Women's T20 League

Eliminator: MUM-W vs UP-W

Preview

After the scintillating 20 league matches, it is time for the Elimination round in the Women's IND T20 League and the winner will earn the ticket for the final to face off against Meg Lanning-led DEL-W who already secured its final berth after beating UP-W in the last league match. This knockout battle will take place between Harmanpreet Kaur-led MUM-W and Alyssa Healy-led UP-W on Friday, 24th March 2023 at 07:30 PM IST from Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai.

MUM-W and UP-W teams have faced each other twice in the league stage, earning one victory each. Mumbai is coming off a solid win in their final league game against Bangalore and has had a great run so far. MUM-W finished its league in the 2nd place with 6 wins and 2 losses in 8 league matches. Mumbai looked like the team to beat this season and have most bases covered.

In Harmanpreet Kaur, the side has an in-form skipper who has scored 230 runs in 8 matches at a strike rate of nearly 150. Although Kaur has missed out on the last couple of matches, we expect a big performance from Kaur during the playoffs.

The other batters who can make an impact are opener Windies skipper Hayley Matthews who has scored 232 runs in 8 matches at a strike rate of 131 and middle-order batter Nat Sciver-Brunt also scored 200 runs in 8 matches at a strike rate of 139. MUM-W bats deep, and even the likes of Pooja Vastrakar and Issy Wong have played a handful of cameos down the order.

Kiwi star all-rounder Amelia Kerr, who scored a solid 31 off 27 balls the other night against Bangalore in the run chase of 126, has been among the wickets. In the last four matches, the leg-spinner has scalped 9 wickets, including a 3-for in the previous game. 

Matthews has also contributed with the ball, with her off-spin accounting for 12 wickets at an economy of 6.51 and falling shy of 2 wickets to be on the top. English bowler Issy Wong has enjoyed bowling at this venue, where she has regularly moved the ball around and troubled the batters. Even in the previous game against Bangalore here, 20-year-old Wong ended up with figures of 2-26.

Healy-led UP-W would be delighted with their performance in the Women's IND T20 League so far. Uttar Pradesh finished 3rd in the league after winning 4 games and losing 4 in the 8 league matches. UP-W is coming off a loss against table-toppers Delhi but would be confident of its chances in the Eliminator. After all, UP-W was the first team to beat the Mumbai Women this year in this league.

The batter that has stood out for the UP-W this year is Aussie all-rounder Tahlia McGrath. 27-year-old star batter has amassed 295 runs this season at a strike rate of 159.54 with four fifties. In the last game against Delhi Women, which UP-W lost, McGrath top-scored with an unbeaten 58 off 32 balls.

Skipper of the side Alyssa Healy has been consistent, scoring 242 runs in 8 matches at a strike rate of 139.88. Another Aussie all-rounder Grace Harris, who smashed a breathtaking 72 off 41 balls in the last match she played, is another batter which UP-W can expect to do well in this all-important do-or-die fixture.

On the bowling side, UP-W will depend on the top wicket-taker in the league Sophie Ecclestone to deliver again. English left-arm spinner from England is their leading wicket-taker this season by some distance, taking 14 wickets at an economy of just 6.22. The 23-year-old along with Deepti Sharma has taken 9 wickets at an economy of 8.75 and will pose a challenge to the Mumbai batters. 

Match Details

Match: MUM-W vs UP-W, Match 20, Women's T20 League

Date: Friday, 24th March

Time: 07:30 PM

Venue: Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai

Pitch & Weather Report

The Dr DY Patil Sports Academy has slowed down since the start of the season and isn’t the easiest to bat on. The batters will need to settle in before they can start playing their shots. Anything over 170 can be tricky to chase here. As the pitch has slowed down, the ball tends to grip the surface and will help the spinners extract some turns.

Each of the last 7 matches played at this venue has been won by the chasing team. We, therefore, think that the winner of the toss will likely opt to bowl first here. The average 1st innings score at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in the Women's IND T20 League is 148. The highest total posted at the venue is 211-4 by the DEL-W against the UP -W. The 22 yards have slowed down considerably since the start of the season and scoring big runs won’t be easy. The team batting first should look to set a target of around 160-170 runs.

The maximum temperature will remain at 33°C, with a low of 23°C with 50% humidity, and a wind speed of 21 Km/hr for the Eliminator Match, the Women's IND T20 on Mar 24 b/w MUM-W vs UP-W. The weather in Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai during the match day will be hot and no rain is predicted in this evening encounter.

MUM-W vs UP-W Squads

MUM-W: Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia(w), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Amelia Kerr, Issy Wong, Amanjot Kaur, Humaira Kazi, Dhara Gujjar, Jintimani Kalita, Saika Ishaque, Chloe Tryon, Heather Graham, Pooja Vastrakar, Sonam Yadav, Neelam Bisht, Priyanka Bala

UP-W: Alyssa Healy (c & wk), Devika Vaidya, Kiran Navgire, Grace Harris, Tahlia McGrath, Simran Shaikh, Sophie Ecclestone, Deepti Sharma, Shweta Sehrawat, Anjali Sarvani, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shabnim Ismail, Lauren Bell, Shivali Shinde, Laxmi Yadav, Parshavi Chopra, Soppadhandi Yashasri

MUM-W vs UP-W: Probable XIs

MUM-W: Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Amelia Kerr, Issy Wong, Amanjot Kaur, Pooja Vastrakar, Humaira Kazi, Jintimani Kalita, Saika Ishaque

UP-W: Devika Vaidya, Alyssa Healy (c & wk), Kiran Navgire, Tahlia McGrath, Grace Harris, Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone, Simran Shaikh, Parshavi Chopra, Anjali Sarvani, Rajeshwari Gayakwad

Match Prediction

While the 2nd placed MUM-W has faltered a bit during the last few matches, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side has the quality and the temperament to overcome this low phase. Mumbai's biggest strength lies in the form of its quality players in all departments who can contribute at any stage of the game to turn things around. On the other hand, the success of the UP-W is dependent on the brilliance of a few individual performers. We anticipate Mumbai Women to win this match and take on Delhi Women in the final.

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