India to take on Australia in opening game of Birmingham Commonwealth games

India and Australia will kick start the proceedings of the women’s cricket event in the commonwealth games on July 29. This will be the first time that women’s cricket will be played on a multi-sporting event. The last time cricket was part of the multi-sporting event was in 1998 in Kuala Lampur. The tournament will be played in T20 format.

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"The women's cricket T20 competition will be held at the Edgbaston Stadium from the 29 July, with the bronze and gold medal matches taking place on 7 August," said the ECB in a statement. In the other match of the day, Pakistan will take on Barbados, who qualified from West Indies to take part in the tournament.

In other important matches, India will take on Pakistan on July 31. Australia will also take on Pakistan on August 3. Hosts England will play their first game on July 30, against the winner of the qualifying tournament, set be played in early 2022. They will take on South Africa on August 2 and New Zealand on August 4.

"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, said cricket’s governing body’s chief executive Geoff Allardice.

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"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."