Four coincidences in the inaugural seasons of Indian T20 League and Women's T20 League

The inaugural seasons of the Indian T20 League and the Women's T20 League have had a lot of similarities within the opening days of the latter competition. The two competitions rank among India's most popular cricket leagues in men's and women's cricket, respectively. Their brand values are extremely high, and numerous Indian city and state-based franchises contend for the coveted championship. The Women's T20 League 2023 season began on March 4, and in just the first three games of the competition, there have been a few similarities to the Indian T20 League's inaugural season in 2008. Here are four such uncanny similarities.

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4.Opening games of both tournaments were one-sided

Bangalore Franchise (Source: twitter)

In 2008, the Kolkata franchise thrashed Bangalore in the Indian T20 opener. In the meantime, Gujarat women's team were destroyed by Mumbai women's team in the Women's T20 League opener, making the first-ever games of the two premier T20 Leagues of India a one-sided contest.

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3. Delhi batters posted the first-ever 100+ runs partnership

Delhi Franchise (Source: twitter)

The first 100-run stand in Indian T20 League history was put up by the Delhi franchise, with Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan in the pick of things. On Day 2 of the 2008 Indian T20 League, they accomplished the feat against Rajasthan. Similarly, on Day 2 of the women's league, Delhi openers Shafali Verma and Meg Lanning had a partnership of over 100 against Bangalore.

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2. First Mumbai captain was a Punjab-born

Captains of Mumbai (Source: Twitter)

The first player to serve as captain of the Mumbai men's squad in the Indian T20 League was Harbhajan Singh hailing from Punjab's Jalandhar. Similarly, Harmanpreet Kaur, who was born in Punjab, also served as captain of Mumbai in their inaugural Women's T20 League.

1. Bangalore franchise conceded more than 200 runs in their opening game

Captains of Bangalore (Source: Twitter)

Another regular Indian T20 League and Women's T20 League participant is the Bangalore franchise. The Bangalore-based team conceded 222 runs to Kolkata in their opening Indian T20 League game. Similarly, in their opening match in the Women'sT20 League, Bangalore went for 223 runs to Delhi.