The Women's T20 Challenge was an Indian women's cricket Twenty20 tournament that was held between 2018 and 2022. The tournament featured three teams, playing a round-robin group followed by a final. IPL Supernovas were the most successful team in the history of the tournament, with three title wins.
| Countries | India |
|---|---|
| Administrator | Board of Control for Cricket in India |
| Format | Twenty20 |
| First edition | 2018 |
| Latest edition | 2022 |
| Tournament format | Round-robin and final |
| Number of teams | 3 |
| Current champion | IPL Supernovas (3rd title) IPL Trailblazers (1st title) |
| Most successful | IPL Supernovas (3 titles) IPL Trailblazers (1st title) |
| Website | Official Site |
The tournament was replaced by a new franchise-based annual T20 tournament, the Women's Premier League, which began in 2023.
History
editThe idea for a women's version of the Indian Premier League was suggested after the 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup, where the India women's national cricket team finished second.[1] The tournament was first introduced in 2018, as a single match held in Mumbai prior to one of the men's matches. The match featured teams named IPL Trailblazers and IPL Supernovas.[2][3] In 2019, the Women's T20 Challenge was expanded to a three team tournament instead of a one-off match, with a new team called IPL Velocity competing alongside the IPL Trailblazers and IPL Supernovas,[4][5] in a round-robin format with the top two teams progressing to the final.[1] The 2020 event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and held in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, alongside the rearranged men's IPL.[6]
In November 2020, Board of Control for Cricket in India president Sourav Ganguly suggested an expansion of the Women's T20 Challenge to 7 or 8 teams in 2022.[7] There were suggestions of adding a fourth team for the 2021 season,[8] but this was decided against due to the ongoing issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] The 2021 event was postponed along with the men's IPL, with no indication of a date for the women's event being played.[6] It was not held at the same time as the rearranged men's event, as the dates clashed with India women's tour of Australia.[10] In March 2022, the BCCI announced plans to start a women's IPL by 2023, with five or six teams in the inaugural edition.[11] The 2022 event took place in May 2022, to coincide with the playoffs of the men's IPL.[10]
In March 2022, BCCI announced a new franchise-based annual T20 tournament starting in 2023 to replace the Women's T20 Challenge,[12] which was later named the Women's Premier League.[13]
Teams
edit| Team | Wins | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| IPL Supernovas | 3 | 1 |
| IPL Trailblazers | 1 | 1 |
| IPL Velocity | 0 | 2 |
Tournament results
editIn the inaugural edition, IPL Supernovas won the match by 3 wickets in a last over thriller.[14][15] IPL Supernovas beat IPL Velocity by 4 wickets in the second edition and retained their title.[16][17] In 2020, IPL Trailblazers beat IPL Supernovas by 16 runs in the third edition and won their maiden title.[18][19] In 2022, IPL Supernovas won their third title, beating IPL Velocity by four runs in the final.[20]
| Season | Final | Final venue | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Result | Runner-up | ||
| 2018 Details |
IPL Supernovas 130/7 (20 overs) |
IPL Supernovas won by 3 wickets | IPL Trailblazers 129/6 (20 overs) |
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai |
| 2019 Details |
IPL Supernovas 125/6 (20 overs) |
IPL Supernovas won by 4 wickets | IPL Velocity 121/6 (20 overs) |
Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur |
| 2020 Details |
IPL Trailblazers 118/8 (20 overs) |
IPL Trailblazers won by 16 runs | IPL Supernovas 102/7 (20 overs) |
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah |
| 2022 Details |
IPL Supernovas 165/7 (20 overs) |
IPL Supernovas won by 4 runs | IPL Velocity 161/8 (20 overs) |
Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune |
See also
edit- Sports in India – an overview of sports culture in India
- Women's Premier League
- Indian Premier League
References
edit- ^ a b "Women's IPL 2020: The origins of the Women's T20 Challenge". Sportskeeda. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
- ^ "Women Cricketers Excited Ahead of Historic IPL Exhibition Match". News18. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ^ NDTVSports.com. "IPL 2018: Women's T20 Challenge Match To Be Played Before Qualifier 1 In Mumbai – NDTV Sports". NDTVSports.com. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ^ Cricbuzz. "BCCI confirms three-team Women's T20 challenge". Cricbuzz.com. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ^ "Women's T20 Challenge a step towards an IPL for Harmanpreet, Mandhana and Co". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ a b "Women's T20 Challenge: Top 5 individual performances". Sportskeeda. 19 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ "IPL 2021 in India, 7–8 team women's league in 2022: Sourav Ganguly". DNA India. 8 November 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ "Women's T20 Challenge likely in Delhi, decision on fourth team soon". The New Indian Express. 5 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
- ^ "IPL 2021: Why Women's IPL is still a distant dream?". The Bridge. 11 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Women's T20 Challenge to be held in May 2022, confirms Sourav Ganguly". Female Cricket. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ "BCCI plans to start women's IPL by 2023; Women's T20 Challenge returns this season". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
- ^ "BCCI proposes six-team women's IPL from next year". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
- ^ Ghosh, Annesha (3 February 2023). "'Game changer': why the Women's Premier League is a revolution for players and fans". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ "2018 Women's T20 Challenge one-off match". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ "Suzie Bates, Ellyse Perry call the shots in last-ball cliffhanger". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ^ "2019 Women's T20 Challenge Final". ESPNcricinfo. 11 May 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ^ "Harmanpreet Kaur 51 sets up Supernovas' last-ball win in final". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ "Smriti Mandhana 68, Salma Khatun three-for lead Trailblazers to 2020 Women's T20 Challenge title". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
- ^ "Mandhana, spinners clinch maiden title for Trailblazers". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
- ^ "Dottin and Ecclestone bring the crown home for Supernovas". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 March 2023.