Klinger rues dropped chances after GG's defeat but lauds the effort

Gujarat Giants (GG) head coach Michael Klinger said it is "difficult" when you give someone like Harmanpreet Kaur three lives, but applauded the efforts the team has been putting in despite a sloppy display in the field in their defeat to Mumbai Indians (MI) at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday.

Even apart from dropping Harmanpreet three times, GG's efforts were a far cry from their sharp fielding displays in their first two matches, with a few misfields and overthrows to add to their worries as they slumped to their first defeat of WPL 2026.

"We fielded really well in the first couple of games. And probably in the first 14-15 overs we fielded quite well and then all those dropped catches came in the back end in the last five-six overs," Klinger said at the post-match press conference.

"It's difficult when you give a player as good as Harmanpreet three chances, but at the same time, the effort, I can't say anything bad about our effort in the field, and our work with training.

"They've been working extremely hard with our fielding coach Sarah Taylor and all the other coaches. So certainly no issue with the effort. It's difficult when you put good players down, catches down, and so it's something we'll keep working on. We've worked on [our fielding] really hard and we've had two good performances and probably one performance that's not quite at our best."

Batting first, GG made a tweak in the absence of allrounder Anushka Sharma, who injured her hand while fielding in their win over Delhi Capitals. Kanika Ahuja, who didn't get a chance to bat in their season opener and came in at No. 8 against DC, walked out at one down when Sophie Devine got out in the third over.

The move paid dividends as Ahuja blitzed 35 off 18 with four fours and two sixes.

"We probably had a couple of options in that [No. 3] spot. Once we realised that Anushka was going to be unavailable for a game or two, and we felt Kanika had been training really well. [She's] another left-hander up the top who can play pace and spin well, and I thought she played brilliantly today," Klinger said.

"We spoke to her about playing some strong shots, not trying to over-hit the ball, and I felt she did that really well, both to pace and spin, hitting through and over the field brilliantly.

"She started so well and still had about 19 [17.2] overs left to bat, and I think there's even a lot of upside there and she can get some even bigger scores for us if she gets that opportunity down the track."

This was the first time Ahuja batted at No. 3 in the WPL. The highest she had batted previously was at No. 4 in a match against UP Warriorz in 2023. But Ahuja made the most of getting a chance to bat in the powerplay, racing to 20 off nine balls at the end of six overs.

She is likely to retain that role in their next game, with Anushka not expected to be available again until the Baroda leg of the season starts on January 19.