No Century, Still A Masterclass: Beth Mooney Brings Out The Dawg In Lucknow

Have you seen how easily the hot wheel-sized Maruti Suzuki Alto can climb the steep incline in the Himalayas that elephantine 4x4 SUVs can only dream of? 

There’s a reason Alto is called Lord Alto in the hills. 

It’s not a showoff. It doesn’t have big muscles like a Thar. But it isn’t even deterred by snowfall as its small tyres trundle up the inclines as if some mysterious force is pushing it ahead. 

Beth Mooney is the Alto of women’s cricket batting. She doesn’t have the big muscles of Deandra Dottin or Grace Harris, and she is not a big-hitting spectacle like her skipper, Ashleigh Gardner. 

But boy oh boy, is she good at doing what’s exactly needed of her!

It wasn’t like she was having a great run in this 2025 season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), either. While she started the season with a very good 56 off 42 at a strike rate of 133.33 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Vadodara, her next four scores read 0, 1, 10, and 17. 

However, today, against a spin-studded bowling attack of the UP Warriorz (UPW) in their backyard, she put on a masterclass in how to place shots against spinners while being on the charge. And it wasn’t like she was dud against pace. After all, you don’t get 96* off 59 deliveries by hitting just one kind of delivery. 

Moony’s innings was defined by her movements in the crease and finding gaps while taking minimal risks and playing with a straight bat—a kind of batting that is alarmingly extinct in modern T20 cricket irrespective of the batter's gender. 

The fact that she hit 17 fours in her 96*, the most fours struck in an innings without a six, was a testament to the success of her method. 

She settled into the rhythm of charging down the track against the spinners in the fourth over itself, getting a four by taking a big front-foot stride and driving the ball down the ground. She was even nimble on her feet to sweep Deepti on the next ball and collected consecutive boundaries. 

That seemed to have got her going, as her feet almost got freed up, and what ensued was a dazzling dance of special footwork from Mooney against both the spinners and the pacers. 

She charged down the track on 14 deliveries, mostly against spinners, and scored 33 runs. Most of these boundaries and runs were scored in the V (between deep extra cover and deep mid-wicket) and were immaculately placed depending on where the fielders were stationed in those areas.

She especially targeted off spinners Deepti and Harris and smashed them down the ground with ease, beating fielders as if they were bystanders, looking at the ever-efficient Alto of women’s cricket showing off her skills.  

However, it wasn’t just a spin thrill for Mooney out there. She showed quick foot movement to create some room and smashed eight boundaries against Chinelle Henry and Kranti Goud. Young Goud was punished quite severely by the experienced Aussie, as she scored 22 of the 12 deliveries Goud bowled to her. 

Along with her crease movement, Mooney also ran incredibly hard between the wickets, making it hard even for young Indian batters like Harleen Deol to match her agility between the wickets. “You have to run hard mate,” that’s what Mooney told her. 

When asked if that’s true in the post-match press conference, Player of the Match Mooney showcased her batting style with utmost clarity.

“No resting at the non-striker's end when I'm out there batting. Hopefully she can get back for a couple of twos in the next game,” Mooney chuckled. 

No resting - that’s how you’ll define the workhorse mode of T20 batting that was displayed in its most glorious form by Mooney against the UPW in Lucknow. 

She isn’t just an aberration. She’s proof that you can be yourself no matter what the world is. She showed that if you are extremely good at what you do, you’ll find a way to win. As Gujarat reached second position from fifth on the points table after this win, she proved that you don’t always need an SUV for your steepest climbs. Sometimes, all you need is an Alto and a lot of steel in your sinews.