GG vs UPW Match Prediction: Who will win today's WPL 2024 match?
The Gujarat Giants (GG) might still be moored to the bottom of the 2024 Women's Premier League (WPL) standings, but they've experienced a slight resurgence of late.
Beth Mooney and Co. have only one win to their name in six matches and also have the worst net run rate in the competition. It's a given that they won't make the playoffs for a second season running, and it also seems likely that they will be consigned to another wooden spoon finish.
However, the Giants have been rather impressive in their last two matches. Mooney and Laura Wolvaardt put the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to the sword and picked up GG's first points of the campaign. Following that, they nearly pulled off a heist against the Mumbai Indians (MI), only to see Harmanpreet Kaur's sensational blitz take the game away at the death.
So the UP Warriorz (UPW), who will face them on Monday, March 11, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, will know they have a challenging game ahead of them. With six points from seven matches, UPW need a win to stay alive in the playoff race. If they manage to win, they will put serious pressure on RCB, who will take on the defending champions in their final league game.
Alyssa Healy and Co. come into this game on the back of a remarkable win over the Delhi Capitals (DC). Deepti Sharma's all-round showing and a strange collapse from the Capitals gave them two points and made the business end of the league stage much more interesting, although DC have already recovered with a comeback victory over RCB.
The head-to-head record is heavily skewed in favor of UPW, who have won all three of their meetings against GG so far. In the reverse fixture, Grace Harris' marauding fifty ensured a comfortable six-wicket win.
Can UPW keep their quest for a playoff berth alive? Or will GG prove that the form they displayed in their last two games wasn't a flash in the pan?
WPL 2024, Match 18: UPW look to keep playoff hopes alive against resurgent GG
KP Navgire's promotion to opener worked at the start, but the batter's shortcomings have been exposed in the last few matches. With both Tahlia McGrath and Chamari Athapaththu failing to make their mark in the middle order, coupled with Alyssa Healy's continued wretched form, UPW haven't been able to lay down the marker in the batting department.
GG, meanwhile, have been boosted by Beth Mooney's return to form. They would dearly love some contributions from Phoebe Litchfield, who hasn't been at her best in WPL 2024. Taking on UPW's spin-heavy attack, the middle order will be of utmost importance in Delhi.
The Giants have been impressive lately, with Dayalan Hemalatha stepping up in the last game and the bowlers doing their bit for the most part. However, the truth of the matter is that they're still heavily dependent on their top order to do most of the work, a task they haven't been upto so far.
These two teams are evenly matched, and for the first time in WPL 2024, GG will enter the clash as arguably the favorites, given the momentum on their side. However, UPW are the stronger team - on paper, at least - and have much more riding on this clash.
While this is nearly impossible to call, the Warriorz might just have enough in the tank to get it done.
Prediction: UPW to win Match 18 of WPL 2024.