WPL 2023: Best Overseas XI from second week

Meg Lanning. (Photo Source: JioCinema)

The league stage of the 2023 Women’s Premier League (WPL) is about to end and the top teams Mumbai Indians (MI), Delhi Capitals (DC), and UP Warriorz have already punched their tickets for the knockout stage. However, these teams are now looking to enter the final directly by ending up on the top of the points table. On the other side, Gujarat Giants (GG) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are out of the competition and now, they will play their remaining games for pride to end their journey on a positive note.

In the second week of the ongoing tournament, some amazing action was delivered to league watchers by big names. Among some top performers, there were some overseas players who came out as trump cards, delivering solid numbers to their teams.

Here is the best overseas XI from the second week

1. Sophie Devine

In the WPL Player Auction, RCB picked up New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine at her base price of INR 50 lakh. Considering her fine batting numbers for her national team New Zealand, RCB had given her the responsibility to deliver aggressive starts to the team along with the skipper Smriti Mandhana.

The veteran struggled to be among the runs in the initial matches of the tournament. However, utilizing her experience and skills, she has made a comeback with her bat. Currently, she is the second leading run-scorer in the tournament, notching up 266 runs with two half-centuries in seven matches at an extraordinary strike rate of 175.00

Recently, she showcased her mettle with the bat, playing a knock of 99 runs (36 deliveries) in a do-or-die match against Gujarat. Riding on her spectacular batting effort, RCB pulled off the target of 189 runs in 15.3 overs, with eight wickets in hand.

2. Alyssa Healy

Alyssa Healy plays a dual role in the UP Warriorz squad, one as a batter and the other as a skipper. The right-handed batter is present among the list of top run-scorers in the tournament. Amassing 194 runs with two fifties in six games at a strike rate of 148.09, she is the highest run-getter for her team.

In the first week of the competition, she played a magnificent knock of 96 runs in her team’s humongous 10-wicket win. The superb innings against RCB gave confidence to her and she carried her form ahead against MI in the next match. In the pressure game against the Women in Blue, she won the toss and elected to bat first.

However, Healy’s decision went against her team as MI bowlers attacked their batting line-up and got the wickets of Devika Vaidya and Kiran Navgire in a quick time. With the presence of Healy and her Aussie teammate Tahlia McGrath on the crease, the team ended up scoring 159/6 but the total couldn’t give chills to MI. However, Healy displayed her prowess again and hit fabulous 58 runs off 46 deliveries.

3. Meg Lanning

Meg Lanning has performed spectacularly with her bat for the Capitals. The veteran’s role becomes crucial in the team as she reinforces the team with her opening batting and leadership skills as well. Under her captaincy, the Capitals have played quality cricket and are now one of the teams to qualify for the next stage along with MI and UP.

It is Lanning’s exceptional style of supervision that helped the Capitals to thrash the star-studded RCB in their opening match. In match nine of the competition, she again led her team to a massive 10-wicket triumph against Giants. Utilizing her bowlers marvelously against the opponents, she helped her team to stop the opponents on a paltry 105/9.

After a fantastic display of captaincy, she also stitched a 107-run opening partnership with Shafali Verma and took the team home. Currently, she is the top-scorer for her team and also the tournament with 271 runs at a strike rate of 138.27.

4. Ellyse Perry

With UP Warriorz’s victory in the 17th match against Gujarat, RCB’s chances have ended to qualify for the next round. However, in this phase of disappointment, the franchise will be satisfied with Ellyse Perry’s services. The swashbuckling Australia all-rounder has played some scintillating knocks for her team and won the hearts of RCB supporters.

At the top order, she played a significant role with her bat at the time when the skipper Smriti Mandhana couldn’t deliver anything solid to the team. In the 11th match of the league, the veteran hit the second half-century of the tournament against DC at the DY Patil Stadium. Against the quality team, RCB lost the contest by six wickets but Perry played 67-run innings off 52 deliveries and proved her batting potential.

In the next match against Gujarat, which was a do-or-die match for Challengers, Perry showcased her bowling skills and powered her team to a five-wicket win, grabbing 3/16 figures with the ball. The stylish Aussie is currently the fifth-leading run-getter in the tournament, piling up 224 runs with two half-centuries in seven matches at a fine strike rate of 134.13.

5. Grace Harris

Noting Grace Harris’s remarkable record in Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) and international cricket, UP Warriorz signed her for INR 75 lakh. The 29-year-old has so far been impressive for her side. Accumulating 216 runs in four innings of five matches at a jaw-dropping strike rate of 170.07, the UPW stalwart has made it to the list of batters with the most runs in the ongoing T20 event.

In recent matches, the dynamic middle-order batter played grabbed a lot of attention by playing some exquisite match-winning knocks for her team. The right-handed batter showed her power-hitting ability against  RCB in match 13. Contributing rapid 46 runs (32 deliveries) to her side against RCB in a losing cause, the Queensland-born cricketer proved her wit to the team.

In the knockout stage, Warriorz will want Harris to be effective with her bat and become a match-finisher. Counting on her reputation as a match-finisher, the franchise will also look forward to finishing the tournament for Warriorz in her style.

6. Tahlia McGrath

Tahlia McGrath has served UPW brilliantly with her bat, hitting 237 runs in seven matches at a healthy strike rate of 154.90. Relying on her hard-hitting abilities, she has won some important matches for her team. In the last two games of the competition, she played essential innings that helped Warriorz cross the line to reserve a spot in knockouts.

In match 15 of the competition against MI, she notched up confident 38 runs off just 25 deliveries that helped her team claim the victory with five wickets in hand. Earlier, in the match, Warriorz lost their three top-order batters on 27, but McGrath showed her spunky side and took the game close, banking on her aggressive game style.

As Warriorz are assured about their qualification to the next round, the team will expect her to have a blast with her bat and lift the silverware on March 26, 2023, at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai.

7. Jess Jonassen

In the DC squad, Jess Jonassen’s role is to strengthen the team with the ball. With her vast experience, she is holding the reins of the spin attack, and the 30-year-old has done justice with her role thus far. With seven wickets in seven games at an economy of 8.03, she is the most successful spinner in her team.

The left-arm spinner delivered an exceptional bowling display against the Giants in match nine. In the Capitals’ biggest win of the season against Gujarat, she chipped in with her economical spell of 4.0-0-19-0. The veteran has proved her importance in the team with the ball several times, but in match 11 against RCB, she donned the role of a match-finisher with her swift innings of 29 runs off 15 deliveries.

In the huge contest against MI, she bowled another frugal spell (4.0-0-25-2) that helped her team to conclude MI on their lowest score (109/8) of the tournament. The Aussie player’s role will be vital for DC to fare well in the knockout round.

8. Marizanne Kapp

Marizanne Kapp has emerged as one of the most impactful players in DC. The Protea is on the list of highest wicket-takers with nine wickets in seven matches at an economy of 5.71. Apart from bowling, she has also been handy with the bat, smashing 125 runs in five innings of seven matches at a strike rate of 132.97.

Playing in match nine, she wreaked havoc on batters and took a fifer to snatch a 10-wicket victory from Gujarat at DY Patil Stadium. In the next two matches against RCB and Gujarat, she couldn’t deliver big with her bowling but looked influential with the bat. Against Challengers, she stabilised her team’s innings while chasing 151 and took her team home with her unbeaten knock of 32 runs off 32 deliveries.

After the match-finishing innings against RCB, the 33-year-old backed herself to play poignant innings in the next contest against Gujarat while pursuing a total of 148. Scoring 36 runs off 29 deliveries with five boundaries, she was the highest run-scorer for her team. However, the veteran’s effort went in vain as she couldn’t take her team home.

9. Sophie Ecclestone

Ahead of the tournament, it was speculated that Sophie Ecclestone’s role will be important for UPW to be impactful. Her franchise Warriorz was expecting her to deliver solid bowling numbers and in the competition, she did the same, utilizing her sharp bowling skills on turning tracks of India.

The dynamic England spinner is placed at the top of the list of highest wicket-takers in the tournament, fetching 13 wickets in seven games at an economy of 6.21. In the second week of the tournament, her team played two games and lost both, however, her performance in these games was decent.

Against MI in the 10th match of the competition at Brabourne Stadium, the left-arm spinner racked up 4-0-30-1 bowling figures in a losing cause. Later, she also took 1/20 figures with the ball in her match against RCB. Despite her fine bowling display, Warriorz couldn’t pull off the match.

10. Issy Wong

MI have looked phenomenal so far in the tournament and in this success, their pace bowling unit has played its part perfectly. With pacers such as Saika Ishaque, Nat Sciver-Brunt, and Issy Wong, the team got successful in important games. In the second week of the league, MI played two games and won both.

Crushing Warriorz and Giants in week two, the franchise paved its road to knockouts. In both these games, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur became the Player of the Match award but one of the most crucial contributions to the victories came from Issy Wong, who delivered thrifty bowling spells to her team.

In MI’s eight-wicket triumph against Warriorz, Wong couldn’t take any wickets but tied the hands of batters with her disciplined bowling. With 0/29 bowling numbers in four overs, the speedster helped her team to stop the opponents on an average total of 159/6. The 20-year got better in her team’s next win as she picked up 1/19 figures in her three-over spell.

11. Kim Garth

The maiden season of the WPL didn’t go well for Gujarat Giants as their skipper Beth Mooney got ruled out of the tournament after picking up a calf injury in the opening match against MI. The captain’s absence influenced Giants negatively as they became the first side to get eliminated from the tournament.

In this disappointing campaign, Kim Garth took 11 wickets in seven matches at an economy of 7.72 and became the highest wicket-taker for her side. In her team’s embarrassing 55-run defeat against MI in the 12th contest, she was the most economical bowler for her team with 4-0-30-1 bowling numbers.

The 26-year-old powered her team clinching with 2/18 figures against DC in the must-win match at the Braburne Stadium. Defending the score of 147, Garth dismissed Jemimah Rodrigues, who could have become a threat to the Giants.

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