Can MI's bowlers halt GG's powerhouse line-up?
The likes of Devine and Gardner have been in scintillating form, but they are about to face what may be the WPL's best bowling attack
Abhimanyu Bose
12-Jan-2026 • 12 hrs ago
Ashleigh Gardner has been a key component of GG's marauding line-up, but her bowling form is a concern • BCCI
Big picture: GG's batting renaissance
Across the first three seasons of the Women's Premier League (WPL), Gujarat Giants struggled with the bat. Their run rate of 7.69 leading up to this season was the worst among the five teams, and they had passed 200 only twice.
But in WPL 2026, they have flipped the script, surpassing their previous best score in both their games so far, and are the fastest-scoring team in the league with a run rate of 10.4. Only one other team has crossed 200 so far this season.
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Playing at a venue where the team winning the toss has chosen to bowl in 20 of the 23 Women's T20s it has hosted, GG were put in in both their games, and responded by posting totals that proved to be above-par.
At the heart of this turnaround has been one of their marquee acquisitions at the auction, Sophie Devine. Despite her opening partner Beth Mooney having an uncharacteristically scratchy start to the campaign, Devine has ensured GG have piled pressure on the bowlers from the get-go. She hit a tone-setting 20-ball 38 in GG's season-opener against UP Warriorz, and followed up with a majestic 42-ball 95 in a narrow win over Delhi Capitals.
GG's powerplay run rate of 11.33 is comfortably the highest of all teams this season, with no other team even touching 10 in the first six.
Captain Ashleigh Gardner and new signings Anushka Sharma and Georgia Wareham have also made crucial contributions, ensuring GG have kept the tempo up through their innings.
GG now, however, come up against one of the better bowling sides in the league in Mumbai Indians, who have conceded just 7.74 runs per over across their two games. In the season-opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, MI nearly defended a total of 154 only to be denied by a Nadine de Klerk special. They then picked up their first points of the season with another excellent display while defending a total, at one stage reducing DC to 46 for 5.
This game, then, could be a serious test of GG's new-found batting approach.
Team news
Hayley Matthews missed MI's first two games, and her availability is still a doubt. Unless she recovers fully from her shoulder injury, MI are unlikely to tinker with the combination that brought them their first win of the season against DC.
Mumbai Indians (probable): 1 G Kamalini (wk), 2 Amelia Kerr, 3 Nat Sciver-Brunt, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Nicola Carey, 6 Sajeevan Sajana, 7 Amanjot Kaur, 8 Poonam Khemnar, 9 Shabnim Ismail, 10 Sanskriti Gupta, 11 Triveni Vasistha.
GG have won back-to-back games with the same line-up, and barring any late fitness issues will likely retain the combination that has worked so well for them.
Gujarat Giants (probable): 1 Beth Mooney (wk), 2 Sophie Devine, 3 Anushka Sharma, 4 Ashleigh Gardner (capt), 5 Georgia Wareham, 6 Bharti Fulmali, 7 Kashvee Gautam, 8 Kanika Ahuja, 9 Tanuja Kanwar, 10 Rajeshwari Gayakwad, 11 Renuka Singh
Big question
Should Matthews be available, MI will face a tricky decision on who the West Indies allrounder will replace. Allrounder Nicola Carey has taken five wickets in two games and played two crucial knocks - a 29-ball 40 in a rescue act against RCB and a 12-ball 21 against DC. Meanwhile, Amelia Kerr, who would usually be among the first names on the team sheet, has struggled with the bat, opening in Matthews' absence. Kerr also has five wickets, but scores of 0 and 4 mean the New Zealand allrounder's selection could come under the scanner.
In the spotlight - Nat Sciver Brunt and Ashleigh Gardner
After getting out cheaply in an unfortunate manner against RCB, Nat Sciver-Brunt found her form against DC, smashing 70 off 46 to lay the platform for Harmanpreet Kaur to finish strong. With some uncertainty around MI's openers - Kerr is struggling for form and G Kamalini is still gaining experience - Sciver-Brunt is instrumental at the top of the order. She has also taken three wickets so far, and hasn't been too expensive barring that 20-run final over to de Klerk.
While Ashleigh Gardner has been a banker with the bat in GG's two games, her form with the ball has been worrying. She has an economy rate of 13.00 so far, making her the second-most expensive bowler this season, and hasn't completed her quota in either game. While GG have been flying high with the bat, their opponents have also come worryingly close to chasing them down on both occasions, and they will want Gardner to step up with the ball against a power-packed MI line-up.
Key stats
- Harmanpreet enjoys a good record against Gardner, having scored 210 runs at a strike rate of 161.53 in Women's T20s against the offspinner, while only being dismissed four times.
- Beth Mooney's struggle for form may just continue as she comes up against Shabnim Ismail. Mooney has been out five times to Ismail in 20 innings, and has struck at 121.98 against the fast bowler.
- Georgia Wareham has dismissed Nat Sciver-Brunt seven times in 17 innings while conceding just 84 runs in 84 balls.
Pitch and conditions
Although the season began with a successful chase in a low-scoring game at the DY Patil Stadium, the three matches that followed have all been high-scorers with the team batting first emerging victorious. Giants won both their matches by setting big targets, while MI have also only batted first so far in the season, winning one match and narrowly losing the other. Navi Mumbai has offered fast bowlers some movement with the new ball, while dew has often set in quite late.
Abhimanyu Bose is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo