Bragging rights up for grabs as DC clash with GG

The final league stage game is upon us and it’s the home side Delhi Capitals taking on bottom-dwellers Gujarat Giants who have, of late, seen a slight uptick in form. 

The Capitals in their last game clinched a thriller to overcome the Royal Challengers Bangalore by one run, almost erasing the haunting memories of the one-run defeat to UP Warriorz in the game before that. They were aided by Jemimah Rodrigues with the bat, while the ice-cool Jess Jonassen held her nerve to defend just two runs in the final over. 

Gujarat, on the other hand, defeated the UP Warriorz to all but knock them out of the tournament. The game began with Beth Mooney scoring her third consecutive fifty which helped the Giants post a competitive 152 on the board. Newcomer Shabnam Shakil then came out of syllabus with the new ball, accounting for the biggies Alyssa Healy and Chamari Athapaththu in the very first over.

Against a strong Delhi side, can GG do the unthinkable?

Things to watch out for

Can the Gujarat openers perform one last dance?

Batting in the powerplay has been a cakewalk for the Giants in the Delhi leg. The move to bring in Laura Wolvaardt especially has paid rich dividends. Her ability to find gaps and score boundaries when the field restrictions are on has given Beth Mooney the freedom to take some time to play to her strengths. 

This, in turn, has also brought a renewed vigour in the side - they’ve gone on to win two out of three games at the Arun Jaitley stadium. It could have been three if not for a Harman special. 

The openers won’t have it easy though. They will have to deal with the likes of Marizanne Kapp and Shikha Pandey with the ball. The Delhi bowlers have been the best bowling unit in this phase and their pacers in particular have wreaked havoc when bowling with the new ball. 

How does one stop Meg Lanning?

The Delhi skipper has been in great form this season. It’s almost like she did not even retire from international cricket in November. In the seven innings she’s played so far, she’s scored four fifties, and is yet to be dismissed in single digits. 

It doesn’t help the opposition that she’s been equally proficient against pace and spin, making it even harder for her counterparts to target her. Just like Mooney, Lanning has taken her time in the powerplay, a phase where Shafali Verma has stamped her authority. 

Once the field restrictions have been lifted Lanning switches gears. A strike rate of 107 in the powerplay and 183 in the middle-overs shows the kind of gears she possesses.

Gujarat Giants will want to stop this force of nature early in the innings, if they want to stand a chance to win this encounter.

Will the GG bowlers come good?

The odd bowling performance from Shabnam Shakil and Tanuja Kanwar notwithstanding, GG have been the worst bowling attack this season. This has come to the fore even more in the capital city. 

Their top-order’s match-winning knocks have helped paper over the apparent cracks in their bowling attack, they will want to step up against the best batting unit of the tournament. Gujarat’s spinners in particular have been rendered toothless on a helpful Delhi surface that has offered variable bounce and considerable spin. 

They will also be wary while bowling to Jemimah Rodrigues and Lanning, both of whom have been on top of their game while playing spin on these surfaces. 

Ground details 

The surface in Delhi has been very abrasive and conducive to prodigious seam movement and spin. Some of that was on display during Ellyse Perry’s historic six-for against the Mumbai Indians yesterday (March 12).

Toss-winning skippers have generally opted to bat first at the Arun Jaitley stadium, and six out of the eight games have been won by them. However, the most recent fixture saw RCB opt to field first on a fresh surface and successfully chase the target down against the high-flying Mumbai Indians. 

Tactical insights

Phoebe Litchfield’s introduction to the WPL has not been great, with her failing to score a single fifty in the seven games. She’s been dismissed in single digits in four of those innings. She’s struggled against right-arm pacers in particular, averaging 11 against them this season. 

Shafali Verma has not done too badly against most GG bowlers, but Ashleigh Gardner has had her number on quite a few instances. Gardner has dismissed Shafali four times in eight innings, with the Indian opener averaging only 15 against her. 

Beth Mooney has an enviable record against all DC bowlers. She’s not been threatened by any bowling type in particular and Delhi will want to end her streak of three fifties in their last game. Lanning will be hoping that Kapp delivers the knockout punch with the new ball tonight.

Playing XIs

Delhi Capitals: Shafali Verma, Meg Lanning (C), Jemimah Rodrigues, Alice Capsey, Marizanne Kapp, Jess Jonassen, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Arundhati Reddy, Taniya Bhatia (WK), Titas Sadhu

Gujarat Giants: Beth Mooney (C), Laura Wolvaardt, D. Hemalatha, Phoebe Litchfield, Ashleigh Gardner, Bharti Fulmali, Kathryn Bryce, Tanuja Kanwar, Shabnam Shakil, Meghna Singh, Mannat Kashyap