Four teams to feature in Women's T20 Challenge in Jaipur
What's the story
The upcoming Women's T20 Challenge edition will be held at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, the BCCI announced on Saturday. A total of seven matches will be played in the tournament during the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoff week at the venue. Notably, the tournament will feature four teams instead of three, this time around. Here is more.
Quote
The 2018 edition was a huge success: BCCI release
"As part of its ongoing commitment to growing women's game, BCCI is pleased to announce the 2020 Women's T20 Challenge. The tournament which started in 2018 was a huge success. It garnered all the right eyeballs in the following year," BCCI said in a release.
Inception
The inaugural edition was played in Mumbai
The idea of letting the women clash during IPL was introduced in 2018 and a one-off T20 was played in Mumbai. In the inaugural edition, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Supernovas won the match by three wickets in a last-over thriller against the Trailblazers, led by Smriti Mandhana, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
2019
IPL Supernovas were crowned champions in 2019
In the second edition, the tournament was changed to a three-team format. A new team called IPL Velocity was introduced along with the previous teams IPL Trailblazers and IPL Supernovas. Indian legend Mithali Raj was named captain of Velocity. A total of three matches were played before the final. Supernovas defeated Velocity by four wickets in the final to retain the title.
Changes
Women's T20 challenge to be played during IPL
A fourth team will be added in the the upcoming edition and a total number of seven matches will be played. The 13th IPL edition starts from March 29 with defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on Chennai Super Kings. "The WT20 Challenge this year will feature some of the world's best women cricketers and will have 7 matches played in Jaipur," the release said.