Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants will clash in a blockbuster opening match of the Women's Premier League (WPL) on March 4 while the final will be held on March 26, the BCCI announced on Tuesday.
Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai and the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai will hold 11 matches each in the inaugural edition of the tournament which will have 22 games - 20 league matches, one eliminator and final -- being played across 23 days.
The opening match and the eliminator on March 24 will be played at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai while the final will he held at Brabourne Stadium on March 26.
"On Sunday, 5th March 2023, the WPL will have its first double-header day where Royal Challengers Bangalore will square off against Delhi Capitals at the Brabourne Stadium, CCI," the BCCI said in a release.
"UP Warriorz will play their first game of the league against Gujarat Giants at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in the evening. The final game of the league stage will be played between UP Warriorz and Delhi Capitals on 21st March at the Brabourne Stadium, CCI.
"There will be 4 double headers with the first match starting at 3:30 PM IST. All evening matches will start at 7:30 PM IST," it said.
Five teams - Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and UP Warriorz - on Monday splurged their purse to acquire some of the best players in the international and domestic circuit.
India's Smriti Mandhana was the top buy as she was sold for a whopping ₹3.40 crore to Royal Challengers Bangalore. India captain Harmanpreet Kaur was bought by Mumbai Indians for ₹1.80 crore.
Among the foreign players, Australia all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner and England all-rounder Natalie Sciver were the top buys as they were sold to Gujarat Giants and Mumbai Indians for ₹3.20 crore respectively.
India's U-19 T20 World Cup-winning captain Shafali Verma was sold to Delhi Capitals for ₹2 crore.
