The inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League has been nothing short of a spectacle. There has been drama, a lot of emotion, thrillers and, most importantly, a brand of cricket that has kept the supporters at the edge of their seats throughout the season. Now, after the completion of the league stage and the Eliminator, two successful teams of the season, Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians, have qualified for the all-important final, which is slated to take place on March 26 at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
With that, the question arises, can Mumbai’s Harmanpreet Kaur achieve what the legendary skipper MS Dhoni couldn’t in the very first edition of the Indian Premier League? Notably, CSK played some brilliant cricket throughout the season in 2008 but eventually qualified for the finals of the competition but unfortunately lost to Shane Warne-led Rajasthan Royal by three wickets.
Notably, CSK, in the 2008 edition, built a balanced squad with a mixture of youth and experience. The team had senior pros in the form of Michael Hussey, Makhaya Ntini, Muthiah Muralitharan and Matthew Hayden while also having young upcoming stars like Ravichandran Ashwin, Albie Morkel, Parthiv Patel and Suresh Raina, among many others.
MI in the WPL 2023 almost went with the same strategy as Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Chloe Tyron, brought the much-needed experience, while players like Issy Wong, Sonam Yadav and Pooja Vastrakar had the youthful exuberance which helped the team qualify for the grand finale. Thus, Dhoni’s CSK in 2008 and Harmanpreet’s MI in 2023, indeed, have a lot of similarities, but that’s not it.
Dhoni was also leading the national team like Harmanpreet is doing now. On top of that, both prefer to wear jersey number seven, and the fun fact is, Dhoni challenged an Aussie captain on the night of the finals, and Harmanpreet, too, will this time. The 34-year-old will take on one of Australia’s greats in the form of Meg Lanning, just like Dhoni challenged Warne 15 years back.
So, can Harmanpreet break the pattern, win the title this time, and be the first Indian skipper to win the WPL? Well, one can place their bet on her. Mumbai have dominated the first half of the league stage, winning five matches in a row. Later, they slipped in the race but the franchise is again back at its best, defeating UP Warriorz by 72 runs in the Eliminator.
England international Nat Sciver-Brunt smashed 72 runs off just 38 deliveries while with the ball, Issy Wong picked up a brilliant hat-trick to dismantle UP’s middle order, which helped Mumbai qualify for the finals. Thus, they are in a great space ahead of the big game. With that, there’s a sense of confidence among supporters that Harmanpreet Kaur-led Mumbai Indians can eventually get their hand on the prestigious trophy, something MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings could not in IPL 2008.
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