Gujarat Giants (GG) will lock horns with UP Warriorz (UPW) in their final league match of the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Monday, March 20.

The Giants will aim to bounce back against the Warriorz after succumbing to an eight-wicket defeat against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) despite an outstanding batting performance in their previous fixture at the same venue on Saturday.

The Sneh Rana-led side rode on Laura Wolvaardt’s brilliant 42-ball 68 along with contributions from Ashleigh Gardner (41) and Sabbhineni Meghana (31) to post 188/4 in their 20 overs. However, Sophie Devine later smashed 99 runs off just 36 balls to guide RCB to their second win in the ongoing WPL.

With four points from seven matches, the Giants need to win against the Warriorz on Monday to stay alive in the playoffs race.

Apart from defeating the Alyssa Healy-led UPW, they would still need Warriorz to lose to Delhi Capitals (DC) by a huge margin of 112 runs to pip them on NRR.

Furthermore, the Giants need RCB to lose their final league match against the Mumbai Indians (MI) on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, vice-captain Ashleigh Gardner and pacer Kim Garth have been the standout performers for the Giants in the inaugural WPL. 

While star all-rounder Gardner has scored 144 runs and also bagged nine wickets in seven matches, Irish-Australian fast bowler Garth has scalped nine wickets in six games.

On the other hand, the UP Warriorz head into the crucial game after beating MI by five wickets on Saturday to end their five-match winning streak in the ongoing WPL. 

Having registered three wins and as many losses, the Warriorz are currently placed third in the WPL 2023 standings. They need to win one of their last two matches to book their place in the playoffs.

For the Warriorz, captain Healy and Sophie Ecclestone will be the players to watch out for. 

Wicketkeeper-batter Healy has been the leading run-scorer for UPW, having amassed 194 runs in six matches at an average of 38.80 and a strike rate of 148.09. 

Left-arm spinner Ecclestone has been the joint-highest wicket-taker in the ongoing T20 tournament, having picked up 12 wickets in six games at an economy of 6.12.

Earlier, Gujarat Giants lost to UP Warriorz by three wickets in their first meeting in the WPL.

The Sneh Rana-led Giants will be desperate to produce an all-round performance in their must-win fixture against the Warriorz on Monday. The GGvUPW match will start at 3:30 PM Indian Standard Time (IST).