PRE MATCH ANALYSIS
Follow UsA couple of months before the inaugural game of the Women's Premier League, fans thronged the DY Patil Stadium to witness the Indian women's cricket team take on the defending champions and arch-rivals Australia in the second T20I.
A promise to support women's sport and fill the stadiums to absolute capacity wherever the players ply their trade, the DY Patil Stadium yet again lived up to the hype and expectation. On a warm Saturday evening, people all across the city and other parts of the nation joined forces to celebrate a spectacle in the history of women's cricket.
Two players who played an integral part in that game, Harmanpreet Kaur and Beth Mooney, were at the forefront yet again as the Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants set foot at the iconic venue for the opening clash of the extravaganza.
To every person across the globe who has contributed to women's cricket, the WOMEN'S PREMIER LEAGUE is finally a REALITY.
*Drumrolls, please!!!!
Three hours of exhilarating cricket between the top domestic and international players worldwide and in India, women's cricket well and truly arrived in the country amid the fanfare.
History was rewritten in Mumbai, and for the players and the ardent supporters of women's sport, it was the beginning of a new dawn.
It seldom happens in sport that a team has to play two competitive matches in less than 24 hours, but such is the format of the game that the Gujarat Giants will be back in action in the evening encounter at the same venue against the formidable UP Warriorz.
While the Giants endured a game to forget, they have very little turnaround time against the Warriorz and will aim to make amends and get off the mark in the competition.
Things to watch out for
Battle for supremacy: Healy vs Mooney and Gardner vs Deepti
Australia's most successful opening combination in the shortest format of the game, Alyysa Healy and Beth Mooney, will be at the helm of affairs for the Warriorz and the Titans.
Two World Cup winning players who know each other well will go head-to-head. Two of the best wicketkeeper-batters in the world will be in action marshalling their troops and aiming to get the better of the opposition in the early stages of the competition.
While there ain't any information on the Giants skipper after retiring hurt in the opening fixture, she is a mighty tough character and would be itching to lead her side out and get back to winning ways.
Likewise, there is another set of competition or rather two players with a similar skill set that have done well for their national teams in recent times in Ash Gardner and Deepti Sharma.
The duo have been a vital cog in the playing XI of Australia and India, and the onus of the side will rely heavily on them to lend balance in the playing XI for their respective franchise.
While Gardner was the player of the series in the recently concluded T20 World Cup in South Africa with 110 runs and 10 wickets, Deepti endured a dismal outing in the mega event. The 25-year-old will be itching to erase the scars of the tournament and spin the Warriorz to victory.
Power-hitting abilities on the opposite ends of the spectrum
When the Warriorz assembled their squad with the likes of Tahlia McGrath, Grace Harris and Sophie Ecclestone, it was touted to be one of the most destructive batting units in the back end of the innings.
The trio, along with Deepti and Devika Vaidya, will form a formidable middle order, but the same cannot be said about their counterparts, as the Giants will rely heavily on Ash Gardner and Sneh Rana to do the bulk of the hitting.
With Deandra Dottin ruled out due to injury, there aren’t many players in the Giants' line-up that can clear the boundary cushions with ease, which can lead to their downfall.
Pitch and conditions
The conditions at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai will be conducive for strokeplay, with the average score batting first around the 180-run mark.
In the last series between India and Australia, both teams managed to score over 170 runs which indicates the true nature of the surface. With the dew set to play a significant role, batting will become relatively easy in the second innings, and the spinners are set to struggle with the wet ball.
Tactical Nous
The third leading run-scorer in the T20 World Cup, Mooney amassed 206 runs in six innings at an average of 51.5 and a strike rate of 117.7, including a match-defining unbeaten 74 in the summit clash against South Africa.
However, if there is one chink in her armour heading into this game, it will be her ability to slash hard at balls outside the off-stump. The southpaw has been guilty of being dismissed three times in the World Cup on balls bowled at a fuller length and outside the off-stump.
With Healy in the opposite camp, there isn't any doubt that the Warriorz will pack the off-side field and use this ploy to dismiss the opposition skipper.
With 11 wickets in five innings at an average of 7.3 and an economy rate of 4.2 runs per over, Ecclestone will be the key for the Warriorz in the tournament. The left-arm spinner was the leading wicket-taker in the T20 World Cup, and her exploits will be critical for the team, especially in the back end of the innings.
Another exciting match-up heading into this game would be Gardner against the off-spin of Deepti. The 25-year-old has dismissed the right-handed batter thrice in 11 innings, the joint-most by any bowler in T20I cricket, and this battle could well decide the fortunes of the clash.
Team Combination
While they were hammered in the first game, expect Gujarat to bring in only a solitary change with Hurley Gala replacing Monica Patel.
Predicted XI: Sabbineni Meghana, Beth Mooney (Captain and wk), Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Ashleigh Gardner, Harleen Deol, Dayalan Hemalatha, Sneh Rana, Mansi Joshi, Monica Patel / Hurley Gala, Tanuja Kanwer.
The UP Warriorz will bank on their Australian stars and Ecclestone to form the core of the playing XI. Along with them, the team management might be tempted to give the Under-19 star, Shweta Sehrawat, an opportunity to open the batting alongside Healy.
Predicted XI: Shweta Sherawat, Alyssa Healy (Captain and wk), Tahlia McGrath, Kiran Navgire, Devika Vaidya, Deepti Sharma, Grace Harris, Sophie Ecclestone, Rajeshwari Gaikwad, Anjali Sarvani, Parshvi Chopra
