Delhi Capitals will be the first team in the ongoing Women’s Premier League (WPL) to play on consecutive nights when it faces Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.
While it may be tough to play on back-to-back days, the Meg Lanning-led side will certainly have the momentum after it pulled off a dominant nine-wicket win against Mumbai Indians on Friday.
On the other hand, it has been a horror show for RCB in its own backyard after failing to notch up a win in the Bengaluru leg so far. It has lost all three matches at the Chinnaswamy and has one last chance to give its home crowd something to cheer for before moving to Lucknow.
Nonetheless, the Smriti Mandhana-led side will hope to recreate the performance it displayed against the Capitals which helped them beat DC by eight wickets in Vadodara earlier this season.
In that match on February 17, it was Renuka Singh who starred with figures of 3/23 and has been amongst the wickets in Bengaluru as well – contributing 20 per cent to RCB’s scalps.
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Smriti too hit a delightful 47-ball 81 that night but has since failed to build an innings in the middle. The India vice-captain will hope to regain some form in her side’s last home game this season.
In the DC camp, Lanning seems to have found her groove after a couple of disappointing outings and will be looking to continue her explosive partnerships alongside Shafali Verma, as seen during the win against MI.
But, it’s the team’s bowling which will be a major thorn in RCB’s way. With a loaded pace battery, the team’s spinners – led by Purple Cap contender Jess Jonassen – have also been helping restrict the runs in the middle overs and get crucial wickets.
In the standings, Capitals top proceedings with eight points from five matches, while RCB is placed third and is just ahead of UP Warriorz on run rate. Another loss could seriously hurt the defending champion’s chances to even make the top three this year.
