Can Gujarat Giants stop Mumbai Indians from making it two in two?

Gujarat Giants will be the last of the WPL teams to play their opening game. They won’t be complaining, for they’ve gotten a good sighter of what to expect from their opposition and the venue. 

Mumbai Indians meanwhile masterminded a spectacular jailbreak, courtesy the debutant S. Sajana. Needing five runs off the last ball, Sajana managed to smoke the first ball of her WPL career for a six over long-on to send the MI dugout into a frenzy.

After a demoralizing first season, the Giants will want to make amends and improve on their performance. They were able to plug a few gaps at the auction, but the rub of the green once again seems to be going against them. If it was Beth Mooney’s injury last season, it is Kashvee Gautam - their most expensive buy - and Lauren Cheatle this time. 

Last season’s H2H encounters saw Mumbai come out on top on both occasions. The first time the two sides played was the first ever WPL fixture. As historic as it might be, GG might not want to remember it for too long, as Harmanpreet Kaur decided to stamp her authority with an explosive 30-ball 65 as Mumbai romped to a crushing 143-run win. The reverse fixture saw yet another Harman special with Mumbai defeating them by 55 runs at the Brabourne stadium.

Things to watch out for

The famed Mumbai Indians bowling attack

The luxury of playing a frontline pacer, off-spinner, and leg-spinner is something not a lot of teams can boast of. Add the guile of Saika Ishaque and the express pace of Shabnim Ismail to that, and you have an almost perfect bowling combination. 

And this was on display in the first season, when four of the MI bowlers picked 15+ wickets. The same cannot be said about their tournament opener against Delhi. After starting off strongly - conceding just six runs in the first three overs - Alice Capsey and Meg Lanning both took on the MI bowlers and showed everyone that it is possible. 

Amelia Kerr was attacked early, and same was the case with Hayley Matthews. This disrupted their lengths and the remaining DC batters managed to play them out with ease. The power-packed GG top-order will want to maximize their returns, especially at a venue like the Chinnaswamy. 

Amelia Kerr’s performance

The Kiwi star all-rounder ended the recent Super Smash as its highest run-scorer and highest wicket-taker. In fact, she’s the highest run-scorer and highest wicket-taker in all WT20s since the start of 2023. 

However, she did not have the greatest of outings against the Capitals. She conceded 43 runs with the ball, her most expensive WPL spell ever. With the bat, just when it seemed like Kerr would take her team home, Shikha Pandey came up with a top-drawer yorker to clean her up. 

Kerr will want to set the record straight and get going in this WPL quickly. 

The Gujarat Giants combination

Last season, Gujarat Giants were the worst batting unit in the competition. They had the worst batting strike rate and run rate. A stat they would want to fix this time. 

The addition of Mooney and Litchfield will be a huge shot in the arm for the side. Along with Kathryn Bryce and Veda Krishnamurthy, they have enough reinforcements to keep them in good stead during the tournament. 

The problem now for them is to accommodate all these options in their XI. Including all of Laura Wolvaardt, Litchfield and Mooney would mean that they cannot field an overseas pacer in Lea Tahuhu. Something they cannot afford to, given their lack of proven domestic pace options. 

Ground details

In the nine WT20s played at the Chinnaswamy, teams batting second have won seven of the nine games. Even in the first game, Mumbai Indians successfully chased down 172. These matches have also seen pacers pick wickets more frequently while spinners have been more economical than their counterparts. The smaller boundaries will also add to the bowlers’ woes, with the third man boundary on the shorter end being only 45 meters.

Tactical insights

> Mooney ended WBBL 2023 as the highest run-getter, scoring 557 runs at an average of 50.6 and a strike rate of 144.1. She’s also been Australia’s highest run-getter in WT20s since the beginning of 2023. Mooney will be central to GG’s plans this year, and will want to continue her rich vein of form in the WPL as well.

> Harmanpreet Kaur, the opposing captain, came good with the bat in the first game after an extended lean run. She scored 55 of 34 to almost take MI over the line by herself. Last year, she scored a fifty in both the games against Gujarat Giants and she will want to make it a treble in their next encounter. 

> Ashleigh Gardner, the second-most expensive player in WPL history, had a bit of a mixed season last year. Despite that, she was their highest run-scorer with 204 runs and second highest wicket-taker with 10 wickets. Since Jan ‘23, she’s struggled to get going against right-arm pacers and off-spinners and MI have plenty of options for both types.  

Probable XIs

Gujarat Giants: Beth Mooney (C & WK), Phoebe Litchfield, Harleen Deol, Ashleigh Gardner, Veda Krishnamurthy, Kathryn Bryce, D. Hemalatha, Sneh Rana, Sayali Sathgare, Mannat Kashyap, Meghna Singh

Mumbai Indians: Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia (WK), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Amelia Kerr, Pooja Vastrakar, Amanjot Kaur, S. Sajana, Keerthana Balakrishnan, Shabnim Ismail, Saika Ishaque