DC vs UPW, WPL 2023: 3 player battles to watch out for

Two teams with a winning start behind them, the Delhi Capitals (DC) and the UP Warriorz (UPW), will face each other in the fifth match of the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) at the DY Patil Stadium on Tuesday, March 7.

The Meg Lanning-led DC outfit began their WPL campaign with a dominant win over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to get their first points on the board.

Delhi stepped up with an all-round performance to win the contest by 60 runs at the Brabourne Stadium, which was also the WPL's first-ever afternoon encounter.

The UP Warriorz, on the other hand, had to etch out a miracle win over the Gujarat Giants (GG) to announce their arrival in the WPL. The Alyssa Healy-led outfit required a splendid knock from Grace Harris to shock GG and snatch a win from the jaws of defeat.

The upcoming clash between DC and UPW is expected to be a mouth-watering encounter, with the eyes particularly being on the matchup between the DC opening batters against the UPW spinners.

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#1 Shafali Varma vs Sophie Ecclestone

The young opener was on song during DC's opening contest and bashed RCB bowlers across all corners of the ground en route to her magnificent 84-run knock. Shafali Verma is known for her aggression and her form is bound to be contested by the No.1-ranked T20I bowler, Sophie Ecclestone.

The England international justified her price tag and her ability with a good spell in UPW's win in their opening game. She finished with 2-25 and was the pick of the bowlers.

Well-adept at bowling with the new ball, the left-arm spinner is bound to be Alyssa Healy's primary weapon against Shafali, who has the potential to take the game away once settled in the powerplay.

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#2 Meg Lanning vs Deepti Sharma

The DC skipper played the perfect fiddle for Shafali Verma in the opening game, scoring 72 runs in a 164-run opening wicket partnership. One of the major shortcomings that RCB bowlers faced against Lanning was the fact that they could not contain her in the powerplay.

Deepti Sharma, with her skills with the new ball, will be crucial against the Australian skipper. The duo were on the opposite ends during the Women's T20 World Cup semi-final, but in the death overs, where Lanning scored an unbeaten 49.

Healy would hope that the off-spinner would claim the wicket of her national team's skipper to get UPW off to a good start and test the DC middle order, something which RCB bowlers were unable to do in their first WPL encounter.

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#3 Alyssa Healy vs Marizanne Kapp

The Australian wicketkeeper-batter did not have the brightest of starts to the tournament. She was dismissed for just seven runs on her WPL debut, to a meek caught and bowled manner by fellow countrywoman Kim Garth.

Another challenge could potentially await her in the form of all-rounder Marizanne Kapp, who also did not have a good day at the office with the ball against RCB. The Proteas all-rounder ended up conceding 36 runs with no wickets to show for, following her inspiring cameo in the first innings.

The right-arm pacer was able to get the better of Healy during the 2023 Women's T20 World Cup final and will be hoping to repeat the feat once again. The opening batter will be on the lookout to get her team off to a terrific start, something that she has done for her national side countless times, while Kapp will be the perfect counter at the other end with the new ball.

Who will win the clash between DC and UPW? Let us know what you think.

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