Matthews to Wolvaardt, no run, a chirpy appeal for an lbw is cut off! Tossed up around leg-stump, Wolvaardt looks to flick but is struck on the pads. Clearly pitched outside leg

Matthews to Wolvaardt, no run, a loopy full ball on middle, almost in the blockhole, Wolvaardt jams it to mid-off

Wolvaardt and Mooney are at the crease. Wolvaardt is on strike. Matthews will open the attack

The players and the umpires make their way out to the middle.

Laura Wolvaardt: It's always nice to get some runs under my belt. It was a great wicket to bat on. Beth and I had a great partnership and the left-right combination helped. We just looked to hit as straight as we can, not get sucked into the shorter side too much and play the ball on its merit. Was a good wicket and it paid off. I think maybe just the finish. We left around 20 runs out there last game. I think it might be a bit slower tonight looking on TV on the last few nights, it looks to be on the slower side. It stayed a bit low and could be a different ball game today. Getting our first win was nice. We got a big finish though. We have to win the last three games but yeah we have nothing to lose. Hopefully the balance is right and we can put up a good performance.

Bharti Fulmali, who was roped in as the replacement for the injured Harleen Deol, makes her debut for Gujarat Giants and receives her cap.

Teams:

Mumbai Indians Women (Playing XI): Yastika Bhatia(w), Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, S Sajana, Pooja Vastrakar, Humaira Kazi, Shabnim Ismail, Saika Ishaque

Gujarat Giants (Playing XI): Laura Wolvaardt, Beth Mooney(w/c), Phoebe Litchfield, Ashleigh Gardner, Dayalan Hemalatha, Bharati Fulmali, Kathryn Bryce, Sneh Rana, Tanuja Kanwar, Meghna Singh, Shabnam Md Shakil

Harmanpreet Kaur: We would have batted only, we have to bowl well as we are bowling first and hopefully, we will restrict them. This is an important game for us and we would like to do well and put pressure on them.

Beth Mooney: We will bat first. It’s tricky to chase in these wickets in Delhi so we want to stick to the method that we used in the last game. The girls stood up at the right moment and we were happy to get a win. We would like to play with a bit of freedom. Two changes for us.

Gujarat Giants have won the toss and have opted to bat

Pitch Report | WV Raman: It will be the longest hit downtown, to my right the boundary is long as well, the boundary to my left is shorter. The bowler would look to bowl fuller and wicket-to-wicket. The batters need to take a leaf out of Meg Lanning’s book. She used the dimensions to good effect and made use of the shorter boundaries.

18:30 Local Time, 13:00 GMT: Hello and a warm welcome to our live coverage of the 16th match of WPL. There have been four matches this season in Delhi so far and all have been won by the team batting first. Yesterday, the UP Warriorz won a nail-biter against the Delhi Capitals and literally snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. The competition is getting tougher as we approach the business end of the tournament. A win for Mumbai Indians would take them to the top of the table and ensure progression to the next round. Their focus will be to seal the top spot as that'll ensure a direct qualification to the final. For the Giants, a tough road lies ahead of them. They are at the rock bottom of the table and a loss will knock them out of the competition. They will take confidence from their win against RCB and would look to build on that. These two teams faced each other in the opening game of the season and MI notched up a convincing victory. Can the Gujarat Giants spring in a surprise? Or will Mumbai Indians complete the league double over them? Stick around for the toss and team lineups...

Preview

Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants will be playing for two different motives when they take on each other at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday. While the defending champions are tugging it out with Delhi Capitals for the top spot, in order to get a direct qualification to the final, Giants are merely trying to stay alive in the competition - with much of that fate left in the hands of other teams and results.

A winless run through the Bengaluru leg of the competition didn't help their cause much, but a thumping show by the openers - Laura Wolvaardt and Beth Mooney - in the previous encounter against RCB not only gave them momentum in the tournament, but also kept many other possibilities open.

A tournament which had injuries and withdrawals for the Giants even before the tournament had started out, has become worse with the exit of Harleen Deol heading into the last stretch of the league phase. The match-winning performance by Wolvaardt and Mooney notwithstanding, the rest of the batters failed to mount pressure in the death. It's been a tournament where their batters have largely struggled. The dependency of the inexperienced bowling attack to go with some sub-par catching by the fielders doesn't help their case much.

So while all teams in the tournament - except Mumbai Indians - would be cheering them on to gain their second consecutive win, can they execute the best of what they promise on paper?

When: Saturday, March 9, 2024, 7:30 PM IST

Where: Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Giants, Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi

What to expect: On the low and slow pitch of Feroz Shah Kotla, the teams batting first have found a lot more success. It should be yet another situation of win-toss-and-bat.

Team News:

Mumbai Indians: Even as the defending champions would have hoped to put in a better batting performance in the previous game, they are unlikely to make any changes to their XI.

Probable XI: Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur, Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, S Sajana, Pooja Vastrakar, Shabnim Ismail, Humaira Kazi, Saika Ishaque

Gujarat Giants: Bharti Fulmali has been drafted in as a replacement for Harleen Deol, but she is unlikely to find a place in the XI.

Probable XI: Laura Wolvaardt, Beth Mooney, Phoebe Litchfield, Veda Krishnamurthy, Ashleigh Gardner, Dayalan Hemalatha, Kathryn Bryce, Tanuja Kanwer, Meghana Singh, Mannat Singh, Shabnam Shakil

What they said:

Plenty of emotions to be honest, we've been waiting for 5 games. Lot of happiness and satisfaction in the change room. We just played like we have nothing to lose - Ash Gardner, Gujarat Giants all-rounder, after the team's win over RCB

Squads:

Gujarat Giants Squad: Laura Wolvaardt, Beth Mooney(w/c), Phoebe Litchfield, Ashleigh Gardner, Dayalan Hemalatha, Veda Krishnamurthy, Kathryn Bryce, Tanuja Kanwar, Meghna Singh, Mannat Kashyap, Shabnam Md Shakil, Lea Tahuhu, Sneh Rana, Tarannum Pathan, Bharati Fulmali, Sayali Satghare, Priya Mishra, Trisha Poojitha

Mumbai Indians Women Squad: Yastika Bhatia(w), Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, S Sajana, Pooja Vastrakar, Humaira Kazi, Shabnim Ismail, Saika Ishaque, Fatima Jaffer, Keerthana Balakrishnan, Issy Wong, Jintimani Kalita, Priyanka Bala, Amandeep Kaur, Chloe Tryon