WPL 202425 Match Preview for the 7th Game MI

WPL 2024/25, MI-W vs RCB-W 7th Match Match Preview

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Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will face Mumbai Indians (MI) on February 21, 2025, at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. RCB aims to extend its strong performance despite missing key players, with Indian stars like Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh shining. Their home advantage could be pivotal, having won three out of five last season. MI relies heavily on their overseas players, notably Nat Sciver-Brunt, while their Indian players seek to contribute more significantly. Key players to watch include RCB’s Renuka Singh and MI’s Hayley Matthews. Historically, RCB has won two of five encounters against MI in the WPL.

Upcoming Match

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) vs Mumbai Indians (MI)
Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, February 21, 2025

Match Preview: RCB’s Indian Stars vs MI’s International Pros

The formidable RCB team is eager to extend their dominant performance as they kick off their home games. Although they are missing several key players from last season, their Indian contingent has significantly risen to the occasion. Smriti Mandhana continues to shine, Richa Ghosh displayed her form against Delhi Capitals after an outstanding performance against Gujarat Giants, and Renuka Singh’s early bowling has been a huge advantage. They aim to leverage their home advantage at Chinnaswamy, where they recorded three victories out of five matches last season. This season, they’ll have four home games to showcase their skills.

For MI, the focus has primarily been on their international talent so far. They have relied heavily on Nat Sciver-Brunt’s remarkable performances both with bat and ball. She followed up her impressive 80 not out from 59 balls in the loss to DC with a crucial 57 against Giants, securing MI’s first win of the season. In the bowling department, Hayley Mathews and Amelia Kerr have proven to be essential wicket-takers. MI will be hunting for more contributions from their Indian players, particularly in the batting lineup, to achieve higher scores.

Team Updates and Likely Line-ups

RCB made a strategic change, replacing Prema Rawat with experienced left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht for the match against DC. Bisht marked her return with notable figures of 2 for 35, taking down both Marizanne Kapp and Jess Jonassen.

RCB (predicted): 1 Smriti Mandhana (capt), 2 Danni Wyatt-Hodge, 3 Ellyse Perry, 4 Raghvi Bist, 5 Richa Ghosh (wk), 6 Kanika Ahuja, 7 Georgia Wareham, 8 Ekta Bisht, 9 Kim Garth, 10 VJ Joshitha, 11 Renuka Singh

MI made two adjustments for their clash against Giants, introducing Parunika Sisodia for Saika Ishaque and G Kamalini for Jintimani Kalita. Kamalini came in lower down the order and struck a boundary on her first ball, while Sisodia gave away 20 runs in two overs.

MI (predicted): 1 Yastika Bhatia (wk), 2 Hayley Matthews, 3 Nat Sciver-Brunt, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Amelia Kerr, 6 G Kamalini, 7 S Sajana, 8 Amanjot Kaur, 9 Sanskriti Gupta, 10 Shabnim Ismail, 11 Parunika Sisodia

Key Players: Renuka Singh and Hayley Mathews

Renuka Singh had an underwhelming WPL 2024 season but has made a strong comeback this year. Building on her performance for India during the West Indies ODIs in Vadodara, where she took 10 wickets in three matches, she has utilized the pitch conditions effectively with the new ball, claiming five wickets in RCB’s last two matches. Following the win against DC, she acknowledged focusing on enhancing her pace and outswing. She aims to keep up her momentum as the games proceed to Bengaluru.

Hayley Matthews may not have delivered standout batting performances yet, but her bowling has been immensely beneficial. In her opening game, she dismissed the perilous Shafali Verma with her offspin. In her second match, she achieved economical figures of 3 for 16, limiting Giants to 120 runs and earning the Player-of-the-Match accolade.

Significant Stats

  • RCB has secured victories in two of their five encounters with MI in the WPL thus far. Ellyse Perry has been pivotal in those wins, achieving remarkable bowling figures of 6 for 15 in the Delhi match and scoring 66 off 50 balls in the Eliminator, propelling RCB to the final.

  • Every match in the WPL 2025 has been won by the side chasing the target.

    • Sruthi Ravindranath is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

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