🏏Women's Premier League 2023: Gujarat Giants vs Mumbai Indians 🏏

 🏏Women's Premier League 2023:Gujarat Giants vs Mumbai Indians-Match1  🏏 

It's been five years, and a full-fledged Women's Premier League is finally here - full of promise and opportunities, just as advertised.

Fittingly, the two most prominent investors in this nascent commodity - the Adani-owned Gujarat Giants and the Ambanis' Mumbai Indians - go head to head in the curtain raiser at Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium today. 

The build-up that the tournament opener, and the inaugural season on the whole, has seen isn't common practice in women's cricket. 

The team's social media accounts are buzzing with content. The players are in and out of meetings that aren't just with the support staff. There are ad shoots, media ops, and meet and greets galore. 

The Giants trained on the eve of the game amidst the rehearsals and loud music that reverberated across the university's sprawling campus late into the night - a preparation almost alien to many in this ecosystem but one they wouldn't mind getting used to.

And once the pageantry of the star-studded opening ceremony BCCI has queued up gets out of the way, cricket and its subplots will duly take over.

WPL too - like how the initial seasons of men's IPL unfolded - will depend on its star power for early traction, and success even. 

Mumbai had a clear leadership candidate almost as soon as their buying began at the auction table, while Giants' captaincy curveball took many by surprise. ⭐️

The first Indian captain to lead the country to 50 victories in the shortest format is now in charge of the side that's been most successful in the men's competition - a legacy Harmanpreet Kaur admittedly is hoping to continue.

Her opposite number, Beth Mooney, hasn't led in professional cricket yet but knows a thing or two about winning big games. ⭐️

Add to that her three compatriots and Deandra Dottin who can all equip the relatively inexperienced around them with the inner workings of a championship-winning campaign. 

Maybe even guide them to the title in this maiden attempt.⭐️

Gujarat GiantsGiants nucleus is going to be the strong Australian and Railways influence in their squad. However, as formidable as their batting looks on paper, the local pace-bowling talents lack big-match experience which could prove to be their weak link. They do have two promising U-19 pacers, who could be lining up for their first taste of professional cricket after impressing the Giants coaches.

Probable XI:Beth Mooney (C, wk), Sabbineni Meghana, Harleen Deol, Ash Gardner, D Hemalatha, Kim Garth, Annabel Sutherland, Sneh Rana, Hurley Gala/Ashwani Kumari, Mansi Joshi/Monica Patel, Tanuja Kanwar

Mumbai Indians

A plethora of allrounders to pick from - both capped and uncapped - is something that pleases MI captain Harmanpreet, and also could give the think tank a happy headache. Luckily, MI used their time well and got in a couple of intra-squad games for the coaching staff to get a closer look at some of the uncapped players especially. While the core of the team selects itself, the hard choice to make will be around their fourth overseas player - express pace of Issy Wong or an extra all-rounder in Chole Tryon or Heather Graham?

Probable XI:Yastika Bhatia (wk), Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Dhara Gujjar, Amelia Kerr, Pooja Vastrakar, Amanjot Kaur, Jintimani Kalita, Issy Wong, Sonam Yadav/Saika Ishaque

We were always looking for this opportunity for so many years and now that the platform is there, it is definitely going to take women's cricket to the next level, especially for the domestic players. 

The top 25 girls were always getting that exposure but the young girls who haven't got enough chances, they now have a great platform where they can express themselves. 

Going forward for Indian cricket, this tournament will help us to create a good team and that hard competition will be there. After this tournament, we will definitely see some good performances and girls who will come up and do well for the team. 

I can only wish them good luck and whoever gets the opportunity, they try to use it to the maximum. - Harmanpreet Kaur on the significance of this platform  

It's the support staff that have been around and in touch with the girls. Rach [Rachael Haynes, head coach] and I have a great relationship, she's putting across a few different things and I have had a few discussions with Mithali [Raj, team mentor and advisor] as well. Will sit down with Noosh [al Khadeer, bowling coach] tomorrow and have a few discussions about the bowling group. 

For the first couple of games, I will be relying on their intel and see how the girls react in a game situation. - Beth Mooney on her support system as an overseas captain

Thanks for the tag Madhu.🤗

Both are strong teams.

May the best team win.

Cheers..

This will be the first time that women cricketers will don the Indian Premier League franchise jerseys and take on the field to play the most entertaining T20 cricket league. 

It took 15 years for the BCCI to finally launch the women’s version of the Indian Premier League. Thanks to the growth of women’s cricket over last few years and constant demand of the fans, the international women cricketers will be seen playing the league from this year.

The first match of the WPL 2023 will see some of the biggest names of the game taking on each other. Mumbai Indians with will like to change their record of losing opening match in the IPL by beating the newcomers, Gujarat Giants. So, a close match could be expected between the two sides flaunting a bunch of stars.

Venue Scoring Pattern in T20s
Total matches 2

Matches won bowling first 1

Average 1st Inns scores 179

Average 2nd Inns scores 180

Highest total recorded 187/1 (20 Ov) by AUSW vs INDW

Highest score chased 173/1 (18.1 Ov) by AUSW vs INDW

Pitch Report 

The DY Patil pitch is conducive to scoring runs and is considered a batsman-friendly surface, which means that bowlers will have to put in extra effort to reap the rewards. A score of 140-150 is expected to be the average or par score on this pitch.

Weather Forecast 

The maximum temperature in Mumbai on Saturday would be 35°C. The humidity would be around 42%. There is no chance of rain.

Both teams have some really strong players that can turn the match on their own. MI’s batting line-up appears formidable with the presence of players like Kuar, Sciver, Hayley Matthews, and Chloe Tryon. These talented batswomen have the ability to dominate the game and put the opposition under pressure. GG’s bowlers will need to be alert and sharp in order to contain the likes of Kaur and her teammates. 

While GG does have a strong bowling attack, the onus will be on Sneh Rana, Mansi Josh, and Wareham to take early wickets and break MI’s momentum. 

Here are the predicted playing XI’s of Gujarat Giants and Mumbai Indians for the WPL 2023 Match 1.

Toss Prediction for Today’s WPL Match GG vs MI

GG vs MI Toss Prediction: This being a night game and the first game of the tournament, the teams could be reluctant to bat first on the pitch. So, bowling first after winning the toss could be the way to go.

Winning Chances of Today Match for the Both Teams

Both teams have capitalized on great talents. They have tried to mix experience and youngsters. However, while the number of international cricketers is a strong point for Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians have shown trust in the Indian cricketers. No wonder having domestic cricketers in the lot will give the Mumbai Indians Women an edge in the first match of WPL 2023.

On the other hand, for Gujarat Giants, their captain Beth Mooney will be playing a major role. Australia have recently won the T20 World Cup and Mooney was one the stars in their successful captain. This will be the first time Mooney will be leading a side in an overseas T20 league. The rest of the side consists of players like Harleen Deol, Ash Gardner, Deandra Dottin, D Hemalatha, Deandra Dottin, Annabel Sutherland, Sneh Rana. It is the bunch of all-rounders that the Giants will look up to for team balance.

All eyes will be on the England all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt from Mumbai Indians. They have invested a huge amount of money the Brunt and she will be expected to justify the same. MI also have players like Amelia Kerr, Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhati, Pooja Vastrakar while the team will be led by Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur. They have picked up quite a few all-rounders keeping the team balance in mind while also tried to maintain a balance between international and domestic talents.

Here is Our WPL 2023 GG vs MI Match Prediction

Case1: If Gujarat Giants bat first

First Innings score prediction: Gujarat Giants will score 135-145 runs

Result prediction: Mumbai Indians will win the match by 5 wickets

Case2: If Mumbai Indians bat first

First Innings score prediction: Mumbai Indians will score 140–150 runs

Result prediction: Mumbai Indians will win the match by 5–15 runs

GG vs MI Match Prediction :
Mumbai Indians seem to have a better bowling attack, which would be more important on a batting-friendly pitch. Plus, the home crowd support should play a role too.

Harleen Deol, Gujarat Giants: "We always wanted this day to arrive, so we are very excited. As a young girl, always wanted to play a WPL. (Meaning for women's sport) Even overseas players are excited for it, shows how big a tournament this is. The preparation has been good, we've been gelling well. Everybody is sharing their experiences."

"I don't know what to express, in a little more time, tears will fall down my cheeks", says Jemimah Rodrigues' father at the DY Patil Stadium. That shows how much this means to the family members of so many Indian cricketers. In all, there are 57 Indians among the 87 players picked up at the auction. A whopping 407 players signed up by the way. Rodrigues, a Mumbai girl, is vice-captain at Delhi Capitals, who play tomorrow.