WPL 2024, Match 13: Gujarat Giants Women vs Royal Challengers Bangalore Women Match Preview

Gujarat Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore are set to cross swords at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday, March 6, in match 13 of the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2024.

The Giants have had a forgettable campaign so far as they have lost all four of the matches they have played and are languishing at the foot of the points table. They can ill-afford further slip-ups as time is running out. It has reached a point where every game is almost like a knockout affair for Beth Mooney and Co.

Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Bangalore have fared decently in WPL 2024, having won three games and suffering two losses out of the five they have played. After starting with two consecutive wins, the Smriti Mandhana-led side lost two games in a row and that would have made them nervous for a while. However, they returned to winning ways on Monday with a 23-run win against UP Warriorz.

Bangalore and Gujarat had squared off earlier in the tournament in Bengaluru. The Gujarat-based franchise was restricted to 107/7 in their 20 overs as Sophie Molineux (3/25 from four overs) and Renuka Singh (2/14 from four overs) starred with the ball. In reply, Bangalore made light work of the run chase as Smriti top-scored with a 27-ball 43. Sabbhineni Meghana and Ellyse Perry also made useful contributions with the bat as the chasing team won by eight wickets with 45 balls to spare.

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Arun Jaitley Stadium Pitch Report:

Batters generally find it difficult to start scoring from the get-go at this venue. However, they can up the ante when they get set. The powerplay is also very crucial as the batters look to get as many runs as they can when the ball is new. Once the ball gets older, and the field spreads out, batting becomes difficult. The ball also tends to come slowly off the surface and spinners can use it to good effect. The captain who wins the toss could opt to bowl first to get an idea of what the wicket is like on the day.

Probable Playing XI: 

Gujarat Giants Women:

Ahead of Gujarat's previous game against Delhi Capitals, former cricketer Anjum Chopra told the broadcasters that Sneh Rana was ill while Harleen Deol has been nursing her injury. Both players missed the game as Veda Krishnamurthy and Tarannum Pathan replaced them in the playing XI. Gujarat fans will hope that the duo of Rana and Deol recover in time to feature in the crucial tie against Bangalore.

Predicted XI: Laura Wolvaardt, Beth Mooney (C/WK), Phoebe Litchfield, Ashleigh Gardner, Veda Krishnamurthy, Dayalan Hemalatha, Kathryn Bryce, Tanuja Kanwar, Tarannum Pathan, Meghna Singh, Mannat Kashyap

Royal Challengers Bangalore Women:

Bangalore made a solitary change to their playing XI in their last game against the Warriorz. Ekta Bisht came in for Shreyanka Patil. Sabbhineni Meghana moved up to open with Smriti in the last game and scored 28 off 21 balls, hitting five fours. Sophie Devine, who started at the top, moved down to No. 5 for the encounter. Meghana should get another go at the top with the in-form Smriti and her role would be to take the pressure off her captain and provide her team a fiery start.

Predicted XI: Smriti Mandhana(c), Sabbhineni Meghana, Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh(wk), Sophie Devine,  Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham, Ekta Bisht, Simran Bahadur, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Thakur Singh

GG-W vs RCB-W Head-to-Head Record

GG-2 vs RCB-W Broadcast details: