Delhi Capitals vs UP Warriorz

Meg Lanning’s Australia have created quite a legacy in white-ball cricket. And one of the key factors in their heady run has been Alyssa Healy. Lanning and Healy have scripted many great moments for the national team together, but like in the Australian domestic circuit, they will now go head-to-head on neutral turf at the WPL on Wednesday.Radha Yadav proved to be expensive against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lanning’s Delhi Capitals have Poonam Yadav waiting in the wings. They might also try and give Marizanne Kapp a rest, after South Africa’s final appearance at the T20 World Cup recently, and that is where Laura Harris or Titas Sadhu could come in. Fortunately for them, Capitals have started with a big win. It’s still early days, but that’s a little bit of cushion.Healy’s UP Warriorz, meanwhile, were down for the count against Gujarat Giants, but scored the 53 they needed in the last three overs – with Grace Harris, in the main, and Sophia Ecclestone breaking records. It was a fantastic spectacle, but it’s also true that Warriorz’s middle order failed. Something to look at.

Players to watch

It was good to see Shafali Verma at her attacking best. On a true DY Patil Stadium surface, she has the opportunity to continue where she left off, though the dimensions, that are slightly bigger than Brabourne Stadium, need to be taken into account. Home girl Jemimah Rodrigues is another one who has looked good.Kiran Navgire began the WPL by scoring a rapid a half-century. She was discarded from the national setup after a handful of chances, and could well take inspiration from Grace Harris as she finds her way back up. Rajeshwari Gayakwad, meanwhile, has been a bit of a disappointment. With young legspinner Parshavi Chopra waiting in the wings, the pressure on the seasoned pro will only increase.

Likely XIs

Delhi Capitals: 1 Meg Lanning (capt), 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Marizanne Kapp/Laura Harris, 4 Jemimah Rodrigues, 5, Alice Capsey, 6 Jess Jonassen, 7 Taniya Bhatia (wk), 8 Arundhati Reddy, 9 Shikha Pandey, 10 Radha Yadav, 11 Tara NorrisUP Warriorz: 1 Alyssa Healy (capt, wk), 2 Shweta Sehrawat, 3 Kiran Navgire, 4 Tahlia McGrath, 5 Deepti Sharma, 6 Grace Harris, 7 Simran Shaikh, 8 Devika Vaidya, 9 Sophie Ecclestone, 10 Anjali Sarvani, 11 Rajeshwari Gayakwad

Quotes

“As a player, the fight [to get better] is with myself. I don’t want to prove anything to anyone. It is about having the belief and proving it to ourselves.”
“I thought we’re better off going down swinging. I said it’s better to lose by 40 than stumble over the line.”