Winless in their first three matches, the Warriors opened their account on Thursday by beating defending champions Mumbai Indians by seven wickets and are set to face each other for the second time in three days.
However, the Warriorz still have to figure out their batting order as opener Kiran Navgire fell to a low score for the fourth time in as many matches.
Head coach Abhishek Nayar and captain Meg Lanning could now explore promoting Phoebe Litchfield to open the innings or try someone like Shweta Sehrawat at the top of the order and ask Navgire to play in the middle order or as a finisher.
Harleen Deol, who will play a statement innings (64 off 39 balls), barely 24 hours after being dismissed, will have momentum on her side and will look to continue in the same spirit against a formidable team that will be looking to take revenge on their opponents.
On Harleen’s attitude and growth, Nayar said, “For Harleen, it’s always been about the team first and herself second, and that belief has remained strong in this group.
“I have always encouraged her to see herself as both a touch and power player because my mindset is to take Indian cricketers to the next level. She is now the second Indian batsman after Harmanpreet to score a fifty this season and that is exactly what we wanted to see.”
Runs from the blades of Harleen and Chloe Tryon, who closed out the match against MI in quick time with a flurry of big hits, must have pleased the legendary Lanning, who herself will be hoping for a better outing after a slow start on Thursday.
With world class players like Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone, Harleen and Litchfield in their ranks, there is no reason why UPW can’t go deeper in the tournament.
MI, meanwhile, will be looking to regroup after their two-match winning streak was halted by the Warriorz.
The MI bowlers were guilty of bowling wide and short in their last match, especially against Harleen, and were punished.
Returning to action after missing the match due to illness, Nat Sciver-Brunt shone with both bat and ball against UPW and captain Harmanpreet Kaur would want two senior professionals to lead their batting in the upcoming matches.
Nicola Carey has also impressed in the league so far with both bat and ball, while Hayley Matthews is known for her big hitting.
Then there’s also Amelia Kerr and Shabnim Ismail to bolster the MI bowling.
Teams:
Mumbai Indians: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews, Amanjot Kaur, G. Kamalini, Amelia Kerr, Shabnim Ismail, Sanskriti Gupta, Sajana Sajeevan, Rahila Firdous, Nicola Carey, Poonam Khemnar, Nally I. Vasist.
UP Warriorz: Meg Lanning (c), Harleen Deol, Deandra Dottin, Sophie Ecclestone, Kranti Gaud, Shipra Giri, Charli Knott, Phoebe Litchfield, Suman Meena, Kiran Navgire, Shikha Pandey, Pratika Rawal, Shweta Sehrawat, ran Shaongikh Sharma, Simran Gongikh Sharma, Simhan Chloe Tryon.