🏏WPL 2025: Match 20 - RCB W vs MI W at Brabourne, 11/03/25🏏 - Page 39

Originally posted by: Viswasruti

Details for today's match--

Mumbai Indians Women vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women, 20th Match

Series: Womens Premier League 2025

Venue: Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai

Date & Time: Mar 11, 07:30 PM LOCAL

Why back to back matches for MI?

RCB is already out of the tournament.

MI won yesterday against GG.

All the very best for today's match .MI

Congratulations to MI Women for winning the match.

Congratulations to Harmanpreet Kaur for winning the PoTM.

Cheers

🏏WPL 2025: Match 20 - Mumbai Indians W vs RCB W at Brabourne on 11/03/2025 at 7:30 PM IST🏏

Wounded RCB look to keep MI from top-of-the-table finish

MI are currently placed second and a win will get them a direct final berth

RCB look to end on high

Mumbai Indians almost secured a direct spot in the final on Monday. They needed to keep Gujarat Giants to 156 or fewer but a spirited Bharti Fulmali innings did not allow that. The chance was missed but they will not be worrying too much: they not only won the match against Gujarat Giants and kept their perfect record at the Brabourne Stadium intact but also have one more shot at finishing on top of the table. They are on par with table-toppers Delhi Capitals on points. The only point of concern, if at all any, would be that they have to be back within 24 hours to achieve that.

Though the move to make Amelia Kerr open hasn't made much of a difference with the allrounder falling cheaply in both games, MI will be happy Nat Sciver-Brunt did not have to do the heavy lifting once again. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur made a fifty and there were handy contributions from the middle order. Their bowlers were excellent up front and even though they lost the plot in the second half of the chase, they kept their cool to defend 179 on a batting-friendly surface.

RCB, meanwhile, will rue what could have been. The defending champions were unlucky with the toss in all four games at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, which meant they had to do the difficult task of batting first on a ground where seven out of eight matches were won by the chasing team. They still had a tiny chance of making the playoffs which they let go of in a high-scoring thriller against UP Warriorz and are now coming into this contest on the back of five consecutive losses.

RCB also had similar issues from start to finish, including playing this season with a weakened bowling attack and depending on a couple of players to shoulder the bulk of the responsibility. In their previous match, it was the out-of-contention Warriorz who took RCB down with them, and now RCB will look to ruin MI's chances of wanting to finish on top.

Form guide

Mumbai Indians WWLWW (last five matches, most recent first)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru LLLLL

When: Tuesday, March 11, 2025 at 7:30 PM IST

Where: Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, at Cricket Club of India, Mumbai

What to expect: Runs are always on offer at the Brabourne Stadium with its true surfaces and short boundaries. Dew could be a factor and might force the captains to chase.

Team news:

Mumbai Indians

MI are unlikely to tweak their winning combination but having to play successive days could mean a change for one of the domestic bowling spots. Parunika Sisodia hasn't really had much to do in her games so far and Saika Ishaque could get a look in after having been benched early in the season.

Probable XI: Hayley Matthews, Amelia Kerr, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Amanjot Kaur, Yastika Bhatia(wk), Sajeevan Sajana, G Kamalini, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail, Saika Ishaque

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

With this being a dead rubber for them, expect RCB to make a lot of changes to give their fringe players a chance. Heather Graham could get a game while Wyatt-Hodge could also be back in the XI after missing the last game.

Probable XI: Smriti Mandhana(c), Sabbhineni Meghana, Danny Wyatt-Hodge, Ellyse Perry, Heather Graham/Georgia Wareham, Richa Ghosh(wk), Kanika Ahuja, Charlie Dean/Kim Garth, Sneh Rana, Renuka Singh Thakur.

Players to watch: Harmanpreet Kaur and Sneh Rana

Harmanpreet Kaur returning to form is great news for MI. Coming into the game against Giants with scores of 4, 22 and 4*, she scored a crucial 54 to power her side to 179. She has three fifties in four innings at the Brabourne Stadium in WPL and will want to make the most of the home advantage to secure a second title for her team.

Performances like the one she put up against UP Warriorz make one wonder why Sneh Rana isn't in the T20 scheme of things for India; she last played a T20I for India in 2023. Against UPW, Rana plundered Deepti Sharma for 25 off five balls, giving RCB a chance to hunt down 226. In her first game for RCB this WPL, Rana returned with 3 for 27 but she has been underutilised with the ball in this edition. She has bowled her full quota only once in the four games.

Stats that matter

• This is the second time in the WPL that RCB have lost five matches in a row, the first time being in the 2023 season
• Sciver-Brunt and Kerr, both from MI, occupy the top of the run-getters and wicket-takers charts, respectively

It's the final league game of the season, with the teams involved having contrasting objectives. For Royal Challengers Bengaluru, it's been a season to forget apart from their record run-chase in the tournament opener. Already eliminated, the defending champions will hope to sign off with a win to avoid the wooden spoon. For Mumbai Indians, however, this is a big clash as a win will ensure a direct entry to the final at the cost of Delhi Capitals who are currently atop the points table due to a marginally better net run rate. It's all to play for, though Harmanpreet Kaur's team must also be wary of playing on successive days, which could be a physical challenge.

It's been a smooth campaign so far for MI who have won five games while losing both their games to DC. The opening combination has been a concern, forcing the think-tank to push Yastika Bhatia down the order but the promotion to Amelia Kerr hasn't really worked either. Hayley Matthews has been in decent touch after a slow start to the season but MI will want better opening partnerships. Nat Sciver-Brunt has been consistent after enduring a poor season last year, while skipper Harmanpreet seems to be warming up well at the right time.

While the batting is yet to reach its full potential this season, the bowling has been on song for most parts, riding on Kerr and Shabnim Ismail as the frontline wicket-takers. Sciver-Brunt has also played her role with the ball alongside Amanjot Kaur, making MI's attack an efficient one to deal with. There aren't too many chinks in this MI outfit and they'll be confident of getting the job done against a struggling RCB unit. For Smriti Mandhana's troops, they have nothing to lose and that could make them a dangerous opponent for MI in this fixture.

Mandhana's poor season with the bat has been one of the many reasons for RCB's struggles. Fellow opener Danny Wyatt-Hodge has also not fired on a consistent basis, making the batting unit largely about Ellyse Perry. To her credit, the Australian has put in a phenomenal show with the bat but when the team is depending on one batter all the time, it isn't going to take them too far in the tournament. Richa Ghosh has had her moments but on a whole, the batting unit has misfired for RCB. The bowling also has been up and down, often losing the plot at crucial moments.

On paper and form, this contest looks heavily in favor of MI but RCB have it in them to spoil their opponents' party.

Pitch Report

The Brabourne Stadium is said to be a batting paradise where huge totals are put on the board. The small dimensions do not help the bowlers' cause as well. The skippers might prefer to bowl first on this wicket despite the game being won by the side batting first in the last encounter. This is a surface where runs can be scored and does not change much as the game progresses.

Today's Match Prediction: Chasing team to win the match

Scenario 1

• Mumbai Indians Women win the toss and bowl
• PP Score - 45-50
• BLR-W - 160-180
• Mumbai Indians Women win the match
  

Scenario 2

• Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women win the toss and bowl
• PP score - 55-60
• MUM-W- 170-190
• Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women win the match