WPL 2025 Final Preview: Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians set to renew rivalry in summit clash

Harmanpreet Kaur and Meg Lanning have been a part of some legendary duels on the international stage. India and Australia have always kept each other on their toes, as have these two captains. Known for their aggression and their batting prowess, both have affected silent revolutions – one more successfully than the other – in their respective nations.

Come Saturday, a fresh chapter gets added to this rivalry as Harmanpreet’s Mumbai Indians and Lanning-led Delhi Capitals clash in their second Women’s Premier League final in three seasons.

It’s easy to make this fixture about Harmanpreet’s raw Punjabi chutzpah and the Aussie legend’s shrewd tactical play. However, much like the inaugural season’s title clash at this very venue two years ago, there’s more to this game than just its two illustrious leaders.

New game, fresh slate

Mumbai Indians, which is due to play its fourth match in six days, will balance the challenge of fatigue on one side and the advantage of ample game time on the Brabourne surface.

The first two games played on this surface did not have much dew and the ball came on nicely for the batters in both innings. The Eliminator’s strip was a tad slower early on before the wicket flattened out for the batters. The outfield was soaking wet in this game as well.

This has been the season of successful chases with the team batting second winning 15 of the first 17 matches. That said, the last four games have been won by the team setting the target. Lanning – for long a flag bearer of batting first and applying pressure with a target – will take comfort in this trend.

READ MORE | The numbers behind Jess Jonassen’s all-round utility in Delhi Capitals’ impressive season

That said, batting first in a WPL final has not worked for Delhi Capitals thus far. Its batting failed to be at its explosive best on both occasions and despite a desperate and commendable bowling performance, its sub-par totals ensured defeat.

Much like the previous editions, there is a gap between DC’s last league game and the summit clash. In hindsight, one can argue that this break might have snuffed momentum away from the side. WPL 2025 has seen the largest such break, with the Capitals last playing a game in Lucknow eight days ago.

For the Capitals, this season has been the hardest, with five wins in eight games, one fewer than its haul in the previous seasons. Despite that, the nature of their victories and opponents losing steam sent the side straight to the top of the table and into its third-straight final.

“Out of all the three seasons, I’m most proud of this year for this team because it wasn’t easy. But we found a way to pick ourselves up and still come out on top and be consistent while still being the DC team everyone knows about,” vice-captain Jemimah Rodrigues said ahead of the big game.

In the league stage, DC did the double over MI, with a thrilling two-wicket win off the final ball in their first meeting in Vadodara and a far more authoritative nine-wicket victory in Bengaluru. However, both sides will do well to remember that knockouts are a completely different ball game.

Best XI

Both teams have tweaked their lineups over the course of the season to find their perfect XIs. For MI, Yastika Bhatia was sent down the order when she didn’t deliver in the opening slot. However, her comfort on the red soil surfaces of Mumbai prompted Harmanpreet and the management to push her back to open, a show of confidence, Harman says, Yastika might get in the final too.

MI’s biggest strength lies in the foreign contingent clicking in unison. Hayley Matthews’ all-round contributions, Nat Sciver-Brunt’s invincibility with the bat, and Shabnim Ismail’s feisty raw pace have all made MI a machine that shows no signs of stopping. But the x-factor for the side this season has been the likes of Amanjot Kaur, Sanskriti Gupta and skipper Harmanpreet herself getting comfortable in their roles within the side and thriving.

This development, not just in her team but across the league, makes Harman the India captain quite happy.

“Over the last two years, I think franchises have taken the opportunity to pick girls who can really use this opportunity. This is elite cricket,” Harmanpreet said.

“You need people who can take that mentally and play good cricket. All the teams have worked hard to pick good cricketers, that’s why every game – barring one or two – have gone right down to the wire. The next six months are very important for us and hopefully we’ll try to pick all that talent who did well in this tournament and they get good international exposure too,” she added.

Core comfort

For Delhi, the first correct move was the acquisition of Sarah Bryce for the keeper’s slot. Not only is she a reliable pair of hands behind the stumps, but she can also give you big shots when working with just a ball or two in the dying seconds of a game.

DC’s veterans have been the spinal cord of its success season after season. Shikha Pandey’s consistency, Lanning and Shafali Verma’s solidity with the bat (although not as frequently as in seasons past) and Jess Jonassen’s batting exploits in the number 3 slot have all helped the side maintain its reputation of being one of the best sides in the league since the inaugural chapter.

READ MORE | Middle-order stability at forefront of success – stats analysis of all five teams ahead of playoffs

A number of juicy match-ups await in this duel. Lanning vs Shabnim Ismail, the Shikha-Marizanne Kapp pair against MI’s top order and Matthews-Amelia Kerr’s spin vs DC post the PowerPlay will be battles to watch out for.

Mumbai’s batting lineup has been far more consistent with Harmanpreet and Amanjot being key cogs around which performances have revolved. While Delhi has the likes of Jemimah (who has had a dull season by her own standards), Annabel Sutherland and Kapp, it’s often been Jonassen doing the heavy lifting alone. Therefore, this clash could just come down to a battle of the middle orders.

Will MI finish as the league’s first two-time champion or will a new winner be crowned on Saturday? Time will tell.