India at CWG 2022, Day 1 blog: Srihari in final, TT teams start well, 14-year-old Anahat shines

We will leave you with the key updates on India’s events on day one:

• Table tennis: In women’s team event, defending champions India start with 3-0 wins against RSA and FIJ. In men’s team event, defending champions India start with 3-0 wins against BAR and SGP. 
• Cricket T20: India go down vs Australia – India score 154/8, Australia 157/7 (19 overs)
• Hockey: Women’s Pool A, India defeat Ghana 5-0 but conversion worries persist.
• Badminton: Mixed team Group A, India win 5-0 against Pakistan without dropping a game
• Swimming: Srihari Nataraj qualified for the 100m backstroke semifinals and then made it a sweeter night with qualification confirmed for the final too, finishing 7th overall across the SF races.
• Boxing: Shiva Thapa books his spot in the next round with a unanimous win against Baloch of Pakistan.
• Squash: 14-year-old Anahat Singh wins her round of 64 match in women’s singles, drops just 7 points in the match against Jada Ross. 

Some action images from Day 1: (All photos: PTI)

Artistic Gymnastics (Men’s team final & Indiv. qualifications): In the overall team event, India finished 8th. Yogeshwar Singh qualified for the final in all-round apparatus in 18th place.

Cricket T20, Group A: Barbados defeat Pakistan.

Lawn bowls: Here’s a look at the results across all matches of the day for India. After defeats in sectional matches earlier in the day, there was a win each in women’s fours and men’s pairs against COK and FLK respectively.

Swimming, Men’s 100m Backstroke: That’s a fine way to end the day for India. Srihari is no stranger to breaking new ground in Indian swimming, and the national record holder still has a little bit left in him in terms of getting close to or bettering his personal best and national record in this event. His final is scheduled for Saturday night local time (past midnight 01.35 am IST in India)

Swimming, Men’s 100m Backstroke: Srihari Nataraj is into the final! He finishes 4th in semifinal 2 and 7th overall across the two semifinals and that takes him into the final. Good stuff by the Indian!

Swimming, Men’s 100m Backstroke: This is how the first semifinal finishes. Srihari clocked 54.68s in the heats, if he can repeat that here, it will be good.

Swimming, Men’s 100m Backstroke: Semifinals underway. First race now. Srihari next race.

Cricket T20, Group A: Barbados look set to join Australia with a win today in this group. Pakistan struggling in the run-chase.

If you are still with us, Srihari’s swimming final is the last Indian event for the day. 100m backstroke. To start at 1.20 am.

Shahid Judge: Pretty straight forward for Abhay Singh, as the World No 160 from India beats the World No 783 from the British Virgin Islands in straight games.

Squash, Men’s Singles, Round of 64, Abhay Singh 3-0 Joe Chapman: The Indian wins 11-5, 11-5, 11-5 to move into the round of 32 just as Anahat Singh did earlier in women’s singles.

Table tennis, men’s team, Group 3, India 3-0 Singapore: Done and done in quick(ish) time.

Aditya: Sathiyan wins the match 11-7, 11-5, 11-8 as India bag the tie and reach the quarters! The defending champs didn’t lose a single match across their two ties today.

Table tennis, men’s team, Group 3, India 2-0 Singapore: Sathiyan continues to be solid from both flanks and takes the second game 11-5. India are now just one game away from winning this tie.

Squash, Men’s Singles, Round of 64, Abhay Singh vs Joe Chapman: Match underway.

Table tennis, men’s team, Group 3, India 2-0 Singapore: Sathiyan wins the first game 11-7. Some incredible shot-making from him so far and as always, he is pumped.

Table tennis, men’s team, Group 3, India 2-0 Singapore:

Aditya: India take a 2-0 lead in the tie as Sharath Kamal wins 11-8, 11-9, 11-9. He was tested by the 19-year-old Singaporean but never panicked. G Sathiyan will now be in men’s singles action and aim to close out the tie.

Table tennis, men’s team, Group 3, India 2-0 Singapore: Sharath wins in straight games but that wasn’t straightforward.

Table tennis, men’s team, Group 3, India 1-0 Singapore: Pang Yew En Koen is 2019 World Junior Table Tennis Championships Junior boys’ doubles bronze medallists. This was Singapore’s first medal in this competition.The 19-year-old is evidently a promising talent. 40-year-old Sharath has had to be at his best And he has match point now.

Table tennis, men’s team, Group 3, India 1-0 Singapore: Sharath finding all his reserve in this one to stay ahead against Pang Yew En Koen.

Aditya: Stunning game by Sharath Kamal! He was down 3-9 and won 8 points in a row to close it out. He’s just one game away from victory now.

Table tennis, men’s team, Group 3, India 1-0 Singapore: Sharath Kamal was down 0-4 in the opener but he fights back to win it 11-8. Great composure shown by the veteran.

Squash, women’s singles: Anahat Singh will next play Emily Whitlock in round of 32, the world No 19. A whole new level of challenge for her, certainly. But one she can play with all the freedom in the world.

Table tennis, men’s team, Group 3, India 1-0 Singapore.

Aditya: Sathiyan/Harmeet didn’t panic after losing the third game and were clinical in the final stages of the match. Next up, it’s going to be the seasoned Sharath Kamal in men’s singles action.

Table tennis, men’s team, Group 3, India 1-0 Singapore: Sathiyan and Harmeet bounce back strongly to give India a lead in the tie. They win 11-5, 11-5, 9-11, 11-2.

Table tennis, men’s team, Group 3, India vs Singapore Singapore pull one back, take the third game 11-9. A number of errors from the Indians in that game and they’ve lost the momentum now.

Squash, women’s singles R64, Anahat Singh vs Jada Ross: Into the round of 32. Anahat Singh is all smiles. Wins her first match 11-5, 11-2, 11-0. She’s 14, and lost only seven points in that match.

Table tennis, men’s team, Group 3, India vs Singapore: Just like the first game, India take the second 11-5. Sathiyan and Harmeet haven’t really been tested so far.

Squash, women’s singles R64, Anahat Singh vs Jada Ross: Well, blink and you miss it. Anahat breezes through the second game 11-2.

Squash, women’s singles, Anahat Singh vs Jada Ross: 11-5 and opening game done in no time. Anahat looks at ease.

Aditya with a quick TT update: India take the first game 11-5 vs Singapore. Sathiyan and Harmeet have been in control so far with the former, especially, playing a solid game.

Table tennis, men’s team, Group 3: Time soon for India vs Singapore. Both teams started with 3-0 wins earlier today. This could be a tricky test for India, who will still start as favourites.

Hockey, Women’s Pool A: Canada with a solid 4-0 win against Wales. Early signs that the battle for top two in this group is going to be tough.

Cricket T20, Group A, Australia defeat India by 3 wickets:

Harmanpreet Kaur post-match interview with Lisa Sthalekar: We badly missed Pooja today. Renuka bowled really well, but we needed three pacers on this pitch. Lost few too many wickets and couldn’t reach 180. Didn’t bowl according to plans later on

Table tennis, women’s team, Group 3: Men’s team have their 2nd match to come. That’s Vs Singapore, and that could be a good one. 11pm IST.

Badminton, mixed team event, India 5-0 Pakistan, Group A: The result was never quite in doubt, but there were no real scares as well in this tie. Comfortably done by Srikanth, Sindhu & Co.

Badminton, mixed team event, India 5-0 Pakistan, Group A:

Aditya: A clean sweep for India! Treesa-Gayatri win 21-4, 21-5 in what was a mighty impressive performance. The champs have begun their title defence in style.

Table tennis, women’s team, Group 2, India 2-0 Fiji: A complete breeze of a win for Manika Batra. Looked in control from the word go. 11-2, 11-4, 11-2 win for her.

Badminton, mixed team event, India 4-0 Pakistan, Group A: Nice to see Gayatri/Treesa back in action, I have a feeling this could be a good Games for them. In the short term, a solid start here.

Aditya: Utter dominance from Treesa-Gayatri in the first game, they take it 21-4. The youngsters were switched on from the get-go and haven’t let their opponents settle.

Table tennis, women’s team, Group 2, India 1-0 Fiji: Sreeja Akula/Diya Chitale (a change in pairing from the RSA tie) are off to a winning start. Comfortably done. 11-8, 11-3, 11-5.

Badminton, mixed team event, India 4-0 Pakistan, Group A: Gayatri-Treesa in action now.

Badminton, mixed team event, India 4-0 Pakistan, Group A: Satwik-Chirag come through 21-12, 21-9. The first game was a bit of a contest but the second was one-way traffic. Plenty of positives for the Indians.

Table tennis, women’s team, Group 2, India vs Fiji: Manika Batra & Co are back in action for their 2nd group match after defeating RSA 3-0. Here’s a look at the match list.

Badminton, mixed team event, India 3-0 Pakistan, Group A: Satwik-Chirag take the first game 21-12. They were put under pressure at times but had the game on their rackets for the most part.

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, India 5-0 Ghana, FULL TIME: That was not the finest 60 minutes from the Indian team but off to a winning start. A lot of the recap of the World Cup revolved around the performances being of a high level even if it didn’t result in better results. Today, I doubt Janneke Schopman would be too pleased. But a win is a win, as the cliche goes. The 1/10 from PCs is a concern once again, only the first one resulting in goal. You could actually see the frustrations in the Indian team camp today. Credit to Ghana for the defence too.

Triathlon Women’s Individual (Sprint Distance): Pragnya Mohan and Sanjana Joshi are in action in this final, that is almost done. The final standings coming up shortly.

Great story here on Pragnya:

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, India 5-0 Ghana in Q4: GOAL INDIA! Salima Tete scores the fifth for India. Shoots from the right, ball is on target but touched home by a defender. Would have been scored anyway at the far post.

Aditya Chaturvedi: PV Sindhu wins 21-7, 21-6 in what was a dominating performance. She experimented with her shots and landed most. Just the start she would’ve wanted.

Badminton, mixed team event, India 3-0 Pakistan, Group A: Easy does it for PV Sindhu, she wins 21-7, 21-6 as India seal the tie 3-0. We will have the last two matches played as well though.

Badminton, mixed team event, India 2-0 Pakistan, Group A: Breezy start by Sindhu.

Aditya Chaturvedi: Now PV Sindhu breezes through the first game to take it 21-7. She’s in complete control at the moment and showing her full range.

Cricket T20, Group A, Australia defeat India by 3 wickets: Still thinking about that India defeat? Here’s a quick take from my colleague.

Samreen Razzaqui: The Australia vs India encounter was just the first glimpse needed for a women’s T20 cricket making its debut at a multi-sport event like the CWG. It had all the right ingredients. Not only does the quality of cricket played by Australia make for a great attraction for a newer audience watching these Games but also presents a reminder for the regular audience about their prowess at multi-team events. India’s potential too presents promise but right now, it’s just that: Potential. From Mandhana and Shafali’s approach with the bat to the ever consistent Harmanpreet and Renuka’s spell - they got things right, yet let it all go in the end and it’s a worrying pattern. The batting depth and bowling need a serious look in.

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, India 4-0 Ghana in Q3: India have had a couple more chances to increase the lead but Ghana too nearly broke through on a counter.

Shahid Judge: During the Junior Women’s World Cup, a commentator mentioned “they’re making them harder and tougher these days,” after a player laughed off a knock she’d received after being struck by the ball. With that in mind, introducing Adizatu Sulemana. The Ghana No 7 is the first rusher. She doesn’t wear a facemask, no kneepads. Just her and her stick doing the damage and making a nuisance of herself during an Indian drag-flick routine. Of course, the romanticism of that bravery shines, but somebody has to get her the required protection soon. They’re made hard and gritty these days, but let’s not take that for granted.

Badminton, mixed team event, India 2-0 Pakistan, Group A: Mahoor Shahzad created a slice of history when she was invited to play at the Olympics last year. She is currently 175 in the world, been as high as 133. Sindhu, though, should be too good for this one (indeed I am a bit surprised she is playing this one, could have been a chance for Aakarshi but India went full strength). Sindhu leads 7-4.

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, India 4-0 Ghana in Q3: GOAL INDIA! Gurjit Kaur makes it 2 on the night as she converts a penalty stroke this time.

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, India 3-0 Ghana in Q3: GOAL INDIA! A good move that by the women in blue. Siami with a good dribble, Sangita Kumari applies the finish.

Badminton, mixed team event, India 2-0 Pakistan, Group A: Sri cruises through. Last time in Gold Coast he was pushed by Murad (21-16 22-20), but today in control. Wins in quick time.

Aditya: Srikanth Kidambi defeats Murad Ali 21-7, 21-12 to double India’s lead in the tie. He was tested in the second game but never lost control. Solid win. Next up, it’s going to be PV Sindhu time.

Aditya Chaturvedi: Srikanth Kidambi wins the first game 21-7. It was close at the start but the Indian didn’t look back once he found his range. Some lovely deception and change of directions from Srikanth so far.

Badminton, mixed team event, India 1-0 Pakistan, Group A: Srikanth Kidambi wins the first game 21-7. It was close at the start but the Indian didn’t look back once he found his range.

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, India 2-0 Ghana:

Shahid Judge: India has had better possession, more circle penetrations, more chances created, and just two goals scored. ‘Just,’ because they need to do much better to convert those chances. Granted, Ghana has been disciplined in defence, but there are bigger and stronger opponents coming up later in this tournament. And India will need to change its tag from being a team that creates chances to the team that makes the most of them. Still, second half to come.

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, India 2-0 Ghana END OF Q2: India do have the lead, Neha gets a goal in the end of Q2 off a deflection (no own goals in hockey mind you). But that came after a spell of sustained pressure from Ghana, in fact. Savita had to make saves. PCs and all. Even after the goal was scored there were frustrations on the Indian players’ faces.

Artistic Gymnastics (Men’s team final & Indiv. qualifications): The second subdivision is done. Only Yogeshwar competed in all routines. This is the final for the team event and India are currently 2nd but the score is not going to be enough with the powerhouses to come in the third subdivision. We will keep an eye on who qualifies for the individual finals though, as Yogeshwar has a chance.

Badminton, mixed team event, India 1-0 Pakistan, Group A: Ashwini/Sumeeth wrap things up in just 25 mins in their match.

Aditya: Ashwini and Sumeeth wrap up a straight-game win – 21-9, 21-12 – to give the defending champs a 1-0 lead in the tie. There were a few more errors by the Indians in the second game but the result was never in doubt. Next up, it’s going to be Srikanth Kidambi in men’s singles action.

Lawn Bowls: Here are the results for India so far. Tania & the men’s triples teams face two defeats in two matches.

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, India 1-0 Ghana in Q2: Second quarter begins.

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, India 1-0 Ghana END OF Q1: India are peppering the Ghanian goal as expected. But some superb last ditch defending by the African side. Janneke won’t be happy with the finishing again in these 15 mins.

Badminton, mixed team event, India 0-0 Pakistan, Group A: Solid start for Ashwini/Sumeeth.

Aditya: First game in the bag for Ashwini Ponnappa and B Sumeeth Reddy. They found their rhythm quickly and moved their opponents around nicely to win the opener 21-9.

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, India 1-0 Ghana in Q1: Salima Tete injects, Sushila Chanu traps, and Gurjit Kaur slots home India’s first goal of the campaign, with just under three minutes of play. After the PC troubles of the World Cup, a good start here.

Cricket T20, Group A, India vs Australia: AUSTRALIA WIN! What a chase. Only the stuff of champions. They were tottering early on, but Grace Harris and Ash Gardner pull a rabbit out of the hat. Australia 157/7 (19 overs) win by 3 wickets and an over to spare.

Aditya Chaturvedi: Harmanpreet Kaur’s knock, Renuka Singh’s spell… there’s a lot that India did right today. They had Australia on the ropes but the champs manage to find a way out like only they can. Positives to take but a big opportunity missed by India.

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, India vs Ghana: Pushback in this. Here’s a look at the Indian XI. No surprises there, strong as can be.

Cricket T20, Group A, India vs Australia: ASH GARDNER! The Aussie allrounder is making this a superb finish. What a batter she is. Moves to 34 off 27 balls. Big over off Meghna Singh. AUS 134/7, now needed 21 off 18 balls. At this point Aussies are favourites. India need wickets.

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, India vs Ghana: India women’s team about to start their campaign. The World Cup was interesting... good performances, but not the results they wanted. Starts at 6.30 pm.

CWG 2022 Hockey: Janneke Schopman keeps belief as India look to move on from disappointing World Cup

Cricket T20, Group A, India vs Australia: Just as the Grace Harris innings was going in dangerous direction for India, Harman takes a superb high catch. Meghna Singh gets her first T20I wicket. 100/6, need 55 from 42 balls.

Cricket T20, Group A, India vs Australia: Aus 91/5 (12) Grace Harris has blasted her way to 37 off 19 balls. This is not over folks!

Cricket T20, Group A, India vs Australia: Aus: 66/5 (10) Target: 155.

Samreen Razzaqui: The senior stars may have departed, but there’s still some power left in the line-up with Harris, Gardner, King all capable of building partnerships. 89 needed to win in the last 10 overs.

Cycling, Men’s team sprint qualifying: Indian team of Rojit, Ronaldo, Beckham (great names, aren’t they?) finish 6th with a timing of 44.702. End of cycling events for the day for India. Jamaica finished below India in this one.

Gymnastics: The Indian men are in action. They in subdivision 2. The team event is a final for indiv. events, this is the qualification. Here’s how things stand at the moment.

Cycling Women’s Team Sprint – Qualifying: Indian team of Mayuri, Triyasha, Shushikala who had posted 51.433, finished 7th in this event.

Table tennis, men’s team, Group 3, IND 3-0 BAR: G Sathiyan makes it 3-0 for India against Barbados, coming up with an 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 win to secure the tie against Tyrese Knight. The men’s team next plays Singapore at 23:00 hrs IST tonight.

Cricket T20, Group A, India vs Australia: Riding on a sensational spell by Renuka Singh, India are on a roll! Australia are 41/4 in 6 overs, chasing 155.

Cricket T20, Group A, India vs Australia: 11 balls bowled, 3 wickets taken. Alyssa Healy, Meg Lanning and Beth Mooney back in the hut as Renuka Singh delivers a dream opening spell. Aus are 21/3 after 3 overs, chasing 155.

Table tennis, men’s team, Group 3, IND 2-0 BAR: Achanta Sharath Kamal makes it 2-0 for India, coming up with an 11-5, 11-3, 11-3 win over World No 439 Ramon Maxwell. G Sathiyan is up next against Tyrese Knight for a chance to finish this tie.

Cricket T20, Group A, India vs Australia: Wonderful delivery by Renuka Singh and the dangerous Alyssa Healy is out for a duck off the second ball of the innings. Dream start with the ball for India, the celebrations said it all.

Dilip Unnikrishnan: Boxing – Shiva Thapa was all over Baloch in the first two rounds. The Pakistani boxer was barely able connect with his punches. Thapa conserved his energy in the third round and books his spot in the next round of the men’s 63.5 kg category with a unanimous win.

Cricket T20, Group A, India vs Australia: India finish with 154/8 after opting to bat first. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (52 off 34) and opener Shafali Verma (48 off 33) were the top scorers. Jess Jonassen returns with impressive bowling figures of 4/22.

Table tennis, men’s team, Group 3, IND 1-0 BAR: After a slow start, Harmeet Desai and G Sathiyan finish strong, winning 11-9, 11-9 11-4 against Barbados’ Kevin Farley and Tyrese Knight. Achanta Sharath Kamal takes on Ramon Maxwell next.

Boxing, men’s 63.5kg round of 32 bout: Thapa in control in the first round and scores 10 from all five judges to lead 50-44.

Boxing: India’s Shiva Thapa takes on Pakistan’s Suleman Baloch in the men’s 63.5kg round of 32 bout.

Badminton: Mixed team event, India (defending champs) start off with a match against Pakistan. Srikanth & Sindhu both playing as the match lineup is confirmed. Ashwini/Sumeeth, Srikanth, Sindhu (and if needed), Satwik-Chirag, Treesa-Gayatri.

Table tennis, men’s team, Group 3, IND vs BAR: G Sathiyan and Harmeet Desai win the first game 11-9. It was a close battle for the most part but the Indians managed to pull ahead at just the right time.

Samreen Razzaqui: India’s lacking batting depth showing again. Kaur is expected to anchor the middle order and also sort the finishing. She’s capable, no doubt but there’s an easier fix – a lower order power hitter!

Cricket T20, Group A, India vs Australia: Harmanpreet Kaur becomes the first Indian woman to score 500 T20I runs against a team. 502* - Harmanpreet Kaur vs AUS.

Cricket T20, Group A, India vs Australia: Two wickets in the over for Jonassen! Jemimah departs for 11. And her batting position is up for debate again. Deepti too plays one straight into her the bowler’s hands. IND: 117/5 (16).

Swimming: India’s Srihari Nataraj qualifies for the 100m backstroke semifinals. He finishes third in his heat and fifth overall with a time of 54.68s. The semis will be held at 1.15am IST

Table tennis, men’s team, Group 3, IND vs BAR: G Sathiyan and Harmeet Desai have taken the court for the first match of this tie.

Triathlon Men’s Individual (Sprint Distance) - Final Adarsh MS and Vishwanath Yadav finish 30th & 33rd respectively. England’s Alex Yee wins the first gold medal of the Games.

Swimming: Srihari Nataraj finishes third in his 100m backstroke heat with 54.68s and should be in the semifinals.

Cycling Women’s Team Sprint: Qualifying is underway. 51.433 is the time posted by the Indian team of Mayuri, Triyasha, Shushikala.

Cricket T20, Group A, India vs Australia: Shafali Verma dismissed for 48 off 33. Wasn’t the most convincing knock but a valuable contribution nonetheless. Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues are in now. IND 94/1 (12 overs).

Triathlon Men’s Individual (Sprint Distance) - Final Adarsh MS and Vishwanath Yadav are in action at the moment. After swimming and bike, they are 31st & 34th respectively.

Table tennis: The teamsheets are in. The Indian men’s team starts their Commonwealth Games team title defence against Barbados, starting at 16:30 hrs IST. The doubles tie opens proceedings, as World No 31 pair Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Harmeet Desai face individual World No 378 Tyrese Knight and No 542 Kevin Farley. The second rubber in the tie is men singles, as the heavyweight from India, Achanta Sharath Kamal (No 39) takes on Ramon Maxwell, placed 400 ranks behind. The third rubber is No 35 Sathiyan playing Knight. Most likely - especially on paper - India should be able to get this done 3-0 in this best-of-five match format.

Cricket T20, Group A, India vs Australia: WICKET! Some miscommunication there. Yastika Bhatia slipped at the middle of the pitch and also dropped her bat. Run out for 8. Captain Harman walks in. IND: 75/2 (10).

Swimming: Sajan Prakash finishes eighth in his 50m butterfly heat with a time of 25.01. He is 24th overall and misses a place in the semifinals with only the top 16 progressing.

Cycling, Men’s 4000m team pursuit: India finish last in the qualifying and miss out on advancing to either of the medal rounds. New Zealand vs England to race for gold, Australia vs Wales to race for Bronze.

Cricket T20, Group A, India vs Australia: With that Smriti wicket, Australia have managed to slow down India a tad bit. Quite a few dot balls but Shafali and Yastika are looking to sneak a few boundaries in. IND: 51/1 (8).

Cricket T20, Group A, India vs Australia: India are 30/1 after 5 overs. Smriti Mandhana is back in the hut after a promising start. Shafali Verma and Yastika Bhatia in the middle now.

Cycling, Men’s 4000m team pursuit: Indian team starts off first. A total of 6 teams in this. India post a timing of 4:12.865. We’ll keep an eye on how things pan out here. The coach had two thumbs up.

Men’s 4000m team pursuit in cycling and Men’s Individual (Sprint Distance) in Triathlon are currently underway, updates coming shortly.

Swimming: Correction – India’s Kushagra Rawat 8th in his 400m freestyle heat and 14th overall.

Swimming: Sajan Prakash (50m butterfly) and Srihari Nataraj (100m backstroke) will be in action in their respective heats in some time. Para swimmer Ashish Kumar Singh will be in the 100m Backstroke S9 final later in the day.

Lawn Bowls: New Zealand have defeated India 23-6 in the men’s triples first round match.

Swimming Men’s 400m freestyle: Kushagra Rawat finishes is 400m race. Won’t be progressing.

Cricket T20, Group A, India vs Australia: Here’s a look at the playing XIs. S Meghana and Pooja are big misses, would have featured in the XI in an ideal scenario. But that gives Harleen a comeback into the T20I side, and Meghna Singh makes her debut in this format.

India XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Meghna Singh (debut), Renuka Thakur.

Australia XI: Alyssa Healy (wk), Beth Mooney, Meg Lanning (c), Tahlia McGrath, Rachael Haynes, Ashleigh Gardner, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Alana King,

Cricket T20, Group A, India vs Australia: Harmanpreet Kaur opts to bat first. Veda Krishnamurthy in the studio for Sony Sports says that is a significant thing for this Indian team against the mighty Meg army.

Table tennis, women’s team, Group 2, IND 3-0 RSA: Sreeja Akula wraps things up for the defending champions. Wins 11-5, 11-3, 11-6. Indian women will be action later against Fiji at 8.30 pm IST.

Cricket T20, Group A, India vs Australia: Harmanpreet Kaur spoke last night about a ‘killing attitude’. India would need that and then some inspiration on the field to pull this off against the favourites.

Cricket T20, Group A, India vs Australia: Time for the big match of the day, we are just over five minutes away from the toss. Some team news to get going. Meghna Singh makes her T20I debut. And seems to be finally some confirmation coming on the Covid-19 situation. Meghana is in Birmingham, but Vastarkar isn’t.

Table tennis, women’s team, Group 2, IND 2-0 RSA: Sreeja Akula is facing Danisha Patel in a singles match now. The Indian has won the first game 11-5.

Table tennis, women’s team, Group 2, IND 2-0 RSA: India take a 2-0 lead in the tie as Manika Batra dominates Musfiquh Kalam to win in straight games.

Table tennis, women’s team, Group 2, IND 1-0 RSA: Even better from Manika in the second game, she wins it 11-3. She’s going on the offensive at every given opportunity and not allowing her opponent to settle.

Table tennis, women’s team, Group 2, IND 1-0 RSA: Manika takes the first game 11-5. She started a bit slowly but found her rhythm soon enough. The defending women’s singles champ is being aggressive while returning serves and also mixing-up her own serves nicely.

Vinayakk Mohanarangan: Time for Manika Batra, the Gold Coast’s golden paddler for India. Takes on world No 200 Musfiquh Kalam.

Table tennis, women’s team, Group 2, IND vs RSA: Time for Manika Batra to begin her title defence. She takes on Musfiquh Kalam.

Table tennis, women’s team, Group 2, IND vs RSA: India take a 1-0 lead against South Africa! Sreeja/Reeth give India a winning start with a 11-7, 11-7, 11-5 win against Edwards/Patel.

Lawn Bowls: First match featuring an Indian at CWG 2022 has ended in defeat. Taniya Choudhury loses 10-21 against Scotland’s Dee Hoggan in the women’s singles first round.

Table tennis, women’s team, Group 2, IND vs RSA: Same score and same result in the second game! Reeth and Sreeja win it 11-7 to take a strong lead in the match. They were put under pressure in the early stages of the second game but fought back calmly.

Table tennis, women’s team, Group 2, IND vs RSA: Edwards and Patel from South Africa had the lead in the second game but the Indians have levelled up at 5-all.

Table tennis, women’s team, Group 2, IND vs RSA: That’s the first game in the bag for the Indians. Reeth and Sreeja pulled ahead and held firm to close it out 11-7.

Table tennis, women’s team, Group 2, IND vs RSA: Reeth and Sreeja are off to a strong start, they lead 5-1 in the opening game.

Table tennis, women’s team, Group 2, IND vs RSA: Reeth Tennison and Sreeja Akula have taken the court for their match against South Africa in the women’s team Group 2.

Vinayakk Mohanarangan: After the highs of Gold Coast, the Indian table tennis contingent has some high standards to get close to. Plenty of controversy in the build-up but now begins the title defence. 2018 champions begin against South Africa.

Table tennis: The lineup for the women’s team Group 2 match between India and South Africa later today has been confirmed.

Gymnastics: Indian gymnasts will be in action in the Men’s Team Final and Individual Qualification - Subdivision 2, that starts at 430 pm. The team event is a final when all subdivisions are done. The first subdivision is underway.

Lawn Bowls: New Zealand, meanwhile, are dominating India in their men’s triples match.

Lawn Bowls: It’s been a close contest so far between Taniya and Dee. The first to 21 will win the match.

Lawn Bowls: India’s Tania Choudhury is in action in women’s singles & Indian team in action in men’s triples vs New Zealand. These are sectional matches. Player / team to reach 21 points first wins the match.

Lawn Bowls: India’s Navneet Singh, Mridul Borgohain and Chandan Kumar Singh are in action too. They’re facing New Zealand in the men’s triples first round.

Indian triathlon athletes will be in action later today. Here’s a wonderful story about them:

Lawn Bowls: Tania Choudhury’s women’s singles first round match has begun. She faces Scotland’s Dee Hoggan.

Things will start off with Lawn Bowls. It is a tournament that has been long part of CWG. Dominated by Scotland, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand. The objective of the game is to roll balls closer to a smaller ball known as the jack in an attempt to get closest to it. Here’s a quick video to get an idea about it:

12.52 pm: First up for India, it’s going to be some Lawn Bowls action with Tania Choudhury competing in her women’s singles first round match, and Chandan, Navneet, Mridul in their men’s triples first round match against New Zealand. Both matches will begin at 1 pm IST.

Hello and welcome to live updates from day one of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Last evening, fans were treated to an impressive, albeit rather long, opening ceremony for CWG 2022 in Birmingham. For India, it was badminton star PV Sindhu and men’s hockey team captain Manpreet Singh who were the flagbearers.

In photos: CWG 2022 Opening Ceremony - Malala’s speech, taming the giant bull, India’s parade & more

Now, it’s time for the games to begin! It’s set to be a busy opening day for Indian athletes in Birmingham, with plenty of action in cricket, badminton, hockey, table tennis, boxing, squash, swimming and more.

Here’s a look at today’s schedule for India:

Screenshots courtesy https://results.birmingham2022.com/#/general-schedule and Sony LIV.