Indian cricket fans are rejoicing after the Women’s Premier League (WPL) concluded its inaugural season with a thrilling final between the Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Capitals. The Mumbai team, owned by Nita Ambani, wife of India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, emerged victorious with a seven-wicket win, much to the delight of the capacity crowd at Brabourne Stadium. The WPL franchise and media rights were sold for $700m, making it the second-most lucrative domestic women’s sports competition after US professional basketball.
IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal described the tournament as a “festival for women’s cricket which the entire world was celebrating,” praising the atmosphere in the stadium as on par with or even better than other big tournament finals. The competition was also hailed as “game-changing” for women’s cricket in India, with Dhumal stating that it will pave the way for many young girls to make a career in the sport.
The West Indies’ Hayley Matthews was named player of the series, scoring 16 wickets and 271 runs, while Australia’s Meg Lanning, who led Delhi with 345 runs, received the award for scoring the most runs in the competition. Former England men’s captain Michael Vaughan tweeted his prediction that the WPL will only continue to grow in popularity, while Mumbai captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who was the first Indian cricketer to sign with an overseas T20 franchise in 2016, stated that the WPL will help Indian players improve under the pressure of playing at a high level.
The WPL is now being hailed as one of the best women’s cricket tournaments, even compared to the recently-held T20 World Cup, and fans are eagerly anticipating the next season. With the success of the WPL, it’s clear that women’s cricket is gaining ground in India, a country with a population of 1.4 billion known for its love of the sport. The Mumbai Indians will no doubt be celebrating their win for some time, while fans will be looking forward to the start of the men’s IPL season later this week, where the Mumbai team also holds a record five titles.
