Mumbai, March 10 (IANS): The Gujarat Giants (GG) won the toss and elected to bowl first against the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 19th match of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 at the Brabourne Stadium here on Monday. For the Gujarat Giants, Dayalan Hemalatha goes out while Simran Shaikh comes back in, whereas Mumbai Indians are playing with the same playing XI that took part in their previous match.
Gujarat Giants captain Ashleigh Gardner said, “We are going to bowl, it’s a fresh surface. Expecting a good wicket, let’s see what happens in the first innings. Taking a lot of positives from the last few games, nice to be winning games. It’s really pleasing, excited for the future. The balance of the team is all-rounded. We have one change. We are playing some good cricket, hopefully, tonight we can beat MI.”
Mumbai Indians captain Harmanpreet Kaur said, “We have been waiting for this moment. Happy to be back here, looking forward to playing here. This week is important for us, hopefully, we will play our best cricket. For us, it’s important to stay in the moment. Need to see how the pitch is behaving, will set the total accordingly. Need to keep ourselves calm and balanced. Need to keep enjoying, we are playing with the same XI.”
Monday’s clash is anything but a dead rubber—it could decide the tournament’s first finalist.
Not long ago, the Gujarat Giants were languishing at the bottom of the table, much like their finishes in the past two seasons. However, a remarkable three-match winning streak has catapulted them into a fierce three-way contest with Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals for the top spot.
The scenario is straightforward for Gujarat: a loss to MI would send them to the Eliminator. But if they win by 17 runs or successfully chase a target like 180 within 18 overs, they would surpass Delhi Capitals on Net Run Rate and have a strong chance of securing a direct spot in the final.
For Mumbai Indians, currently in third place, a win would solidify their standing, though even a loss wouldn’t necessarily end their chances of finishing at the top, as they still have another match to play.
Playing XIs:
Mumbai Indians: Hayley Matthews, Amelia Kerr, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Amanjot Kaur, Yastika Bhatia (wk), S Sajana, G Kamalini, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail, Parunika Sisodia
Gujarat Giants: Beth Mooney(wk), Harleen Deol, Ashleigh Gardner (c), Dayalan Hemalatha, Deandra Dottin, Kashvee Gautam, Phoebe Litchfield, Bharti Fulmali, Tanuja Kanwar, Meghna Singh, Priya Mishra
–IANS
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