MI Bowl First vs UPW in WPL Clash as Kranthi Makes Debut

While the Warriorz kept their starting lineup unchanged from the previous game, the Mumbai Indians made two changes, with Hayley Matthews returning and Nalla Kranthi Reddy making her debut.

UP Warriorz faced an unlucky start with three straight losses but made a strong comeback by securing a seven-wicket victory over defending champions MI on Thursday. The win was powered by Harleen Deol's energetic 64 off 39 balls, showcasing both strength and steadiness. Despite this uplifting win, Warriorz remain at the bottom of the points standings.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai Indians, who had been aiming to regain momentum with consecutive wins after a close opening-game loss, dropped to second place in the points table following their defeat against the Warriorz in their most recent match.

After winning the toss, MI skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said, "We're going to bowl first today. As a team, we decided to chase because chasing has always been our strength, and we just want to go back to our strengths. Looking at the conditions today, we've brought Matthews back into the side, and Ismail is resting. It is mainly because of the conditions and because we're playing a day match. We feel Matthews is going to play a very big role on this pitch, so we've made one change."

"Apart from that, we have another change. Poonam is not playing today, and Kanchan is going to make her debut. Conditions are going to play a very big role in this tournament, and at the same time, we want to give equal chances to all the players. We're heading into the main part of the tournament, and hopefully everyone will get used to these conditions and give their best," she added.

Warriorz captain Meg Lanning, meanwhile, stated, "We would have bowled first as well. That seems to be the trend. But in the day games at the start of the tournament, Gujarat batted well first up, so there's certainly an opportunity there with the bat. Looking forward to it. I think you've got to be able to do it well. We're really looking forward to coming up against Mumbai again. I know they'll be looking to bounce back, but we're ready for that. We feel we can improve a few things as well, so excited to go out there and do it. We're going with the same team as the last game."

Playing XIs

UP Warriorz Women: Kiran Navgire, Meg Lanning (c), Phoebe Litchfield, Harleen Deol, Shweta Sehrawat (w), Chloe Tryon, Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone, Asha Sobhana Joy, Shikha Pandey, Kranti Gaud.

Mumbai Indians Women: Hayley Matthews, Gunalan Kamalini (w), Amelia Kerr, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Amanjot Kaur, Nicola Carey, Sajeevan Sajana, Sanskriti Gupta, Nalla Kranthi Reddy, Triveni Vasistha.

- IANS