India will face Australia in the opening match when women's cricket makes its debut at the 2022 Commonwealth Games on July 29. Women's cricket is making its debut at the Commonwealth Games with the T20 format. The last time cricket was played in the multi-sporting showpiece was in the 1998 edition in Kuala Lumpur.


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The inclusion of women’s T20 cricket in the Commonwealth Games 2022 is seen as a crucial moment to spread its visibility towards a much broader multi-sport watching audience and at the same time, prove to be a vital example for cricket pushing to be included in 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.


Whenever India and Australia have met previously in group stages of the Women’s T20 World Cup, the ladies in blue jersey end up on the winning side. In the 2018 edition in West Indies, India had beaten Australia by 48 runs. In the 2020 edition, India again defeated Australia by 17 runs, leaving them on the brink of an early exit from the tournament at home.


On the other hand, Australia have the same set of players who were there in the T20 World Cup triumph at home and more recently, in the Women`s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand. They have a depth which is the envy of all nations, so much that premier all-rounder Ellyse Perry hasn`t been a sure starter in the T20I playing eleven.


IND-W vs AUS-W Predicted XI


India: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Harleen Deol, Renuka Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav


Australia: Alyssa Healy (wk), Beth Mooney, Meg Lanning (c), Ellyse Perry, Tahlia McGrath, Rachael Haynes, Ashleigh Gardner, Nicola Carey, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Megan Schutt