Smriti Mandhana's languid grace will meet its match in Shafali Verma's brute power when Royal Challengers Bangalore take on Delhi Capitals in their Women’s Premier League (WPL) opener in Mumbai on Sunday.
RCB have prepared a fantastic roster in terms of international recruits, including skipper Mandhana, who is the highest paid player of the league at Rs 3.40 crore. With Ellyse Perry, Heather Knight, Sophie Devine and the marauding Richa Ghosh in their ranks, the team does have a formidable look.
But on paper, the multiple World Cup-winning legendary Australian Meg Lanning's Delhi team will have a slight edge over their opponents in terms of pure Indian talent.
While Lanning along with Jess Jonasen, Marizanne Kapp and Alice Capsey are likely to be the four overseas players, DC's Indian line-up is both formidable and scary at the same time.
Shafali, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Taniya Bhatia, Radha Yadav are all seasoned India players.
In U-19 World Cup-winning seamer Titas Sadhu, hard-hitting Kashmir woman Jasia Akhtar and keeper Aparna Mondal in the mix, Delhi Capitals have procured the best possible Indian talent on offer.
"I have had a few chats with the players and I'm just getting to know their strengths, what they like to do and how they think about things. Hopefully, I can learn something from the girls and give them a little bit of knowledge as well," Lanning was quoted as saying in a DC release.
For Lanning's South African teammate Kapp, the match will see her battling it out with Dane Van Niekerk, who is in the RCB team.
"We've got a wonderful group of girls and let's see what everyone brings to the table. It'll be challenging to go against some of my fellow South Africans in the league as they know me very well. But it's also exciting and I am happy that there are a few players from our nation in India this year," Kapp said.
For Mandhana, it is easy to choose her four foreign players -- Kapp, Knight, Perry and fast bowler Megan Schutt. But her problem will be to fix the slot for at least four quality Indian players with three, including the skipper herself, Richa and seamer Renuka Thakur being automatic choices.
Which four among Komal Zanzad, Shobhana Asha, Indrani Roy (toured England with Indian team in 2021), Poonam Khemnar, Kanika Ahuja and Preeti Bose, Sahana Pawar fit the bill as per team combination will determine RCB's run in the event.
Teams:
Delhi Capitals: Meg Lanning (captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Jess Jonasen, Alice Capsey, Tara Norris, Laura Harris, Marizanne Kapp, Poonam Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Aparna Mondal (wk), Titas Sadhu, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Minnu Mani, Jasia Akhtar
RCB: Smriti Mandhana (captain), Richa Ghosh (wk), Dane Van Niekerk, Heather Knight, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Sophie Devine, Erin Burns, Disha Kasat, Sahana Pawar, Renuka Thakur, Komal Zanzad, Poonam Khemnar, Kanika Ahuja, Preeti Bose, Shobhana Asha, Shreyanka Patil, Indrani Roy (wk).
Telecast Details:
Match Starts: 7:30 pm IST
Live on: Sports18
Live Streaming on: Jio Cinema
