MI vs GG Match Prediction: Who will win today's WPL 2023 match?
The Mumbai Indians (MI) are running away with the 2023 Women's Premier League (WPL), while the Gujarat Giants (GG) can be called anything but favorites for the title.
The two teams, who are on opposite ends of the WPL spectrum, face off in Match 12 at the Brabourne Stadium on Tuesday, March 14. The contest will be the second in the list of reverse fixtures this year.
When MI and GG faced off in the first match of the tournament, one of the most one-sided contests in franchise league history transpired. Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. scored 207 in their 20 overs and bowled out their opponents for just 64, registering a whopping 143-run win in the process.
Can MI keep their unbeaten streak in WPL 2023 going? Or will GG spring an almighty surprise?
WPL 2023, MI vs GG: Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. seek fifth consecutive win
Yastika Bhatia's recent promising form has been one of MI's biggest boosts in the recent past. The keeper-batter has supported Hayley Matthews at the top of the order, with her intent-rich knocks serving as a key indicator of the approach Mumbai want her to take.
Harmanpreet Kaur has led from the front with two Player-of-the-Match awards, while Nat Sciver-Brunt and Amelia Kerr round off an imposing top five. Even without Pooja Vastrakar, who missed the last game with an injury, MI look like a formidable outfit.
Matthews is the team's leading run-scorer with 168 runs and Saika Ishaque is the Purple Cap holder with 12 wickets. Issy Wong has come up with a couple of important spells as well, making the unit look supremely well-rounded in all aspects.
GG, on the other hand, made some bizarre changes for their previous game. Sophia Dunkley was inexplicably dropped after making an 18-ball fifty as Laura Wolvaardt's inclusion in the side didn't go to plan. Dunkley should be back against MI to add some much-needed weight to an underfiring top order.
The Giants' star all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner has been a shadow of herself with the bat in WPL 2023 and hasn't been at her best with the ball either. The Aussie has made just 44 runs in the tournament thus far at a strike rate of 122.22 and has returned only four wickets at an economy rate of 9.61.
Even if Gardner finds form, GG aren't likely to be any match for MI. Harmanpreet and Co. are superior in practically every department, and even if they choose to rest and rotate during the second leg of the league stage, they should be able to brush aside the Giants.
This should be a straightforward win for the Mumbai Indians.
Prediction: MI to win Match 12 of WPL 2023.