It was an unceremonious start to Beth Mooney's Gujarat Giants (GG) career while chasing a mammoth target of 208 runs set by the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the opening match of the inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL) at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday, March 4.
The swashbuckling Australia opener, who recently won the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup for her country with incredible performances in the semifinals and the final, was forced to limp off the field after suffering from an apparent knee injury in the first over of her innings, which was bowled by Nat Sciver-Brunt.
There was only one run on the board, and with Mooney of the strike, the second and third balls were dots. On the fourth ball, she tapped it towards cover and got injured when her left leg landed while she decided to turn back mid-pitch.
The 29-year-old received treatment in the middle of the park, with the injury seemingly on her left knee. She eventually walked off the pitch in what turned out to be a major blow to the Giants. She was replaced by Harleen Deol, but the damage was already done.
Her absence and return to the pavilion had a drastic effect on the team's batting, with a major collapse in the making. The Giants folded like cards in the powerplay while trying to chase down this big total. Harleen's mishit off Sciver-Brunt's bowling fell to Issy Wong, departing for a 0, while Ashleigh Gardner, who won the Player of the Tournament in the T20 World Cup, lost her wicket for a Golden Duck, with Wong among the wickets this time.
With the score reading 23/7, Dayalan Hemalatha stabilised the batting a little bit and managed to take her team above 50 runs. However, the damage was already done and the side were bundled up for 65 runs as the Giants lost their first-ever game by 143 runs.
Mooney was too injured to return to the field and her side will really miss her service in case the batter is injured for the remainder of the tournament.
