Beyond the headlines: Mooney's 96*, Goud's error, & UPW's poor fielding
Beyond the headlines; RCB v/s DC, Game 14 of the WPL
The Gujarat Giants beat the UP Warriorz by 81 runs, marking just the second instance of the chasing team losing during the 2025 WPL. Beth Mooney’s brilliant 96* (59) paced GG, and the UPW top order did what they do best in response - they collapsed.
But, what happened beyond the headlines?
Beth Mooney’s match-winning batting strategy cost her a century, Kranti Goud thinks she’s still bowling in Bengaluru, & UPW’s fielding keeps getting worse.
How Mooney controlled her innings…until she didn’t
Written by Tarutr Malhotra.
After the 16th over, Beth Mooney was on 85* (54), and looked primed to get the WPL’s first century. However, by the end of GG’s innings, despite keeping her wicket and trying to play aggressively, Mooney ended up on just 96* (59).
And she probably missed out on that century because she stuck to the batting strategy that got her to 85* (54) in the first place.
The Gujarat Giants have struggled to build good scores in the powerplay overs before today, averaging 32.25 runs and 2.75 wickets lost. When Dayalan Hemalatha fell in the first over, Mooney decided that she was not going to let history repeat itself.
Along with Harleen Deol, Mooney decided to run hard to keep the scoreboard ticking. There were a couple of UPW misfields that helped them in the first 10 overs, but Mooney in particular was pushy about running every extra single possible.
In all, during their 101-run partnership, Deol & Mooney ran 38 runs off 33 balls to keep the scoreboard ticking. This was particularly effective in reversing GG’s poor powerplay performances, as the two batters got them to 40/1 with just six 4s in the first 6 overs.
After 10 overs, GG were sitting pretty at 81/1, and so Deol & Mooney started getting more aggressive. They scored three 4s in the 11th over alone (a fifth of their total boundaries from a 68-ball partnership), before Deol got out in the 13th.
Mooney kept going though, as she hogged the strike until the end of the 16th over. She faced 15 of 23 balls after Harleen Deol’s dismissal, scoring 30 runs at a strike rate of 200!
And then, she just went quiet. As Ash Gardner, Deandra Dottin & Phoebe Litchfield kept swinging and getting out on the other end, Beth Mooney just kept encouraging singles - including off her own batting. In all, she only faced 5 of the last 24 balls, as she unfathomably let the new batters keep strike.
Unsurprisingly, a personal innings that looked set for a century, and a team innings that looked set for a 200+ score, both fell short by the end of the 20th over.
Of course, to some degree, UPW’s (extremely belated) changes also made a difference. The bowling side ignored Sophie Ecclestone (the best white ball bowler in the world) until the 13th over, when she promptly got Deol out. Similarly, Ecclestone strangled Mooney in the 20th over, when the Aussie finally faced 3 of her 5 death overs deliveries.
Additionally, UPW finally straightened their wide long on and long off fielders in the 20th over, seemingly determined to deny Mooney’s century. For some unfathomable reason, they had just let the Aussie smack the ball down the ground repeatedly for boundaries during the first 19 overs (as the spider map shows).
In the end, the death overs lapse didn’t matter tonight. But poor game management like this could easily spell defeat against a better opponent like DC or MI.
Data from ESPNcricinfo.
Goud failed to account for the change of venue
Written by Krithika Venkatesan, who works as a talent scout with RCB. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Kranti Goud struggled in Lucknow compared to her performance in Bengaluru, ending with 1/46 from her 4 overs. She stuck to bowling full and good lengths, a plan that worked well at Chinnaswamy Stadium.
In Lucknow, those lengths weren't as effective, especially when the batters were settled. During the recent Senior T20 Trophy, bowlers who found success in Lucknow often bowled slower or angled the ball in, and hit the stumps from a back-of-a-length position to take more wickets.
Of Goud's deliveries, 8 were on a fuller length, 2 were just short of a good length, and the rest consistently landed on a good length.
Goud should have bowled a few more slower deliveries if she planned to target that line and varied the pace more, as both Mooney and Deol enjoy facing pace. Usually in Lucknow, after the powerplay, the ball comes onto the bat and with pace, it is easier to dispatch. That’s one reason why her first over went for just 4 runs. However, when bowling to a settled Mooney in the 14th over, she conceded 16 runs.
Before the Senior One Day Trophy, Goud often bowled slower deliveries; tried to move the ball away from the batter. However, since taking on the new-ball role for Madhya Pradesh, she has focused on bowling quicker, targeting the middle and leg stumps more frequently, hitting the deck hard. These days, she rarely even looks to swing the ball.
Against left-handers, she used to bowl around a 6-meter length, aiming for the ball to skid and hit the stumps - a strategy that had served her well in the past. Today, she barely bowled back-of-the-length deliveries.
But the conditions in Lucknow demand a different line and length from her. If not, she could always revert to her older tactics and mix things up. Notably, Goud has a good bouncer, which could be a valuable variation in Lucknow. In today's match, she attempted it once against Harleen Deol but ended up bowling it over her head.
While Goud is expected to perform well in the powerplay , it will be interesting to see how she adapts to the middle overs in Lucknow in the upcoming games.
Data from ESPNcricinfo plus Krithika’s own tracking.
UPW’s fielding isn’t getting better
Written by Ritwika Dhar. You can follow her on Twitter.
UPW’s lacklustre fielding has been a persistent headache this season. They conceded 4 misfields, dropped 2 catches, and missed a stumping today. Additionally, GG took ten 2s tonight, which is indicative of UPW’s poor fielding and fielding placements.
Sophie Ecclestone failed to time her jump for the catch at mid-off in the 16th over, letting Beth Mooney off the hook on 85. In the next over, Gouher Sultana put down a straightforward chance at short fine leg when Deandra Dottin was on 4. The two batters would score 25 runs together after those drops.
Wicketkeeper Uma Chetry compounded UPW’s woes by missing a straightforward stumping of Dottin off Ecclestone in the 17th over. With just 2 dismissals in 6 games, she has been the least effective wicketkeeper in the tournament, averaging a mere 0.333 dismissals per innings.
Her wicketkeeping technique also has been under scrutiny with her not been able to judge the pace and bounce of pitch. Despite poor batting numbers (79 off 95 in the tournament, and 17 off 22 today), Chetry remains UPW’s only option behind the stumps, as they lack a backup wicketkeeper.
Fielding errors have already cost UPW dearly this season. In their reverse fixture against GG in Vadodara, a dropped chance allowed Dottin to go on and hammer an unbeaten 33 off 18 balls. Against MI in the their last game, UPW dropped Matthews in the 3rd over - who went on to score a match winning 59.
Against DC in Bengaluru, where UPW won despite a horrid display in the field, they dropped 5 catches and Chetry missed 3 stumping opportunities. In the reverse fixture against DC, they also dropped 3 catches including multiple fielding lapses in the last over that cost them the match.
UPW are better than their record, but they are never going to squeak into the playoffs if they keep fielding this badly.
Data from ESPNcricinfo.
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