The second season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) could not have asked for a better start than two last-ball thrillers, involving four balanced teams enthralling the packed crowd inside the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, as well as those watching at home.
Sunday will see the fifth and final side of the tournament-Gujarat Giants- play their opening match of the new season as they take on Mumbai Indians. The Giants enter the second season after having brought the maximum number of players at the auction in December and also switched their head coach, replacing Rachel Haynes with Michael Klinger to strategise and ensure they have a better run in the competition in 2024.
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At the auction table, they bolstered their squad in both the batting and bowling departments with the acquisitions of Phoebe Litchfield and Kathryn Boyce. However, they suffered two dents in their squad before even a ball was bowled after Lauren Cheatle and the most expensive Indian player at the auction-Kashvee Gautam-were ruled out due to injuries, causing a shake-up to how their squads. The Giants will continue to bank on the experience of Beth Mooney and Laura Wolvaardt at the top and the all-round abilities of Ashleigh Gardener and Sneh Rana.
Their main worry will be the middle-order where they, unlike other sides, don’t possess quality overseas batters who can take the game away from the opposition and so it will be interesting to see whether the likes of Dayalan Hemalatha can raise her game one level higher and play an important role for the side.
The Giants will face an MI side that would be buoyed after clinching a thrilling win in the opening match of the tournament against Delhi Capitals on Friday. There were multiple positives for the side from that match, none bigger than the return to form for skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who made 55 runs in 34 balls to help get her side reach the doorsteps of winning the match.
Another positive for MI in the season opener was the bowling of experienced South African pacer Shabnim Ismail and left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque, who cut the flow of runs in the powerplay by maintaining tight lines.
These two sides played the inaugural match of the WPL in 2023 when MI trounced GG by 143 runs at the D.Y.Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Mooney’s side will hope to turn the tables on the defending champions and begin their campaign on a positive note on Sunday.
What: Gujarat Giants vs Mumbai Indians, Match 3, Women’s Premier League 2024
When: February 25, 2024, 7:30 PM IST
Where: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
Gujarat Giants
The Gujarat Giants will rely on runs from the likes of Beth Mooney, Phoebe Litchfield and Laura Wolvaardt and hope that the Indian bowling contingent of Meghana Singh, Sneh Rana and Dayalan Hemalatha.
Likely playing XI: Beth Mooney (c), Laura Wolvaardt, Harleen Deol, Phoebe Litchfield, Dayalan Hemalatha, Ashleigh Gardner, Sneh Rana, Kathryn Bryce, Mannat Kashyap, Meghana Singh, Shabnam Shakil.
Mumbai Indians
The Mumbai Indians will, in all probability, back the same playing XI that defeated the Delhi Capitals on Friday.
Likely playing XI: Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, S Sajana, Pooja Vastrakar, Shabnim Ismail, Keerthana Balakrishnan, Saika Ishaque.
QUOTE UNQUOTE
“I was really looking forward to the opportunity of playing in their first season of the WPL and leading the Gujarat Giants to a little bit of success but you know that obviously didn’t work out,” Beth Mooney on missing out playing for GG after the opening match last season.
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