Openers Laura Wolvaardt and skipper Beth Mooney finally come to the party as Gujarat Giants register their maiden victory in WPL 2024.
Gujarat Giants led by skipper Beth Mooney are pushed against the wall and are in a must-win situation courtesy of their four straight losses in their first four games. Now, they can’t afford any further slip-ups in the tournament if they are to stay in the race for the playoffs. Royal Challengers Bangalore led by skipper Smriti Mandhana coming off a comprehensive 23-run victory over UP Warriorz in their last home game at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The Gujarat Giants skipper Beth Mooney won the toss and opted to bat first. She became the first captain to bat first after winning the toss in the ongoing 2nd edition of the WPL. The Gujarat Giants openers got off to a flying start scoring as the duo stitched the highest opening partnership of the ongoing edition of the WPL, scoring at almost 11 runs an over before Laura Wolvaardt was found short of her crease to provide the first breakthrough for RCB.
Phoebe Litchfield joined skipper Beth Mooney at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 52-run partnership for the 2nd wicket before Phoebe Litchfield was found short of her crease to provide the 2nd breakthrough for RCB. Ashleigh Gardner soon followed her back to the pavilion for a golden duck to provide the 3rd breakthrough for RCB. Gujarat Giants ended up with a total of 199/5 in their quota of overs. Skipper Beth Mooney (85 off 51 balls) carried her bat throughout the innings. Laura Wolvaardt (76 off 45 balls) was the top performer alongside skipper Beth Mooney for the Gujarat Giants.
Sophie Molineux (4-0-32-1) and Georgia Wareham (4-0-36-1) were the top performers with the ball for RCB. Chasing a target of 200, RCB got off to a steady start before Ashleigh Gardner picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Smriti Mandhana to provide the first breakthrough for Gujarat Giants. Ellyse Perry joined Sabbhineni Meghana and the duo failed to stitch a substantial partnership for the 2nd wicket as they lost the wicket of Sabbhineni Meghana to provide the breakthrough.
Sophie Devine joined Ellyse Perry at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 34-run partnership for the 3rd wicket before Tanuja Kanwer cleaned up Sophie Devine to provide the 3rd breakthrough for Gujarat Giants. Wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh joined Ellyse Perry at the crease and the duo stitched a 20-run partnership for the 4th wicket before Kathryn Bryce picked up the wicket of Ellyse Perry to provide the 4th breakthrough for her side.
Georgia Wareham joined wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 33-run partnership for the 5th wicket before Ashleigh Gardner picked up the wicket of the wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh to provide the 5th breakthrough for Gujarat Giants. Sophie Molineux joined Georgia Wareham at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 34-run partnership for the 6th wicket before Sophie Molineux was found short of her crease to provide the 6th breakthrough for Gujarat Giants.
RCB were eventually restricted to 180/8 in their quota of overs as they fell 19 runs short of the target. Georgia Wareham (48 off 22 balls), wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh (30 off 21 balls), and skipper Smriti Mandhana (24 off 16 balls) were the top performers with the bat for RCB. Ashleigh Gardner (4-0-23-2), and Kathryn Bryce (4-0-26-1) were the top performers with the ball for Gujarat Giants. Gujarat Giants skipper Beth Mooney was awarded the Player of the Match for her outstanding performance (85 off 51 balls) with the bat, playing a crucial role alongside Laura Wolvaardt to help Gujarat Giants register their maiden victory in the ongoing 2nd edition of the WPL.