WPL 2025: Charani comes in as DC elect to bowl against MI in title clash
Mumbai, March 15 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) Young left-arm spinner N. Shree Charani came into the playing eleven as Delhi Capitals won the toss and elected to bowl first against Mumbai Indians in the 2025 Women’s Premier League (WPL) final at the Brabourne Stadium here on Saturday.
A win for DC, playing their third WPL final, will give them their first-ever championship triumph. A victory for MI will give them their second WPL title after the first one came at this venue in 2023, coincidentally after beating DC.
DC are featuring in their first game of this tournament in Mumbai after a break of eight days, while MI are playing their fourth match of this week. After winning the toss, DC skipper Meg Lanning said Charani would replace pacer Titas Sadhu in the playing eleven, making it the first time the side will chase in a WPL final.
“Conditions are going to remain the same, and it’s worked for us throughout the tournament. We’ve had some time off to refresh, and we’re excited about tonight. It’s an opportunity for us. Need to play well, and hopefully, it’s our best performance,” she said.
MI captain Harmanpreet Kaur said her playing eleven is unchanged from the 47-run win over the Gujarat Giants in the Eliminator. “Even we were looking to bowl. But I think anything is good for us. If we look at the stats of the last four games, the team batting first has won. Staying balanced and staying in the moment has worked for us.”
“They’ve played really good cricket in this tournament. The last week has gone well for us. We have a lot of great memories from the first season. Today is a new day, a beautiful day, and we want to enjoy our cricket,” she said.
Playing XIs:
Delhi Capitals: Meg Lanning (captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Annabel Sutherland, Marizanne Kapp, Jess Jonassen, Sarah Bryce (wk), Niki Prasad, Shikha Pandey, Minnu Mani, and N Shree Charani
Mumbai Indians: Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, Sajeevan Sajana, G Kamalini, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail, and Saika Ishaque
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