Mumbai, March 8 () Gujarat Giants captain Sneh Rana won the toss and elected to bat first against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the WPL 2023 match at Brabourne Stadium, here on Wednesday.
After winning the toss, Sneh said the playing eleven is unchanged from their three-wicket loss to UP Warriorz on Sunday.
“It’s a used pitch. Want to bat freely with our batting depth. The environment was very positive – the kind of cricket we played. I’m enjoying the role. It adds responsibility to your shoulders,” she added.
Bangalore skipper Smriti Mandhana said leg-spin all-rounder Poonam Khemnar will replace batter Disha Kasat in the playing eleven.
“Considering the wicket, I don’t mind doing both. But we would’ve loved to bat as well. We had the discussion as a bowling unit (about the short outfield dimensions). First two games weren’t the way we wanted to start. It’s 8 matches before the eliminator or the final. A very important game in that context,” said Mandhana.
Having suffered twin defeats in a row, both Gujarat and Bangalore would be itching to get off the mark on the points table through Wednesday’s match. Gujarat are playing at Brabourne Stadium for the first time in the competition.
Playing XIs:
Gujarat Giants: Sabbhineni Meghana, Sophia Dunkley, Sushma Verma (wicketkeeper), Ashleigh Gardner, Dayalan Hemalatha, Annabel Sutherland, Harleen Deol, Sneh Rana (captain), Kim Garth, Mansi Joshi and Tanuja Kanwar
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Smriti Mandhana (captain), Sophie Devine, Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Heather Knight, Kanika Ahuja, Poonam Khemnar, Shreyanka Patil, Preeti Bose, Megan Schutt and Renuka Thakur Singh
nr/ak