Giants vs. Mumbai, round two!
The WPL began with a high-scoring yet lopsided match between Gujarat Giants and Mumbai Indians. After that, Mumbai grew and continued to lose. Yet, with just one victory in their last four games, the Giants are in the bottom half of the standings.
They bizarrely decided to replace Sophia Dunkley, who had just hit 50 off 18 balls and was one of only two Giants hitters to do so, with newcomer Laura Wolvaardt. Their death bowling might be classified as a “area of concern,” while their batting has been inconsistent. The worst economy is by the Giants, who had a 14.71 in overs 17 to 20. With 10, Warriorz and Delhi Capitals are tied for second.
On the other side, Mumbai beat Warriorz on Sunday despite facing a difficult test. They only managed to take less than two wickets in the powerplay for the first time, but they still managed to win the game late. The top and middle order are still doing the most of their batting, which is still largely unproven.
observer player
Issy Wong, a fast bowler, has quietly helped Mumbai so far in their campaign. She has been their most efficient bowler, rattling the opposition early on with swing and pace before coming back towards the end.
S Meghana, the Giants’ debutant, has failed to get going. With a duck in her most recent outing, she has only allowed 34 runs in four innings. Rachael Haynes, the head coach of the Giants, has trusted Meghana to perform well in what she called a “high-risk role” soon. Meghana performed well when striking the ball in training on Monday, according to Haynes.
Mumbai Indians: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Yastika Bhatia, Amelia Kerr, Dhara Gujjar, Issy Wong, Humaria Kazi, Amanjot Kaur, Jintimani Kalita, and Saika Ishaque (possible).
Gujarat Giants (possible): S Meghana, S Dunkley, H Deol, A Gardner, L Wolvaardt, and D Hemalatha Sneh Rana, Sushma Verma (wk), Tanuja Kanwar, Kim Garth/Georgia Wareham, Mansi Joshi, 11
numbers and trivia
The best death-overs economy rate is 5.29 in Mumbai, compared to 14.71 in Giants.
The only Giants batter in the WPL with over 100 runs is Harleen Deol.
Quotes
“My attention is on the procedures. I am doing anything incorrectly if I deviate from the process and concentrate on the outcome. No one can always score, so if I am getting out by following the procedure, it is acceptable. Because it gives me time to settle, I like to bat first in the lineup.”
Yastika Bhatia, a wicketkeeper and batsman for the Mumbai Indians, on her WPL performance
“I’m not sure it was the best decision to remove a hitter who had performed admirably for us earlier in the game. Only two players have reached fifty runs in this event, and Dunks produced one of the best first innings I have seen in a long time. In the competition, we need our best players to participate in the majority of innings and balls.”
Rachael Haynes, the head coach of the Gujarat Giants, on her decision to omit Sophia Dunkley from their last game
