The inaugural edition of the Women's T20 League (WTL) is set to kick off today (March 04, Saturday) with a blockbuster clash between the Mumbai franchise and the Gujarat franchise at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai.
Meanwhile, tickets for the March 6 clash between two popular franchises, Bangalore and Mumbai, are sold out. Both the teams have been crowd favorites in the men's T20 league over the years with their impressive performances and fans expect the same entertainment from the women players.
The Indian Cricket Board has been able to pull off their long-held dream with the hope that WTL will be a great platform for players to showcase their talent alongside players from around the world. Apart from Mumbai, Bangalore and Gujarat, the other two teams participating in the inaugural edition of the WTL are Delhi and UP. The matches will be held in Mumbai at two venues, namely DY Patil Stadium and Brabourne Stadium. The final of the mega tournament will be played on March 26.
The WTL auction was held during the recently concluded Women's 20-20 World Cup and all five franchises did not hesitate to break their bank to buy their favorite players from around the world. Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur will lead Mumbai and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana will lead Bangalore's women's team. Australia's World Cup-winning captain Meg Lanning will lead the Delhi franchise, while Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healy will lead Gujarat and UP respectively in the 2023 WTL.
This is how Twitter reacted to the sell-out of tickets for the Mumbai-Bangalore match:
RCB owning MI as usual
— Jatin (@yuvi_010) March 4, 2023
This is the biggest battle in women's IPL. haha
— upr.shm #FrensGang (@ShitIsForReal) March 4, 2023
Sold out kaise nahi hoga women's keliye ticket jo free hai
— Abhinav 🇮🇳 (@Abhiiii321g) March 4, 2023
Today’s match tckts still available 😄
— Kohlified💉 (@RRRamCharanfan) March 4, 2023
RCB name is enough
— AbdMahesh ʸᵃˢʰ¹⁹ (@MaheshN66252385) March 4, 2023
What if RCB matches happened in chinaswamy stadium
49 all out is all i want
— N. (@Relax_Boisss) March 4, 2023
90% were bought by RCB fans
— 𝙣 𝙚 𝙨 𝙝꧂ (@mid_619) March 4, 2023
Hitman effect
— The Armor (@crazyleader049) March 4, 2023
rcb fanbase unreal
— SUPRVIRAT (@ishanteditx) March 4, 2023
Smriti-led Bangalore's first match will be against Lannings' Delhi at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday, March 05. UP will face Gujarat in a double header tomorrow at 7:30 pm.
Here's the full Schedule: Date, Match, Time, Venue of WTL 2023:
March 4 - Gujarat vs Mumbai - 07:30 PM IST at DY Patil Stadium
March 5 - Bangalore vs Delhi - 03:30 PM IST at Brabourne
March 5 - UP vs Gujarat 07:30 PM IST at DY Patil Stadium
March 6 - Mumbai vs Bangalore - 07:30 PM IST at Brabourne
March 7 - Delhi vs UP - 07:30 PM IST at DY Patil Stadium
March 08 - Gujarat vs Bangalore - 07:30 PM IST at Brabourne
March 09 - Delhi vs Mumbai - 07:30 PM IST at DY Patil Stadium
March 10 - Bangalore vs UP - 07:30 PM IST at Brabourne
March 11 - Gujarat vs Delhi - 07:30 PM IST at DY Patil Stadium
March 12 - UP vs Mumbai - 07:30 PM IST at Brabourne – CCI
March 13 - Delhi vs Bangalore - 07:30 PM IST at DY Patil Stadium
March 14 - Mumbai vs Gujarat - 07:30 PM IST at Brabourne
March 15 - UP vs Bangalore - 07:30 PM IST at DY Patil Stadium
March 16 - Delhi vs Gujarat - 07:30 PM IST at Brabourne
March 18 - Mumbai vs UP - 03:30 PM IST at DY Patil Stadium
March 18 - Bangalore vs Gujarat - 07:30 PM IST at Brabourne
March 20 - Gujarat vs UP - 03:30 PM IST at Brabourne
March 20 - Mumbai vs Delhi - 07:30 PM IST at DY Patil Stadium
March 21 - Bangalore vs Mumbai - 03:30 PM IST at DY Patil Stadium
March 21 - UP vs Delhi - 07:30 PM IST at Brabourne
March 24 - Eliminator 07:30 PM IST at DY Patil Stadium
March 26 - Final - 07:30 PM IST at Brabourne