Women’s Premier League: Halfway through tournament, bowlers enjoy an upper hand

The second leg of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) started in Delhi on Tuesday with a high-octane match between 2023 finalists Delhi Capitals (DC) and defending champion Mumbai Indians (MI) and so far, fans have witnessed plenty of thrilling battles between the bat and ball.
After the first leg of the Delhi leg, DC (8 points, with four wins and a loss), Royal Challengers Bangalore (6 points, with three wins and two losses) and MI (6 points, with three wins and two losses) are the top-three teams fighting for the playoffs spots. UP Warriorz, at four points with two wins and three losses have some hope while Gujarat Giants (no points after four losses in four games) are almost down and out.
Halfway through the season, in the first 11 matches, things have been in favour of bowlers. This year, in first 11 matches, 1,980 runs have come through boundaries (including sixes), with a rate of 5.50 balls per boundary. The boundary percentage has been 63.62 per cent so far.
On the other hand in the last season, during the first 11 matches, halfway through the tournament, 2,210 runs were scored via boundaries with 4.67 balls per boundary. Also, the boundary percentage was higher at 67.69 per cent.
So far, it is safe to say that conditions have been slightly more batting-friendly than last time.
RCB will be in action for their sixth match on Wednesday evening against Gujarat Giants at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, starting off the leg in the national capital. They ended the Bengaluru leg on a solid note with a win over UP Warriorz on Monday, securing the second spot in the points table with three wins and two losses, which has given them a total of six points.
A packed Chinnaswamy Stadium gave RCB a rousing send-off in their last home game of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 on Monday night, which marked the end of the Bengaluru run.
UP Warriorz will be aiming to win this game in order to stay in contention for playoffs. (ANI)