Gujarat Giants look for top-order runs and first win in Bengaluru

Delhi Capitals vs Gujarat Giants
M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, 7.30pm IST

Even though Delhi Capitals have had a better squad on paper over the years and Gujarat Giants have relied a bit too much on their overseas contingent for a poor overall record in WPL, only two points separate them right now in the fledgling stages of the 2025 season. DC have won half their games so far whereas Giants have points from just one out of three, and even though the sample sizes are small, both teams have shown holes in their performances which they will hope don't get compounded as the season progresses.

DC, to start with, have had strong powerplays thanks to their prolific opening pair of Meg Lanning and Shafali Verma. It's in the middle overs (7-16) where they have failed to take off from the platform set for the middle order. DC have not only lost the most wickets (18) in that stage, they have also been the slowest (6.67) in those 10 overs that has led to them being bowled out twice already.

In their last game, which they lost to UP Warriorz, DC's all-international bowling attack also leaked 12 wides, something they "are looking to really tighten up," according to head coach Jonathan Batty.

Giants, contrastingly, have had to bank on their middle order despite having two reputed international names in Laura Wolvaardt and Beth Mooney at the top. Giants have managed to score at just run a ball in the powerplay, with Wolvaardt striking at 80 and Mooney at 104.16, which has mounted pressure on the prolific Ashleigh Gardner and hard-hitting Deandra Dottin. Giants could not only do with a quicker start against arguably the most potent attack in the league, but they would also love for some runs from their Indian contingent of D Hemalatha and Simran Sheikh, who have scored just 27 runs off 36 balls together this season. What will perhaps boost their confidence is that DC are having their worst season with the ball so far in the powerplay, leaking 8.41 runs an over compared to 6.51 last year and 5.74 the in 2023.

Despite coming on the back of a loss, DC have a solid XI and may not feel the need to tinker unless they want to bring in left-arm spinner Radha Yadav for offspinner Minnu Mani as Giants have only one left-hand batter in their top seven.

Delhi Capitals (probable): 1 Meg Lanning (capt), 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Jemimah Rodrigues, 4 Marizanne Kapp, 5 Annabel Sutherland, 6 Sarah Bryce (wk), 7 Niki Prasad, 8 Jess Jonassen, 9 Shikha Pandey, 10 Arundhati Reddy, 11 Minnu Mani/Radha Yadav

If Giants want to replace Hemalatha at No. 3, their only Indian option is Bharti Fulmali.

Gujarat Giants (probable): 1 Laura Wolvaardt, 2 Beth Mooney (wk), 3 Dayalan Hemalatha/Bharti Fulmali, 4 Ashleigh Gardner (capt), 5 Harleen Deol, 6 Deandra Dottin, 7 Simran Shaikh, 8 Kashvee Gautam, 9 Tanuja Kanwar, 10 Sayali Satghare, 11 Priya Mishra

Closing in on 800 runs, Meg Lanning is the most prolific batter in WPL, but she has looked far from her best this season. Barring her 69 against UPW, Lanning has struggled against the swinging new ball in both Vadodara and Bengaluru. What augurs well for her is she came into the WPL while averaging a healthy 51.14 for Victoria in the domestic one-daters last month which means she won't be short on confidence.

Legspinner Priya Mishra, who has played nine ODIs, has been among the top Indian performers this WPL. With five wickets under her belt so far, that places her on top of Giants' charts; her scalps include Yastika Bhatia, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Tahlia McGrath, Grace Harris and Deepti Sharma. Her pace variations through her flight and sliders have foxed batters so far and she will hope it continues on Tuesday too.