Who’s playing
Gujarat Giants (GG) vs Mumbai Indians (MI)
Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara, February 18, 2025, 7.30pm IST
What to expect: GG look to break MI jinx
The last time MI and GG met, Harmanpreet Kaur cracked 95 off 48 balls as MI pulled off a heist and booked a playoffs spot last moment. That meant MI have a 4-0 record against GG so far.
But unlike the previous two seasons, GG have started WPL 2025 on a much stronger note. While it took them five attempts to win their first game in 2024, their first victory this time came in their second match, when they beat UP Warriorz (UPW) comfortably. But ineffective death bowling continues to be a concern for GG. RCB took them for 79 runs off the last 4.3 overs, while UPW smashed 26 runs off the final eight deliveries of their innings. With the bat, GG’s captain Ashleigh Gardner will be looking for more support from the top order, as their top three tallied only 22 runs between them against UPW.
Meanwhile, MI started this season with a close loss against Delhi Capitals after three contentious run-out decisions. MI stuttered their way to 164 after Nat-Sciver Brunt (80*) and Harmanpreet (42) had given them a blazing start. Four of MI’s remaining top-seven batters fell for single-figure scores, and MI will hope things change against GG.
Team news and likely XIs
GG have played the same XI in both matches so far after handing out four debuts in the opener against RCB. But Sayali Satghare’s six overs across those two games cost 64 runs, and she struck only once. D Hemalatha, on the other hand, managed scores of only 4 and 0. So GG will hope they are back in form before it gets too late.
Gujarat Giants (probable): 1 Beth Mooney (wk), 2 Laura Wolvaardt, 3 D Hemalatha, 4 Ashleigh Gardner (capt), 5 Harleen Deol, 6 Deandra Dottin, 7 Simran Shaikh, 8 Tanuja Kanwar, 9 Sayali Satghare, 10 Priya Mishra, 11 Kashvee Gautam
MI have played only a solitary game so far this season, and are unlikely to panic despite their batters under-performing. But they will want Saika Ishaque, their second-highest wicket-taker in the WPL, to put behind a disappointing outing against RCB, as she leaked 43 runs in three overs.
Mumbai Indians (probable): 1 Hayley Matthews, 2 Yastika Bhatia (wk), 3 Nat Sciver-Brunt, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Amelia Kerr, 6 S Sajana, 7 Amanjot Kaur, 8 Sanskriti Gupta, 9 Jintimani Kalita, 10 Shabnim Ismail, 11 Saika Ishaque
Players to watch
Deandra Dottin made her WPL debut only this year, but has already left a mark. She walked out to bat in the 12th over in both matches, and struck at a rapid pace, scoring 25 off 13 while batting first against RCB, and then an unbeaten 33* off 18 in a tricky chase against UPW to ensure GG hunted down 144 with two overs to spare. GG will hope Dottin’s run continues, and helps them break their MI jinx.
Nat-Sciver Brunt may not have scored a lot in the recent Ashes but she showed her class in MI’s opening game. Batting at No.3, her 80 off 59 balls, which included 13 fours, formed the bedrock of MI’s total. That is nearly half of the 172 runs she managed in nine innings last WPL, and her form will be a relief for MI, whose batting otherwise mainly rests on Harmanpreet’s shoulders in the middle order.
Key stats
- Four of the top six wicket-takers in the WPL are from MI: Hayley Matthews (25 wickets), Ishaque (24), Amelia Kerr (24) and Sciver-Brunt (21).
- Only four players have achieved the double of scoring at least 300 runs and taking 20 wickets in the WPL. Three of them are from MI (Sciver-Brunt, Matthews and Kerr), and one from GG (Gardner).
Himanshu Agrawal is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
Source: ESPN Crickinfo
