Gujarat Giants vs Mumbai Indians, WPLT20, Today Match Prediction 25 February 2024

GGW vs MIW Match Prediction & Analysis

It’s Match 3 of the Women’s Premier League 2024 where Gujarat Giants take on Mumbai Indians.

A last-place finish in 2023 forced the Giants to go in for a quick overhaul. And here they are fit and firing to kick off the new season with a squad seeking redemption. After a spotless first season, title-winners Mumbai Indians would be aiming to make it two in a row.

With both the teams eyeing a great start to this year's campaign, this clash will be anything but ordinary.

The 2-0 head to head lays bare how dominating Mumbai Indians were against the Giants last year.

The Giants know that the Indians will come hard at them once again. And their best shot at victory is in playing to potential to ward off any threat from the Indians.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

GGW

MIW

W

DCW

171/5 in 20.0 8.55

WPLT20

Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals by 4 wickets 23 Feb 2024

MIW

173/6 in 20.0 8.65

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

Gujarat Giants Preview

A mediocre campaign saw the Gujarat Giants manage just two wins from eight games last year. Injuries, inconsistencies and controversies marred an otherwise ordinary season for the Giants.

They needed a thorough overhaul to turn things around. Or the team management thought so that they called for wholesale changes. They let go of the coach Rachael Haynes and 11 other players from last season. They roped in Western Australian Michael Klinger to take on the coaching job and work with Beth Mooney .

To form a new squad retaining the core group of players was one of the early challenges they were faced with . Given the pool of players they've put together this season, it seems like they aced it.

Batting with Beth Mooney at the top will be Laura Wolvaardt. Both batters take time getting their eye in. However, they need to cash in on the fielding restrictions during powerplay. Phoebe Litchfield, Ash Gardner and Veda Krishnamurthy bring solidity and powerful striking to the middle order. Kashvee Gautam- the player they splurged on at the auction- will out of action due to an injury.

Also missing in action will be the Aussie speedster Laurie Cheatle. But they have called two pacers for cover in Lea Tahuhu and Kathryn Bryce.

Gujarat Giants Predicted Playing XI:

Beth Mooney (C), Laura Wolvaardt, Harleen Deol, Ash Gardner, Veda Krishnamurthy, Phoebe Litchfield, Sneh Rana, Lea Tahuhu, Mannat Kashyap, Shabnim Shakil, Meghana Singh.

Gujarat Giants Actual Playing XI:

Harleen Deol, Dayalan Hemalatha, Veda Krishnamurthy, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Kathryn Bryce, Ashleigh Gardner, Sneh Rana, Tanuja Kanwar, Meghna Singh, Lea Tahuhu

Mumbai Indians Preview

The champions of the first WPL, Mumbai Indians, are on a mission this time: to defend their title.

And their title defence got off to an ideal start with a thrilling last-ball win over Delhi Capitals in the tournament opener. With the Indians needing 5 runs off 1 ball, Sajeevan Sajana gave the only ball she faced a lusty blow, scoring a six to seal the game.

Set 172 as target, MI's chase was dealt an early blow with dashing opener Hayley Matthews returning to the dugout in the very first over. Yashika Bhatia and Nat Sciver Brunt applied themselves to the task but the English batter, too, departed soon with 120 more runs still to get.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur joined Yashika Bhatia in the middle to lead the charge. Both of them scored a half-century each, with the former scoring her runs at a faster clip to make sure the asking rate never crept up beyond reach. Earlier, South African Shabnim Ismail, who replaced Issy Wong in the squad, breathed fire, bowling with pace and accuracy to finish with impressive figures of 1/24 from 4 overs. Left arm twirler Saika Ishaque bowled well in tandem with her but couldn’t pick up any wicket. Amelia Kerr and Nat Sciver Brunt picked two wickets eac. 

The Indians were a bit rusty in the opening game but they did well to hold their nerves to win the game. And taking such crunch games will instil them with belief to defend their title successfully – come what may.

Mumbai Indians Predicted Playing XI:

Hayley Mathews, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, Pooja Vastrakar, Izzy Wong, Jintimani Kalita, Amandeep Kaur, Saika Ishaque

Mumbai Indians Actual Playing XI:

Yastika Bhatia, Hayley Matthews, Amanjot Kaur, Harmanpreet Kaur, Amelia Kerr, Natalie Sciver, Saika Ishaque, Shabnim Ismail, Pooja Vastrakar, Sathyamoorthy Keerthana, Sajeevan Sajana

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The surface here has always assisted batting more. The short boundaries at the venue makes bowling a lot more difficult. You err in line and length and you disappear here. Dew has been shown to play a role here, but it’s early March so it remains to be seen what role it plays here in this contest.

GGW vs MIW Pitch Report

The match will be played at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru- the home of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. A couple of days ago, this stadium hosted its first ever WPL match between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals.

Toss: To Bowl

Win the toss and chase is the template that batting-heavy teams follow here. With the firepower they've in their ranks, Mumbai Indians will most likely opt to field first after winning the toss. Not sure the Giants will be thinking along the same lines.