AGENCY
NEW DELHI, Feb 25
What to expect: Two in-form teams at the Chinnaswamy
Facing the defending champions in front of their full-house home crowd? No problem for Mumbai Indians and UP Warriorz. Two teams that have beaten RCB at the M Chinnaswamy come up against each other in what is expected to be a high-octane clash. The encounter would have probably been considered one-sided in favour of MI if not for Warriorz’s last two games.
That said, Warriorz’s batting order doesn’t look solid yet; they’ve been saved by lower-order hitting in the last two games. They’ve had individual performers across these two wins – Chinelle Henry and Kranti Goud in the match against Delhi Capitals and Sophie Ecclestone in the Super Over-win against RCB. Ecclestone has been one of their key bowlers as well – though she’s gone wicketless in the last two games, her economy hovers around 7 and she helped defend eight runs in the Super Over.
MI will be coming into this game feeling refreshed after a four-day break. One of their key problems has been the opening pair, whose highest partnership is 22 this season.
Yastika Bhatia has returned scores of 11, 8, 8 in the last three matches. Will they make G Kamalini open in place of Bhatia to add more firepower to the top order?
Team news
With Vrinda Dinesh not firing at the top of the order, Warriorz could possibly bring in Chamari Athapaththu but that would also mean Tahlia McGrath will be the one sitting out. Poonam Khemnar could also be given a go in the middle order.
UP Warriorz probable XI: Kiran Navgire, Vrinda Dinesh/ Chamari Athapaththu, Deepti Sharma (capt), Tahlia McGrath/ Poonam Kemnar, Shweta Sehrawat, Grace Harris, Uma Chetry (wk), Chinelle Henry, Sophie Ecclestone, Saima Thakor, Kranti Goud
MI are likely to go in with the same line-up, unless they decide to open with Kamalini.
Mumbai Indians probable XI: Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Amelia Kerr, S Sajana, G Kamalini, Amanjot Kaur, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail, Parunika Sisodia
Players to watch: Amanjot Kaur and Sophie Ecclestone
It was Amanjot Kaur’s day at the Chinnaswamy when MI faced RCB. After finishing with 3 for 22 in three overs with the ball, which included the wickets of Ellyse Perry and Richa Ghosh, Amanjot scored a crucial 34* in the chase and walked away with the Player-of-the-Match award. Having been sidelined by injuries over the past eight months, she will be among those looking to make an India comeback with impressive performances in the WPL.
Sophie Ecclestone proved how valuable she can be in a T20 line-up, also showing she is capable of contributing with quick runs from the lower order. She’s previously done it for England and in the Women’s Hundred for Manchester Originals as well. Should Warriorz try something whacky and float her up the order?
Stats that matter
Ecclestone has gone wicketless in her last two matches. Before that, only once in her previous 19 matches in the WPL did she not take at least one wicket
There have been 11 instances of a player scoring 30-plus runs and also taking 3-plus wickets in a WPL match so far. Six of those 11 have been by MI players, including Amanjot Kaur in their previous match.
Chinelle Henry has hit 12 sixes in the 44 balls she has faced in WPL 2025 so far. These are already the joint-fourth most by anyone in one edition of the WPL.
