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Gujarat Giants (GG) will begin their Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 campaign with a match against defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, February 25. This will be the third match of WPL 2024. The first two games of the edition produced last-ball thrillers, with MI beating Delhi Capitals (DC) in game one and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) getting the better of UP Warriorz in Match 2.
Gujarat Giants had a forgettable WPL 2023 campaign. They finished last in the points table, with only two wins and six losses from eight matches. GG began their campaign last season as well with a match against Mumbai Indians at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai. Sent into bat, Mumbai Indians put up 207/5 on the board and then knocked over Gujarat for 64 in 15.1 overs.
GG could never recover from the setback and ended up losing five of their next seven matches. While they had a poor campaign last year, they will be keen to put things right this time. On that note, we analyze three reasons why Gujarat Giants are the dark horses for WPL 2024.
#1 Gujarat Giants have strong overseas resources
Gujarat Giants have a strong contingent of overseas players and, if they fire, the franchise should have a good season. Ashleigh Gardner is one of the top all-rounders in world cricket. She can win games with both the bat and the ball. In the 2023 season, she claimed 10 scalps at an average of 25.50 and scored 204 runs at a strike rate of 141.67. Gardner will be confident of putting up an even better show this time.
South African opener Laura Wolvaardt has the experience and form to make a significant impact, while Australia’s Phoebe Litchfield is among the most promising upcoming batters in international cricket. Scotland all-rounder Kathryn Bryce is also a smart addition to the Gujarat Giants squad for WPL 2024.
Among bowlers, they also have New Zealand’s right-arm medium pacer Lea Tahuhu, who has come in as a replacement for Lauren Cheatle. Tahuhu, 33, brings the experience of 80 T20I matches in which she has claimed 78 wickets at an average of 19.05 and an economy rate of 6.02.
#2 Return of Beth Mooney is a massive plus
One of the reasons why Gujarat Giants looked like a fish out of water in WPL 2023 was because their captain Beth Mooney was ruled out of the tournament after the first match itself. She suffered a calf injury in the WPL 2023 opener against Mumbai Indians and took no further part in the edition. Sneh Rana was handed over the captaincy and, despite her best efforts, she lacked the charisma to inspire the team.
It goes without saying that the return of captain Mooney for WPL 2024 is a massive plus for Gujarat Giants. The Australian opener is one of the top batters in women’s international cricket at present. She has the ability to win matches for the team on her own.
The 30-year-old has an excellent record in the T20I format. In 95 matches, she has scored 2,764 runs at an average of 41.25 and a strike rate of 123.50, with two hundreds and 22 fifties. Having missed out on last season, the prolific left-hander will be hungry to make a huge impact in WPL 2024.
#3 More than decent Indian talent
Apart from overseas talent, it is imperative for teams to have strong Indian players as well. And Gujarat Titans tick the box in this regard as well. In Veda Krishnamurthy, they have a highly experienced Indian batter, who can play impactful cameos. Priya Mishra and Trisha Poojitha are good upcoming talents.
In the all-round department, Gujarat have a few good names to pick from. Harleen Deol and Sneh Rana come with a fair share of international experience. Dayalan Hemalatha is a handy batter and off-spinner, while the likes of Tanuja Kanwar and Tarannum Pathan can also make decent contributions. Sayali Satghare, who was named Kashvee Gautam’s replacement, will also be keen to make a mark.
On paper, Gujarat Giants might not have the strongest squad in WPL 2024, but if things come together, they definitely have the players to take them all the way.
