After the WPL 2024 Bengaluru leg ended, head coach of the UP Warriorz, Jon Lewis, had an open confession. He’d said, “We’ve made lives a little hard for ourselves.” “From now on, we need to win the majority of our games if not all.”
The Gujarat Giants’ victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore on Wednesday night would have given them some relief, but their chances of winning the league have been mathematically eliminated after they lost to the Mumbai Indians.
They would be more concerned about not placing in the top three or worse, taking home the wooden spoon, than they would be about their current record of only two victories in six games.
Without a day’s rest, they go on the Delhi Capitals, the home team, who have not only been the tournament’s most nearly flawless team but also a team that UPW has never defeated in the past. Their bowling attack is lethal, their pacers and spinners have done their jobs, and they have demonstrated a capacity to remain composed under duress. The best measure of their performance is where they sit at the table.
The UP Warriorz’s fielding is more of a worry than their batting or bowling because they have dropped 12 catches in their first six games in addition to misfielding, missing stumpings, and overthrows. Along with a demoralising loss against the reigning champs, they may struggle in the upcoming games due to their short turnaround time for practicing under the lights.
Although it’s not quite game-or-kill, it wouldn’t be ideal for RCB to give up on the possibility of finishing second against the two top teams in the previous two games. And in order to accomplish that, they would have to perform far better than they did on Thursday.
When: 7:30 PM (IST) on Friday, March 8, 2024
Where: Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India; Delhi Capitals vs. UP Warriorz
Anticipate: In the first two games, the pitch has been a touch slow and low, which has helped the team batting first to get large totals. Dew hasn’t had a significant role.
Group News:
Delhi Capitals: Despite having to bench players like Annabel Sutherland, Poonam Yadav, and Minnu Mani in favour of the present lineup, DC is playing at a perfect symmetry right now.
Suspect XI: Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Taniyaa Bhatia, Titas Sadhu, Meg Lanning, Shafali Verma, Alice Capsey, Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp, Jess Jonassen
UP Warriorz: Batting needs a creative boost, but the Alyssa Healy-led team has been fairly successful in the bowling area. Despite her effectiveness with the ball, Chamari Aththapathu hasn’t been able to deliver comparable potency with the bat. The temptation would be to start Danni Wyatt in the batting order to inject some freshness.
Anjali Sarvani/Saima Thakor, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Alyssa Healy, Kiran Navgire, Chamari Athapaththu, Shweta Sehrawat, Grace Harris, Deepti Sharma, Poonam Khenmar, Uma Chetry, Sophie Ecclestone, and Anjali Sarvani
What they expressed:
For us as a team, this upcoming game versus Delhi in Delhi is crucial. In this competition, we have yet to defeat them. To defeat them, we must develop the ideal formula. With luck, we can UPW head coach Jon Lewis after the team’s defeat over RCB
Although it wasn’t the simplest wicket, it worked well for my style of batting. I was attempting to be bold and forceful while also trying to learn from my previous failures. After the Test match, I returned and focused on a few things before the WPL. After her game-winning performance against MI, Jemimah Rodrigues, a batter for DC, stated that her strategy was to use the crease and time the ball properly.
© Cricbuzz
