Bengaluru, March 1 (IANS) Delhi Capitals have won the toss and elected to bowl first against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the 14th game of the tournament at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Saturday. Both teams head into the clash having made only one change. The Delhi Capitals brought in Nallapureddy Charani in place of Titas Sadhu, whereas RCB included Ekta Bisht for Prema Rawat.
The team fielding first has won 12 out of the 13 games so far this season. The two sides have met six times in WPL history, including the final of the 2024 edition, in which RCB prevailed. Overall, Delhi hold a 4-2 advantage in the head-to-head series.
The defending champions had come into their home leg unbeaten and on top of the WPL table but have since lost three straight games. The match against the Capitals presents the Smriti Mandhana-led side a chance to produce a win for the home crowd one final time at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium before the action shifts to the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow from Sunday onward.
“Would have bowled first today. With my tosses having lost four in a row, I have to be ready for batting. (to the crowd) They have come out in huge numbers in the last three games but could not do much. Last home game for us. Hopefully, we will do them proud today. Having a fresh mindset every match is what is spoken about, but in franchise cricket, you can’t predict much. We had a good discussion, and the girls seemed very positive. (against Delhi) Last two matches we played against them, we played positive cricket, our bowlers dominated them, but we have to come out and do well, hopefully, a first home win for us tonight,” said Smriti at the toss.
The Capitals, on the other hand, are playing their second game in as many days as they enter fresh off a massive nine-wicket win over the Mumbai Indians, which saw them move to the top of the table.
“We are bowling first. That seems to have worked pretty well for us throughout the tournament. But it’s a new day today, and facing RCB is a big challenge. We try and switch off throughout the day and come back and be switched on during this time. We don’t rely on one or two players. We have got good depth, and we have got to look to them tonight,” said Lanning at the toss.
Playing XIs:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Smriti Mandhana(c), Danielle Wyatt-Hodge, Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh(w), Raghvi Bist, Kanika Ahuja, Georgia Wareham, Kim Garth, Sneh Rana, Renuka Singh Thakur, Ekta Bisht
Delhi Capitals: Meg Lanning (c), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Annabel Sutherland, Marizanne Kapp, Jess Jonassen, Sarah Bryce(w), Niki Prasad, Shikha Pandey, Minnu Mani, Nallapureddy Charani
–IANS
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