Gujarat Giants won the toss in Delhi and – a little surprisingly – decided to bat. That makes them the first side in 41 Women’s Premier League (WPL) matches to turn down the chance to chase. The numbers offer some logic: every one of their four victories this season has come when they have put runs on the board first.
Captain Ashleigh Gardner explained it in simple terms: she wants her team to “set the game up with the bat in hand”. So the XI that edged Delhi Capitals three nights ago is unchanged. Gardner, Beth Mooney and Sophie Devine headline a line-up still looking for a first win over Mumbai Indians. They are 0-8 in that particular head-to-head, which tells its own story.
Mumbai skipper Harmanpreet Kaur looked relaxed enough. She said they had “wanted to bowl anyway”, which suits the situation just fine. Her side have chased once and batted first twice for their three victories in 2026, Nat Sciver-Brunt’s brilliant hundred against Royal Challengers Bengaluru still fresh in the mind.
Conditions? Pitch No. 4 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. One square side measures 59 metres, the other 51, while straight down the ground stretches out to 68 metres. So expect bowlers to protect the longer square side and batters to eye that shorter one.
The incentives could hardly be clearer. Win tonight and a place in Sunday’s Eliminator is secure. Lose, and everyone will be refreshing scores from Capitals v UP Warriorz tomorrow.
Probable XIs
Gujarat Giants: Beth Mooney (wk), Sophie Devine, Anushka Sharma, Ashleigh Gardner (capt), Georgia Wareham, Bharti Fulmali, Kanika Ahuja, Kashvee Gautam, Tanuja Kanwar, Renuka Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad.
Mumbai Indians: Hayley Matthews, Sajeevan Sajana, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Amanjot Kaur, Amelia Kerr, Rahila Firdous (wk), Sanskriti Gupta, Poonam Khemnar, Shabnim Ismail, Vaishnavi Sharma.
Quick thoughts
• Giants couldn’t defend 192 against Mumbai earlier in the season; that memory lingers.
• Mumbai’s new-ball pair of Ismail and Matthews will fancy an early strike on a fresh surface.
• Gardner v Sciver-Brunt feels like the match-up that might decide the middle overs.
So, one more roll of the dice for Gujarat. They have chosen to get the pads on first; now they need the scoreboard to back the call.
