Meg Lanning’s Delhi Capitals may have been the first team to compete in the WPL finals, but the summit encounter against the Mumbai Indians will be a “huge challenge”, one in which she wants to see dashing batsman Shafali Verma with a clear mind let in. “Both Mumbai and Delhi have been consistent throughout the tournament. We’ve had two good matches. I’m looking forward to going up against a really good team, they played some really good cricket last night,” Lanning told the pre- match to the media. press conference at Brabourne Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
“We know how dangerous they can be, they have some great players. It’s a huge challenge for Delhi, but we’re also confident. We’re going our way and that prepares us very well.
“(It’s) a high pressure game tomorrow night and we just need to play our best cricket,” she added.
“We’ve been playing with a smile on our faces and that’s what I’ll be encouraging our girls to do tomorrow night, enjoy the experience, embrace it because who knows we’ll be back here again so we need to make the most of the chance.” Lanning said.
Lanning hoped that Shafali, who has hit 50 twice in the first group stage of the Women’s Premier League, will run at full speed on Sunday evening.
“It was a lot of fun hitting with her. She has a unique style that works for her. She picks up the game and changes it in our favor. She had a great tournament and is looking good heading into the final tomorrow.
“Hopefully she comes in with a clear mind and ready to take on the game and I can watch from the other side,” Lanning said, adding that the aggressive Indian batsman takes the pressure off her shoulders at the top of the order has passed.
Harmanpreet Kaur, captain of the Mumbai Indians, acknowledged that Delhi has a strong opening combination in Lanning and Shafali, but added that her side has plans against them.
“They have the best combination of the whole tournament and they did well against us in the last game,” said Kaur.
Kaur added: “We know what they can do and how dangerous they can be. We have our plans and hopefully we can carry them out.” The India skipper admitted that the mood in the camp of the Mumbai Indians, a side who won five games on the trot to start their WPL campaign, was good given that there are many leaders within the group.
“We have a lot of leaders in the camp, people who have captained their team and also been vice-captains. Some Indian players like Amanjot (Kaur) did well in South Africa. This makes for a great team environment,” said Kaur.
Lanning said the fielding will be an important aspect in the finals, highlighting that teams that have consistently done well in WPL have acted well.
“Both teams have pretty good bowling and batting lineups. You’re going to have to do really well to win, we didn’t think so,” said Lanning when asked if WPL’s final could be a shootout between Delhi’s batting and Mumbai’s bowling . bravery.
“We want to come in and play our best game with both the bat and the ball, and also the fielding, which has played a big part in this tournament. I think teams that have done so well have been successful,” said Lanning .
Topics mentioned in this article