Capitals seek middle-order fix as Warriorz look to get off the mark – T20 IPL 2024

Who’s playing

Delhi Capitals vs UP Warriorz
Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara, 7:30pm IST

What to expect: Battle of middle-orders

That Capitals have the most successful opening combination in the WPL meant that the middle order has escaped scrutiny. But not anymore, after they almost lost their opening fixture this season and then went down heavily to RCB. Capitals’ middle-order batters (Nos. 4 to 7) average 21.97, which is the lowest in the WPL. Jess Jonassen (13), Marizanne Kapp (12) and Jemimah Rodrigues (12) have batted the most innings in these positions for them.

In stark contrast, UP Warriorz have the best average for these positions (28.44), with Deepti Sharma (14), Grace Harris (14) and Tahlia McGrath (9) being the regulars. This could partly be attributed to the fact that they have used five opening pairs across the three seasons.

A stronger show in the middle order could end up having a say in which way the contest sways. Warriorz are yet to get off the mark, having lost their opening game to Gujarat Giants.

Team news and likely XIs

Capitals played their full-strength XI in the last outing against RCB. Expect them to go in with a similar structure that allows them batters till No. 11.

Delhi Capitals (possible): 1 Meg Lanning (capt), 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Jemimah Rodrigues, 4 Annabel Sutherland, 5 Marizanne Kapp, 6 Jess Jonassen, 7 Sarah Bryce (wk), 8 Shikha Pandey, 9 Radha Yadav, 10 Arundhati Reddy, 11 Minnu Mani

Warriorz could think of getting in Poonam Khemnar to shore up the lower middle-order firepower. There could also be a case to play Anjali Sarvani for the left-arm seam angle.

UP Warriorz (possible): 1 Kiran Navgire, 2 Vrinda Dinesh, 3 Uma Chetry (wk), 4 Deepti Sharma (capt), 5 Tahlia McGrath, 6 Grace Harris, 7 Shweta Sehrawat/Poonam Khemnar, 8 Alana King, 9 Sophie Ecclestone, 10 Saima Thakor, 11 Kranti Goud

Players to watch: Shikha Pandey and Kiran Navgire

Overlooked from the Indian side after the T20 World Cup 2023, Shikha Pandey continues to grab the spotlight with performances in T20 competitions around the world. After the WPL last year, she played in the Women’s Caribbean Premier League, Women’s Big Bash League and Women’s Super Smash, picking up 25 wickets across them. She’s begun WPL 2025 on the right note – keeping MI in check in the opening game and conceding runs at 6.75 runs per over against RCB even when the scoring rate was close to nine. She has been the third-most economical bowler in WPL 2025 so far.

In the WPL, Kiran Navgire takes a liking to spin. She has a strike rate of 156.84 against spin (95 balls faced) as opposed to 106.50 against pace (123 balls) in the competition. She has been dismissed 22 times by pace and only five times by spin in the WPL. When she hit 125 not out against Arunachal Pradesh in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy earlier this season, four of her five sixes came against the spin duo of Shivi Yadav and Reetika Agarwal. Is there a case for Warriorz to bat Navgire in the middle order? Or for her to see off fast bowling and wait for spin, in case she continues to open?

Key stats

Deepti Sharma is one of only four players in the WPL with over 400 runs and 15-plus wickets.
Meg Lanning, the leading run-scorer of the WPL, has been in a slightly lean patch in T20 cricket. She has only three half-centuries (one of them in the Hundred) and averages 21.34 since the last WPL.
Since her ODI best of 3 for 62 against Australia, Saima Thakor has picked up just one wicket in nine outings across formats. She went wicketless in Warriorz’s first match.

S Sudarshanan is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @Sudarshanan7

Source: ESPN Crickinfo