Mumbai Indians skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Delhi Capitals captain Meg Lanning spoke ahead of Saturday's WPL 2025 final.
Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Harmanpreet Kaur believes that a long batting lineup will help her team perform well against Delhi Capitals (DC) when the two teams lock horns in the final of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 in Mumbai on Saturday. Mumbai Indians finished the six-team league stage in second place with 10 points. They then defeated Gujarat Giants (GG) in the Eliminator to qualify for a second WPL final in three years. MI had beaten DC to clinch the inaugural Women’s Premier League title in 2023.
“It’s only about backing yourself. The team has a very long batting line-up,” Harmanpreet said at the pre-match press conference on Friday.
“We have tried to add a few young Indian batters who can bat in the death overs. So, that gave us confidence that I don’t need to wait for a bit of time and rotate strike and play the big shots only when the time is right. There’s support mentally now, especially given the way Amanjot (Kaur) is batting. That has given me the leverage to go and play free cricket,” she added.
Harmapreet has scored 236 runs from nine matches at a strike-rate of 156.29. This includes two half-centuries. She also scored 36 runs off just 12 balls during the Eliminator against Gujarat Giants.
For Delhi Capitals, this is their third WPL final in as many years. The Capitals had lost to Mumbai Indians in 2023 and then to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the final of the 2024 edition. Delhi Capitals skipper Meg Lanning, however, believes that past results are irrelevant.
“The final has obviously a lot more on the line than a league game,” she said.
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“But it’s also an exciting opportunity. Throughout the season, we have had different players step up at different times. That gives us a lot of confidence. It’s really irrelevant what has happened in the past, even what has happened in the league games this year. It’s about performing Saturday night,” the Australian added.
Shafali Verma, who has been recently dropped from the Indian team, has impressed for DC by scoring 300 runs from eight matches. Lanning was pleased with the Indian youngster. “She seems to be really enjoying her cricket. There’s a big smile on her face a lot of the time, which is always a good sign I think,” the 32-year-old said.
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