<p>Two thrilling last-ball matches featuring four well-matched teams captivated the crowded M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru and viewers at home, marking the perfect start to the Women’s Premier League (WPL) second season.</p>
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<p>The Gujarat Giants, the fifth and final team in the competition, will play their first game of the new season on Sunday against the Mumbai Indians. In order to plan ahead and make sure they had a stronger run in the competition in 2024, the Giants entered the second season having taken the maximum number of players to the December auction. They also replaced Rachel Haynes as head coach with Michael Klinger.</p>
<p><strong>WPL 2024: COMPLETE COVERAGE | TIMELINE | OUTCOME | POINTS TABLE | RED CAP | GREEN CAP</strong></p>
<p>They added Phoebe Litchfield and Kathryn Boyce to their team at the auction, strengthening it in both the batting and bowling categories. But before a ball was played, they suffered two blows to their side when Lauren Cheatle and the most expensive Indian player at the auction, Kashvee Gautam, were declared out with injury, forcing a reorganization of their squads. The Giants will continue to rely on Ashleigh Gardener and Sneh Rana’s all-around skills as well as the expertise of Beth Mooney and Laura Wolvaardt at the top.</p>
<p>Their biggest concern will be the middle order because, in contrast to other teams, they lack talented foreign hitters who can steal the game from the opposition. It will be interesting to watch if players like Dayalan Hemalatha can step up their game and contribute significantly to the team.</p>
<p>The MI team, which defeated the Delhi Capitals in the tournament’s first game on Friday, will be motivated to play the Giants. There were several things the team was glad to see from that game, but chief Harmanpreet Kaur’s comeback to form—she scored 55 runs off of 34 balls to put her team within striking distance of victory—was the biggest.</p>
<p>The bowling of seasoned South African pacer Shabnim Ismail and left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque, who controlled the flow of runs in the powerplay by keeping tight lines, was another plus for MI in the season opener.</p>
<p>At the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, MI defeated GG by 143 runs in the WPL’s first encounter between these two teams in 2023. On Sunday, Mooney’s team hopes to upset the reigning champs and get their season off to a strong start.</p>
<p>What: Third-round Women’s Premier League 2024 match between Gujarat Giants and Mumbai Indians</p>
<p>When: 7:30 PM IST on February 25, 2024</p>
<p>Where: Bangalore’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.</p>
<p><strong>Gujarat Lions</strong></p>
<p>In addition to counting on runs from players like Beth Mooney, Phoebe Litchfield, and Laura Wolvaardt, the Gujarat Giants will also be counting on Meghana Singh, Sneh Rana, and Dayalan Hemalatha, three Indian bowlers.</p>
<p>The following players are probably starting XI: Ashleigh Gardner, Dayalan Hemalatha, Phoebe Litchfield, Laura Wolvaardt, Harleen Deol, Sneh Rana, Kathryn Bryce, Meghana Singh, Mannat Kashyap, and Shabnam Shakil.</p>
<p><strong>Indians from Mumbai</strong></p>
<p>Most likely, the Mumbai Indians will start with the same lineup that triumphed against the Delhi Capitals on Friday.</p>
<p>Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amanjot Kaur (c), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, S Sajana, Pooja Vastrakar, Shabnim Ismail, Keerthana Balakrishnan, and Saika Ishaque are probably the players that will start in the starting lineup.</p>
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<p>After the season’s first game, Beth Mooney expressed her disappointment at not being able to play for GG, saying, “You know that obviously didn’t work out.” Mooney had been looking forward to the chance to play in the Gujarat Giants’ first WPL season and lead them to some degree of success.</p>
