Pitch and conditions | Mithali Raj and Natalie Germanos: 50 meters on one side, 59 on the other. Straight boundary is 66 meters. Pitch today is a mix of red and black soil. It's a pretty hard surface, rolled very well. Should be good for batters. However, there will be help for the seamers early on as there's a slight covering of grass. Some cracks as well, although they won't play a role.

6.40pm local: Hello and welcome to our coverage of the WPL which has arrived in Lucknow for the next few matches. The tournament is at a critical juncture, particularly for the two teams that are going to be in action today. Hosts UP Warriorz and Gujarat Giants both have two wins from five matches and they're locked in a tight race for qualification.

Preview

More than halfway past the 2025 edition of the Women's Premier League, and the points table has started to paint a picture that has been quite familiar since the inaugural season. Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians have dominated the league phase so far, while the other three are left behind, jostling to muster enough wins just to make it through to the playoffs.

One of those three teams is surely expected to find a move on Monday, with the caravan of WPL moving to a third city - Lucknow. Hosts UP Warriorz are set to take the bottom-placed Gujarat Titans, two teams with only two victories in their bag so far and desperately seeking momentum in yet another campaign where they have lost more than won. The good all-round form of Ash Gardner, backed up by Pheobe Litchfield and other Indian youngsters coming good, has offered Giants some momentum, but Warriorz wouldn't let go of the opportunity to kickstarting their home leg with a win either.

After having endured some tricky pitches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, teams are likely to encounter newer challenges in Lucknow, at a stadium which has historically been on the slower side, assisting spinners more than batters. Unless dew plays a part, what the Lucknow leg could potentially do though is flip the trend of win the toss, win the match - neither of which the two teams have been too fortunate with in recent games.

When: Monday, March 3, 2025, 7:30 PM IST

Where: UP Warriorz vs Gujarat Giants, BRSABV Ekana International Stadium, Lucknow

What to expect: The pitch is likely to play slow, and if teams do end up posting underpar scores in the first innings, there would be enough in it for the bowlers to keep the fight going in the second innings.

Team News:

UP Warriorz: The Deepti Sharma-led side has relied on the merits of consistency to hold them in good stead and haven't made too many changes to their Playing XI. That trend is unlikely to change even in the Lucknow leg

Probable XI: Kiran Navgire, Grace Harris, Vrinda Dinesh, Deepti Sharma (c), Tahlia McGrath, Shweta Sehrawat, Uma Chetry (wk), Chinelle Henry, Sophie Ecclestone, Saima Thakor/Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Kranti Goud

Gujarat Giants: Following the victory in the previous game, the Ash Gardner-led side is unlikely to tinker much with its options and would look to pick up some momentum

Probable XI: Beth Mooney (wk), Dayalan Hemalatha, Harleen Deol, Phoebe Litchfield, Ash Gardner (c), Deandra Dottin, Kashvee Gautam, Bharti Fulmali, Mannat Kashyap, Tanuja Kanwar, Priya Mishra

Squads:

UP Warriorz Women Squad: Kiran Navgire, Grace Harris, Vrinda Dinesh, Deepti Sharma(c), Tahlia McGrath, Shweta Sehrawat, Uma Chetry(w), Chinelle Henry, Sophie Ecclestone, Saima Thakor, Kranti Goud, Gouher Sultana, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Alana King, Anjali Sarvani, Georgia Voll, Arushi Goel, Poonam Khemnar

Gujarat Giants Women Squad: Beth Mooney(w), Dayalan Hemalatha, Harleen Deol, Ashleigh Gardner(c), Phoebe Litchfield, Deandra Dottin, Kashvee Gautam, Bharti Fulmali, Meghna Singh, Tanuja Kanwar, Priya Mishra, Laura Wolvaardt, Danielle Gibson, Simran Shaikh, Mannat Kashyap, Shabnam Md Shakil, Prakashika Naik, Sayali Satghare