UP Warriorz vs Gujarat Giants

Gujarat Giants will return to the DY Patil Stadium a day after the big defeat they suffered at the hands of Mumbai Indians, hoping for a turn of fortunes when they take on UP Warriorz, who will be playing their first game of the Women’s Premier League. But unfortunately for Giants, the problems extend beyond the pitch.Giants replaced West Indies’ Deandra Dottin with Australia’s Kim Garth in the days leading up to the WPL. The team said Dottin was “recovering from a medical situation” but she took to social media to suggest that she is fine. Then, in the first over of their chase of 208 against Mumbai Indians, Giants’ captain Beth Mooney suffered a knee injury while running between the wickets and was helped off the field.Related

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Warriorz, led by Alyssa Healy, will look to get off to a strong start. They have plenty of firepower in their line-up, such as the big-hitting Grace Harris and Kiran Navgire, while their bowling attack features Shabnim Ismail and Deepti Sharma.

Players to watch

For the Warriorz, Healy, Navgire and Harris are the ones who are expected to provide the fireworks with the bat, with able support from Tahlia McGrath, Deepti and Devika Vaidya. They also have Shweta Sehrawat, who was part of India’s U-19 World cup winning team.In the bowling department, Ismail, Lauren Bell and Anjali Sarvani are the pace options, while Sophie Ecclestone and Rajeshwari Gayakwad shore up the spin department on top of the allrounders.For Giants, 25-year-old left-arm spinner Tanuja Kanwar was among the few bright spots against Mumbai Indians, conceding just 12 runs from her two overs.Dayalan Hemalatha was another, with an unbeaten 29 off 23 deliveries that included two sixes and a four. With Mooney’s availability being uncertain, there will be more of an onus on her to shore up their batting.Ashleigh Gardner, the player of the tournament in the recent Women’s T20 World Cup, picked a wicket but went for 38 and was dismissed for a golden duck against Mumbai, but will be in the spotlight.

Playing XIs

UP Warriorz (possible): 1 Alyssa Healy, 2 Shweta Sehrawat, 3 Kiran Navgire, 4 Tahlia McGrath, 5 Grace Harris, 6 Devika Vaidya, 7 Deepti Sharma, 8 Simran Shaikh, 9 Shabnim Ismail, 10 Rajeshwari Gayakwad, 11 Anjali SarvaniGujarat Giants (possible): 1 Sophia Dunkley/Beth Mooney, 2 S Meghana, 3 Harleen Deol, 4 Ashleigh Gardner, 5 Sushma Verma, 6 Annabel Sutherland, 7 Dayalan Hemalatha, 8 Georgia Wareham, 9 Sneh Rana, 10 Tanuja Kanwar, 11 Mansi Joshi

Stats and trivia

• Shweta Sehrawat was the top scorer at the inaugural Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup
• Only two players – Hemalatha and Monica Patel – reached double figures against Mumbai Indians for Gujarat Giants

Quotes

“It is an opportunity sure but what I’ll want is that the team does not repeat their mistakes. I will tell the girls to keep their heads high and to learn from today. Definitely we will perform good.””We have a good mix of experience and youth along with ability and look forward to putting on a show for our fans. We are here to win and be ruthless in our brand of cricket.”