Toss Mumbai Indians chose to bowl vs Delhi Capitals
After a glitzy opening ceremony to kick off WPL 2024, Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and Mumbai Indians opted to bowl in what was a repeat of last year’s final – Mumbai against Delhi Capitals – at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
As is often the case in white-ball games under lights, Harmanpreet said the “dew factor” was a major factor behind her decision. Mumbai handed debuts to allrounder S Sajana, legspinner SB Keerthana and fast bowler Shabnim Ismail. They had as many as 10 bowling options at their disposal, four of whom bowl seam. Ismail aside, Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Amelia Kerr were the overseas players in the XI for defending champions Mumbai.
Capitals managed to squeeze both allrounders Marizanne Kapp and Annabel Sutherland in the XI, with captain Meg Lanning and allrounder Alice Capsey being the other overseas players. It was a return to top-flight cricket of sorts for Lanning, who announced her retirement from internationals during the WBBL last year. She had last played in Australia’s 50-overs domestic competition, the WNCL, and said she enjoyed the “slow pace of the last few months” heading into the WPL.
The pitch had an even covering of dry grass, and one square boundary measured 50 metres while the other was 61 metres away.
Mumbai Indians: 1 Yastika Bhatia (wk), 2 Hayley Matthews, 3 Nat Sciver-Brunt, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Amelia Kerr, 6 Amanjot Kaur, 7 S Sajana, 8 Pooja Vastrakar, 9 Shabnim Ismail, 10 SB Keerthana, 11 Saika Ishaque
Delhi Capitals: 1 Meg Lanning (capt), 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Alice Capsey, 4 Jemimah Rodrigues, 5 Marizanne Kapp, 6 Annabel Sutherland, 7 Arundhati Reddy, 8 Minnu Mani, 9 Taniya Bhatia (wk), 10 Radha Yadav, 11 Shikha Pandey
S Sudarshanan is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @Sudarshanan7
Source: ESPN Crickinfo