FANTASY
Follow UsRoyal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) take on Mumbai Indians (MI) in Match 19 of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023 at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai. With Gujarat Giants’ (GG) loss against UP Warriorz (UPW), RCB now have no chance of making it through to the playoff.
While MI have already qualified for the playoffs, a win in this game could potentially take them straight to the final. RCB, on the other hand, have nothing but pride to play for.
With two back-to-back wins, RCB have four points, while MI, who have lost two in a row now, have 10 points from seven games.
Ground details
While the pacers were dominant in the initial stages of the tournament here, the spinners have crawled their way back, making it a relatively even contest. As a result, we recommend you pick an evenly-balanced side, maybe with one extra pacer, which could be the game-changer.
For the record the pacers have taken 56% of the wickets at DY Patil, striking once every 20.5 runs, 16.9 deliveries apart. The spinners though are quite behind in this aspect, with their wickets coming over 28.8 runs, 22 balls apart.
There is no sign of dew in Mumbai, and it will not be surprising if the captains win the toss and elect to put runs on the board.
Suggested Team
While you could go for the above team, you can also choose your team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. Then, based on your preferences, the platform will guide you through creating the ideal fantasy XI.
Captaincy Suggestions
For small leagues: Hayley Matthews (Captain), Sophie Devine (Vice-captain)
For grand leagues: Elysse Perry (Captain), Saika Ishaque (Vice-captain)
Stats that matter
With a run-rate of 8.5, RCB have the second-best scoring rate in the tournament after Delhi Capitals (9.2)
With a magnificent 36-ball 99 in the previous game against GG, Sophie Devine with 266 runs is the second-highest run-getter in the tournament. She has scored her runs at an impressive strike-rate of 175. Her medium-pacers too could come in handy. She has three wickets from the nine overs she has bowled in the tournament so far.
Hayley Matthews has been in top form with both bat and ball in the tournament. She has scored 208 runs at a strike-rate of 120 in WPL 2023 and among the bowlers, only Sophie Ecclestone (13) has picked up more wickets than Matthews (12). She has struck every 11.5 deliveries with an economy rate of a shade over seven.
Grand League Punts
Elysse Perry is just one of five players in the tournament to have scored over 220 runs. She has also slammed two fifties and scored her runs at a strike-rate of 134.13. However, RCB will hope that she will turn things around with the ball, having picked up just three wickets in the tournament so far. However, her skills with the bat should be good enough to fetch you plenty of points.
27-year-old Saika Ishaque has been a revelation in the tournament so far. She has picked up 12 wickets in the tournament so far, striking once every 11.5 deliveries. However, the main concern for MI is the fact that she has not picked up a wicket in the last three games, but they would certainly want her to come good in this game ahead of the knockout game(s).
Here are the top ten Criclytics projections
Predicted XIs
RCB: Sophie Devine, Smriti Mandhana (c), Ellyse Perry, Heather Knight, Richa Ghosh (wk), Kanika Ahuja, Shreyanka Patil, Disha Kasat, Megan Schutt, Asha Shobana, Preeti Bose
MI: Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Amelia Kerr, Issy Wong, Pooja Vastrakar, Amanjot Kaur, Humaira Kazi, Jintimani Kalita, Saika Ishaque
