Big picture: GG’s batting renaissance
Playing at a venue where the team winning the toss has chosen to bowl in 20 of the 23 Women’s T20s it has hosted, GG were put in in both their games, and responded by posting totals that proved to be above-par.
At the heart of this turnaround has been one of their marquee acquisitions at the auction, Sophie Devine. Despite her opening partner Beth Mooney having an uncharacteristically scratchy start to the campaign, Devine has ensured GG have piled pressure on the bowlers from the get-go. She hit a tone-setting 20-ball 38 in GG’s season-opener against UP Warriorz, and followed up with a majestic 42-ball 95 in a narrow win over Delhi Capitals.
GG’s powerplay run rate of 11.33 is comfortably the highest of all teams this season, with no other team even touching 10 in the first six.
Captain Ashleigh Gardner and new signings Anushka Sharma and Georgia Wareham have also made crucial contributions, ensuring GG have kept the tempo up through their innings.
This game, then, could be a serious test of GG’s new-found batting approach.
Team news
Hayley Matthews missed MI’s first two games, and her availability is still a doubt. Unless she recovers fully from her shoulder injury, MI are unlikely to tinker with the combination that brought them their first win of the season against DC.
Mumbai Indians (probable): 1 G Kamalini (wk), 2 Amelia Kerr, 3 Nat Sciver-Brunt, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Nicola Carey, 6 Sajeevan Sajana, 7 Amanjot Kaur, 8 Poonam Khemnar, 9 Shabnim Ismail, 10 Sanskriti Gupta, 11 Triveni Vasistha.
GG have won back-to-back games with the same line-up, and barring any late fitness issues will likely retain the combination that has worked so well for them.
Gujarat Giants (probable): 1 Beth Mooney (wk), 2 Sophie Devine, 3 Anushka Sharma, 4 Ashleigh Gardner (capt), 5 Georgia Wareham, 6 Bharti Fulmali, 7 Kashvee Gautam, 8 Kanika Ahuja, 9 Tanuja Kanwar, 10 Rajeshwari Gayakwad, 11 Renuka Singh
Big question
Should Matthews be available, MI will face a tricky decision on who the West Indies allrounder will replace. Allrounder Nicola Carey has taken five wickets in two games and played two crucial knocks – a 29-ball 40 in a rescue act against RCB and a 12-ball 21 against DC. Meanwhile, Amelia Kerr, who would usually be among the first names on the team sheet, has struggled with the bat, opening in Matthews’ absence. Kerr also has five wickets, but scores of 0 and 4 mean the New Zealand allrounder’s selection could come under the scanner.
In the spotlight – Nat Sciver Brunt and Ashleigh Gardner
Key stats
- Harmanpreet enjoys a good record against Gardner, having scored 210 runs at a strike rate of 161.53 in Women’s T20s against the offspinner, while only being dismissed four times.
- Beth Mooney’s struggle for form may just continue as she comes up against Shabnim Ismail. Mooney has been out five times to Ismail in 20 innings, and has struck at 121.98 against the fast bowler.
- Georgia Wareham has dismissed Nat Sciver-Brunt seven times in 17 innings while conceding just 84 runs in 84 balls.
Pitch and conditions
Although the season began with a successful chase in a low-scoring game at the DY Patil Stadium, the three matches that followed have all been high-scorers with the team batting first emerging victorious. Giants won both their matches by setting big targets, while MI have also only batted first so far in the season, winning one match and narrowly losing the other. Navi Mumbai has offered fast bowlers some movement with the new ball, while dew has often set in quite late.
Abhimanyu Bose is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo