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After 20 round-robin matches and the Eliminator, we now know that the Delhi Capitals (DC) and the Mumbai Indians (MI) will fight for the WPL 2023 trophy at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, March 26.
The Capitals topped the points table and made the final by virtue of a superior net run-rate. MI had to take the route of the Eliminator but they dished out a good old-fashioned hammering to knock the UP Warriorz (UPW) out.
Only five were matches played in the week gone by, but there was no shortage of players putting their hands up and commanding the attention of fans and pundits alike. Here, we pick the best playing XI from Week 3 of WPL 2023.
Openers - Shafali Verma and Alice Capsey
The Delhi Capitals duo of Shafali Verma and Alice Capsey will open the innings in this playing XI. While Capsey hasn't opened the innings in WPL 2023, it is a role that she can take up seamlessly.
Shafali's 15-ball 33 against MI made light work of a simple chase, before she followed it up with a 16-ball 21 to set the tone in the chase against UPW. Capsey was the star against the Warriorz, bagging three wickets with her off-spin and steadying the ship with a 31-ball 34. This was after she clobbered five sixes en route to an unbeaten 17-ball 38 against MI.
Middle Order - Natalie Sciver-Brunt (c), Tahlia McGrath, Dayalan Hemalatha and Richa Ghosh
Natalie Sciver-Brunt showed just why she remains one of the world's foremost all-rounders today, with her masterful unbeaten 72 in the Eliminator and the wicket of Grace Harris setting the foundation for Mumbai to make the WPL 2023 final.
This, mind you, was also on the back of the two wickets she picked up against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) earlier in the week. Sciver-Brunt, who happens to be England's vice-captain, will lead this side.
Tahlia McGrath may not have come up trumps in the Eliminator, but her twin half-centuries against the Gujarat Giants (GG) and DC - under perilous circumstances - sees her walk into this playing XI.
One of the biggest takeaways for Indian cricket from WPL 2023 has been the effortless power-hitting display shown by Dayalan Hemalatha. It hit a crescendo against UPW, where she butchered a 33-ball 57 at No. 5 studded with six boundaries and three maximums.
There's every chance she could be looked at as a finisher to complement Richa Ghosh in the Indian team. Incidentally, Ghosh is also in this playing XI on the back of her 13-ball 29 when RCB took on MI earlier in the week.
Wicket-keeper and bowlers - Taniya Bhatia (wk), Issy Wong, Shikha Pandey, Radha Yadav and Parshavi Chopra
She has barely had a hit out in the middle in WPL 2023, but Taniya Bhatia has once again proven her mettle as a top-class wicket-keeper. Two outstanding catches against MI were followed by a record four stumpings against the Warriorz, and she waltzes into this XI as the wicket-keeper.
Issy Wong's selection is a no-brainer, not just because of her hat-trick in the Eliminator but also courtesy of returns of 2/26 against RCB and a useful 23 against the Capitals that saved her team the blushes.
Wong will be partnered by Shikha Pandey on the pace-bowling front. The right-arm swing bowler has been the best Indian pacer on display in WPL 2023 and she continued her good form with an economical spell against UPW following returns of 2/21 against Mumbai.
Radha Yadav and Parshavi Chopra round off the spin department. Left-arm spinner Radha sent down a tidy spell against MI before bagging two wickets against the Warriorz.
In a short span of time, Parshavi has enhanced a burgeoning reputation while also being backed by skipper Alyssa Healy in tough situations.
The leggie snared two death-overs wickets against the Giants, as well as the big wicket of Hayley Matthews in the Eliminator. She hasn't necessarily been economical, but for a teenage wrist-spinner, she has shown plenty of heart. The sky is the limit for her.
Best playing XI from Week 3 of WPL 2023: Shafali Verma, Alice Capsey, Natalie Sciver-Brunt (c), Tahlia McGrath, Dayalan Hemalatha, Richa Ghosh, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Issy Wong, Shikha Pandey, Radha Yadav, Parshavi Chopra.
Is there anyone else you would have had in the best playing XI of the week gone by in WPL 2023? Have your say in the comments section below!
