Mumbai: The first Indian Women’s Premier League tournament begins today. The opening match will start at 7.30 pm in Mumbai. Aussie star Beth Mooney’s Gujarat Giants will face Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s Mumbai Indians.
The women’s players are also taking the stage in the name of Women’s Premier League to the stage of stardom and money provided by IPL. BCCI aims to increase the competitiveness of Indian women’s players and provide opportunities to more domestic players through the tournament. Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals and UP Warriors are the other franchises to make the switch in the first edition.
Each team will play four home and away matches in the league round. The team that tops the points table will directly qualify for the final on 26th. The second and third place eliminators will be held on the 24th to determine the second finalists. Tata Title sponsors the prize money of 6 crores for the tournament winners. 3 crores for the second place and 1 crore for the third place.
Minnu Mani, a native of Wayanad’s Mananthavadi, has made it to the Delhi Capitals team. Minnu was called by Delhi for 30 lakhs. The most expensive player of the tournament is Smriti Manthana, who was acquired by Bangalore for 3.4 crores. Australia’s Women’s T20 World Cup winners Ashley Gardner is the most valuable overseas player. Gujarat acquired the star for 3.2 crores.
Gujarat Probable XI: Beth Mooney (capt), Sabineni Meghana, Sophie Dunkley, Ashley Gardner, Hemalatha, Harleen Deol, Sneh Rana, Annabelle Sutherland, Mansi Joshi, Tanuja Kanwar, Monica Patel/Hurley Gala.
Mumbai Probable XI: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Yastika Bhatia, Hayley Mathews, Amelia Kerr, Nathalie Skiver, Chloe Tryon, Dhara Gujjar, Amanjot Kaur/Isabelle Wong, Neelam Bisht, Pooja Vastrakar, Sonam Yadav.
Summary: WPL 2023: Women’s Premier League begins today- Mumbai Indians-Gujarat Giants opener preview