Two formidable teams, i.e Gujarat Giants and Mumbai Indians will clash at Navi Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium, which had a massive turnout of over 47,000 spectators during India vs Australia T20Is in December. The game is scheduled to begin at 8 pm Indian time, preceded by an opening ceremony at 5.30 pm featuring renowned performers like Kriti Sanon, Kiara Advani, and AP Dhillon. Entry will be free for women and girls.
The Giants will be led by Australian batter Beth Mooney, who is one of three Australian captains in the tournament. On the other hand, Mumbai will be captained by India's Harmanpreet Kaur. Before the tournament, Harmanpreet had expressed her belief that the WPL could offer the same opportunities to Indian players as the WBBL and the Hundred did for their Australian and English counterparts. In contrast, Mooney had not even considered captaincy before being picked up at the auction, and this would be her first time leading a team at this level.
Harmanpreet is a big fan of having versatile players on her team and Mumbai Indians have a surplus of them, including Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr, Chloe Tryon, Pooja Vastrakar, Hayley Matthews, and Heather Graham. Additionally, Yastika Bhatia and England's Issy Wong are among the other international players on their roster.
A decade ago, Harmanpreet made history with her first-ever international century in a World Cup ODI against England, which took place in Mumbai. Additionally, England's Issy Wong Is one of the standout bowlers of the tournament, who, at only 20 years old, is among the fastest and most skillful in the competition. Her deceptive knuckleball delivery is particularly noteworthy, causing trouble for many batters.
The Gujarat Giants have a strong contingent of Australian players, including Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner, who was named Player of the Tournament in the recent T20 World Cup win, Kim Garth, Annabel Sutherland, and Georgia Wareham. Their only non-Australian player is England's Sophia Dunkley. Mooney shone brightly as the star of the T20 World Cup final last month, earning both the Player of the Match award and the Player of the Series title for her outstanding performances.
The Giants also have notable Indian players, such as Harleen Deol, Sneh Rana (the vice-captain), and S Meghana. However, the team suffered a major setback before the tournament when star allrounder Deandra Dottin was ruled out due to medical reasons and replaced by Garth.
Gujarat Giants (possible): 1 Beth Mooney (capt), 2 Sophie Dunkley, 3 S Meghana, 4 Harleen Deol, 5 Ashleigh Gardner, 6 Sushma Verma (wk), 7 Sneh Rana, 8 Annabel Sutherland, 9 Mansi Joshi, 10 Tanuja Kanwar/Parunika Sisodia, 11 Monica Patel/Shabnam MD
Mumbai Indians (possible): 1 Yastika Bhatia, 2 Hayley Matthews, 3 Amelia Kerr, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Nat Sciver-Brunt, 6 Amanjot Kaur, 7 Pooja Vastrakar, 8 Issy Wong, 9 Jintimani Kalita, 10 Saika Ishaque, 11 Neelam Bisht/Dhara Gujjara
The Gujarat Giants vs Mumbai Indians WPL 2023 season opener will start at 7:30 PM. The match will be live-streamed on JioCinema. It will also be broadcasted live in India through Sports18 TV network.
