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The Gujarat Giants had a tough initiation into the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) as they received a thrashing at the hands of the Mumbai Indians at the Dr. D.Y. Patil Sports Academy. The Giants won the toss and that was about the only thing that went right for them on the night. Mumbai Indians posted a massive total of 207 and in reply, the Giants were bowled out for an embarrassing score of 64.
The Giants will be hurt, but there is no time to feel sorry for themselves as they go up against the UP Warriorz tonight at the same venue. Here are three major areas to address for the Gujarat Giants ahead of their match against the Alyssa Healy-led side.
#1 The Beth Mooney conundrum
During the fourth ball of the second innings, skipper Beth Mooney attempted a single but was sent back by the non-striker, Nat Sciver-Brunt. Post that, she looked to be in a lot of discomfort and the physio was immediately summoned. Mooney left the field and did not return to bat.
The Gujarat Giants will be sweating over Mooney's fitness, who is not only their captain but also the team's best batter. If Mooney is unavailable, Sneh Rana, the vice-captain, will have to lead the team. Sophia Dunkley, the English international, might come into the playing 11 in such a scenario.
#2 Batters and bowlers' form
After opting to bowl first, the Gujarat Giants would have liked a better performance from the bowlers who were quite off-color, allowing the Mumbai Indians to post a huge total of 207. All the bowlers except Tanuja Kanwar had an economy rate of 8.5 or above, which is a worrying sign.
If the bowling was poor, the batting was shambolic, with only two batters managing to reach double digits, one of them being No. 11 Monica Patel. Four batters were dismissed for a duck, which eventually resulted in the team getting rolled over for just 64 runs.
The tournament has a busy schedule without too much time to rectify mistakes. This makes it vital for the Giants to sort out their bowling and batting issues quickly.
#3 Fielding
The Gujarat Giants' fielding was not up to the standard and that allowed the Mumbai Indians to convert ones into twos. The consequence was that the Giants could not build pressure and the opposition was able to play freely. Skipper Mooney was not too pleased with the fielding; the stumps mics caught her telling the fielders to 'hold the ball' on more than one occasion. Coach Rachael Haynes, a phenomenal fielder herself, will be eager to sort out the issues in this department.
