Cricket News: Women's T20 challenge to kickstart in Sharjah

The third edition of the Women's T20 Challenge is all set to kickstart and it is going to witness top Indian women cricketers join forces with the biggest names from England, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh and New Zealand in the four-match tournament that will get underway in Sharjah. Harmanpreet Kaur-led Supernovas are the defending champions and they will lock horns with Velocity led by the veteran Mithali Raj in the tournament opener. Harmanpreet Kaur has been the most successful player in the tournament and this time, she returns eager to pocket her third title. The experienced all-rounder's career has been decorated with smashing records. She was the first woman to score a century in a women's T20I and she was the first Indian player (male and female) to play 100 T20I matches. Though her performance at the Women's T20 World Cup was a bit underwhelming, the skipper is all set to change that and saunter onto the Sharjah Cricket Stadium with renewed energy and fervour. Mithali Raj returns to the field as Velocity captain in this year's Women's T20 Challenge. The 37-year-old legend last featured in a T20I match in March 2019. In her 89 T20I matches, Mithali has scored 2,364 runs with an average of 37.52. Considering this, she will be expected to lead from the front when Velocity walks out to face Supernovas in the tournament opener