Sleeping Giants Beth Mooney, Laura Wolvaardt awaken as Gujarat flex batting muscle at top of the order | Cricket News
In an appraisal of a disastrous first half of this season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) for the Gujarat Giants, captain Beth Mooney was blunt. “Scoring a few more runs will be pretty helpful (in the future), probably from the skipper and then flowing through the rest of the team,” she said after a fourth successive defeat.
As the league moved to New Delhi for, and her side’s chances of going past the group stage hung in the balance, Mooney, alongside opening partner Laura Wolvaardt, batted as if they had taken that self-criticism to heart.
The duo toyed with the Royal Challengers Bangalore bowling attack and put on a 140-run partnership, as the Giants rammed their way to a 19-run win to open their account this year on Wednesday.
She missed out on a well-deserved 💯 but Captain Beth Mooney led from the front with an excellent opening act!
Check out her knock here 🎥🔽 #TATAWPL | #GGvRCB
— Women’s Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) March 6, 2024
Mooney and Wolvaardt are so complementary in their strengths as a pair that it comes as a surprise that they have struggled to get things going this year. Giant have a lopsided, batting-heavy squad reliant on a top order that has neither strung together partnerships nor shown moments of individual brilliance (Ash Gardner’s 40 was the highest score in four prior matches)
On a belter at the Kotla on a chilly evening, the best of the pair was on full view.
🎥 Recap Laura Wolvaardt’s sublime 76(46) from the first innings that put #GG on top! 🔽#TATAWPL | #GGvRCB
— Women’s Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) March 6, 2024
Wolvaardt played a free-flowing 45-ball 76. It was strokeplay not necessarily reliant on aggression (13 fours, no sixes), the South African instead carving gaps in the field with the conviction in her shot selection that had evaded her in the first four games. Mooney’s speed between the wickets kept the scoreboard ticking as she let Wolvaardt take over the quicks, and later picked up the pace in scoring against the spinners, as is her forte. The Australian, a consent scorer across formats, paced her innings finely as she turned a 21-ball 32 into a 51-ball 82.
With just 44 runs in the last five overs, the Giants may have felt they left a few runs on the board, especially as Mooney’s brain fades led to a string of run outs. But RCB would do them a few favours duplicating their sloppiness in the field and with the ball, with the bat as well.
With 14 wides, plenty of misfields, and no bowler with an economy lower than 8, Smriti Mandhana’s side had an off day to say the least. None of their batters converted starts and allowed the Giants to take control with consent wickets. A late blitz from Georgia Wareham (48 from 22) would be in vain, cushioning a thorough defeat.
For the Giants and Mooney, hopes will be pinned on this first win in dominant fashion, to kickstart a late charge.
