Gujarat Giants skipper Beth Mooney won the toss and opted to bowl against Mumbai Indians in the first-ever match of the inaugural Women's Premier League in Mumbai on Saturday. (More Cricket News)
The real thing started after the crowd at the DY Patil Sports Academy was treated to some Bollywood style entertainment.
MI captain Harmanpreet Kaur said at the toss, "It's a special day for all of us, want to enjoy this moment. This is a good wicket to bat on, but there will be something in it for the bowlers as well.
"We have some young players who'll be featuring today and we're looking forward to seeing how they play."
Once the dancing and singing were done, BCCI president Roger Binny, secretary Jay Shah, and a host of other board officials were called up on the stage.
The office-bearers were followed by the captains of the five franchises -- Delhi Capitals' Meg Lanning, Mooney, Smriti Mandhana of Royal Challengers Bangalore, Alyssa Healy of the Warriorz and Harmanpreet. That was followed by the unveiling of the first-ever WPL trophy.
"Absolutely thrilled to be part of (WPL), a big crowd and I'm loving it. We have an entertaining group, we speak a lot about cricket. We have had the experience of playing in front of a big ground, we can pass it on to the younger members," Mooney said.
Teams:
Gujarat Giants: Beth Mooney(C/WK), Sabbhineni Meghana, Harleen Deol, Ashleigh Gardner, Annabel Sutherland, Dayalan Hemalatha, Georgia Wareham, Sneh Rana, Tanuja Kanwar, Monica Patel, Mansi Joshi.
Mumbai Indians: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Yastika Bhatia (WK), Natalie Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Mathews, Pooja Vastrakar, Issy Wong, Humaira Kaazi, Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, Jintimani Kalita, Saika Ishaque.
