MI vs GG, WPL 2023: 3 player battles to watch out for

Women's Premier League (WPL) table-leaders Mumbai Indians (MI) will once again take on the Gujarat Giants (GG) at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday. MI just seem unstoppable as they have won each of their four games so far and are all but through to the playoffs. Now the goal on their mind would be to finish in the top spot and qualify directly for the final.

GG, on the other hand, have lost three out of their four games and have almost reached a do-or-die stage in the competition. The loss of Beth Mooney in their opening game has been a huge one, but stand-in skipper Sneh Rana has shown signs of being a great leader and they will be keen to make an impact against Mumbai.

The two teams met each other in the opening game of WPL 2023 and the Mumbai Indians emerged victorious by a staggering margin of 143 runs. While GG need the win, MI also cannot afford a slip-up if they want to finish in the top spot. So the match-ups in this game could go a long way in deciding the result.

On that note, let's take a look at three such match-ups:

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#3 Laura Wolvaardt vs Saika Ishaque

Laura Wolvaardt was brought in by the Giants as a replacement for the injured Beth Mooney. Although the Proteas star couldn't do much in her first WPL game, Wolvaardt still remains a threat to any opposition because of her match-winning ability.

The opener has often started a bit slow and then changed gears to play the anchoring role to perfection. So it will be really important for Mumbai to strike in the powerplay and Saika Ishaque is their biggest weapon.

The left-arm spinner has already picked up 12 wickets in four games and has had a tendency to strike early in the powerplay. It will be interesting to see how Wolvaardt negotiates Ishaque and whether the spinner spins a web to cause problems for the star batter.

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#2 Hayley Matthews vs Ash Gardner

West Indies star Hayley Matthews has arguably been an MVP for the Mumbai Indians this season as she has delivered with both bat and ball. She has already scored 168 runs and has picked up seven wickets in just four games, proving why she is arguably one of the best all-rounders in the world.

Matthews hit a scintillating 47 against Gujarat in the first game, but she was dismissed by Ashleigh Gardner. The West Indies star has shown that she has struggled a bit of late against quality spin bowling and Gardner will definitely feel that she has a chance to do the double over the MI star.

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#1 Harmanpreet Kaur vs Kim Garth

MI skipper Harmanpreet Kaur is another player who has got great memories from the last time she faced the Giants in the opening game. She has already won two Player of the Match awards for her two half-centuries and would definitely like to cash in on her good form.

While all the GG bowlers were smashed to the boundary by Harmanpreet, Kim Garth is someone who could challenge her in this reverse fixture. In all T20 cricket, Garth has conceded just 19 runs off 24 balls to the star batter and has dismissed her once. This makes it quite an intriguing battle to watch out for.