Gujarat Giants will look to quickly turn things around when they take on UP Warriorz in their second match of the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, March 5.
The Beth Mooney-led Giants had a challenging start to the first-ever WPL after succumbing to a 143-run defeat against Mumbai Indians in the opening match of the T20 tournament on Saturday.
Put into bat, the Mumbai Indians rode on captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s knock of 65 runs off just 30 balls along with Amelia Kerr’s unbeaten 24-ball 45 to post a massive score of 207/5 in their 20 overs.
In reply, the Giants suffered an early blow as skipper Mooney walked off the field after injuring her leg while attempting to take a quick single. The injury further dented Giants’ confidence as they lost wickets at regular intervals, managing 64/9 in 15.1 overs.
For the Giants, vice-captain Sneh Rana and left-arm spinner Tanuja Kanwer impressed with the ball. While Rana bagged the important wickets of Harmanpreet and Pooja Vastrakar, Kanwer claimed the first-ever WPL dismissal as she removed MI opener Yastika Bhatia.
In the batting department, Dayalan Hemalatha played an impressive knock of unbeaten 29 runs off just 23 balls, laced with one four and two sixes.
Alyssa Healy-led UP Warriorz will play their first match of WPL 2023 on Sunday.
The Warriorz boast a strong squad with world-class players, including Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Ecclestone, Grace Harris and Lauren Bell.
The franchise has also appointed former Australia captain Lisa Sthalekar as their mentor and ex-England cricketer Jonathan Lewis as the head coach.
Despite suffering from injury concerns and a disheartening start, the Rachael Haynes-coached Giants will be desperate to bring their A-game in order to bounce back against the star-studded Warriorz to secure their first victory in the WPL.
