In a standout performance during the fifth season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), Beth Mooney, unbeaten at 85 runs off 51 balls, and Laura Wolvaardt, with 76 runs from 45 balls, forged the season’s second-highest partnership of 140 runs in just 78 balls. Beth Mooney‘s partnership along with Laura Wolvaarrdt of 140 runs was quite instrumental in securing the Gujarat Giants’ first win of the season.
Gujarat Giants (GG) set a season-high score of 199/5, which proved too much for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, despite Georgia Wareham’s valiant effort towards the end. The match, played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday, March 6, ended with the Giants defeating the Challengers by 19 runs.
Beth Mooney and Laura Wolvaardt’s Record Partnership
In the initial phase of WPL 2024, Gujarat Giants struggled with their batting in three out of four matches, posting low scores, mainly due to their performance in the first 10 overs. Against MI, RCB, and UPW, they could only manage 58/4, 44/2, and 62/2 respectively. With their campaign in jeopardy, they needed a remarkable turnaround, which they achieved against RCB in Delhi.
Laura Wolvaardt took charge alongside Beth Mooney in the opening partnership, pushing the Giants to 59 runs in the first six overs. Their momentum increased as Beth Mooney and Wolvaardt unleashed a flurry of boundaries, with Wolvaardt reaching a fifty in just 32 balls, powering the Giants to a commanding 104/0 after 10 overs.
Wolvaardt and Mooney Continue to Dominate
Laura Wolvaardt and Beth Mooney continued their aggressive onslaught against the RCB bowlers, with both batters reaching their fifties in just 32 balls. However, their partnership was broken by a run out that ended Wolvaardt’s innings on the last ball of the 13th over. Despite a brief period of calm for RCB between overs 12 and 15, Mooney reignited the Giants’ scoring with a six and a boundary in the 16th over.
Beth Mooney continued her dominance with another boundary in the 17th over, while RCB’s woes were compounded by losing their review appeals on consecutive deliveries. Litchfield also joined the scoring action, hitting her first boundary off Thakur, while Beth Mooney received a lifeline when she was dropped in the same over.
RCB’s Fightback
In the 19th over, Litchfield was wrongly called for a run by her captain, resulting in her run-out. Shortly after, Gardner was dismissed for a first-ball duck after slicing a catch to long-off. The final over started with Molineux claiming the wicket of Hemalatha on the first ball, followed by Krishnamurthy getting run out. RCB managed to restrict the Giants to only 12 runs in the last two overs while taking four wickets, showing some resilience towards the end of the innings to prevent the Giants from reaching the 200-run mark.
RCB’s Struggles in Chase
The opening two overs were relatively quiet, yielding only seven runs. However, Smriti Mandhana quickly changed the tempo by hitting two sixes and a four off consecutive deliveries from Tanuja Kanwar. She continued her aggressive approach by hitting a boundary off Kathryn Bryce, reminiscent of her recent explosive performance at Chinnaswamy Stadium. Unfortunately, Mandhana’s innings was short-lived as she was dismissed for a 16-ball 24 while attempting to pull a delivery from Gardner, which resulted in her being trapped LBW. Her departure also saw RCB finishing the powerplay with only 39 runs on the scoreboard.
S Meghana chews balls in yet Another High scoring Chase
The chasing team suffered from a series of run-out dismissals this time, with S Meghana being the first casualty after scoring 4 runs off 13 balls. Devine, who had struggled for runs earlier in the season, found her rhythm and smashed a couple of sixes and a four before being bowled by Kanwar for 23 runs off 16 balls. Richa Ghosh showed early promise but was caught behind by the wicketkeeper while attempting a reverse sweep off Bryce after hitting three boundaries in an over against debutant Shabnam Shakil. However, her innings was cut short by a miscue off Gardner, leaving RCB at 129/5, requiring 71 runs off the remaining 24 balls.
Wareham’s Brave Effort Falls Short
Georgia Wareham led a valiant effort to keep her team in contention with regular boundaries, including a six off Kanwar. With 49 runs needed off 12 balls, Wareham took on Meghna Singh, hitting a six off the first ball of the penultimate over and a four off a no-ball. However, Molineux was run out in the same over while attempting a risky second run at Wareham’s call. Wareham herself was run out off the last ball of the over after contributing a well-made 48 runs off 22 balls. Despite her efforts, RCB found themselves needing an improbable 33 runs in the final over and fell short of the target by 20 runs. The final scorecard showed Gujarat Giants posting 199/5 in 20 overs, while Royal Challengers Bangalore managed 180/8 in their 20 overs, resulting in a 19-run victory for the Giants.
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