Mandhana's RCB up vs tough-looking UP Warriorz

WPL 2024: As UP Warriorz take on Royal Challengers Bangalore, all eyes will be on the latter, who failed to impress in the first edition.

After Sajana S’ heroics in the opening encounter, the second WPL match will see UP Warriorz and Royal Challenger Bangalore take on each other in this year’s edition, in Bengaluru on Saturday. As both teams, under Alyssa Healy and Smriti Mandhana start with a clean slate, there’s a lot to prove for both the teams, who didn’t have the desired WPL campaign in the first season.

Time for Redemption

UP Warriorz, in the five-team tournament finished third in the points table, and then were ousted in the eliminator. This time around, with an improved tea — got Danii Wyatt for INR 30 lakh, along with last-minute addition of Sri Lankan Chamari Athapaththu, their batting strengthened for sure, and would rely on the batters to deliver.

As for Bangalore, under Mandhana, they could only finish with two wins in the entire season, despite having some big names in their ranks. This time around, with an improved bowling unit, including the likes of veteran spinner Ekta Bisht, and Aussies Georgia Wareham, Sophie Molineux, RCB would be hoping for a turnaround.

Injury Concerns & Player Unavailability

One of the key players for UP Warriorz, Lauren Bell pulled out of the tournament to focus on her preparations for series against New Zealand. Instead of getting a like-for-like replacement, the management opted for Chamari Athapaththu.

On the other hand, England great Heather Knight had also withdrawn from the tournament, that could impact RCB significantly. Kanika Ahuja has been ruled out too.

UP Warriorz Squad

Alyssa Healy, Anjali Sarvani, Deepti Sharma, Grace Harris, Kiran Navgire, Chamari Athapaththu, Laxmi Yadav, Parshavi Chopra, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Soppadhandi Yashasri, Shweta Sehrawat, Sophie Ecclestone, Tahlia McGrath, Danni Wyatt, Vrinda Dinesh, Poonam Khemnar, Saima Thakor, Gouher Sultana.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Squad

Asha Shobana, Disha Kasat, Ellyse Perry, Indrani Roy, Nadine de Klerk, Renuka Singh, Richa Ghosh, Shraddha Pokharkar, Shreyanka Patil, Smriti Mandhana (C), Sophie Devine, Georgia Wareham, Kate Cross, Ekta Bisht, Shubha Satheesh, S Meghana, Simran Bahadur, Sophie Molineux.