Mansi Joshi. (Photo Source: Twitter/WPL)
After getting annihilated by Delhi Capitals in their previous outing, a tricky outing awaits Gujarat Giants (GUJ-W) in the form of Mumbai Indians (MI-W). Led by Harmanpreet Kaur, Mumbai have just been sensational throughout the league event thus far.
If all goes well, the side might as well cement their place in the summit clash of the event. On the other hand, plans have not quite been executed well on the field for the Giants, who are in the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of their standing in in the points table.
With just one win in their four outings, Gujarat stand second-last in the table with the worst net run rate (-3.397) among the sides. However, there is still lots to fight for as victories from here on can help them make a place in the Eliminator clash.
Notably, Mumbai Indians outrightly dominated and won the contest by 143 runs when the two teams met in the WPL opener of the league. It remains to be seen if Gujarat will be able to break Mumbai’s impressive winning streak.
Here is Gujarat Giants’ predicted XI for the match against Mumbai Indians-
Openers: Sabbhineni Meghana, Sophia Dunkley
Laura Wolvaardt was signed up by Gujarat as replacement for the injured Beth Mooney. Making her place in the XI in the last match against Delhi, she was dismissed for only a single run on her WPL debut. While Sophia Dunkley played a match-winning 28-ball 65 against RCB, it was quite intriguing to see her warm the bench.
However, she may get the call-up in the forthcoming game against Mumbai and will be raring to produce another fine knock.
Sabbhineni Meghana would undoubtedly want to hit the restart button after enduring a string of flop outings. It is vital for her to get a big knock and help lay a solid foundation for her team with the bat against Mumbai.
Middle Order: Harleen Deol, Dayalan Hemalatha, Sushma Verma (wk), Georgia Wareham
Gujarat have often found themselves in a tight spot as theirmiddle order has hardly been effective. In four matches, Harleen Deol has been the leading run-scorer for the side, with 133 runs to her name. However, inconsistency and the lack of help from her fellow teammates has held her back from performing at the best level.
Dayalan Hemalatha and Sushma Verma returned scores of five and two runs respectively in their last outing. Lack of solid performances has led to the side enduring miseries. Considering that they will be up against a top Mumbai bowling unit, the duo will need to up the ante and score big to counter the threat.
After back-to-back wickets fell against Delhi, Georgia Wareham tried to carve out a vital knock. However, the Delhi bowling unit were on a mission to complete the game quick. Under pressure, Wareham could only score 22 off 25 balls.
All-rounders: Ashleigh Gardner, Sneh Rana (c), Kim Garth
Kim Garth and Ashleigh Gardner, the bowlers with the most wickets in the Gujarat Giants set-up, had an evening to forget against Delhi. However, Garth top-scored for the side in her last outing as she got 32 off 37 and will look to play a more integral role in the forthcoming clash.
While they have the potential to get the vital breakthroughs, it remains to be seen if they can put up a tough fight against Mumbai Indians.
Skipper Sneh Rana has taken the responsibility of leading the side post Beth Mooney’s exit.
While her performances have been underwhelming, her leadership has not been impactful. However, there is still chance for the side to qualify and Rana will be gunning to turn their fate for good in the upcoming games.
Bowlers: Mansi Joshi, Tanuja Kanwar
The duo of Mansi Joshi and Tanuja Kanwar proved to be very costly in Gujarat’s last outing against Delhi. While Mansi leaked 31 runs in just two overs, Tanuja gave away 27 in her two.
The bowling unit has failed to click thus far and the duo will need to bounce back and produce breakthroughs in quick time. However, Mumbai’s batting unit could further dent their confidence as they are in top form.
Gujarat Giants (GUJ-W):
Sabbhineni Meghana, Sophia Dunkley, Harleen Deol, Ashleigh Gardner, Georgia Wareham, Sushma Verma (wk), Dayalan Hemalatha, Sneh Rana (c), Kim Garth, Mansi Joshi, Tanuja Kanwar
For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the IOS App Store and Google Play Store