By Out of the ten matches played in the 2024 edition of the WPL so far, only three have been won by teams batting first. One of these matches featured Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and UP Warriorz, with the latter falling short of the target by three runs. Since then, RCB has won another game, while UPW registered a second loss in their next encounter. However, both teams’ fortunes have changed since then.
UP Warriorz, with two successive wins, find themselves placed third with a positive net run rate, while Royal Challengers Bangalore slipped to the fourth spot on the points table after losses against Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians.
With powerful performances in their two wins and making the most of their spin-heavy attack, the Warriorz will approach this game against RCB with confidence, despite the one-sided fan support. This might put added pressure on Smriti Mandhana and Co., as their middle order hasn’t quite fired, with the reliance on all-rounders adding to the imbalance affecting RCB.
Match Details:
- When: Monday, March 4, at 7:30 PM IST
- Where: Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
- What to Expect: This will be the final match of WPL 2024 in Bengaluru before teams shift base to Delhi for the remainder of the tournament. Given the skewed results of previous matches, the toss will play a crucial role, with chasing being the preferred option.
Team News:
- Royal Challengers Bangalore: Despite concerns with the batting, RCB is likely to stick to the same top-order combination.
- UP Warriorz: Chamari Athapaththu’s inclusion in the previous match strengthened UPW’s spin attack, and she is likely to retain her place, meaning Tahlia McGrath might be on the bench again.
Probable Playing XIs:
- RCB: Smriti Mandhana (c), Sophie Devine, Sabbhineni Meghana, Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh (wk), Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham, Shreyanka Patil, Simran Bahadur, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Thakur Singh
- UP Warriorz: Alyssa Healy (c & wk), Kiran Navgire, Chamari Athapaththu, Grace Harris, Deepti Sharma, Shweta Sehrawat, Poonam Khemnar, Saima Thakor, Sophie Ecclestone, Anjali Sarvani, Rajeshwari Gayakwad
What They Said:
- RCB head coach Luke Williams is confident that Sophie Devine will turn her form around: “Sophie has been a quality player for so long. I would love for her to get the scores that she has been for long periods of time. The other night against Delhi, she started to get going and then she got out to a full-toss. An uncharacteristic way. She’s working really hard, and we’re really confident that Smriti and Sophie in that opening combination is really powerful – left-right combination and we’re confident we’ll get good starts at the backend of the competition.”
- UPW captain Alyssa Healy is impressed with the crowd turnout: “It’s an amazing atmosphere. Even as the opposition side it gives you a real buzz to know that the fans are getting right behind the team, and that the RCB girls are going quite well as well. So it’s helped them. But I think the crowds and the atmosphere has been amazing. To have the amount of people that we did, playing against Gujarat, was pretty cool.”
