WPL 2024: 3 milestones that could be broken in today’s RCB vs DC match
The seventh match of the 2024 Women's Premier League (WPL) will witness the Delhi Capitals (DC) taking on the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday, February 29.
Following a bleak inaugural season in 2023, RCB have made a strong start to the season, and remains the only unbeaten team left in the early stages of the tournament. The Smriti Mandhana-led side compiled wins over the UP Warriorz (UPW) and the Gujarat Giants (GG), and are revelling in the support of their home crowd so far.
DC, on the other hand, missed out on two points courtesy of a last-ball defeat against the Mumbai Indians (MI), but returned to winning ways with a comprehensive display against the UP Warriorz. The Meg Lanning-led side will be keen to gather some momentum with potential successive victories in the early stages of the competition.
The upcoming contest, much like the rest, gives a great opportunity for the players to be in the record books, as well as help their team's cause with their contributions. On that note, let us take a look at three milestones that could be broken in today’s RCB vs DC WPL 2024 match.
#1 Asha Sobhana can overtake Amelia Kerr for the WPL Purple Cap
Even though it is early days in the tournament, there is a spirited battle between leg-spinners, Amelia Kerr and Asha Sobhana for the coveted WPL Purple Cap. Asha Sobhana claimed a head start with her memorable five-wicket haul in RCB's win over UPW, but ended up wicketless in the next encounter, missing out on the chance to reclaim the Purple Cap.
As of now, Amelia Kerr holds the Purple Cap with seven wickets in three matches, two more scalps than that of the RCB spinner. A solid display of bowling against DC can help the Indian spinner become the leading wicket-taker of the WPL after each side has played three encounters.
#2 S Meghana and Meg Lanning can overtake Harmanpeet Kaur for the WPL Orange Cap
The Orange Cap is up for grabs for the time being as the reigning leading run scorer of WPL 2024, Harmanpreet Kaur, missed MI's recent encounter against the UPW due to a niggle.
The MI skipper has scored 101 runs in two matches, and only holds a narrow lead over other batters in the league. While the likes of Grace Harris and Yastika Bhatia have already played three matches, the opportunity is still open for the likes of S Meghana and Meg Lanning, who take the field later today.
S Meghana has scored 89 runs in two matches, while Meg Lanning has 82 runs in two matches to her name. Both the top-order batters from opposite camps are within touching distance of the Orange Cap, and there is a high chance that by the contest ends, the WPL will have a new leading run-scorer.
#3 S Meghana, Richa Ghosh and Shafali Varma can top the boundaries chart
The relatively good batting surfaces and the small boundary dimensions have resulted in batters coming into the fray in the tournament so far.
After six matches, there is a five-way tie for the most fours scores, with all of Grace Harris, Harmanpreet Kaur, Yastika Bhatia, S Meghana, and Richa Ghosh scoring 12 fours each. However, with S Meghana and Richa Ghosh having a match in hand, they have a solid chance of leapfrogging the others and climbing to the top of the table.
As far as six-hitting is concerned, Kiran Navgire tops the chart with five sixes following her recent stint as opener in UPW's win over MI. However, DC opener Shafali Varma is not far behind, after having scored four sixes in two matches already.
Who will win the upcoming clash between DC and RCB in WPL 2024? Let us know what you think.