Gujarat Giants face Mumbai Indians in crunch WPL contest: Preview
What's the story
The Gujarat Giants (GG) will take on the Mumbai Indians (MI) in a highly awaited Women's Premier League (WPL) clash at the Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara on February 18.
The Giants are eager to end their losing streak against the Indians, who have an unbroken 4-0 record against them across two seasons.
In their previous meeting, Harmanpreet Kaur's stunning 95 off 48 balls guided MI to a win and a playoff spot in WPL 2024.
Here's more.
Performance review
Giants's performance and challenges in WPL 2025
The Giants have been much improved in the ongoing season of WPL, winning their first match in just their second outing against UP Warriorz (UPW).
Last year, it took them five attempts to seal a win.
However, the team's death bowling continues to be a worry as they leaked 79 runs off the last 4.3 overs against RCB and 26 off the last eight balls against UPW.
Team dynamics
Giants's captain seeks top order support
Giants's captain Ashleigh Gardner would want more from her top order batters. Against UPW, the top three could only score 22 runs combined.
The team has stuck to the same playing XI in both matches this season with four debutants in the opener against RCB.
Meanwhile, bowler Sayali Satghare has been disappointing with her six overs going for 64 runs and taking just one wicket.
MI's journey
Mumbai Indians's performance and expectations
On the flip side, the Mumbai Indians started this season with a narrow loss to Delhi Capitals after three controversial run-out decisions.
Despite a promising start from Nat-Sciver Brunt (80) and Harmanpreet (42), the team could only post a total of 164 runs.
Four of MI's remaining top-seven batters fell for single-figure scores, something they would hope to fix in their next match against GG.
Key players
Players to watch in the upcoming match
Deandra Dottin of the Giants has made a mark in her WPL debut year, scoring quickly in both games. She will be key in GG's bid to end their losing streak against MI.
She scored 25 off 13 against RCB and an unbeaten 33* off 18 against UPW.
Meanwhile, Nat-Sciver Brunt showed her class with an 80 off 59 balls in their opener. Her performance will be crucial for MI as they also depend a lot on Harmanpreet's batting prowess.
Predicted XIs
A look at the predicted playing XIs
GG Women predicted XI: Beth Mooney (wk), Laura Wolvaardt, D Hemalatha, Ashleigh Gardner (captain), Harleen Deol, Deandra Dottin, Simran Shaikh, Tanuja Kanwar, Sayali Satghare, Priya Mishra, Kashvee Gautam.
MI Women predicted XI: Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Amelia Kerr, S Sajana, Amanjot Kaur, Sanskriti Gupta, Jintimani Kalita, Shabnim Ismail, Saika Ishaque.
Do you know?
Unique record for MI bowlers
As per ESPNcricinfo, four of the top six wicket-takers in the WPL are from MI Women. They are Hayley Matthews (25 wickets), Saika Ishaque (24), Amelia Kerr (24) and Sciver-Brunt (21).