Delhi Capitals take on UP Warriorz in crunch WPL clash
What's the story
The Delhi Capitals will take on the UP Warriorz in the Women's Premier League (WPL).
Match number six of the WPL 2025 season will be held on February 19.
DC will want to improve their batting. especially the middle order.
While the Capitals have the most successful opening pair in the league, the middle-order batters have been underwhelming.
The team's middle-order batters (batting at positions four to seven) average just 21.97 - the worst in WPL, as per ESPNcricinfo.
Game impact
Middle-order performance could be game-changer in WPL
Jess Jonassen, Marizanne Kapp, and Jemimah Rodrigues have been the mainstays for the Capitals in these middle-order positions. However, their performance hasn't been up to the mark.
Meanwhile, UP Warriorz's middle-order batters have an impressive average of 28.44 with Deepti Sharma, Grace Harris, and Tahlia McGrath being regular contributors.
This difference could play a major role in the outcome of the upcoming match between the two sides.
Team status
UP Warriorz seek 1st win after initial defeat
The UP Warriorz are still in search of their first WPL 2025 win, having suffered a disappointing loss to the Gujarat Giants in their opener.
However, despite the setback, they have shown a solid middle-order performance over the three seasons of WPL.
The team has tried five different opening pairs over the seasons, which could be a reason behind their strong middle-order average.
Team strategies
Team strategies and potential line-ups for upcoming match
In their previous match against RCB, the Delhi Capitals went with their best XI and are likely to do the same in the next game.
The probable team: Meg Lanning (captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Annabel Sutherland, Marizanne Kapp, Jess Jonassen, Sarah Bryce (wicketkeeper), Shikha Pandey, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy and Minnu Mani.
Meanwhile, UP Warriorz could bring in Poonam Khemnar to strengthen their lower middle-order firepower and could also bring in Anjali Sarvani for her left-arm seam angle.
Key players
Players to watch: Shikha Pandey and Kiran Navgire
Overlooked from the Indian team since T20 World Cup 2023, Shikha Pandey continues to shine in T20s around the world.
She has taken 25 wickets across leagues like Women's Caribbean Premier League, Women's Big Bash League and Women's Super Smash.
She clocked an ER rate of just 6.75 runs per over against RCB when the scoring rate was 9-plus.
Meanwhile, Warriorz's Kiran Navgire has preferred spin in WPL with a strike rate of 156.84 against spin versus 106.50 against pace.