In-form Mumbai Indians and UP Warriorz face off with question marks over top-order batters
Both teams are coming in fresh off defeating defending champions RCB on their home ground
Sruthi Ravindranath
25-Feb-2025
UP Warriorz are coming off the high of a Super-Over win • BCCI
Who's playing
Mumbai Indians vs UP Warriorz
M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, 7.30pm IST
M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, 7.30pm IST
What to expect: two in-form teams at the Chinnaswamy
Facing the defending champions in their home in front of a full house? It's been no problem for Mumbai Indians and UP Warriorz. Two teams that have beaten RCB at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium come up against each other in what is expected to be a high-octane clash, one that would probably have been considered one-sided in favour of MI before the tournament, but not after Warriorz's last two games.
That said, Warriorz's batting order doesn't look solid yet; they have been saved by lower-order hitting in the last two games. Individual performers have given them the two wins - Chinelle Henry and Kranti Goud in the match against Delhi Capitals and Sophie Ecclestone in the Super Over win against RCB. Ecclestone has been one of their key bowlers as well - though she has gone wicketless in the last two games, her economy hovers around 7 and she defended eight runs in the Super Over.
MI will be coming into this game feeling refreshed after a four-day break. One of their key problems has been the opening pair, whose highest partnership is 22 this season. Yastika Bhatia has returned scores of 11, 8, 8 in the last three matches. Will they make G Kamalini open in place of Bhatia to add more firepower to the top order?
Recent results
Mumbai Indians WWL (last three matches, most recent first)
UP Warriorz WWL
UP Warriorz WWL
Team news
With Vrinda Dinesh not firing at the top of the order, Warriorz could bring in Chamari Athapaththu but that would also mean Tahlia McGrath will have to sit out. Poonam Khemnar could also be given a go in the middle order.
UP Warriorz (probable): 1 Kiran Navgire, 2 Vrinda Dinesh/ Chamari Athapaththu, 3 Deepti Sharma (capt), 4 Tahlia McGrath/ Poonam Kemnar, 5 Shweta Sehrawat, 6 Grace Harris, 7 Uma Chetry (wk), 8 Chinelle Henry, 9 Sophie Ecclestone, 10 Saima Thakor, 11 Kranti Goud
MI are likely to go in with the same line-up, unless they decide to open with Kamalini.
Mumbai Indians (probable): 1 Hayley Matthews, 2 Yastika Bhatia (wk), 3 Nat Sciver-Brunt, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Amelia Kerr, 6 S Sajana, 7 G Kamalini, 8 Amanjot Kaur, 9 Sanskriti Gupta, 10 Shabnim Ismail, 11 Parunika Sisodia
Players to watch: Amanjot Kaur and Sophie Ecclestone
It was Amanjot Kaur's day at the Chinnaswamy when MI faced RCB. After finishing with 3 for 22 in three overs with the ball, which included the wickets of Ellyse Perry and Richa Ghosh, Amanjot scored a crucial 34* in the chase and walked away with the Player-of-the-Match award. Having been sidelined by injuries over the past eight months, she will be among those looking to make an India comeback with impressive performances in the WPL.
Sophie Ecclestone proved how valuable she can be in a T20 line-up, also showing she is capable of contributing quick runs from the lower order. She's previously done it for England and in the Hundred for Manchester Originals as well. Should Warriorz try something whacky and float her up the order?
Stats that matter
- Ecclestone has gone wicketless in her last two matches. Before that, only once in her previous 19 matches in the WPL did she not take at least one wicket.
- There have been 11 instances of a player scoring 30-plus runs and also taking three-plus wickets in a WPL match. Six of those have been by MI players, including Amanjot Kaur in their previous match.
- Chinelle Henry has hit 12 sixes in the 44 balls she has faced in WPL 2025 so far. These are already the joint-fourth-highest by anyone in one edition of the WPL.
Sruthi Ravindranath is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo