Commonwealth Games 2022: India to face Australia in opening match

India will face Australia in the first game of the women’s cricket T20 competition in Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. The matches will be played at the Edgbaston Stadium from July 29 and will culminate with bronze and gold medal games on August 7.

Barbados, a team from West Indies, has also been confirmed to participate in the Commonwealth Games. They will clash with Pakistan on July 29. Host nation England will kick off their campaign on July 30. The Heather Knight-led team will face the winner of the qualifying tournament, set to be held before the showpiece event in 2022. England will then be seen in action against South Africa in the early session on August 2 before facing New Zealand in the evening session on August 4.

The biggest and probably the most anticipated match will be between India and Pakistan on July 31. The two teams have a good history in global events, with India holding a slight upper hand. After the mouthwatering clash, Pakistan are set to face off against Australia on August 3. Earlier, the ICC had announced seven out of the eight teams for the T20 competition in April. The final team will be finalized in January 2022.

ICC Acting Chief Executive Geoff Allardice is ecstatic about the women’s sport reaching the global audience during the Commonwealth Games. “We have seen tremendous growth of the women’s game over the past few years and the Commonwealth Games will undoubtedly be another major moment on that journey.

“Today’s announcement of the match schedule gives fans lots to look forward to, not least with the opening game between ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 finalists Australia and India and we know that Edgbaston will provide a great stage for the competition.”