TACTICAL PREVIEW
Follow UsYet another mouthwatering clash awaits us as the UP Warriorz take on the Gujarat Giants in the eight match of the season.
UPW will be riding high after registering their first win of the tournament by comprehensively beating the defending champions, Mumbai Indians, in their previous game.
An unfortunate injury to Vrinda Dinesh forced them to pair Alyssa Healy with Kiran Navgire at the top, and the well-built Maharashtrian took to the role like a fish to water. She practically smashed every bowler in sight and her 31-ball 57 singlehandedly tilted the game in her side’s favor.
Gujarat Giants, on the other hand, have been dismal in both their games so far and will want to turn a corner to set the record straight. It doesn’t help that none of their experienced pros have come good yet and will hope that the likes of Beth Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield will step up.
Last season, they played each other in two thrillers, with both games being won off the penultimate delivery. Moreover, Grace Harris proved to be the point of difference between the two sides on both occasions.
Things to watch out for
The famed UP Warriorz spin attack
With Deepti Sharma, Gouher Sultana, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, and Sophie Ecclestone in their side, you would not have been wrong if you thought that the Warriorz would be depending on their spinners to get the breakthroughs. Especially on an uncharacteristic Chinnaswamy that has actually assisted spin.
Instead, their spinners are yet to do that for them. Their spinners have averaged 31.6 in the competition so far, and are just a shade below the worst (Mumbai - 32.5). To add further context, their spinners have shouldered over 77% of the team’s bowling responsibilities, the highest for any team.
It doesn’t help that their fielders haven’t supported the spinners enough, with plenty of dropped chances, overthrows, and misfields on display in both their games. But the Warriorz fans will be hoping that the spinners start chipping sooner than later.
Where are the GG batting heavyweights?
Despite not being bundled out even once, Gujarat have managed to score only 126 and 107 in their first two games.
Beth Mooney: 24 (22) and 8 (7)
Phoebe Litchfield: 7 (8) and 5 (12)
Ash Gardner: 15 (22) and 7 (12)
If your overseas pros come up with such performances, it’s not hard to see why their batting unit hasn’t fired. And given that there’s not a lot of firepower in their domestic batting unit as well, runs have been very hard to come by.
Yet to win a toss, they’ve been asked to set a target in their first two matches. Field restrictions notwithstanding, first innings powerplay has been the most difficult time to bat in, with batters scoring at only 5.4 RPO so far.
Can they come good against an underperforming UPW bowling attack?
What about Tahlia McGrath?
The Aussie #3 has had a torrid few months in the T20 format. It’s been 24 innings since she last scored a fifty and it’s been no different in the WPL as well.
She was foxed by an Asha Sobhana quicker one in the first, a jaffa of an outswinger by Marizanne Kapp in the second, and Issy Wong accounted for her with a pacy length ball in the third.
She averages only 14.5 and strikes at 114 while batting in the powerplay in the WPL. It doesn’t get any better with the ball as well. She conceded 64 runs in the six overs she has bowled in WPL 2024 and has taken just one wicket. Despite being the only pace option other than Anjali Sarvani, she wasn’t even given the ball in their last game.
Only 24 runs in her kitty so far, how long can she keep the Chamari Athapaththu threat at bay, one can only guess.
Ground details
The toss-winning skipper has opted to field first in each of the seven games so far. And in five of those instances, the result has gone in their favor as well. Batters have lost a wicket every 18 balls while scoring at just over 7 RPO in the first innings. The corresponding numbers for batters in the second innings are 8.4 and 25.4 respectively. Further, spinners have taken over 64% of the wickets this season and have taken a wicket 40% more frequently. Expect something similar on Friday as well.
Tactical insights
An off-spinner to a left-handed is matchups 101. Even more so if it’s Deepti Sharma against Beth Mooney. The offie has dismissed Mooney five times so far and southpaw has only managed to strike at 114 against her.
Lea Tahuhu will look to keep the Trans-Tasmanian rivalry alive when she bowls to the UPW batters. She’s taken Alyssa Healy’s wicket six times in WT20s, with the Aussie skipper averaging only 20.3.
Ashleigh Gardner loves bowling to her fellow Aussie all-rounder Tahlia McGrath. Across eight innings, McGrath averages only 13.6 and has a surprisingly low strike rate of 89 against Gardner.
Probable XIs
UP Warriorz: Alyssa Healy (C & WK), Kiran Navgire, Chamari Athapaththu, Grace Harris, Shweta Sehrawat, Poonam Khemnar, Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone, Gouher Sultana, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Anjali Sarvani
Gujarat Giants: Beth Mooney (C & WK), Harleen Deol, Phoebe Litchfield, Ash Gardner, Veda Krishnamurthy, D. Hemalatha, Kathryn Bryce, Sneh Rana, Tanuja Kanwar, Lea Tahuhu, Meghna Singh
