WPL 2023: Predicting the 3 players who will take the most wickets in the MI vs UPW match
After a day's break in WPL 2023, the action will resume with a double-header on Saturday, with the first of them pitting the Mumbai Indians (MI) up against the UP Warriorz (UPW) at the Dr. DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
While MI are sitting comfortably atop the points table and remain the only unbeaten team thus far, UPW enter this contest on the back of consecutive defeats. The first of those was in fact against Mumbai, with Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. swatting them aside by eight wickets.
With the race for the playoffs heating up, this is a contest that the Warriorz will not want to lose. Their spin-heavy bowling unit is set to have a huge say in how things unfold against a power-packed MI outfit that has all bases covered.
With this in mind, we try to predict the three bowlers who could pick up the most wickets in Saturday afternoon's WPL 2023 clash.
#1 Saika Ishaque
The Purple Cap holder in WPL 2023, Saika Ishaque has led the way for MI with 12 wickets so far. In fact, in the first leg against UPW, it was her double strike that derailed the innings, with Alyssa Healy and Tahlia McGrath both departing within a short span of time.
Ishaque went wicketless last time around against the Gujarat Giants but returned a tidy spell. She will look to get back amongst the wickets and should hold her own against a predominantly right-handed batting lineup on Saturday.
Expect Ishaque to lead the way yet again and distance herself from the pack in the race for the Purple Cap.
#2 Sophie Ecclestone
The world's top-ranked ODI and T20I bowler in the women's game, Sophie Ecclestone is never far off the wickets. Quite unassumingly, she has bagged nine wickets so far and sits only behind Ishaque and Hayley Matthews in the wicket-takers' charts for WPL 2023.
Given her favorable head-to-head against Harmanpreet Kaur, the left-arm spinner will be tasked with keeping the MI skipper quiet on Saturday. She is also set to bowl at least an over or two at the death, further enhancing her chances of forcing an error out of the batters.
If UPW are to return to winning ways, they will need Ecclestone to do her bit. She can be expected to stand tall like she often does and stay amongst the wickets in Match 15.
#3 Amelia Kerr
Not many teams are blessed with a wrist-spinner of the quality of Amelia Kerr, like MI are. Her control and loop, apart from a well-disguised googly, make her a tricky proposition to tackle, particularly for a UPW batting unit that has blown hot and cold.
An afternoon start is bound to put the spinners into play with the pacers not expected to get much movement in the air or off the surface. Kerr could certainly add to her eight wickets so far in WPL 2023. In a game where spin could have the majority of the say in how things unfold, she could prove to be a key protagonist.
Which bowler do you think will bag the most wickets when MI take on UPW in their WPL 2023 clash on Saturday? Let us know in the comments section below!