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The clock is ticking and the first game of the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) is finally around the corner. Mumbai Indians will face the Gujarat Giants at the Dr. DY Patil Stadium on Saturday (March 4) in the opening game of the season.
With only five teams in the tournament, the games will come in thick and fast with 22 matches to be played between March 4 and March 26. Along with the DY Patil Stadium, the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai will host the games, with the latter hosting the finals.
The team that finishes first on the points table will secure their place in the finals with teams in the second and third spot playing in an eliminator. Hence, the battle for the top three will be intriguing, to say the least.
On that note, we predict the top three teams of the WPL 2023 season:
#1 Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals were one of the best teams constructed at the WPL auction last month. With Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues as their first two acquisitions, they added Meg Lanning into the mix to lead the side along with the experience of Marizanne Kapp in the middle order.
Laura Harris and Alice Capsey add some firepower to the middle order. Their well-rounded bowling unit has the likes of Jess Jonassen, Shikha Pandey, Radha Yadav and Poonam Yadav.
The team looks like settled in all three departments and could be one of the favorites to win the inaugural edition of the WPL.
#2 UP Warriorz
The UP Warriorz are not too far behind the Delhi Capitals in terms of their squad strength at the WPL auction. With Alyssa Healy set to lead the side with Deepti Sharma as her deputy, the team has most bases covered with a smart mix of Indian and overseas players.
They haven't been afraid to pick young players in their squad with Shweta Sehrawat, Parshavi Chopra, Anjali Sarvani in their squad. Kiran Prabhu Navgire, Grace Harris and Tahlia McGrath possess terrific ball-striking abilities.
Lauren Bell and Shabnim Ismail are two genuine pace options likely to feature in the first-choice XI. They have the presence of No. 1 T20I bowler, Sophie Ecclestone, who will make sure the team goes deep into the tournament.
Dependable Indian spin options like Devika Vaidya and Rajeshwari Gayakwad will come in handy as well.
This is a complete squad in all respects that might have to put some work in finding their best XI. If they manage to find that, they might be a force to reckon with in the WPL.
#3 Mumbai Indians
With the Mumbai Indians franchise adding a women's team to its group of franchises, there might be some pressure on them to deliver the goods. Harmanpreet Kaur will lead a side that is constructed as one of the XIs that bats significantly deep, which could give them the edge over other sides.
Hayley Matthews, Amelia Kerr, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Chloe Tryon are all excellent overseas all-round options, with Issy Wong also there to provide some extra pace. Their Indian core unit looks well set too, with Yastika Bhatia, Amanjot Kaur and Pooja Vastrakar all set to be starters.
In a competition that will be tightly fought between the five sides, the Mumbai Indians' experienced unit might help them prevail over others in crunch situations.
