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After a thrilling start to the 2024 Women's Premier League (WPL), the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and the UP Warriorz (UPW) are all set to pile on the entertainment.
The two teams will lock horns at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday, February 24. They will have an eye on going further than they did last year, when the former missed out on the playoffs and the latter suffered an early exit in the knockout stages.
RCB have made some important acquisitions to bolster their squad, signing the likes of Kate Cross, S Meghana, Ekta Bisht, and Georgia Wareham at the WPL 2024 auction. Despite Heather Knight pulling out due to international commitments and Kanika Ahuja suffering a stress injury, they are well-placed to finish in the top three and qualify for the playoffs.
UPW, meanwhile, have serious holes on their roster, but the abundance of talent in their ranks means that they can't be counted out. Uncapped batter Vrinda Dinesh was one of their marquee signings at the auction, and they have also roped in Chamari Athapaththu for Lauren Bell.
Can RCB make a winning start to the campaign in front of their home crowd? Or will UPW spoil their party?
WPL 2024, Match 2: RCB look to maximize home advantage
In Smriti Mandhana and Sophie Devine, RCB have a deadly opening combination on paper. However, the left-hander had a dreadful campaign in the WPL last year as she struggled against off-spin and made questionable decisions throughout.
Mandhana can't afford to be as poor as she was in 2023, both with the bat and with her captaincy. Devine is an excellent hitter of the ball and desperately needs some support at the top of the order.
Bangalore's middle order has taken a slight hit due to the absence of Knight and Kanika, but they still have enough firepower in the form of Ellyse Perry and Richa Ghosh. If the inexperienced domestic players come to the party, they will be hard to stop.
UPW, meanwhile, struggled with getting their Indian players to perform with the bat. KP Navgire couldn't acclimatize to a role higher up the order, and using her as a finisher would be a much wiser move. Shweta Sehrawat couldn't play a statement knock in WPL 2023 but has been in excellent form of late and will be keen on converting that into tangible returns.
Vrinda's addition should help the Warriorz, who are heavily reliant on Alyssa Healy, Tahlia McGrath, and Grace Harris to add power and consistency to the batting lineup. McGrath might also need to take on a sizeable bowling workload since pacers are scarce in the squad.
Overall, while both teams are fairly evenly matched, playing in front of their home crowd could boost RCB, who generally thrive off their fan following. UPW might even be the better team on paper after the changes to the rosters, but Bangalore can be backed to start their campaign with a win.
Prediction: RCB to win Match 2 of WPL 2024.
