"It is a chance to take revenge" - Reema Malhotra on Gujarat Giants' WPL 2023 clash against Mumbai Indians

Reema Malhotra feels the Gujarat Giants (GG) will be looking for revenge for the mauling they received at the hands of the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2023 opener.

The Giants will lock horns with Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday, March 14. The fourth-placed team in the points table were handed a 143-run drubbing by the table toppers in their earlier clash at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

While previewing the game on Sports 18, Malhotra opined that a different venue might present the Gujarat Giants with a chance to get even with the Mumbai Indians, saying:

"The Mumbai Indians started with a win with a huge margin in the first game but it is a chance to take revenge. That game was played at the DY Patil Stadium and this one will be played at the Brabourne Stadium, so it will be important to see if the story changes."

However, the former Indian all-rounder reckons Sneh Rana and Co. will have to play out of their skins to beat the Mumbai Indians, elaborating:

"Your clash will be against the best team now - Mumbai Indians - who are at No. 1. The Mumbai Indians have not made any mistakes and even if they have committed any, they have enough players to make up for it. To defeat them, you don't have to just try but need to hatch a conspiracy."

The Mumbai Indians have registered emphatic wins in all four of their games thus far. They have bowled out the opposition in three of those matches and have lost only 10 wickets in the tournament.

"The Gujarat Giants will first have to concentrate on their playing XI" - Reema Malhotra

Sophia Dunkley played a blazing knock in the Gujarat Giants' win against RCB. [P/C: wplt20.com]

Citing Sophia Dunkley's example, Reema Malhotra pointed out that the Giants cannot afford to make selection mistakes, explaining:

"The Gujarat Giants will first have to concentrate on their playing XI. We saw in the last match that the person who gave you your first win by hitting 50 off 18 balls - Sophia Dunkley - you didn't play her and you had to pay for it."

There was an earnestness to Gujarat's calls so far. Much of it was circumstance-driven. But dropping Sophia Dunkley after what she did in the previous game and putting new recruit Wolvaardt in the hot seat up front is just incredibly shortsighted.

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The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the Mithali Raj-mentored side need to figure out their best XI at the earliest, observing:

"I feel just like RCB are searching for answers to figure out their best playing XI, which we saw today, it is a huge headache for the Gujarat Giants as well that what is their best playing XI or their best resources?"

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Dunkley smoked a 28-ball 65 in the Giants' 11-run win against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). However, she was replaced by Laura Wolvaardt in their next game against the Delhi Capitals (DC), with the South African opener managing just a solitary run in a 10-wicket loss.