Indian Women’s T20 League 2023: Barbourne Stadium details

Indian Women’s T20 League has been a long dream for the fans and now it is set to become a reality as the tournament’s inaugural edition will take place from 4th March to 26th March 2023. Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh are five teams that will participate in the first season of the Indian Women’s T20 League. 23 matches will be played across 17 days at two venues in Mumbai – Brabourne Stadium and DY Patil Stadium.

Brabourne Stadium is one of the well-known cricket stadiums not just in Mumbai but across India. The stadium was built during British Rule in 1937 and accommodates 20,000 spectators. Brabourne Stadium hosted 17 international matches from 1948 to 1973, with the first game being a Test match between India and West Indies in December 1948. After 1973, the stadium was no longer used for Test matches, although visiting teams had played just a few first-class games on the ground. In 2006, Brabourne Cricket Stadium was one of the three venues in India to have got the rights to host the Champions Trophy matches. In 2007, the first T20I match was played at this stadium.

In December 2009, Brabourne Stadium hosted a Test match after a long gap of 36 years. In December 2022, India Women and Australia Women played three of the five-match T20I series at this venue. Apart from hosting international matches, Brabourne Stadium was a home ground for the five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians, The venue hosted seven home matches of Mumbai in the third season of the Indian Premier League. In 2014, Brabourne Stadium hosted the IPL eliminator between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, wherein the CSK emerged victorious. Brabourne Stadium hosted 16 IPL matches in 2022.

In the inaugural edition of the Indian Women’s T20 League, Brabourne Stadium is expected to attract a lot of spectators as the venue will be hosting 11 matches of the tournament. The stadium will be the home ground for Mumbai women’s team while serving as the away venue for the rest of the four teams. Brabourne Stadium has hosted 11 T20 matches, with teams batting first have won five times. The highest total recorded at this venue was 217/5 by Rajasthan Royals against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Talking about the pitch, Brabourne Stadium has been a haven for batters. The pitch usually plays and is often considered suitable for batting. But sometimes, the pitch may offer a slow turner as well. In limited-overs cricket, especially T20 cricket, the dew plays a major role in deciding the fate of the team and therefore the team that wins the toss prefers to bowl first. The pitch generally gives assistance to the batters as well as bowlers with the dew factor coming to play deep in the match. The teams that will play at Brabourne Stadium in the first season of the Indian Women’s T20 League will have to take the dew factor into the consideration before opting to bat or bowl first.

Here are the India Women’s T20 League matches that will be played at Brabourne Stadium