Hello, and a warm welcome to another blog on cricket about the historical season of the WPL. I am using the word “historical” here because the words “Ee Saala Cup Namde have changed to Ee Saala Cup Namdu” as the RCBW won their first ever WPL trophy as RCB fans finally receive the trophy they deserve after 16 years. In this blog I will be reviewing all 5 teams (hence the title), what were their positives, what were their drawbacks and much more. So enjoy the read and stay tuned!
1. Gujarat Giants (GG)
The Gujarat Giants again finished at the bottom of the points table after the group stages so far in the 2 seasons of this tournament. Like last time, they were unable to have a good start by starting with 4 losses this year but they had a great flourish towards the end and they could have had another win with MIW but captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s unbelievable finish denied them an important win.
The Gujarat Giants did try various opening combinations alongside Beth Mooney, their skipper with Veda Krishnamoorthy and Harleen Deol, but the only combination which worked was with Laura Wolvaardt, which worked for them, especially in their first win of the season with RCBW. Even their bowling attack didn’t perform well and only Ashleigh Gardner did perform consistently with the ball and the others rarely had a good day with the ball. But the main department they would love to improve is a proper middle-order in their batting as they were completely under par this season and they did let many games slip even when the top-order contributed.
Speaking about the positives, they would be happy with their performance in the Delhi leg. After losing all their matches at the Chinnaswamy (Bengaluru), they came fighting back with their first win with RCBW and they had the game within grasp against a strong MIW team but as I mentioned earlier, Harmanpreet Kaur snatched the game completely from them. I will talk about this in the MIW section a bit more. But again they held their nerves against the UP Warriorz and won their 2nd game. Also, Dayalan Hemalatha played some important flourishes for her team in a couple of games, the standout being the one with MIW. But other than these, they had an even more disappointing tournament than last year, where they did only win 2 matches but looked a promising side.
But they can turn the tide with some good scouting and organize camps about 3-4 months before the tournament to roar next season.
2. UP Warriorz (UPW)
The UP Warriorz had a topsy-turvy season but failed to qualify to the playoffs, unlike last time due to heavy defeats caused by DCW (By 9 wickets) and MIW (By 42 runs) which dented their chances this time. Their top order looked solid in the start with the likes of star Australian keeper Alyssa Healy and one of the rising stars for India, Kiran Navgire also they had a decent start of 2 wins out of 4 games. But a loss in their final game in the Chinnaswamy with RCBW started a phase of downfall for the UPW and just one game out of their 3 games played in Delhi.
The only rising force of the UPW team this time was Deepti Sharma as she had the season of her life with bat and ball. She did everything right, from hitting a sensational 59 with DCW, picking up 4 wickets in the same game and almost single-handedly winning the game for her team in the fixture against the Gujarat Giants and unsurprisingly, for her efforts won the Player of the Series Award for this season, which is personally the biggest achievement for her and the Indian team.
But the only problem for the UPW was the lack of a complete team performance. Some players did contribute in a couple of games but they weren’t consistent enough and also Deepti Sharma had absolutely no support from the other end to help her team to victory. So this cost them big time, even when having a very good team, next year they would want a few more individuals to step up and like I said, a complete team performance next year as well and if they do follow these, they have the potential to even win the WPL next year.
3. Mumbai Indians Women (MIW)
The MIW were favourites to defend their title this year with their strong batting and bowling and they cruised through to the playoffs and had a good Bengaluru and Delhi leg in the group stages but their campaign ended with a shock defeat with RCBW in the Eliminator where they just needed 20 of 18 balls but still fell 5 runs short.
Their openers, Yastika Bhatia and Hayley Matthews, regularly gave them good starts to the batting which was followed up by a strong middle order with the likes of Nat-Sciver Brunt, Amelia Kerr and India captain Harmanpreet Kaur and their wildcard, S Sajana gave them formidable totals with the bat. Speaking about the bowling, Shabnam Ismail was top-notch hitting the right lengths and even bowled her four overs quota by the 7th over, Pooja Vastrakar who runs in and beats the batter through her pace and also Saika Ishaque, Hayley Matthews and Amelia Kerr were fantastic spinners, restricting the runs and giving the already formidable batting order a great chance to finish it early
Like last year, MIW also had a tremendous season but consecutive losses with RCBW, one in their last group match and also in the Eliminator spoiled their title defence. The latter would sting them as they were unable to even chase 136. At a point, Harmanpreet Kaur was in complete control and Kerr was getting that odd boundary almost every over but a spirited performance by the RCBW spinners changed the game completely handing MIW a big upset as they could not make it to the final for the second time.
But the two most remarkable moments MIW would have this season were S Sajana, on her first ball hit a last-ball six to clinch victory for her team in the tournament opener and the second was captain Kaur’s unbelievable and extraordinary 95 not out with the Giants to clinch a win where they needed 91 of just 6 overs and her knock amassed a total of 15 boundaries, of which 5 went over the fence.
So overall they would want to regroup and would want to work a bit more on how to handle those key moments in a game a bit better and not throw games away in the middle or at the end while completely cruising away with it as they did with RCBW twice.
4. Delhi Capitals Women (DCW)
The DCW had a near-dominant season except for their horror show with the bat in the final. Like last year they completely dominated the group stages by topping the table twice in two years and reaching the finals directly twice. But still, they were unable to cross the line to win their first WPL title or I can say a first title for the franchise which has also lasted for 17 years.
The Delhi openers, India’s young star and opener, Shafali Verma and one of the most successful Aussie captains followed by a star-studded middle order with Jemimah Rodrigues and Alice Capsey, and the finish with power hitters Marizanne Kapp and Jess Jonassen every time provided DCW with a good finish with the bat and while chasing as well. Notice that they just have 6 batters but due to their quality, they never really needed to bat deeply and then the bowlers, Shikha Pandey had an outstanding season and was economic regularly and even Jonassen and Kapp had a great season with the ball while the latter picking up a 5 wicket haul with the Giants at the Chinnaswamy. Even Radha Yadav and later Minnu Mani were really effective with the ball, who didn’t take many wickets but did control the runs.
Speaking about their season, absolutely nothing went wrong for them in the group stages as their two losses were inflicted one by the MIW courtesy of a last ball six by Sajana and the other by just one run due to a brilliant performance by Deepti Sharma as I had mentioned earlier. But the only match where they were completely dominated was in the final against RCBW. Even here, Shafali Verma and Meg Lanning played superbly, giving DCW 61 runs in the powerplay and were looking all set for a 180+ total but suddenly just lost 3 wickets in an over and bundled out for 113, which did haunt some memories of Adelaide 2020 for them. I cannot say it was complete overconfidence but their shot selection especially Alice Capsey going for a scoop first ball, not covering her stumps was completely unnecessary like Washi’s reverse-sweep during the famous Gabba test.
Overall I can just say they need to keep their heads high and come back with the same intent next year just need to pray and grasp the important moments in the season, especially the final to avoid future heartbreaks
5. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCBW)
RCBW didn’t have a smooth-going season in the group stages but they completely turned it around during the playoffs and gifted their most loyal fans a heartwarming title finally after 16 years. On paper, they never looked like a title-winning team at all after seeing the quality of players in DCW and MIW. But spirited performances from certain individuals when the situation seemed dead, inspired the others to turn the tide completely, which lacked quite a bit in the other 4 teams.
The team did have many changes to their opening combination as the skipper Smriti Mandhana was accompanied by Sophie Devine, Sabbhineni Meghana and Sophie Molineux and it never looked threatening. But the middle order with Ellyse Perry and Richa Ghosh mostly played a rearguard to give a respectful total, and they had to hit from ball 1 for a couple of times. But the bowling won it this year for them as the Australians, Ellyse Perry, Sophie Molineux and Georgia Wareham, just kept pecking wickets and also controlling the runs. Renuka Singh Thakur, Asha Sobhana and also the local girl Shreyanka Patil bowled beautifully even in the shorter boundaries of the Chinnaswamy, which continues to be a burden for the men’s team for 17 years!
But by overcoming all these challenges, a superb fight back into the tournament and the trophy in the hands of Smriti Mandhana just cumulated a fairy-take season for the franchise but still, there will be a lot of work ahead for defending the WPL for the franchise as they need to look mainly on the batting side especially Sophie Devine, who did play a defining knock in the finals was not in form in the group stages and also trying to avoid any top-order collapses next year.
So here we come to an end to the review of one of the most prestigious cricket leagues for Women’s cricket, which has taken Women’s cricket to greater heights this year with many thrilling games and performances. And as an RCB fan, winning the trophy was like a dream. Also, you might wonder why the content on the RCBW’s team is a little lesser than the other 4 teams since even I have disclosed that I am an RCB fan. The answer to your question is that I will be writing a tribute blog for RCBW for their commendable achievement this year, which will be on the website a few hours after I post this blog. So stay tuned for that, and hope you all enjoyed an in-depth analysis of this year’s WPL.