Mumbai’s might against Bangalore’s brilliance

To call Mumbai Indians (MI) the most consistent team in the Women's Premier League (WPL) will not be overstating it by any stretch. Of the two seasons played so far, MI have made the final on both occasions, even winning the inaugural edition.

Harmanpreet Kaur will lead the side for the second season in a row with her calm and composed disposition having allowed his team to achieve the results they have managed over the weeks. Love her, hate her or couldn't care less about her, you have to give it to her - the 35-year-old got game. She knows when and how to turn it on, too, though this season, her side dangled off the edge of the precipice.

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And in their way to a second consecutive title stands Smriti Mandhana's Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) who, despite perpetual fault-finding by fans and experts, did not leave their chances hinging on an improbable combination of results over which they had no control. They reached the playoffs with a game by maintaining a steady net run rate and made short work of reigning champions Mumbai to enter their maiden WPL playoffs. Their performances have been efficient and consistent, although MI should logically be favourites on Friday.

Unlike MI, RCB had an iffy start to the season, losing two of their first five games. However, there were no dramas in their progress to the playoffs. Their success has been built around two people with supporting contributions from the rest. The captain Smriti Mandhana has been a reliable run-scorer, while the all-rounder Ellyse Perry has confounded all and sundry with her unreadable variations and phenomenal batting.

If they perform like they have this season, Bangalore have little reason to worry. But whether they can perform in their first WPL qualifier, against opponents seasoned to such pressure, is the real question.

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Meanwhile, Mumbai's biggest strength comes from their previous experience of being in knockout/playoffs before this season, and the fact that they have managed to retain the most of the core of their team throughout the two seasons in the WPL. In pressure situations, especially when they get closer to the playoffs, they have players with the kind of experience to turn things around for the better. The importance of this skill is amplified during crucial contests, where small errors could be magnified.

Perhaps, the biggest tick in the box is the captain-coach combination of Kaur and Charlotte Edwards, backed by Jhulan Goswami as mentor, who know their respective roles and give the other enough space to work things out, both on and off the field.

On paper, it's not a tough ask as MI are the wooden-spooners of the season but the unforeseeable so often becomes the norm in cricket, and the outcome of each contest is veiled in the mystique of uncertainty.

Like Tuesday, Bangalore will once again stride out hoping to spoil the MI party while the reigning champions will bank on their superior ‘death-over' bowling led by Nat-Sciver Brunt and peerless glovework by Yastika Bhatia to keep the promising RCB batswomen in check.