Have been looking forward to this tournament...: DC skipper Lanning

BENGALURU: Ahead of the Women's Premier League (WPL) season two opener against defending champion Mumbai Indians (MI), Delhi Capitals skipper Meg Lanning said that she is coming into the tournament with a lot of confidence and aims to help the franchise win as many matches as possible.

The second season of the Women's Premier League (WPL) will kickstart from Friday, with defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) set to take on last year's runners-up Delhi Capitals in a high-octane tournament opener in Bengaluru.

Lanning said in a pre-match press conference that they have good preparations.

"We have had a bit more time to get together as a squad this year. We have had some camps throughout the year as well, which has helped the players to improve. I have been looking forward to this tournament for a while. It was great to be a part of this tournament last season. I have been playing some cricket in Australia. I am coming into this tournament with confidence and looking forward to helping the Delhi Capitals win as many games as possible," she said according to a release.

Lanning also said that the Australian all-rounder Annabel Sutherland has shown a lot of improvement. "She has really matured as a player in the last 12 months. She can play multiple roles for us depending on the game situation. She can finish the innings off with the bat. Moreover, one of the biggest improvements in her game has been her bowling and her ability to execute under pressure."

Speaking about playing the WPL 2024 in Bengaluru, the skipper expressed: "I have not been to Bengaluru before so it has been nice to experience a new city. The girls and I have thoroughly enjoyed being here so far. The people of the city love their cricket and support the game extremely well. It is great that the WPL is moving to different cities and exposing the game to different fans." The Delhi Capitals will be up against Mumbai Indians at 7:30 PM on Friday.

Delhi Capitals Full squad: Alice Capsey, Arundhati Reddy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Jess Jonassen, Laura Harris, Marizanne Kapp, Meg Lanning, Minnu Mani, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Shafali Verma, Shikha Pandey, Sneha Deepthi, Taniya Bhatia, Titas Sadhu, Annabel Sutherland, Aparna Mondal, Ashwani Kumari

Mumbai Indians Full squad: Amanjot Kaur, Amelia Kerr, Chloe Tryon, Harmanpreet Kaur, Hayley Matthews, Humaira Kazi, Issy Wong, Jintimani Kalita, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Pooja Vastrakar, Priyanka Bala, Saika Ishaque, Yastika Bhatia, Shabnim Ismail, S Sajana, Amandeep Kaur, Fatima Jaffer, Keerthana Balakrishnan.