GG-W vs RCB-W, WPL 2024: Laura Wolvaardt of Gujarat Giants and Beth Mooney enter history books with a stand of 140 runs

Gujarat Giants are yet to win a match in the ongoing edition of the Women’s Premier League. Gujarat Giants rode the fifties of Laura Wolvaardt and Beth Mooney and recorded 199/5.

Laura Wolvaardt and Beth Mooney put on a wonderful show against RCB in WPL 2024.

Delhi: Laura Wolvaardt and Beth Mooney of Gujarat Giants created history on Wednesday with an opening 140-run standout in the history of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Looking for their first win in WPL 2024, the duo of Mooney and Wolvaardt recorded the second highest stand for any wicket. Delhi Capitals’ Meg Lanning and Shafali Verma (162) still hold the record for the highest partnership created in WPL 2023.

The opening wicket stand between Wolvaardt and Mooney on Wednesday is also the highest for any wicket in the current season. The Gujarat Giants duo surpassed Shafali-Lanning’s 119 against UP Warriorz, which they created in the Bengaluru leg of the tournament.

Gujarat Giants found themselves at the bottom of the five-team table, with no wins from four matches, and had to do something special to keep them alive in the tournament. Wolvaardt was at her best while the elegant Mooney was equally regal as she finally put on a stunning batting show with a challenging 199/5 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

After taking the backseat so far, Wolvaardt (76 off 45 balls) and Mooney (85 not out off 51 balls) added 140 in 13 overs to lay the foundation for a huge score. It did help that RCB bowlers could not hit the right length on a Feroz Shah Kotla belter as right-handed Wolvaardt and left-handed Mooney trained the half-trackers during the Powerplay overs.

Both Sophie Devine (0/37 in 3 overs) and Renuka Thakur (0/34 in 4 overs) bowled too full while Mooney played some sharp cover drives, while Wolvaardt also launched some beastly runs at Thakur. Wolvaardt hit 13 boundaries as she rocked back to draw the likes of leg-spinner Asha Sobhana and left-arm spinner Ekta Bist, while Devine played some deft shots and floated a few beyond short third man.

Once Wolvaardt was exhausted, Mooney partnered Phoebe Litchfield (18) to add 52 runs in just 5.3 overs but the Gujarat skipper was left behind at the non-striker’s end with seven runs added on the last 10 balls with as many as four dismissals. Mooney, for her part, hit 12 fours and a huge six over mid-wicket.

Meanwhile, Gujarat Giants registered their first win of WPL 2024 after restricting RCB to 180/7. Smriti Mandhana (24) and Sabbhineni Meghana (4) were out within seven overs and their No. 6 batter Georgia Wareham provided some late fireworks in her 22-ball 48, but that proved insufficient.