WPL 2024: The Quest for the Top Spot Heats Up
The business end of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) is fast upon us. The campaign is taking an anticipated road with a handful of teams struggling even now while strong teams like Delhi Capitals are able to top the table. After an intense 14 matches, it is still turning out to be quite a difficult task to call the title winner – especially while placing WPL bets. In such a case, one can make use of the promo code for 1xBet India receives to improve the value of the bets even further.
UP Warriorz do not appear to be in great shape to challenge for a play-off berth after only managing four points from the first five matches. Meanwhile, Gujarat Giants have to win all of their remaining matches to stand a chance of reaching the playoffs. Hence, the battle at the top will effectively be between Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Mumbai Indians.
RCB Continue to Surprise
It was a disastrous 2023 season for Royal Challengers Bangalore. The team finished outside the top three after only managing two wins from eight matches. Still, this was a decent finish to the group after having started the 2023 campaign with five consecutive defeats. This time around, RCB are making a push for the top spot after having picked up six points from the first six matches. The team are just two points behind Delhi Capitals, who do have a game in hand.
Delhi Capitals remain in a position of strength
Delhi Capitals were glad to see RCB suffer a defeat against the Gujarat Giants. This was a Giants outfit who had gone through four consecutive defeats but they came up with a surprise win over RCB. This defeat for RCB gives the Delhi Capitals an upper hand going into their match against Warriorz before taking on RCB on Sunday. So far this season, the heavy defeat suffered at the hands of Mumbai Indians is the only setback for the Capitals.
After finishing as the runner-up in the last campaign, Delhi Capitals are looking quite good to win the title this time around. With the next few matches at home, it should further provide an added impetus for Delhi Capitals to do well. The team also possesses a squad suitable for the slow pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Mumbai Indians Struggle for Consistency
Mumbai Indians have struggled for consistency throughout the 2024 WPL campaign. In the five matches that they have played before taking on the UP Warriorz, Mumbai Indians have been able to get only three wins. The bowling department has so far failed to hit the heights for MI, who have also struggled with their batting in the top order. The return of players like Harmanpreet should help MI put up a decent fight for the title, but the defending champions are unlikely to finish on a strong note.
Keep Player Records in the WPL 2024
These three teams are battling for the ultimate glory in the WPL 2024 campaign. Meanwhile, they are certainly helped by a number of key players, who have been creating headlines for different reasons.
Most Runs in the WPL 2024
- Smriti Mandhana – 243 runs
- Meg Lanning – 201 runs
- Amelia Kerr – 174 runs
- Sabbhineni Meghana – 168 runs
- Alice Capsey – 167 runs
The RCB outfit might have failed to beat the Giants in the last match but they continue to get amazing performances out of Smriti Mandhana. The 24-year-old still leads the table for the most runs so far. Her six innings have produced a staggering 243 runs at an average of 40.5. The striker rate is an impressive 153.79. Her highest score of 80 is yet to be matched by the rest of the top five on the list.
Meg Lanning has had a consistent run throughout the tournament so far. After starting with 31 innings in the match against MI, the Australian was able to hit 51 against the UP Warriorz. She has now come out with back-to-back half-centuries in the games against the Giants and MI. Averaging almost the same as Mandhana, the Australian has only been down on strike rate at 122.56.
Amelia Kerr comes third with 174 runs. A brilliant innings in the recent match against Warriorz yielded 39 runs to stand at an average of 34.8 so far this season. Her strike rate is also at an impressive 138.09. The MI player, though, is yet to hit any half-centuries this season. After coming lower down the order, her impact has been profound.
Sabbhineni Meghana occupied the third spot for the last few games before being pushed down to fourth place by the recent innings from Kerr.
Most Wickets in the WPL 2024
- Jess Jonassen – 9 wickets
- Radha Yadav – 8 wickets
- Marizanne Kapp – 8 wickets
- Asha Sobhana – 7 wickets
- Tanuja Kanwar – 7 wickets
Jess Jonassen may not have been available for the first few games but she has had a profound impact for Delhi Capitals in the last few games. In the three matches played against RCB, the Giants, and MI, Jess Jonassen has been able to pick up three wickets each. The economy numbers have come at an average of just 5.33 while she averages 7.11.
Radha Yadav comes a close second with eight wickets to her name. The bulk of her wickets have come in the matches against the Warriorz and Giants. Her economy figures are at a quite moderate 6.66 while hitting a strike rate of 11.25.
Marizanne Kapp comes in at a joint third so far in the campaign after picking up eight wickets. The South African has been more effective in the last few games. Her match against the Warriorz towards the end of February turned out to be the most rewarding, with an impressive three-wicket haul for just five runs. The 34-year-old has an average of 13.62 with an economy of 6.81.
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March 12, 2024 at 07:14AM
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