Red ball cricket for women returns to India's domestic calendar after six years

The last time a two-day match in domestic cricket was held in India for women was back in 2018. The decision to host the domestic cup comes after India played one-off Tests against England and Australia women's teams in December last year. The hosts stood victorious in both clashes as they registered a 9-wicket victory over Australia and an emphatic 347-run victory over England.

The Indian team also featured in red-ball cricket during their tour of England and Australia in 2021. Before that, India last played a Test game in 2014 when South Africa toured and registered a victory by an innings and 34 runs.

The fixtures will be hosted by the Maharashtra Cricket Association as the East Zone will take on the North East Zone while the West Zone will compete with the Central Zone.

North Zone and South Zone have been straightaway placed in the semi-finals and both teams will take on the winners of the first two games on April 3.

The final will be held on April 9 and all clashes will be a three-day game. The tournament will be played ten days after the conclusion of the ongoing second season of the Women's Premier League.

Before the beginning of the one-off Test against England, Smriti Mandhana had raised concerns over the players having little experience of the format.

While speaking at a press conference, she said, "[Our] bodies are not used to playing four back-to-back days of cricket because we generally play T20s and ODIs which have gaps. More than physical part, being there [on the field] for four days mentally, trying to focus on each ball [is important]."

At that time she was also hopeful that the BCCI would consider resuming the women's domestic red-ball competition, and said, "As the number of Tests increase, we may see a new domestic tournament for long-form cricket. Domestic structure is always according to international demands." (ANI)