UP Warriorz eye upward climb and a double over MI

UP Warriorz

Go out there, enjoy yourselves, back your skills.

Meg Lanning had very few, and rather cliched, words for her team taking the field after three defeats on the bounce. A change of scenery after helming her team to three runners-up medals landed the Aussie in another franchise in WPL 2026, which endured a false start.

Until, of course, they faced Mumbai Indians two nights ago where the narrative flipped, at least a little. They managed to add one W to their three Ls. This league, its five-team structure and rapid turnaround time offers them a chance to double that when they go up against Harmanpreet Kaur's side once more in the day game of the double header.

The talk inside the Mumbai Indians dressing room will not be intense either. They sit second with two wins but also have as many defeats. They will believe an afternoon fixture might suit their batting might and offer an opportunity to quickly bounceback from the latest misstep.

It is afterall, a franchise that knows a thing or two about going the distance, having pocketed two of the three titles already. Their lost column however, has two already - that's as many they lost in all of 2023 and one fewer than last season. It's still very early days, so the messaging here too is expected to be along the lines of go out there, enjoy yourselves, back your skills.

When:Mumbai Indians vs UP Warriorz, January 17, 3:30 PM IST

Where:Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai

What to expect:Big scores? The one other afternoon fixture in Navi Mumbai thus far, saw Gujarat Giants smash 207 against UP Warriorz and still win only by a margin of 10 runs.

Mumbai Indians

Even in defeat, Nat Sciver-Brunt returned and put in a star turn with two wickets and a 65 in chase. She should keep her spot ahead of Hayley Mathews.

Probable XI: Gunalan Kamalini(w), Amelia Kerr, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Amanjot Kaur, Nicola Carey, Sajeevan Sajana, Sanskriti Gupta, Poonam Khemnar, Shabnim Ismail, Triveni Vasistha

UP Warriorz

Meg Lanning's team should look the same as it did two nights ago when the first two points were picked.

Probable XI:Kiran Navgire, Meg Lanning(c), Phoebe Litchfield, Harleen Deol, Shweta Sehrawat(w), Chloe Tryon, Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone, Asha Sobhana Joy, Shikha Pandey, Kranti Gaud