Wolvaardt, Mooney, Gardner help Gujarat Giants claim first win of WPL 2024

New Delhi [India], March 6 (ANI): Riding on power packed performances of Laura Wolvaardt, Beth Mooney and Ashleigh Gardner, Gujarat Giants defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by 19 runs, registering their first win of Women's Premier League (WPL) 2024 on Wednesday.
Gujarat Giants scored a challenging 199/5 and then restricted Royal Challengers Bangalore to 180/8.
Gardner was strong with the ball for Gujarat, returning figures of 2/23. Mooney was the highest run scorer for GG with her stunning knock of 85 while Wolvaardt played a crucial innings of 76 runs.
Chasing a huge target of 200 runs, RCB got off to a fine start as captain Smriti Mandhana hammered Tanuja Kanwar for back-to-back two sixes and one four, gathering 17 runs. However, the captain's stay at the crease was cut short by Ashleigh Gardner, who delivered a fine length ball sliding in with the arm from round the wicket to remove Mandhana for 24 off 16.
Sophie Devine and Ellyse Perry then kept the scoreboard ticking for Royal Challengers Bangalore as the duo kept gathering runs at every mistimed delivery.
Tanuja Kanwar gave her team a big breakthrough as she broke a crucial partnership stand, removing Devine for 23. While sneaking runs off every loose ball, RCB kept losing wickets at regular intervals. In the 14th over of the match, Perry was removed by Kathryn Bryce for 24.
Georgia Wareham and Richa Ghosh then stepped up and the dup played some astonishing shots, slamming Shabnam Md Shakil for 14 runs with the help of three boundaries. Ashleigh Gardner provided her team with another breakthrough as she well set Ghosh for 30.
Wareham kept her fine form going as she blasted one six and four in the 19th over and in the next, she hammered she did the same. But her stunning innings of 48 runs came to an end as she was run out.
In the last over, Ekta Bisht showed some fighting shots as the youngster gave her side some hope however it all came crashing down as Gujarat Giants registered a 19-run victory over RCB.
Earlier, brisk half-centuries by Laura Wolvaardt and Beth Mooney powered Gujarat Giants (GG) to 199/5.
Opted to bat first, Gujarat Giants openers Laura Wolvaardt and Beth Mooney got off to a blistering start, hammering RCB bowlers all around the ground. The fiery duo took their team's total past the 50-run mark in the 5th over of the game.
In the 8th over, Mooney struck back-to-back two boundaries off Ekta Bisht, gathering 10 runs. With her brisk play, Wolvaardt brought up her half-century in the 10th over of the game, taking GG's total betting 100 runs.
Captain Mooney also brought up her half-century in 32 balls. In the 14th over, RCB finally received a breakthrough as Wolvaardt was run out for 76. Phoebe Litchfield then joined Mooney at the crease, and the batter was defensive in her approach.
In the 19th over, Gujarat suffered double blows as Litchfield was run out, and on the very next ball, Georgia Wareham removed Ashleigh Gardner for a duck. In the last over of the game, Gujarat lost their fourth wicket as Dayalan Hemalatha fell prey to Sophie Molineux. In the last over, Gujarta only managed to gather 4 runs, bringing their total to 199/5 in 20 overs.
Brief score: Gujarat Giants 199/5 (Laura Wolvaardt 76, Beth Mooney 85*; Sophie Molineux 1-32) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore 180/8 (Georgia Wareham 48, Richa Ghosh 30; Ashleigh Gardner 2-23). (ANI)