The Bengaluru leg of the Women’s Premier League is all set to get underway with a clash of champions leading the way. Home side and holder Royal Challengers Bengaluru hosts season one winner Mumbai Indians at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Friday to kick off the second phase of the 2025 edition.
Both sides come in with contrasting starts to their respective campaigns. The Royal Challengers, despite missing key players, won both their games in Vadodara. Harmanpreet Kaur’s MI recovered from getting the short end of the stick in a nail-biting match against Delhi Capitals to register its first points with a thumping win against Gujarat Giants.
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These two sides have enjoyed eventful meetings in the WPL. MI has had the upper hand over RCB in league games, winning three of the four matches played thus far. But RCB has pegged back in recent clashes.
In the last two fixtures – which includes last season’s Eliminator – RCB has emerged victorious.
The side has legendary Aussie allrounder Ellyse Perry who loves to take centrestage in pressure situations. She enjoys tormenting Mumbai Indians as evidenced by her economical six-wicket haul against the outfit in a league game last season.
However, Perry loyalists at the Chinnaswamy Stadium may not get to see the 34-year-old take the ball after she announced ahead of the tournament that her hip injury would keep her from bowling in the first few games. Perry, who has been out of favour with the ball even in the national setup in Australia, has unlocked a new gear in her batting and has been key for RCB in the middle order. In the ongoing season, she continued to impress with a 34-ball 57 in the tournament opener against the Giants.
Natalie Sciver-Brunt of Mumbai Indians
| Photo Credit:
Sportzpics for WPL
Natalie Sciver-Brunt of Mumbai Indians
| Photo Credit:
Sportzpics for WPL
Her skipper Smriti Mandhana is coming into this match after a well-made 81 off 47 balls against Delhi Capitals- her highest individual score in WPL – and will be looking to continue her form. Pacer Renuka Singh has also been in good touch, having already crossed her combined wicket tally of the last two seasons.
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For MI, Hayley Matthews — who currently holds the Purple Cap — and Nat Sciver-Brunt have been crucial to their side’s run in the Vadodara leg. Matthews took three wickets against Giants while Sciver-Brunt took two. The latter has also scored consecutive half centuries in MI’s games against the Giants and the Capitals.
While the Vadodara leg saw the teams batting second come out on top, it remains to be seen how the pitch at the Chinnaswamy behaves. Known to be a batter’s paradise, in 11 games held at the venue last aeason, the side chasing won on seven occassions, with an average first innings score of 151 runs.
Dew played a crucial factor in the first leg of WPL 2025, and it can also turn some games here in Bengaluru. However, Mumbai Indians bowling coach Jhulan Goswami said this wasn’t a headache for her side alone.
“You cannot control the dew factor, every team will be facing it…whoever will be bowling second. What we can control is how we prepare and how we minimise those challenges.”
RCB head coach Luke Williams felt that returning to their home base could give them a slight edge over their opponents.
“Potentially, there’s a very small advantage. All the players are very familiar with the conditions, and we have incredible home support. It all comes down to who adapts the quickest in this caravan format of the tournament that we play in.”