DC vs GG Match Prediction: Who will win today's WPL 2023 match?
The Delhi Capitals (DC) are inches away from becoming the second team to seal a playoff berth in the 2023 Women's Premier League (WPL).
DC will have the opportunity to reach 10 points on Thursday, March 16, when they take on the Gujarat Giants (GG) in Match 14 of WPL 2023. The Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai will host this contest.
The Mumbai Indians (MI), with wins in all five of their games, have already secured their spot in the playoffs. If Meg Lanning and Co. want to potentially challenge them for top spot and consequently gain direct entry into the final, they will need to beat the distinctly weaker Giants.
GG have never been in the hunt in this WPL campaign, having lost four of their five matches. What's even worse for Sneh Rana's women is that they now sit with the wooden spoon due to their net run rate of -3.207. The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) matched their points total by beating the UP Warriorz (UPW) on Wednesday.
RCB's win, though, has given GG some hope when it comes to a potential third-place finish. If they can beat the much-fancied Capitals and turn in promising performances in their final two league matches, they have an outside chance of sneaking into the top three.
The last time the two teams met in the competition, DC hammered GG by 10 wickets. Marizanne Kapp led the way with a five-wicket haul, running through the top order. Shafali Verma was on fire, hammering 76 off just 28 balls to take her side home at a canter.
Can DC turn in a similar display and follow MI into the final stage of the competition? Or will GG exact revenge for their humiliating loss?
WPL 2023, DC vs GG: Meg Lanning and Co. eye playoff berth
The opening combination could prove to be the difference between the two sides on Wednesday. Meg Lanning and Shafali Verma have been exceptional at the top of the order for DC, while GG have tried out three combinations without much success.
Laura Wolvaardt came and went after just one game. Sophia Dunkley, who made her way back into the playing XI, lasted only one ball, having lost her rhythm from her blazing 18-ball fifty on the bench. S Meghana, meanwhile, has endured a miserable campaign with the bat.
Harleen Deol has been the lone bright spark in GG's batting lineup, but she won't have it easy against a DC bowling attack that is coming into its own. Shikha Pandey has been the standout bowler for the Capitals, who have also recieved valuable contributions from Kapp, Tara Norris and Jess Jonassen.
Not much needs to be said about Delhi's batting either. Apart from the openers, Jemimah Rodrigues and Alice Capsey offer varying skillsets in the middle order. Jonassen has also shown herself to be more than capable of batting in the top six of a WPL side.
GG, like any other team in the competition, have the talent to register a victory. However, it must be said that DC are the definite favorites.
Prediction: DC to win Match 14 of WPL 2023.