Gujarat Giants’ massive 81-run victory over the UP Warriorz has seen them move to the second place in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 table, inching closer to a Playoffs berth and it was Gujarat’s captain Beth Mooney leading from the front with a sublime 96* to see the Giants pick up a crucial win.
Mooney was at her fluent best, and after losing Dayalan Hemalatha in the first over itself, it was Mooney along with Indian batter Harleen Deol, who put together 101 runs in 12 overs with Deol scoring 45 from 32, to get the Giants on track for a big score.
Post the game, Australians Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield had a short chat, discussing all things, from Mooney’s brilliant innings to her music taste to Litchfield feeling guilty about not being able to help her captain score a century.
Mooney was pleased with the team’s performance after the game, emphasising the importance of earning two points and a strong net run rate. She remarked, “We came up with two points here; hopefully, the run rate in positive—that’s always a bonus—and bowlers did a great job, and the batters did a great job.”
In response to teammate Phoebe Litchfield’s question about her taste in music, Mooney joked, “Just acoustic, like soft acoustic—not whatever music you put on the Instagram.”
When Litchfield asked if there was a particular music that inspired her performance that afternoon, Mooney candidly responded, “Not really, actually I was a bit annoyed that we had to get to the ground a bit early today, so had to just sit out there and read my book a bit. Switched on when I walked out there.”
Mooney also highlighted Litchfield’s on field performances, with the young Australian taking three crucial catches including a sharp catch at first slip early on to send Kiran Navgire home.
Litchfield modestly replied with a laugh, “It’s good to take some catches.”
Mooney also shared some insight into her batting approach, talking about how she tackles the opponents’ plans and also the importance of building partnerships and rotating strike.
“I think I just like the problem-solving nature of the game. Along the way I’ve come with a few different plans to combat (the bowlers’ plans) so just try to work through a few different things and see what works – game to game. It helps when you’ve got people who run in between the wickets well, building partnerships probably helps me,” said Mooney.
When asked about her favorite shot of the night, Mooney identified “the lap” as her preferred stroke of the innings, taking a dig at Litchfield, who herself is known for the same shot.
Litchfield signed off the session by asking Mooney in a joking manner if she was a bit upset with her given that Litchfield’s slow innings might have denied Mooney a chance to get to triple figures, but Mooney brushed it aside, choosing to look at the bigger picture.
“Nah, I think I was actually more disappointed we didn’t get to 200. Never play for those (personal milestones), it would’ve been nice but hopefully I got a few more games left in me in the WPL to maybe do it one day”, signed off Mooney.
(Quotes sourced from video posted by WPLT20 on Instagram)
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