After decimating Royal Challengers Bangalore in their last game against RCB, UP Warriorz are now all set to host Mumbai Indians at the Brabourne Stadium on March 12. Notably, this is going to be the toughest fixture for the Warriorz as the Harmanreet Kaur-led side has played some phenomenal cricket so far in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) and this is why, they are still undefeated and are the number one ranked team in the league.
However, in their last match, UP Warriorz managed to defeat Bangalore by 10 wickets and that will surely boost their confidence. Meanwhile, the think tank brought back Grace Harris into the mix in their previous match and thus had to drop Shabnim Ismail from the playing XI. Thus, there are some doubts regarding what combination the team will try next. Nevertheless, they have looked sharp so far and are currently third on the points table.
Here’s UP Warriorz’ predicted XI for the match against Mumbai Indians:
Openers – Alyssa Healy (c & wk), Devika Vaidya
After not being able to establish her authority in the middle, Shweta Sehrawat was demoted down the down while Devika Vaidya was asked to open against RCB. The plan worked brilliantly as Vaidya supported Healy well in the middle as UP Warriorz got a great start in the match.
On the other hand, the Australia international wreaked havoc, scoring 96* off just 47 deliveries while Devika scored 36* off 31 deliveries. Based on their partnership, the Warriorz chased down 139 runs in just 13 overs and that’s a big positive going ahead. Healy was struggling to score runs in the initial phase of the tournament but she managed to convert her start into a big total and that too is a good sign for the team.
Middle Order – Shweta Sehrawat, Kiran Navgire and Simran Shaikh
As previously mentioned, youngster Shweta Sehrawat hasn’t been able to impress so far. However, she has got tremendous potential and that was on display in the recently concluded U19 Women’s T20 World Cup. She just needs confidence to do well as she seems to be talented enough.
Coming to Kiran Nagvire, the 28-year-old played a sensational knock against Gujarat Giants in the opening game but since then, hasn’t done much. In the second match, she scored only two runs while in the third game, she didn’t get a chance to bat. Overall, she has looked good so far and along with Tahlia McGrath and Grace Harris, she is an important part of UP’s middle-order.
Meanwhile, Simran Shaikh has been pretty ordinary so far in the league. The 20-year-old has scored only six runs so far in the tournament and that’s a massive reason to worry about. Given that she bats lower down the order, the cricketer needs to be more aggressive in her approach.
All-rounders – Tahlia McGrath, Deepti Sharma, Grace Harris
Tahlia McGrath played one of her best T20 knocks in the game against Delhi Capitals. The 27-year-old smashed 90* off 50 deliveries and even with the ball, she has done reasonably well. She is in great form at the moment and will be a key player for the Warriorz going ahead.
Deepti Sharma on the other hand finally returned back to form in the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. The 25-year-old picked up three wickets and gave away only 26 runs in the process. She is very vital to the squad and her form is really important as well. Thus, the management along with the fans would hope she can carry the same momentum in the upcoming match against Mumbai.
Coming to Grace Harris, the 29-year-old played some phenomenal cricket in the opening game and was also adjudged as Player of the Match. However, to everyone’s surprise, UP dropped her from the next match and eventually, they suffered a defeat at the hands of Delhi. However, the team management called her back and she did reasonably well with the ball but didn’t get a chance to show her class with the bat. She too remains a vital player for the Warriorz’s middle order.
Bowlers – Sophie Ecclestone, Anjali Sarvani, Rajeshwari Gayakwad
Like Deepti, Sophie Ecclestone too returned back to form and that’s a good sign for the team. In the last match, the 23-year-old picked up four wickets, giving away only 13 runs in 3.3 overs. She was brilliant with the ball and if she manages to keep up with the same form, Mumbai will be under a lot of pressure.
The duo of Anjali Sarvani and Rajeshwari Gayakwad bowled well in the last match but there’s a lot of room for improvement. As Mumbai have done well with their batting so far, they will target these two bowlers in the match and thus, the skipper Alyssa Healy needs to rotate them well in the middle.
UP Warriourz playing XI – Alyssa Healy (wk/c), Devika Vaidya, Shweta Sehrawat, Kiran Navgire, Tahlia McGrath, Deepti Sharma, Grace Harris, Simran Shaikh, Sophie Ecclestone, Anjali Sarvani, Rajeshwari Gayakwad
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