DC vs MI Match Prediction: Who will win today's WPL 2023 Final match?

The Mumbai Indians (MI) made it more difficult than they needed to, but they're here in the final of the 2023 Women's Premier League (WPL). Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. meet the league's table-toppers, the Delhi Capitals (DC), in the summit clash at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday, March 26.

With five wins out of five, MI were on course to finish atop the standings and gain direct entry into the final. But a couple of hiccups meant that DC leapfrogged them to the top, but Mumbai brushed aside the setback by thumping the UP Warriorz (UPW) by 72 runs in the Eliminator on Friday.

The teams met twice in the round-robin stage, and the encounters produced results that were similar in their one-sidedness and dissimilar in their outcomes.

In Match 7 of WPL 2023, MI thrashed DC by eight wickets with five overs to spare while chasing 106 at the DY Patil Stadium. Saika Ishaque was the Player of the Match for her three-wicket haul, while Hayley Matthews made an impressive all-round contribution.

DC took their revenge in Match 18 at the same venue. Mumbai were restricted to a sub-par score (109/8) this time around, and the Capitals chased it down with nine wickets and as many as 11 overs to spare. The win was also decisive in finalizing the top two spots, with Marizanne Kapp the standout performer for an economical spell.

It's quite obvious that MI and DC have been the two best sides in the competition, and they will deservedly meet in the final. They haven't played each other at the Brabourne Stadium thus far, but their captains will know quite a bit about each other...

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Meg Lanning and Harmanpreet Kaur just can't seem to avoid each other in big tournaments. The two credentialed skippers will meet for the third time this WPL season, with more at stake than ever before.

Nat Sciver-Brunt was the pillar of the MI batting in the Eliminator as she made a superlative unbeaten 72 that was as effortless as they come. The English all-rounder is known to raise her game under pressure, and if she comes good on Sunday, DC might have to kiss their trophy hopes goodbye.

If Sciver-Brunt doesn't get you, either Amelia Kerr or Hayley Matthews will. Matthews, who has been MI's MVP throughout the tournament, has cooled off a bit recently. But even without her contributions, Harmanpreet and Co. have managed to cruise into the final.

DC, on the other hand, are heavily reliant on their opening partnership to produce the goods. Shafali Verma has played a few breathtaking innings, while Meg Lanning has been supremely consistent at the top. Unfortunately for them, Mumbai might have the bowling resources to stifle the duo.

Shafali is known for her weakness against the short ball, and she has managed to somewhat circumvent it by adopting an assortment of heaves across the line while backing away. But that strategy can only produce results for so long, and the in-form Issy Wong would love the challenge of bowling to the destructive DC opener.

The DC middle order hasn't been at its best this year despite Alice Capsey's pyrotechnics. If the overseas trio of Capsey, Lanning and Kapp don't come good with the bat, the Capitals might never be in the contest. Conversely, even if Matthews and Yastika Bhatia don't give MI a good start, the batters below them are a little more reliable.

MI will have the advantage of home support. They have four bowlers in the tournament's top five wicket-takers and several key batters are in excellent form. DC, on the other hand, have relied on specific match-ups to go their way this year.

Anything can happen in a knockout game, especially if scoreboard pressure comes into the equation. But Mumbai showed in the WPL 2023 Eliminator that they are not a team to be overawed by the situation and are also clearly the better side on paper.

DC are definitely in with a shout, but MI are the favorites to become the inaugural WPL champions.

Prediction: MI to win the WPL 2023 Final.