"Why would you want to bowl with the wet ball?" - Aakash Chopra on Gujarat Giants' WPL 2023 loss to UP Warriorz

Aakash Chopra has questioned the Gujarat Giants' decision to bat first in their Women's Premier League (WPL) 2023 loss to the UP Warriorz.

The Giants posted a reasonable score of 169/6 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, March 5. However, they failed to defend the target as the Warriorz registered a three-wicket win with one delivery to spare.

While reviewing the match in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra criticized the Gujarat Giants for opting to set a target, explaining:

"The thing I found interesting was the decision to bat first after winning the toss. A lot of dew comes - the ball becomes like a bar of wet soap. Why would you want to bowl with the wet ball and especially when the opposition team has four spinners? You want them to bowl with the wet ball and not you, but that's not something that they were thinking."

The former Indian opener reckons the hammering at the hands of the Mumbai Indians (MI) while chasing in the first game might have swayed the Mithali Raj-mentored side's decision, observing:

"They said they were hammered a lot while bowling first in the last match - Mumbai made 200 - so this time we will bat first, we don't want to bat second, although ideally you should bat second."

The Gujarat Giants opted to bat first in the WPL 2023 opener against MI at the same venue. They were handed a mauling, with Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. posting a mammoth 207/5 and bowling them out for a paltry 64.

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"Harleen Deol hit a little to take them to a decent score" - Aakash Chopra on Gujarat Giants' batting

Harleen Deol scored 46 runs off 32 deliveries. [P/C: WPL/Twitter]

Speaking about Gujarat Giants' batting, Chopra praised Harleen Deol, Ashleigh Gardner (25 off 19) and Dayalan Hemalatha (21* off 13) for taking them to a fighting score, saying:

"The start of the batting was not as explosive as they would have wanted. Later, Harleen Deol hit a little to take them to a decent score. Ashleigh Gardner came late and both she and Dayalan Hemalatha played short cameos."

The reputed commentator pointed out that Kim Garth's (5/36) early strikes with the ball put the Gujarat Giants in the ascendancy initially, observing:

"They started absolutely brilliantly (while bowling), in which Kim Garth came and picked up wickets one after the other. When Tahlia McGrath got out, it seemed it would be difficult (for UP Warriorz) to win from there."

Chopra lauded Kiran Navgire (53 off 43) and Grace Harris (59* off 26) for helping the UP Warriorz register a nail-biting win, elaborating:

"Kiran Navgire was very, very good with the bat - hit fours and sixes. After that, wickets fell again but then came Grace Harris - what a player. We got our winner with one ball to spare - the wides were also getting reviewed."

Chopra concluded by opining that it would be difficult to stop the UP Warriorz if their batting continues to excel, considering they have a good bowling lineup. On the flip side, he added that the Gujarat Giants' problems are mounting as they have lost two consecutive matches.