Navi Mumbai: Hoping to arrest their recent slide, Gujarat Giants have a tough task at hand when they take on table-toppers Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their Women’s Premier League clash here on Friday.
After briefly leading the six-team standings, Giants have slipped to third following their defeat to Mumbai Indians on Tuesday, while former champions RCB have surged to the top with back-to-back wins.
RCB, on the other hand, have grown in strength with every outing, the latest being a commanding chase of 144 against UP Warriorz in under 13 overs.
The biggest positive for them was skipper Smriti Mandhana’s return to form after she was dismissed for 18 in the season-opener against the Mumbai Indians.
Mandhana anchored the chase with her trademark elegance and calm, while her opening partner Grace Harris was at her explosive best.
Gujarat will need to find a way to contain RCB’s formidable batting line-up, which also features the in-form Nadine de Klerk and the destructive Richa Ghosh, as they look to recover from the setback against the Mumbai Indians.
Their sloppy fielding in that match proved costly, with Harmanpreet Kaur getting three reprieves before she went on to seal Mumbai’s 193-run chase with a superb 71 off 43 balls.
“They’ve been working extremely hard with our fielding coach, Sarah Taylor and all the other coaches,” Gujarat Giants head coach Michael Klinger said.
“So certainly no issue with the effort. It’s difficult when you put good players down, catches down, and so it’s something we’ll keep working on.”
One positive for the Giants was the emergence of Kanika Ahuja at No.3 following injury to Anushka Sharma.
After missing out in the opener and batting at No.8 against Delhi Capitals, Kanika was promoted to one-down against Mumbai and impressed with a brisk 35 that included four fours and two sixes.
Bharti Fulmali also showed her hitting ability after coming in following Ayushi Soni being retired out, helping prop up the total.
However, Gujarat will need much more from established names such as Sophie Devine, Beth Mooney and captain Ashleigh Gardner if they are to match RCB’s batting firepower.
Their bowling too needs to lift itself. Both Renuka Singh and Kashvee Gautam failed to make an impact against Mumbai’s top-order batters.
Teams (from)
Gujarat Giants: Ashleigh Gardner (c), Beth Mooney, Sophie Devine, Renuka Singh Thakur, Bharti Fulmali, Titas Sadhu, Kashee Gautam, Kanika Ahuja, Tanuja Kanwer, Georgia Wareham, Anushka Sharma, Happy Kumari, Kim Garth, Yastika Bhatia, Shivani Singh, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Ayushi Soni.
Royal Challengers Bengalulru: Smriti Mandhana (c), Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil, Georgia Voll, Nadine de Klerk, Radha Yadav, Lauren Bell, Linsey Smith, Prema Rawat, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Grace Harris, Gautami Naik, Prathyoosha Kumar, D. Hemalatha and Sayali Satghare.
Match starts: 7.30pm.
