IPL 2020 in UAE: Dubai to host final and first qualifier
Sharjah to stage Women’s T20 Challenge as BCCI announce play-offs schedule
Dubai: Dubai will host the final of the 2020 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on November 10, according to the schedule announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday.
Dubai International Stadium, which would end up hosting the highest number of league matches (24), will also host the first qualifier on November 5 after which the eliminator and second qualifier will be played in Abu Dhabi on November 6 and November 8, respectively. All matches have been scheduled for a 7.30 pm (6 pm UAE) start.
Meanwhile, the Women’s T20 Challenge will be played from November 4 to November 9 in Sharjah. The Supernovas, Velocity and Trailblazers - will play three matches in the round-robin stage before the final on November 4, 5 and 7.
While the first and third matches alongwith the final have been scheduled to start at 6 pm UAE time, the second match between Velocity and Trailblazers is set for a 2 pm UAE start.
The first game will be a re-match of the 2019 final, with champions Supernovas, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, facing off against Velocity, led by Mithali Raj. The third team, Trailblazers, is led by Smriti Mandhana.
The women’s event will miss out on the top Australian women cricketers as the dates are clashing with the women’s Big Bash Down Under. Sophie Ecclestone, the No. 1-ranked T20I bowler among women and batter Danni Wyatt, who both appeared in the 2019 edition, are the two England representatives in the competition, while other big names include West Indies allrounder Deandra Dottin, Sri Lanka’s current captain Chamari Atapattu and former captain Shashikala Siriwardene.
Thailand, who are among the fastest emerging teams in the women’s circuit, also have a representation in the form of batter Natakkan Chantam. The 24-year-old impressed with her freeflowing strokeplay during Thailand’s maiden T20 World Cup appearance in Australia earlier this year.