Mumbai Indians Women (Playing XI): Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia(w), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, Sajeevan Sajana, G Kamalini, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail, Jintimani Kalita

Delhi Capitals Women (Playing XI): Meg Lanning(c), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Annabel Sutherland, Marizanne Kapp, Jess Jonassen, Sarah Bryce(w), Niki Prasad, Shikha Pandey, Minnu Mani, Titas Sadhu

Harmanpreet Kaur: It is a good wicket to bat on. We are okay to bat first. We have to enjoy our cricket. Few of our batters are in good form and we want them to keep going.

Delhi Capitals Women have won the toss and have opted to field

Meg Lanning: We are going to have a bowl tonight. That seems to be work at this venue. It is about tonight and playing well. We know we have to play our best to win the competition. We have great depth and don't rely on 1-2 players, different players have stepped up and I feel we have done that.

Delhi Capitals Women have won the toss and have opted to field

Pitch and Conditions: "We are expecting a blockbuster between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians. We are at pitch number 7 and this was that pitch which had that Super Over game. We are slap-bang in the middle. 58 meters either side and 68 meters down the ground. Yes, 360+ runs were scored in that game but this wicket is different to that. They have shaved the grass and it is dry meaning there might be some help for the spinners in the first innings. There has always been help for the fast bowlers. The wicket generally will be on the slower side. You might not see a 200 or 180, but 150 is a decent target if you are batting first. The batters have to pick their areas and apply themselves," read Charles Dagnall and Mithali Raj.

18:30 Local Time, 13:00 GMT: Two of the most consistent teams of the league are locking horns. Mumbai Indians were the champions in the inaugural season while Delhi Capitals have been runners up in both seasons and when these two sides meet there's no shortage of entertainment as witnessed in their first encounter against each other this season, the Capitals scrapping through off the last ball and registering a nail-biting 2-wicket win. What makes these two teams so consistent? It is the plethora of all rounders they possess. Mumbai Indians have Matthews, Sciver-Brunt, Kaur and Kerr, while the Capitals have Kapp, Sutherland and Jonassen. The momentum though is with Harmanpreet's team as they have won three in a row after losing their opening encounter to the Capitals and a win today will all but seal their top three spot. The Capitals have been inconsistent with three wins in five games but they come into this fixture on the back of a comfortable victory against the Giants and their focus would be to stretch that winning run. Two solid teams, plenty of stars and a venue known for its high scores, we should have a cracker. Toss and teams coming up.. Stay tuned

Preview

Mumbai Indians are at home. The M Chinnaswamy Stadium might be red and buzzing for RCB, but the inaugural champions are the ones who've arrived in style in Bengaluru. Just a night before MI take the field for the third time at the venue this season, Smriti Mandhana's team limped to their third straight loss at the venue. Harmanpreet Kaur's side meanwhile have two wins in two there, and harbour hopes of keeping that run going to stay put at the top of the points table.

Before MI took flight, with three successful run-chases that was facilitated by the combination of luck at the toss and all-round effort with the ball, they were handed a losing start to the season by their opponents for Friday (February 28). Delhi Capitals downed them despite the best efforts of Nat-Sciver Brunt (81 off 43). Meg Lanning's team will hope to take a shot at MI once more, with the idea of toppling them off the perch. DC too could've had MI's run at the venue, only to be undone by UP Warriorz's #8 batter Chenille Henry's incredible six hitting (62 off 23, 2x4s, 8x6s).

Friday's top-of-the-table clash promises a tight, entertaining contest and for the stands to fill up well, even if the usually overwhelming sea of red has to turn to two (barely) different shades of blue.

When: Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians, February 28, 2024, 7:30 PM IST

Where: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

What to expect: An influential toss. Five of the six games this season have been won by chasing sides this season. Conditions have been kinder to the batters, even as RCB were restricted to 125/7 in their third defeat at the venue.

Team News:

Delhi Capitals

DC are unlikely to tinker with the XI that secured a comfortable six-wicket win over Gujarat Giants two nights ago.

Probable XI: Shafali Verma, Meg Lanning (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp, Annabel Sutherland, Jess Jonassen, Sarah Bryce (wk), Niki Prasad, Shikha Pandey, Minnu Mani, Titas Sadhu

Mumbai Indians

Seam-bowling all-rounder Jintimani Kalita only got one over to bowl in MI's last win after replacing Parunika Sisodia in the side. She should keep her spot, alongside the other 10 who secured the win over UP Warriorz just one day ago.

Probable XI: Yastika Bhatia (wk), Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, Sajeevan Sajana, G Kamalini, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail, Jintimani Kalita

Squads:

Mumbai Indians Women Squad: Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia(w), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, Sajeevan Sajana, G Kamalini, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail, Jintimani Kalita, Parunika Sisodia, Amandeep Kaur, Akshita Maheshwari, Saika Ishaque, Keerthana Balakrishnan, Nadine de Klerk, Chloe Tryon

Delhi Capitals Women Squad: Meg Lanning(c), Shafali Verma, Jess Jonassen, Jemimah Rodrigues, Annabel Sutherland, Marizanne Kapp, Sarah Bryce(w), Niki Prasad, Shikha Pandey, Minnu Mani, Titas Sadhu, Sneha Deepthi, Nandini Kashyap, Nallapureddy Charani, Alice Capsey, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia