There is obvious enthusiasm among the Indian delegation as cricket returns to the Commonwealth Games for the first time in 24 years and features the first-ever women’s tournament in the multi-sport event. The current T20 global champions Australia, Pakistan, and Barbados are grouped alongside India. On July 29, they will play their first game against Australia.
The event has eight competing teams. With Australia, Barbados, and Pakistan, India is in Group A. Group B includes South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka. All of the games will take place in Birmingham’s Edgbaston.
The top two teams from each pool advance to the semifinals, which are set for August 6. The bronze medal match will feature the losing semi-finalists, and the championship game will feature the victors. The dates for both games are August 7 and 8.
In a recent interview, Smriti Mandhana, India’s Vice-captain and top batter talked about how playing for a medal has given her and her team an unforgettable experience. She said “Really excited to be part of the commonwealth games. I think it is something very new for me and our team. We’ve never experienced going out and playing a tournament where other sports are also involved. So I’m definitely looking forward to it.”
“We haven’t had an experience of playing in commonwealth games, where we’ll strive to get the gold medal because we’ve always imagined us lifting the trophy and trying to put us on a podium where we lift a trophy.
“But now that we have to imagine us going on the podium and getting a medal, I think it is something new and we all are really excited. It’ll be a good experience and a really new experience for all of us, and I am sure that we’re all really going to enjoy and give our best,” she added.
Earlier India captain Harmanpreet Kaur talked about the inclusion of sport in the CWG 2022 “It’s great to be confirmed a place in the Commonwealth Games. We are raring to go, confident of doing well after having made the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia last year.
“It is an awesome opportunity for both the women’s game and cricket to make a mark at the prestigious multi-discipline Games and we hope to return with loads of good memories.”
The Indian Squad for Commonwealth Games 2022 is as follows:
Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana (ice-capt), Shafali Verma, S. Meghana, Taniya Sapna Bhatia (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Thakur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Radha Yadav, Harleen Deol, Sneh Rana
Standby: Richa Ghosh, Poonam Yadav, Simran Dil Bahadur
India’s campaign gets underway on July 29 where they will play Australia in the tournament opener. On July 31, they play Pakistan.
The schedule for Cricket at Common Wealth Games 2022 is as follows:
July 29, Friday
Australia Women vs India Women, 4:30 pm
Barbados Women vs Pakistan Women, 11:30 pm
July 30, Saturday
New Zealand Women vs South Africa Women, 4:30 pm
England Women vs Sri Lanka Women, 11:30 pm
July 31, Sunday
India Women vs Pakistan Women, 4:30 pm
Australia Women vs Barbados Women, 11:30 pm
August 2, Tuesday
England Women vs South Africa Women, 4:30 pm
New Zealand Women vs Sri Lanka Women, 11:30 pm
August 3, Wednesday
Australia Women vs Pakistan Women, 4:30 pm
Barbados Women vs India Women, 11:30 pm
August 4, Thursday
South Africa Women vs Sri Lanka Women, 4:30 pm
England Women vs New Zealand Women, 11:30 pm
August 6, Saturday
1st semi-final, 4:30 pm
2nd semi-final, 11:30 pm
August 7, Sunday
Bronze medal match, 2:30 pm
Gold medal match, 10:30 pm
