians have won 75 percent of their WPL matches against the Royal Challengers so far. But the last time RCB and MI squared off, RCB won quite comprehensively: with seven wickets in hand and 30 balls to spare. The deck, in this instance, is stacking up in favour of RCB.
Apart from Harmanpreet Kaur, who smashed 235 runs with two fifties, no other batter from MI has dominated in the season. They are more of a bowling-driven side with potent pacers Shabnim Ismail and Nat Sciver-Brunt. Both of them claimed eight wickets in the season.
Amelia Kerr has picked up seven wickets in eight matches with her legbreak, but her economy of 9.09 did not help her case.
A poor game may not make or break a team, but if both teams meet for a do-or-die clash inside three days again, it becomes a battle of nerves.
WPL 2024 Eliminator: Who is likely to be in the playing 11
Mumbai Indians: Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, Sajeevan Sajana, Pooja Vastrakar, Humaira Kazi, Shabnim Ismail, Saika Ishaque
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Smriti Mandhana (c), Sabbhineni Meghana, Sophie Molineux, Ellyse Perry, Sophie Devine, Richa Ghosh (wk), Georgina Wareham, Disha Kasat, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Shobana, Renuka Singh
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