WPL 2024: Smriti Mandhana and Meg Lanning Set for Epic Showdown in Pursuit of Maiden Title

When the in-form Delhi Capitals play the tenacious Royal Challengers Bangalore in the summit match of WPL here on Sunday, they will be hoping for a second chance at glory and the Women’s Premier League title. Meg Lanning leads the team in this competition.

Following their seven-wicket loss to the Mumbai Indians in the WPL championship match last year, DC appeared to be a revitalized team this season. With 12 points from eight games, DC leads the five-team league standings this year. They have been playing excellently.

With 308 runs from eight innings, Lanning has led DC from the front. With 11 wickets taken between her and Australian left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen, all-rounder Marizanne Kapp of South Africa, is the team’s highest wicket-taker.

This season, DC has only lost twice, both times to the Mumbai Indians UP Warriorz. With those two games excluded, they have had an almost flawless season. They have never lost to RCB in four encounters, thus they will undoubtedly start as favorites going into the final. That being said, previous performance will not really matter in the end. Tomorrow will bring the winner who can handle pressure and expectations to the top.

Alongside Lanning, DC will hope that the explosive Shafali Verma will give them a fast start. While Jemimah Rodrigues has performed admirably in the middle, Lanning would have liked to see more from players like Alice Capsey and Kapp, who are all-round players.

Key Players and Strategies in WPL 2024 Final

Although Jonassen has been the standout bowler, others like Kapp and Shikha Pandey have also made an impact. With 10 wickets under his belt, left-arm spinner Radha Yadav has also shown effectiveness. Given the sluggish Kotla ground, the home team will undoubtedly rely heavily on their spinners.

RCB, on the other hand, had an uneven run that produced eight points from as many games, finishing third in the league phase. However, they found their groove in the crucial moments, defeating MI, the reigning champions, by five runs in the Friday eliminator.

Ellyse Perry, an all-rounder who has scored the most runs (312), will be crucial to the Royals’ victory on Sunday. The Australian has also been quite effective with the ball, taking seven wickets. Had Perry not performed so well overall versus MI on Friday, the outcome might have been different. She contributed significantly to RCB’s progress to the final with a crucial 50-ball, 66-run knock in her first appearance, and then she returned with figures of 1/29. However, Perry would prefer further batting help from players like Richa Ghosh, Sophie Devine, Sophie Molineux, and captain Smriti Mandhana.

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But in order to halt DC, RCB would need to put in work from its bowlers, particularly from players like Renuka Singh, Shreyanka Patil, Georgia Wareham, and others. Overall, the competition looks fantastic, with a tiny advantage going to the hosts, Washington.

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