Image Credit- BCCI
After four losses in
Bengaluru, the Gujarat Giants’ victory in their WPL opener in Delhi was the
result of five strikes. The Giants, who defied the Chinnaswamy chasing tendency
by opting to bat first and amassing the second-highest total in their WPL history
owing to their opening century stand, found success with the new stadium. Even
though the middle order collapsed, Laura Wolvaardt and Beth Mooney put on 140
for the first wicket and challenged Royal Challengers Bangalore to the most
successful 200-run chase in WPL history.
That was their team,
if any squad was fit for the job. When RCB defeated the Giants 189 runs in the
previous season, Sophie Devine scored 99 runs from the opening position and
appeared to be eager to do so again. With RCB on 42 for 2, Devine, batting at No.
4, was at the crease two balls into the powerplay. She led them to a favourable
midway position in 76 for 2.
Georgia Wareham, who struck 48 off 22, and Richa Ghosh shared a stand of 33.
However, Richa Ghosh played a spirited hand, scoring 30 off 20 balls, but he
skied an Ash Gardner full toss to Meghna Singh at cover, thereby ending RCB’s
chances.
After the Bengaluru
leg of the competition, the Giants’ biggest issue was a lack of runs; no
individual nor top-order pair had scored fifty or more runs. On their first
trip to Delhi, they proved both of those to be correct. For the second time in
the last three games, Mooney and Wolvaardt’s tandem performed admirably. They
reached 50 off 27 balls in the fifth over, with Wolvaardt leading the attack
and Mooney collecting the most runs, after scoring 40 against Warriorz.
With a spectacular straight shot past Ellyse Perry, Wolvaardt scored the first
fifty runs by a Giants hitter this season off just 32 balls, increasing their
stand to 140.
After Wolvaardt was
removed for 76, RCB had a chance to retake the innings, and the two overs only
cost them 15 runs. However, upon Devine’s return and a further 15 runs lost in
her third over, left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht found herself under pressure. Mooney
was unable to get the second ball away after hitting the first one clean past
her for four. When Mooney attempted a reverse sweep for the third and missed,
Bisht loudly called for lbw, but the call was turned down. RCB examined. Mooney
had inside-edged onto her front pad, according to replays.
The RCB fielded with
determination despite Mooney’s assault, and when Mooney called Litchfield
through for a false single in the penultimate over, Mandhana was fast to reply.
In time to catch Litchfield out of her crease and run her out for eighteen, her
toss to Richa Ghosh was intercepted. The hard-hitting Gardner was promoted by
the Giants to No. 4 and she smashed her first ball to Simran Bahadur at long
off, which resulted in a duck. With two overs that cost them just 12 runs and
produced four wickets, RCB ended the innings.
Mooney made up for
it by finishing a run-out in the RCB innings. She was on strike for all three
of the Giants’ run-outs, and it was her calls that put her partners in
difficult situations. Meghna Singh was about to give S Meghana another go when
she took on Wolvaardt’s arm and appeared to be in difficulty all the time. Not
long after the powerplay, Mooney received the throw and ripped the bails off to
give the Giants a decisive lead.
RCB’s dreams of
victory were most likely dashed when Wareham made the decision to have some
fun. Her team required 71 off 24 balls after she had just watched Ghosh get
out, and Tanuja Kanwar produced a delectable full toss on an offstump that she
was unable to resist. For her first six and the sixth of the RCB innings,
Wareham cleared the front leg and blasted the ball over deep mid-wicket. RCB
concluded with eight sixes when she blasted one more off Meghna over wide long
on. This is a fascinating number given that Giants only managed one six but won
the game.