Mooney, Wolvaardt go rogue to right Giants' wrongs

"We are going a bit rogue. We are trying to be nice and brave, nice and positive, do something a little bit different and see if we can shake things up."

At the toss of the 13th game of WPL 2024, Gujarat Giants captain Beth Mooney did what no captain has done this season. She chose to bat, and asked her team to be brave and positive and see if they could shake things up.

Easier said than done, especially when the Giants were the only team without points after four defeats. So, Mooney decided to walk the talk along with Laura Wolvaardt, their giant opening stand setting the stage for a 19-run win against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

While Mooney's decision to bat might have been a surprise, it wasn't entirely a left-field choice. In the first 11 games in Bengaluru, there was assistance for the fast bowlers early on. And with dew making run-scoring earlier in the second half of the game, bowling first was a no-brainer. Delhi proved to be different. On Monday, the Delhi Capitals had smashed 192 for 4 after getting sent into bat by Mumbai Indians, who fell short in the chase.

Mooney and Wolvaardt had an example to follow but they had to beat their powerplay demons first. Coming into this game, the Giants had made 43 for 3, 29 for 1, 41 for 1, and 41 for 3 in the first six overs this season. Their highest opening stand in the WPL was 41 and they were the only team without a century stand in the tournament. For the next 13 overs, Mooney and Wolvaardt set that record straight.

Wolvaardt set the pace. When in full flow, there are few better timers of the cricket ball than the South African batter. She had a look of steely determination from the get-go as she pushed Sophie Devine through backward point for a couple of runs. Then came a whip between mid-on and midwicket that sped across the turf followed by a clip to the fine leg fence. Wolvaardt was in the zone.

At the other end, Mooney, whose four innings in the tournament had yielded just 60 runs, began with a crisp cover-drive off Renuka Singh. When these two teams had met earlier in Bengaluru, Renuka had taken 2 for 14. In Delhi, she had already conceded 12 in her first. With the seamers going for plenty, Smriti Mandhana turned to spin in the third over, but the openers were in no mood to stop. By the time the first six overs were done, Giants had raced to 59 for 0 - their highest powerplay score of the season and second-highest ever in the WPL.

The leather hunt continued for RCB even after the powerplay ended. Georgia Wareham was creamed through covers by Wolvaardt, Mooney smashed Ekta Bisht for back-to-back fours, Asha Sobhana was taken for 11 in her opening over, while Wolvaardt crunched Ellyse Perry for three successive fours and raced to her fifty off 32 balls. Giants raieed their hundred in 9.3 overs, and Mooney brought up her half-century off 32 balls as well.

There were two stand-out features in the Mooney-Wolvaardt partnership: how they worked the left-right combination to their advantage - RCB bowled 11 wides during their stand - and how they relied on timing rather than power and played risk-free cricket. The duo hit 21 fours and no sixes while scoring 140 in 13 overs for the first wicket. It was a tactic, Wolvaardt said, she had planned going into the game.

"The outfield was really quick and obviously having the one short side, I just tried to place it, hit gaps. I knew that if I timed it well it would hopefully go into the boundary," she said. "I didn't want to get too ahead of myself and get sucked into the short side of it too early."

By the time Wolvaardt was run out for a 45-ball 76, she and Mooney had already crafted the second-highest partnership in the WPL. While Giants did lose a bit of steam in the end, Mooney finished unbeaten on 85 off 51 balls, taking her team to the highest total of the tournament so far - 199 for 5. It was a monumental achievement for a side that had failed to pass 150 even once.

"I am just happy to contribute," Mooney said after the game. "I have obviously been pretty disappointed with my output so far with the bat. It's been a tough tournament for Gujarat. My job as a leader is to try and lead from the front and contribute as much as possible.

"She's one of the nicest people on the planet. She is really easy to talk to," Mooney said of Wolvaardt. "I have always been a big fan of how she goes about her cricket from afar obviously. I haven't played a lot of cricket with her before. Hopefully, I have helped her as much she has helped me, but I thought she was outstanding tonight and certainly set the tone for us."

Mooney and Wolvaardt's positive approach rubbed off on the other Giants players as well. They looked more switched on than they did in the Bengaluru leg. Giants still have a long way to go, and they will hope their win against RCB is the first step of a late comeback in the WPL.