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What to expect: Warriorz searching for first win

UP Warriorz are yet to find their feet and will hope a change of venue brings a change in fortune, heading into the first reverse fixture of this season. They are also the only team without a win in WPL 2025. Under new captain Deepti Sharma, they haven't been able to lock their XIs or their batting line-up. While there has been some individual flashes of brilliance - such as Kiran Navgire's blazing fifty, Chinelle Henry's death-over hitting and Sophie Ecclestone's economical spells - Warriorz have not fired as a unit. They do not have a strike bowler (Saima Thakor was dropped after one game). Misfields and dropped catches have also hurt. The likes of Grace Harris and Tahlia McGrath have also not fired in the middle order.

On the other hand, Capitals have won two out of three matches and seem like a settled unit with most boxes ticked. Their middle order consisting of Annabel Sutherland and Marizanne Kapp has stepped up, their captain Meg Lanning has found her rhythm with a fifty against Warriorz in the last game and their pace attack has collectively taken 11 wickets in three matches.

Team news and likely XIs

Capitals are unlikely to change their winning combination which means they might still prefer Niki Prasad's lower-order batting over Radha Yadav's left-arm spin.

Delhi Capitals: 1 Meg Lanning (capt), 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Jemimah Rodrigues, 4 Annabel Sutherland, 5 Marizanne Kapp, 6 Jess Jonassen, 7 Sarah Bryce (wk), 8 Niki Prasad, 9 Shikha Pandey, 10 Arundhati Reddy, 11 Minnu Mani

Tahlia McGrath has had scores of 0 and 1 in the two matches and had an average outing with the ball too, picking up one wicket for 47 runs in 6.5 overs. Warriorz might bring in allrounder Chamari Athapaththu for the Bengaluru leg before she joins the Sri Lanka squad on a white-ball tour of New Zealand to bolster their batting.

UP Warriorz (likely): 1 Kiran Navgire, 2 Chamari Athapaththu, 3 Vrinda Dinesh, 4 Uma Chetry (wk), 5 Deepti Sharma (capt), 6 Tahlia McGrath/Grace Harris, 7 Shweta Sehrawat, 8 Chinelle Henry, 9 Sophie Ecclestone, 10 Rajeshwari Gayakwad, 11 Kranti Goud

Players to watch: Shafali Verma and Sophie Ecclestone

Shafali Verma smashed two half-centuries in four attempts at an impressive strike rate of 140.6 in the Bengaluru leg of WPL last year. Having hit 43, 0, 26 so far this edition, Shafali might be keen on converting her starts and making a big score at the venue again.

Sophie Ecclestone has accounted for three of the seven wickets taken by Warriorz so far and has looked most threatening in the bowling attack. She has an economy of 5.87, and her spell in the powerplay will be crucial for Warriorz to make early inroads. Against Gujarat Giants, she had figures of 2-0-6-1 in the powerplay, but she was given only one over against Capitals where she leaked eight runs.

Key stats

It's a day out from the game, and yet getting to Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium when Australia or England are en route can be impossible. Presidential-style security chaperones the sides between the hotel and the newly-rebuilt ground. The ticketing website and resale venue were overwhelmed as soon as tickets for this contest were released, and then once more when further tickets were made available.

A car arrived at the gate, a full mile away from the stadium entrance itself. A policeman had a long squint at the windshield, and shook his head. "Wrong type of sticker," he said firmly. "You can't enter here, let alone park here." In Pakistan, this game is a big deal, bigger than arguably for any other side this tournament.

"I think it's irrelevant, really," Smith said on Friday. "This is another event. You've got to be focused from that first game. In our last World Cup, we were a bit slow to get started. We were really under the pump. And then we brought our best cricket towards the back end of the tournament, which is what you need in World Cups.

"Champions Trophies are a lot different. You can't be slow to get started. You've got to get right into your work from the outset. That's our message to the group and the guys are excited about getting started tomorrow night against England out here."

Back as Australian captain in an incredible redemptive arc, victory here may just be another bit of silverware for a heaving Australian trophy cabinet, but leading his side to it would be a prized career highlight for the man himself.

"I'm pretty relaxed," Smith said. "There's always pressure when you're playing in international events and big tournaments. It's clear we're obviously missing a few of our gun fast bowlers, but we're not worried about that. We're thinking about what we've got here and the opportunity that those guys have.

"There's some quality players in that room that are playing in almost their first big event, I suppose, which they're looking forward to and I'm looking forward to as well. It's going to be great to see them placed under pressure against some quality opposition, and it's going to be an exciting time for us."

England may not be the terrifying opposition they were in this format between 2015 and 2019, the side that blitzed Australia to what remains their only World Cup semi-final defeat. However, it does offer an indication of what each side expects from the squad they bring to this tournament that England announced their starting XI - specific batting positions and all - nearly two full days out from the game, while Australia want as much information as possible.

"We're pretty clear where we're sort of heading," Smith said, somewhat unconvincingly. "But we'll name it [the side] at the toss tomorrow. I need to have a look at the surface when we get an opportunity as well. We're pretty clear where we want to go, but we'll name it tomorrow."

Smith was hit in the box in the nets on Friday, but has been cleared to face England after some initial discomfort. He missed a training session earlier in the week through illness, and said that he had not yet looked at the surface when he spoke to media.

"England are a great side," Smith said. "They've been a very good white-ball team for a long period of time and we're looking forward to starting our campaign against them tomorrow. Hopefully it's a belter of a game."

But, as every side in this tournament knows well, there is only so much debate to be had about the finer technical points of strength and weakness about an Australian side in these circumstances. Like Real Madrid in football's Champions League, all that sometimes matters is that running through the DNA of this particular unit is an ancient, received wisdom passed down generations, one that illuminates the path to glory in ICC event after ICC event.

No wonder, then, that Smith, whom destiny appears to have thrust into the role of main Australian character against England once more, is quite so relaxed.

Big picture: Both teams coming off series defeats

Would you believe it, not only have Australia and England been drawn in the same group at a global tournament, but their Champions Trophy returns also start against one another. Universe (ICC), you've done it again! And yet, amid such predictable money-grabbing comes a bit of shameful excitement. Even without mentioning the "A" word, these are two bitter rivals in unique states. A champion Australia side shorn of some of those champions, and an England side increasingly desperate to rediscover former glory.

Not training enough and golfing too much were the main takeaways outside a group that actually seems in good spirits considering they have now lost all four ODI series since the 2023 World Cup. To be expected, of course, as negative vibes have no place in Brendon McCullum's house.

In keeping, England's break to the UAE came with a view of shedding the baggage from a travel-and defeat-heavy month in India, with added benefit of escaping the press hysteria around focusing on the wrong kind of white ball. But McCullum's task requires a more hands-on and technically focused approach with a group which continues to look uneasy with bat and ball in this format.

How much of that McCullum can change in such a short space of time - he has only been in charge of the limited-overs set-up for a month - will be determined over the coming weeks. Right now, it probably helps to have a familiar foe on the horizon to drum up a little extra heart and vigour.

Of those Buttler missed last year due to a calf injury was the five-match series against Australia at the end of the home summer, which ensures greater familiarity at international level between the players, even if many of them have rubbed shoulders as team-mates or opponents at domestic level.

Form guide

Australia: LLLLW
England: LLLLW

In the spotlight: Spencer Johnson and Harry Brook

Team news

Given the absences, Australia's pace attack pretty much picks itself. Allrounder Aaron Hardie, the immediate beneficiary of Marcus Stoinis' retirement from the 50-over format on the eve of the tournament, could sit out for Labuschagne to play as an extra batter. Dwarshius' left-arm/left-hand option may see him pip Abbott to the bowling allrounder slot.

Australia (probable): 1 Travis Head, 2 Matthew Short, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Josh Inglis (wk), 5 Marnus Labuschagne, 6 Alex Carey, 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Sean Abbott/Ben Dwarshius, 9 Nathan Ellis, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Spencer Johnson

England announced their XI two days out from the match - early by their unusually prompt standards - with Jamie Smith not just back fit from a calf injury, but also batting at No. 3 while also playing as wicketkeeper. It is not quite a nuclear option, but it does involve pushing Joe Root to No. 4 and taking the gloves from Phil Salt, who kept throughout the ODIs in India. With just four frontline bowling options, Root and Liam Livingstone must join forces effectively to provide a serviceable fifth. The pace of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer, playing his first 50-over tournament since his Super Over heroics in 2019's World Cup final, will present Australia's starkest challenge.

England: 1 Phil Salt, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Jamie Smith (wk), 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jos Buttler, 7 Liam Livingstone, 8 Brydon Carse, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Mark Wood

Pitch and conditions

ODI pitches at the Gaddafi Stadium are almost always flat belters. The venue hosted two matches in the recent tri-series, with New Zealand posting 330 for 6 to beat Pakistan, and then chasing down 305 with six wickets and eight balls to spare. Lahore is expected to be slightly cooler than it was for the tri-series, partly because of rain this week, which ended up hampering England's preparations on Thursday. Dew is very rarely a factor at this time of year.

Quotes

"I'm going to have my work cut out for me with some of that fast bowling England have got. They're high quality, highly skilled and high pace. I've got to make sure I start well, earn the right, and see where the game takes us. I'm just worried about making sure I start well for the team."
Australia vice-captain Travis Head on challenge posed by England's quicks

"He's been fit and firing now for 18 months or so since being out of the game for a while. He's really excited to put together that kind of length of time back on the field, and he's obviously a superstar of the game for us. He is someone, as a captain, you always know you can turn to and throw the ball. He's obviously going to be really looking forward to the game tomorrow."
Jofra Archer is ready and raring to go, says Jos Buttler

South Africa 315 for 6 (Rickelton 103, Bavuma 58, Markram 52*, van der Dussen 52, Nabi 2-51) beat Afghanistan 208 (Rahmat 90, Rabada 3-36, Mulder 2-36, Ngidi 2-56) by 107 runs

It was a largely flawless innings from Rickelton. He never looked rushed; not when Tony de Zorzi fell early or when Bavuma took his time to get going. Rickelton struck boundaries whenever he got a chance. When he didn't, he quietly rotated the strike. He started with a lovely punch past mid-off third ball before going back-to-back against Fazalhaq Farooqi in the fifth over, once with a fierce pull through midwicket and then a cut past point.

De Zorzi also struck two fours but fell to a rather nonchalant delivery from Mohammad Nabi early on when he flopped it straight to mid-on.

Bavuma's first 19 balls yielded only seven runs before he got a couple of fours away to get into the groove. Rickelton, meanwhile, picked Azmatullah Omarzai for two delightful fours to raise his fifty off just 48 balls.

South Africa ticked along to 83 for 1 after 15 overs, but an important passage of play was about to come: South Africa batters vs Afghanistan's spinners. That's where Rickelton really showed his wares. He would have faced a lot of Rashid Khan in the SA20 nets as they were part of the victorious MI Cape Town side, and that experience showed.

Bavuma got to his second fifty away from home, as he continued his rich form. He had a solid 129-run stand for the second wicket with Rickelton, before holing out to deep midwicket as Nabi picked his second wicket.

By that time, Rickelton had moved into his 90s, and had hardly broken a sweat. Afghanistan hardly helped themselves in the field, too. There were several misfields, and a run-out chance fluffed, while Noor Ahmad was particularly off-colour. He was either too short, or too full, and often tried to dart the ball in and lost his shape.

Rickelton soon became the first South Africa batter to register a century on Champions Trophy debut with a push to long-off.

Afghanistan got a lucky break when Rickelton was run-out in bizarre fashion. He bunted a Rashid length ball back to the bowler, who fired a flat throw to the wicketkeeper. Rickelton, out of his crease, was caught off-guard just a touch, and as he put in the dive, his bat bounced just short of the crease. That meant even though his bat was over the line, it was in the air when Rahmanullah Gurbaz whipped the bails off.

There was no respite for Afghanistan though. Van der Dussen, coming into the tournament not in great nick, was fluent and Markram found his stride as well, with both batters recording fifties. The last five overs yielded South Africa 51 runs as they posted an above-par total.

For Afghanistan to chase down 316, it was imperative for Gurbaz to get going. But South Africa's new-ball bowlers weren't ready to give him an inch. Ngidi's short-of-a-length ball got the better of Gurbaz as he got a top-edge to short fine leg. No. 3 Sediqullah Atal struggled big time. Ibrahim Zadran finally broke the shackles by hammering Rabada over wide long-on. That obviously did not please the bowler, who returned with a 148.3kph thunderbolt and sent Ibrahim's middle stump splat.

The South Africa pace bowlers concentrated on that hard length. According to ESPNcricinfo's ball-by-ball data, in the first 15 overs, 33 of the balls bowled by South Africa were either short or short-of-a-good length.

Atal's difficult innings, where he was beaten ten times and played 14 false shots in the 32 balls he faced, ended with a run-out. Soon after, Hashmatullah Shahidi fell to a stunning catch by Bavuma at mid-on as Afghanistan stumbled to 51 for 4 after 15 overs.

Rahmat was the only batter who showed some fight as he cruised to fifty off 62 balls. But with none of the batters hanging around, Afghanistan were always struggling. The Karachi crowd, which had come in numbers to support Afghanistan, found their voice when Rashid smashed three fours and a six in his cameo of 18 off 13 balls. But apart from that, there was little for the crowd to cheer.

In the end, Rahmat edged Rabada to Rickelton for 90, as South Africa registered their first ODI win after six attempts.

Mumbai Indians 170 for 6 (Harmanpreet 50, Sciver-Brunt 42, Wareham 3-21) beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru 167 for 7 (Perry 81, Ghosh 28, Amanjot 3-22) by four wickets

Win the toss, field first, win the match. This has been the story of all seven games in WPL 2025 so far. Mumbai Indians (MI) were the latest benefactors of winning the toss as they beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by four wickets in the first game of the Bengaluru leg.

Mandhana vs Ismail - a short story

It made Ismail switch to around the wicket. For the last ball of the over, she went short again, this time trying to cramp the batter. Mandhana unfurled another four with a pull.

In her next over, Ismail erred in her line, and Mandhana duly cut her to the point boundary twice in three balls. But Ismail had the last laugh. She went short again, angling the ball on this occasion. Mandhana must have been feeling invincible by then. She attempted another pull. But this one took the top edge and Yastika Bhatia settled under it behind the stumps.

Quick wickets leave RCB in trouble

Perry opened her account with a first-ball four, flicking a full delivery from Ismail over square leg. In the next over, she freed her arms and hit Sciver-Brunt over long-on. But MI pulled things back with three quick wickets. Danni Wyatt-Hodge miscued an upper cut against Sciver-Brunt to short third; Raghvi Bist hit Hayley Matthews into the hands of deep midwicket; and Kanika Ahuja chopped Sanskriti Gupta onto her stumps. After nine overs, RCB were 62 for 4.

Perry pristine

RCB did not hit a single boundary from overs six to nine. Perry ended the drought in the tenth when she dispatched Matthews for four. She found support from Richa Ghosh, who smashed a six in the same over. The pair combined to pocket five more fours in the next three overs. By the time Amanjot bowled Ghosh for 28 off 25, the partnership had reached 50 in 38 deliveries.

From there on, Perry carried RCB almost singlehandedly. She hit Amelia Kerr inside out over extra cover to bring her fifty off 30 balls. Two balls later, she jumped out of her crease to deposit Kerr over long-on. In the next over, Matthews paid the price for bowling too short as Perry picked up two more fours. Perry eventually fell to Amanjot on the penultimate ball of the innings but not before hitting the bowler for back-to-back fours.

Matthews, Sciver-Brunt give MI flying start

MI started their chase in an attacking manner, with Bhatia hitting Renuka Singh for two fours in the opening over. Even though Kim Garth trapped Bhatia for 8, there was no respite for RCB. Sciver-Brunt hit two fours off the first two balls she faced to keep the runs flowing. She took it a notch higher in Garth's next over with three fours.

Matthews joined with back-to-back fours off Wareham. Ekta Bisht, who came in for the sixth over was not spared either. Sciver-Brunt started with a hat-trick of fours and Matthews chipped in with one. The only solace for Bisht was that she had Matthews lbw with her last ball.

Harmanpreet takes over

Garth provided RCB with some relief when she castled Sciver-Brunt for 42 off 21 balls in the eighth over. Two overs later, Wareham bowled a maiden in which she also had Kerr slicing to backward point.

Harmanpreet had had a slow start and was on 10 off ten balls after the tenth over. But she put the chase back on track with two fours off VJ Joshitha. MI needed 54 in the last six overs but Harmanpreet was well set by then. She hit Ahuja for successive fours, slog-swept Bisht into the stands, and picked up two more fours of Renuka to make MI firm favourites.

Wareham's twin strikes, Amanjot's twin sixes

With 24 required from three overs and Harmanpreet batting on 50 off 36, the match looked all but lost for RCB. But in an attempt to cut Wareham, Harmanpreet edged the ball to Ghosh. Sajana lasted just one ball, Wareham's slider trapping her lbw. Moreover, MI could score only two off the Wareham over.

Nerveless Amanjot, Kamalini finish the game

It was anyone's game at that point. But Amanjot, who had been playing second fiddle to Harmanpreet till then, stepped up. She was on 20 off 22 balls when her Punjab team-mate Ahuja started the 19th over. Amanjot went down the ground first ball and cleared long-on. Ahuja conceded only four in the next four balls but Amanjot cleared long-on once again on the final ball.

Not only did MI require just six in the final over, but RCB's slow over rate also meant there was one fielder fewer in the outfield. Bisht tried her best, darting the ball with the keeper standing back for the first two deliveries. But Kamalini kept her cool and took her side to victory with one ball to spare.