5 landmarks that were reached in GG's first win of WPL 2024 vs RCB
Gujarat Giants took on Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 13th match of WPL 2024 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday, March 6.
After electing to bat first, GG began their innings brilliantly as openers Laura Wolvaardt and Beth Mooney added 140 runs for the first wicket in 13 overs. The two put the RCB bowling unit on the back-foot and were the pillars for their side. Wolvaardt made 76 (45) and Mooney top-scored with 85* off 51 balls as GG racked up 199/5 in their 20 overs.
The steep chase proved to be too much for the Smriti-Mandhana led side despite five of their batters getting starts. Georgia Wareham was the top-scorer with a 22-ball 48. RCB could only make 180 runs in their 20 overs and lost the game by 19 runs.
This win has not only kept GG in the playoff hunt but has opened up the WPL 2024 points table as well.
The recently concluded run-fest also saw a slew of landmarks reached. Here are five big landmarks that were reached during the GG vs RCB match.
#5 Highest individual score for GG in WPL
After a poor start to the WPL 2024 season, GG batters finally had their say against RCB. Their two overseas stars, Laura Wolvaardt and Beth Mooney, ruled the roost as they mustered the top two highest individual score for the franchise in WPL history.
Previously, Wolvaardt's 68 runs against RCB in 2023 was on top of the list. However, the 85-run knock by skipper Mooney is now the highest for GG. Wolvaardt's 76 runs on Wednesday occupies the second spot.
#4 First overseas left-hander to score a fifty in WPL history
Prior to the match between Gujarat and Bangalore, as many as 33 matches took place in WPL. However, none of those games saw a single fifty by an overseas left-handed batter.
With match-winning 85 against RCB, Beth Mooney became the first overseas southpaw to rack up a 50+ score in a WPL innings. If she hadn't endured an injury in the first match of WPL 2023, the Australian southpaw would've certainly achieved the feat last year.
#3 Youngest player in WPL history
Gujarat Giants management made one change in their clash against RCB, bringing in Shabnam MD Shakil in place of Tarannum Pathan.
Shabnam is now the youngest ever player to compete in WPL. Born in 2007, the Andhra Pradesh-born fast bowler is 16 years, 8 months and 19 days old. Shabnam bowled three overs in the match, conceding 27 runs, but failed to bag her first WPL wicket.
Previously, Parshavi Chopra of UP Warriorz (UPW) was the tournament's youngest player. She made her debut at the age of 16 years, 10 months and 7 days against the Mumbai Indians (MI) in 2023.
#2 Second-highest partnership in WPL history
As mentioned earlier, Wolvaardt and Mooney took the RCB bowlers to the cleaners and stitched up a huge opening stand of 140 runs in just 78 balls.
Their 140-run stand is now the second-highest partnership for any wicket in WPL history. They have surpassed the 139*-run partnership between Alyssa Healy and Devika Vaidya of UPW against RCB.
The opening partnership of 162 runs between Meg Lanning and Shafali Verma of the Delhi Capitals (DC) against RCB in 2023 is still atop the list.
#1 Most run-outs in a franchise T20 match (men's or women's)
The recently concluded WPL game will go down in history for achieving a unique record. The match between the Gujarat Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore saw seven different batters get run-outs across both innings. This is the most in any franchise T20 match, men's or women's.
Overall, this is the joint-most in any form of T20 cricket. An international T20 game between Rwanda and Malawi also saw seven run-outs in a game.
On Wednesday, Laura Wolvaardt, Phoebe Litchfield, and Veda Krishnnamurthy were run-out for GG. Sabbhineni Meghana, Georgia Wareham, Sophie Molineux, and Ekta Bisht fell short of their ground for RCB.