Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023: Stats, Records, Figures, Awards, And All You Need To Know. Women’s cricket got a big boost as finally, the much-awaited Women’s Premier League (WPL) got underway this year after so many rounds of discussions WPL 2023 final between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals was another exciting contest with Mumbai Indians registering the win by 3 wickets.
The auctions for the first WPL were held on the 11th of February 2023 as a total of 409 players were on the auction list. Players were divided into five categories for the base price starting from INR 10 lakhs to INR 50 lakhs.
A total of five franchises took part in the tournament (Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Uttar Pradesh Warriorz, Mumbai Indians, and Gujarat Giants). The 23-day event witnessed some nail-biting contests with top-class performances from some of the quality performers from India and from across the world.
Although the WPL was in its first year we can’t compare it with the men’s event but after 2-3 seasons we will surely see a big change in the overall skills of women cricketers including their temperament and technique. In this piece, we have highlighted some key points from the first WPL through stats & figures.
Costliest Player Of WPL 2023 (Smriti Mandhana, INR 3.4 crore, RCB )
India opener Smriti Mandhana became the costliest player of the inaugural WPL event when she was bought for a sum of INR 3.4 crore by Royal Challengers Bangalore.
WPL 2023 First Hattrick (Issy Wong vs Uttar Pradesh Warriorz)-
England medium-pacer became the first bowler to pick up a hat trick in the first season of WPL. The 20-year-old Mumbai Indians bowler achieved this record on the 25th of March against Uttar Pradesh Warriorz at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai. She took the wicket of Kiran Navgire, Simran Shaikh and Sophie Ecclestone as she registered figures of 4/15 helping her side to register a 72-run win.
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Highest Individual Score (Sophie Devine, (Royal Challengers Bangalore) 99 off 36 balls vs Gujarat Giants-
Sophie Devine played one of her best T20 innings ever against Gujarat Giants smashing 99 in just 36 deliveries on the 18th of March 2023 helping RCB chase 189. She smashed 9 boundaries and 8 sixes in her destructive knock.
Best Bowling Figures–
The inaugural WPL witnessed some skillful bowling performances from some of the top-class performers. Marizanne Kapp and Tara Norris from Delhi Capitals registered impressive bowling figures. Kapp took 5/15 against Gujarat Giants while Tara Norris took 5/29 against RCB.
WPL 2023 Orange Cap
Meg Lanning was undoubtedly the best performer with 345 runs as she won the Orange Cap. She averaged 49.28 while her strike rate was 139.11. She is followed by Natalie Sciver Brunt who scored 332 runs.
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WPL 2023 Purple Cap
Hayley Matthews of Mumbai Indians was undoubtedly one of the best bowlers in the entire WPL season claiming 16 wickets in 10 matches. The 25-year-old off-spinner was consistent with her length throughout the tournament. Sophie Ecclestone of UP Warriorz and Amelia Kerr of Mumbai Indians finished at no 2 and 3 positions with 16 and 15 wickets in 9 & 10 matches respectively.
WPL 2023 Emerging Player Of The Tournament
Yastika Bhatia of Mumbai Indians was awarded the Emerging player of the tournament.
Catch Of The Season
Mumbai Indians skipper Harmanpreet Kaur took a brilliant catch at slip to get rid of Devika Vaidya of UP Warriorz. Her catch was surely one of the best catches of the tournament.
WPL 2023 Most Valuable Player-
Hayley Matthews of Mumbai Indians dominated with the bat as well as the ball and hence due to her all round performances she is the most valuable player of the tournament with 284 points followed by her Mumbai Indians teammate Natalie Sciver Brunt with 272.5 points and Marizanne Kapp of Delhi Capitals with 218.5 points.
WPL 2023 Fair Play Points-
Mumbai Indians gained the highest points for fair play. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side won 82 points followed by Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore with 80 points respectively.
