Because of the exciting play that fans have seen in the 16 matches so far, the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 has raised the bar for women’s cricket in India.
The Mumbai Indians, the reigning champions, are leading the second season as well. They have five victories from seven games, and they are tied for second place with the Delhi Capitals, the previous champions, who have four wins from six games and eight points.
With three victories from six games, Royal Challengers Bangalore is playing better this time around. UP Warriorz, who are also in the elimination stage with three victories from seven games, is in fifth place. The Gujarat Giants, with one victory in six games, are now occupying the bottom rank after failing to make an impression once more.
With four league games left, there’s still hope for every team to advance to the next round of competition. Mumbai has already guaranteed their berth in the top four after defeating Gujarat Giants by seven wickets, and they stand an excellent chance of winning their final match. Notably, the first-place team advances directly to the final, while the second- and third-place teams compete in the eliminator game to determine the second finalist. Let’s examine each of the last four teams’ qualification scenarios one by one:
Delhi Capitals: To advance to the knockout stages, Meg Lanning’s team needs one victory. With two games left against Royal Challengers Bangalore Gujarat, they will be motivated to win them both if they want to have a shot at winning the table and securing a direct trip to the championship game.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Smriti Mandhana is the team’s captain, and it has won three of its last six games. Delhi and Mumbai are formidable teams that they will face in their final two games. Therefore, in order to stay in the race, RCB will need to play their “A game” and win at least one of their final two games. They also need to pray that UP doesn’t beat their net run rate following their previous victory. In addition, should RCB win both of their remaining games, they will have an opportunity to win the league and receive direct qualification to the finals, given that their NRR is higher than that of Delhi and Mumbai.
UP Warrrioz: After losing to the eventual winner, the Mumbai Indians, in their season-opening match, UP, who had placed third overall, were eliminated. The Alyssa Healy-captained team is currently in fourth place, which is second to last, with three victories from seven games. They have one more game left against Gujarat, which they must win handily if they want to raise their net run rate. To advance to the next round, UP will further need to rely on RCB’s performance.
In the event that RCB loses both of their remaining games, UP will automatically qualify. But UP will have an enormous task ahead of them to improve their net run rate, which stands at -0.365, should Bangalore win one of their final two games.
Gujarat Giants—Beth Mooney’s team’s captain—is having a terrible time in the second edition, sitting in last place with just one victory in six games. To maintain their prospects of making the playoffs, GG needs to win both of their remaining games against UP and the Delhi Capitals. They will also need to rely on RCB’s performance and anticipate losing both of their remaining games. Gujarat’s net run rate (-1.111) is currently the lowest of the five teams; therefore, they will also have the enormous burden of raising it.
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