FEATURE 
Follow UsA couple of months before the Indian women's cricket team embark on their journey for the World Cup early next year, the domestic players have one last chance to showcase their talent and stake claim for a place in the national set-up.
One of the premier domestic competitions in Indian cricket, this edition of the Senior Women's One-Day competition will commence from Thursday, 28th October featuring the Plate group teams in Kolkata. Railways, led by Mithali Raj, will enter this high-voltage tournament as the defending champions.
With eight Indian players featuring in the ongoing Women's Big Bash League (WBBL), their state sides would miss out on their services. However, the rest of the players, including the Indian touring contingent to Australia earlier this month, are set to ply their trade for their domestic sides.
While the women's domestic season was curtailed last season due to the pandemic, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) plans to stage an entire season keeping the Women's World Cup in mind.
The format of the tournament
Amid the unprecedented chaos and the growing concerns of the pandemic, the tournament will be played across cities, with the final set to take place on 20th November in Bangalore. 37 teams will be in action and aim to get their hands on the coveted trophy.
The teams have been divided into six groups; five elite and one plate group, with the top two sides from the elite group progressing into the knockouts along with the winner of the plate group.
A step closer to the Indian side
Two of the most consistent performers in the domestic circuit, Sneh Rana and Indrani Roy, were rewarded by a call-up for the national side after their scintillating performances in the previous edition of the Senior Women's One-Day league.
While India is still not a settled unit in the 50-over format, the league will act as an ideal platform for the fringe players to perform and stake a claim for themselves in the Challenger Trophy and the national set-up.
With the Women's World Cup set to kickstart on 4th March, this tournament will also allow the current India players to gain plenty of match experience and exposure to competitive cricket.
Team to watch out for in Elite A
With the likes of Anuja Patil and Devika Vaidya, Maharashtra boasts plenty of match-winners and will be one of the favourites to progress to the next round. The duo have a wealth of experience in the domestic circuit and have been an integral part of the national side in the past couple of seasons.
The group will be competing in Dehradun, and it'll be interesting to see the wickets on offer at the venue. Jharkhand, the finalists of last season, will be another team who will be keen to continue their sublime show and get a step further in this edition.
Team to watch out for in Elite B
With a plethora of stars in the side, the reigning champions, Railways, are expected to dominate this group. They have been one of the most successful teams in the domestic circuit and will have the services of the majority of the Indian players for this tournament. The teams will be competing for a place in the knock stage of the competition at Pune.
Team to watch out for in Elite C
One of the most dominant sides in the domestic circuit, Bengal, will be the team to watch for in this group. With the likes of Jhulan Goswami and Vanitha VR shouldering the responsibility of the side with the bat and ball, the team looks formidable, to say the least. The sides in this group will be in action in Bangalore and will gain plenty of matches to get acclimatised to the conditions before the knockout stage of the competition slated to be staged in the same city.
Team to watch out for in Elite D
Madhya Pradesh will be one of the favourites to progress into the next round from the teams plying their trade at Visakhapatnam in this group. While there will be stiff competition from Haryana and Vidarbha, the youngsters in the MP squad like Pooja Vastrakar and Salonee Dangore will give them a marginal advantage heading into this competition.
Team to watch out for in Elite E
With the middle-order of the Indian side struggling for runs in the 50-over format, this tournament will provide Karnataka player Veda Krishnamurthy to perform and reclaim her place in the national set-up. She will be one of the mainstays in the batting unit of the side and will look to take advantage of the batting-friendly wickets at Nagpur to score plenty of runs. Another side that has the all-around ability to challenge Karnataka in this group is Baroda. The team has plenty of exciting youngsters in the squad and will look to create an impact in this competition.
Team to watch out for in Plate group
Jammu and Kashmir will be one of the teams to watch out for in this group. Rubia Syed will be one of the key players for the squad heading into the tournament. The all-rounder has been part of the side for a long time, and the team will rely heavily on her to guide them through this stage of the competition.
