WPL 2025 Remaining Preview: Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians set to resume rivalry in summit conflict

Harmanpreet Kaur and Meg Lanning have been part of some legendary duels on the worldwide stage. India and Australia have at all times stored one another on their toes, as have these two captains. Identified for his or her aggression and their batting prowess, each have affected silent revolutions – yet another efficiently than the opposite – of their respective nations.

Come Saturday, a contemporary chapter will get added to this rivalry as Harmanpreet’s Mumbai Indians and Lanning-led Delhi Capitals conflict of their second Ladies’s Premier League last in three seasons.

It’s straightforward to make this fixture about Harmanpreet’s uncooked Punjabi chutzpah and the Aussie legend’s shrewd tactical play. Nonetheless, very similar to the inaugural season’s title conflict at this very venue two years in the past, there’s extra to this recreation than simply its two illustrious leaders.

New recreation, contemporary slate

Mumbai Indians, which is because of play its fourth match in six days, will steadiness the problem of fatigue on one facet and the benefit of ample recreation time on the Brabourne floor.

The primary two video games performed on this floor didn’t have a lot dew and the ball got here on properly for the batters in each innings. The Eliminator’s strip was a tad slower early on earlier than the wicket flattened out for the batters. The outfield was soaking moist on this recreation as properly.

This has been the season of profitable chases with the workforce batting second successful 15 of the primary 17 matches. That mentioned, the final 4 video games have been received by the workforce setting the goal. Lanning – for lengthy a flag bearer of batting first and making use of strain with a goal – will take consolation on this pattern.

READ MORE | The numbers behind Jess Jonassen’s all-round utility in Delhi Capitals’ spectacular season

That mentioned, batting first in a WPL last has not labored for Delhi Capitals up to now. Its batting didn’t be at its explosive greatest on each events and regardless of a determined and commendable bowling efficiency, its sub-par totals ensured defeat.

Very like the earlier editions, there’s a hole between DC’s final league recreation and the summit conflict. In hindsight, one can argue that this break may need snuffed momentum away from the facet. WPL 2025 has seen the most important such break, with the Capitals final enjoying a recreation in Lucknow eight days in the past.

For the Capitals, this season has been the toughest, with 5 wins in eight video games, one fewer than its haul within the earlier seasons. Regardless of that, the character of their victories and opponents shedding steam despatched the facet straight to the highest of the desk and into its third-straight last.

“Out of all of the three seasons, I’m most pleased with this 12 months for this workforce as a result of it wasn’t straightforward. However we discovered a approach to choose ourselves up and nonetheless come out on prime and be constant whereas nonetheless being the DC workforce everybody is aware of about,” vice-captain Jemimah Rodrigues mentioned forward of the large recreation.

DC’s Meg Lanning, celebrates after successful, in the course of the Ladies’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 match between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Mumbai Indians (MI), M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru on February 28, 2025.
| Picture Credit score:
Ok MURALI KUMAR

Within the league stage, DC did the double over MI, with an exciting two-wicket win off the ultimate ball of their first assembly in Vadodara and a much more authoritative nine-wicket victory in Bengaluru. Nonetheless, each side will do properly to keep in mind that knockouts are a totally completely different ball recreation.

Greatest XI

Each groups have tweaked their lineups over the course of the season to search out their excellent XIs. For MI, Yastika Bhatia was despatched down the order when she didn’t ship within the opening slot. Nonetheless, her consolation on the pink soil surfaces of Mumbai prompted Harmanpreet and the administration to push her again to open, a present of confidence, Harman says, Yastika would possibly get within the last too.

MI’s largest power lies within the international contingent clicking in unison. Hayley Matthews’ all-round contributions, Nat Sciver-Brunt’s invincibility with the bat, and Shabnim Ismail’s feisty uncooked tempo have all made MI a machine that reveals no indicators of stopping. However the x-factor for the facet this season has been the likes of Amanjot Kaur, Sanskriti Gupta and skipper Harmanpreet herself getting snug of their roles inside the facet and thriving.

Amelia Kerr celebrates after Phoebe Litchfield’s wicket in the course of the WPL Eliminator Match between Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Giants held at CCI Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday.
| Picture Credit score:
EMMANUAL YOGINI

This improvement, not simply in her workforce however throughout the league, makes Harman the India captain fairly glad.

“Over the past two years, I feel franchises have taken the chance to select ladies who can actually use this chance. That is elite cricket,” Harmanpreet mentioned.

“You want individuals who can take that mentally and play good cricket. All of the groups have labored laborious to select good cricketers, that’s why each recreation – barring one or two – have gone proper all the way down to the wire. The subsequent six months are crucial for us and hopefully we’ll attempt to choose all that expertise who did properly on this match and so they get good worldwide publicity too,” she added.

Core consolation

For Delhi, the primary right transfer was the acquisition of Sarah Bryce for the keeper’s slot. Not solely is she a dependable pair of arms behind the stumps, however she will additionally provide you with massive pictures when working with only a ball or two within the dying seconds of a recreation.

DC’s veterans have been the spinal wire of its success season after season. Shikha Pandey’s consistency, Lanning and Shafali Verma’s solidity with the bat (though not as steadily as in seasons previous) and Jess Jonassen’s batting exploits within the quantity 3 slot have all helped the facet keep its status of being among the best sides within the league for the reason that inaugural chapter.

READ MORE | Center-order stability at forefront of success – stats evaluation of all 5 groups forward of playoffs

Plenty of juicy match-ups await on this duel. Lanning vs Shabnim Ismail, the Shikha-Marizanne Kapp pair towards MI’s prime order and Matthews-Amelia Kerr’s spin vs DC publish the PowerPlay will probably be battles to be careful for.

Mumbai’s batting lineup has been much more in keeping with Harmanpreet and Amanjot being key cogs round which performances have revolved. Whereas Delhi has the likes of Jemimah (who has had a uninteresting season by her personal requirements), Annabel Sutherland and Kapp, it’s typically been Jonassen doing the heavy lifting alone. Subsequently, this conflict might simply come all the way down to a battle of the center orders.

Will MI end because the league’s first two-time champion or will a brand new winner be topped on Saturday? Time will inform.