The final league match of the second season of the Women's Premier League 2024 takes place between Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Giants at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday, March 13.
With DC already through to the qualifiers, Gujarat Giants are at the foot of the points table and are in need of a miracle. Their qualifying will purely depend on the result between Royal Challengers Bangalore Women and Mumbai Indians Women. Beth Mooney-led side need an RCB defeat and should win their match against DC by a bigger margin to qualify from the back door. (Full Coverage | Schedule And Points Table)
With five defeats in seven matches, GG have not hit the heights they would have yearned for in the WPL 2024 but with the final league of the season, they would look to go out with a bang and end the season (if they are out) on a high.
For Meg Lanning's team, five wins in seven matches is the perfect dose they would have wanted coming into the second season of WPL 2024. Their competitors remain Mumbai Indians Women but the likes of RCB and UPW have also upped their game in the final stages of the season.
Squads:
Delhi Capitals Women Squad: Meg Lanning(c), Shafali Verma, Alice Capsey, Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp, Jess Jonassen, Arundhati Reddy, Taniya Bhatia(w), Minnu Mani, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav, Laura Harris, Annabel Sutherland, Ashwani Kumari, Aparna Mondal, Titas Sadhu, Sneha Deepthi.
Gujarat Giants Squad: Laura Wolvaardt, Beth Mooney(w/c), Phoebe Litchfield, Ashleigh Gardner, Dayalan Hemalatha, Kathryn Bryce, Sneh Rana, Tanuja Kanwar, Mannat Kashyap, Meghna Singh, Lea Tahuhu, Veda Krishnamurthy, Tarannum Pathan, Shabnam Md Shakil, Sayali Satghare, Priya Mishra, Trisha Poojitha.
So with the final league game of the season, here are the key battles for Delhi Capitals Women vs Gujarat Giants match:
1) Shafali Verma Vs Meghna Singh
Delhi Capitals opener Shafali Verma has not lit up the Women's Premier League 2024 the way she would have wanted to. With mere 194 runs in seven matches with a highest score of 62, Verma has not hit the heights for DC this season. However, with their final league fixture on their home turf, the hard-hitting opener would want to end the league stage on a high. For GGW, Meghna Singh, too, has been a let down. Just five wickets in seven games, Singh's form shows why GGW are lying at the bottom of the points table. However, as the league stage comes to an end, both these players will look to end on a winning note as DC takes on GGW at the Arun Jaitley stadium on March 13.
2) Titas Sadhu Vs Phoebe Litchfield
DC's Titas Sadhu has represented her franchise in mere four WPL 2024 matches with three wickets to her name at an average of 23.33. Delhi have a host of stars in their squad and no wonder Sadhu has got on the playing XI list but this fixture could be the ideal scenario for her to showcase her skill. In the other half, Aussie Phoebe Litchfield has not had the best of WPL. Just 87 runs despite impressing on the international stage, does not do justice to her batting skill. With GGW already looking at the exit door, Litchfield could do with a starry innings against one of the contenders at the Arun Jaitley stadium.
3) Meg Lanning Vs Beth Mooney
This captain versus captain battle should be one to watch. An Australian pitted against her compatriot, could be one for the neutrals as well with Beth Mooney looking to impress her former captain Meg Lanning. The now-retired Lanning has amassed 290 runs in this season and is hungry for more whereas Mooney is right on her heels with 285 runs. This battle could get spicer as the game progresses.
