Gujarat Giants captain Beth Mooney won the toss and opted to bowl first against Harmanpreet Kaur led Mumbai Indians in the opening match of the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2023 at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, here on Saturday.
Speaking at the toss, Mooney said that the pitch has pretty even grass and also mentioned that she is thrilled to be part of the inaugural WPL.
"We will bowl. Looks pretty even with the grass, it's a hard and flat surface, plenty of runs here. Absolutely thrilled to be part of (WPL), a big crowd and I'm loving it. We have an entertaining group, we speak a lot about cricket," the Australian player said.
"We have had the experience of playing in front of a big ground, we can pass it on to the younger members. Three seamers and four spinners in our playing XI today, looking at taking some early wickets," she added.
On the other hand, Harmanpreet called the beginning of WPL a special day.
"It's a special day for all of us, we want to enjoy this moment. This is a good wicket to bat on, but there will be something in it for the bowlers as well. We have some young players who'll be featuring today and we're looking forward to seeing how they play," Kaur said.
Before the toss, a glittering opening ceremony took place which featured Bollywood actors Kiara Advani, Kriti Sanon and Punjabi pop star AP Dhillon. The ceremony ended with the captains of the five franchises unveiling the trophy that they will be playing for.
Playing XI:
Gujarat Giants: Beth Mooney(w/c), Sabbhineni Meghana, Harleen Deol, Ashleigh Gardner, Annabel Sutherland, Dayalan Hemalatha, Georgia Wareham, Sneh Rana, Tanuja Kanwar, Monica Patel, Mansi Joshi
Mumbai Indians: Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia(w), Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, Pooja Vastrakar, Humaira Kazi, Issy Wong, Jintimani Kalita, Saika Ishaque
Gujarat Giants: Beth Mooney(w/c), Sabbhineni Meghana, Harleen Deol, Ashleigh Gardner, Annabel Sutherland, Dayalan Hemalatha, Georgia Wareham, Sneh Rana, Tanuja Kanwar, Monica Patel, Mansi Joshi
Also Read: Cricket Tales