Thanks for tuning into Sportstar’s live coverage of the India vs Pakistan Group A match in the badminton mixed team event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. This was Nihit Sachdeva taking you through the action as it unfolded on Court No. 2 at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.
COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2022 MAIN BLOG
| India | 5 |
| Pakistan | 0 |
India will face Sri Lanka and Australia in their remaining group stage matches in the mixed team event on Saturday.
| FIFTH TIE: Women's Doubles - Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand bt Mahoor Shahzad/Ghazala Siddique 21-4, 21-5 |
SECOND GAME
21-5: Done at the first time of asking. Gayatri finishes things off with a simple drop shot. India cleans sweeps Pakistan 5-0 to begin its badminton campaign at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
20-5: Fifteen match points for the Indian duo.
16-4: Pakistani duo equals its tally from the first game as Siddique’s drop shot catches Treesa and Gayatri off-guard.
16-3: Twelve points on the trot for Treesa and Gayatri. It has been a smooth ride.
12-3: The struggle of the scratch pairing of Shahzad and Siddique continues. Gayatri sends another smash down the centre.
11-3: Eight-point lead for the Indian duo at the halfway stage. Looking to finish this off as quickly as possible.
6-3: Body smash from Treesa and Shahzad finds herself in no position to send the return.
3-2: Two consecutive points for the women in green. Hasn’t happened a lot in this tie.
3-0: Wow! A 47-shot rally and Gayatri seals the point with a simple drop shot at the net.
FIRST GAME
21-4: Treesa and Gayatri clinch the opening game in next to no time.
18-2: One run ends. Another continues. Six in a row.
12-2: Treesa ends India’s run of 12 straight points as her attempted drop shot hits the net. Some respite for the Pakistani duo.
11-1: Okay. This is absurd. Eleven in a row for Gayatri and Treesa.
7-1: Seven consecutive points for the Indians as Shahzad’s backhand from the baseline barely makes it to the net.
3-1: Three in a row for the Indians. Gayatri bisects the two Pakistani shuttlers with the return.
0-1: First point goes to the women in green as Treesa hits a loose shot which lands into the net.
| FOURTH TIE: Men's Doubles - Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty bt Murad Ali/Muhammad Bhatti 21-12, 21-9 |
SECOND GAME
21-9: Easy as you like. Satwik and Chirag extend India’s lead to 4-0.
19-9: The Pakistani duo tries to attack Satwik with a couple of body smashes but the Indian simply sends the return past the duo into the open court.
17-8: Chirag’s down the line smash has too much in it. Ali’s backhand is not strong enough to send it back over the net.
16-6: Satwik’s down the line smash goes wide. Still, a fairly big lead for the Indians.
14-6: Satwik absolutely rips the shuttle apart with the kill shot.
12-4: Error in judgement from Chirag as Bhatti’s lift lands inside the rear tramline.
11-3: Satwik-Chirag pair enters the mid-game interval with an eight-point lead.
10-3: Net favours Satwik as the shuttle takes a slight deflection and lands on the Pakistani pair’s side.
7-2: Bhatti goes for the behind-the-body shot on Chirag’s body smash and fails miserably. Five-point lead for the Indians.
4-2: Bhatti goes for the tramline with a cross-court smash but misses it by a whisker.
2-1: A 29-shot rally. Chirag did all the hardwork with a mixture of drop shots and smashes but Satwik mishit the jump smash when it mattered the most.
FIRST GAME
21-12: Satwik seals the opening game with a simple kill.
19-10: Chirag ends a 40-shot rally with a cheeky drop shot. Ali and Bhatti certainly did not see that coming after all the smashes.
16-10: A rare error from Chirag as he makes a mess of one of the simplest jump smashes at the net.
14-7: Service error. Ali and Bhatti need to do better against a quality pair like Satwik and Chirag and gifting points like this won’t help their cause at all.
12-6: Solid defending from the Pakistani pair but Sawtik finally finds the corner with a cross-court smash.
11-6: A flurry of smashes from Chirag and eventually, a weak return from Ali’s racquet. Five-point lead for the Indian duo at the mid-game interval.
9-5: Loose serve from Ali and Chirag wastes no time in stepping back and ending the point with a cross-court smash.
7-3: Four consecutive points for Satwik and Chirag. They are quickly finding their groove.
4-3: A jump smash, this time from Chirag, lands in the centre of the court as neither Ali, nor Bhatti makes the moves.
2-2: Easy jump smash for Satwik at the net.
0-1: A 34-shot rally to start the tie! Pakistani pair takes the point as Chirag mishits the net shot.
| THIRD TIE: Women's Singles - PV Sindhu bt Mahoor Shahzad 21-7, 21-6 |
SECOND GAME
21-6: However, she only needs one. A beautiful drop shot to finish the tie. India takes an unassailable lead of 3-0.
20-6: Down the line smash gives Sindhu 14 match points.
17-6: Shahzad is just running through the motions now as she has no answers to Sindhu’s wit and power.
14-5: Sindhu sets up the point with a down the line smash and ends it with a cross-court backhand.
11-4: Five in a row for the Indian who has a seven-point advantage at the halfway stage.
7-4: Shahzad’s brief run of points ends as Sindhu dispatches one excellent down the line smash.
6-2: Sindhu wins the battle of the net shots. Six in a row now.
3-2: Three points on the trot for Sindhu. Wins this one with a drop shot which barely catches the tramline.
0-1: Shahzad takes the opening point of the second game as Sindhu’s lift lands just beyond the baseline.
FIRST GAME
21-7: No worries for Sindhu as she takes the opening game 21-7.
19-7: A bit of luck for the Pakistani shuttler as her drop shot takes a deflection off the net and lands on Sindhu’s side.
18-6: A wayward lift from Shazad. Misses the tramlines comfortably.
15-5: Sindhu is running away with this. A simple kill shot puts her 10 points ahead.
13-4: Brilliant deception from Sindhu. Pushes Shahzad back and ends the rally with a drop shot.
11-4: A forceful down the line smash from Sindhu gives her a seven-point lead at the mid-game interval.
7-2: Textbook stuff from the Indian as she sends Shahzad back and forth. Eventually, the Pakistani shuttler hits a poor backhand.
5-1: Error in judgement from Shahzad as Sindhu’s lift lands inside the baseline.
3-1: Powerful body smash from Sindhu. Shahzad sends the return into the net.
2-0: Decent start for Sindhu.
| SECOND TIE: Men's Singles - Kidambi Srikanth bt Murad Ali 21-7, 21-12 |
SECOND GAME
21-12: Srikanth wins six consecutive points to seal the tie. India leads 2-0.
17-12: Murad Ali controlled the rally but eventually made the error on the drive.
15-9: Impressive cross-court backhand from Ali sets up the point and he finishes it with a delightful cross-court net shot.
14-6: And just like he has done previously, Ali fails to build a run of points. Srikanth cruising.
12-6: Excellent drive from Ali. Srikanth misjudges the flight as the shuttle lands well inside the baseline.
11-4: Ali fails to execute the net shot. Srikanth has a seven-point lead at the halfway stage in this second game.
8-3: Correct judgement from Srikanth as Ali’s cross-court lift goes wide.
7-1: Too easy at this point for the world championships silver medallist Srikanth who is dishing out one cross-court smash winner after another.
4-0: Early lead in the second game for Srikanth.
FIRST GAME
21-7: Srikanth seals the opening game quite comfortably.
20-7: Murad Ali saves first of the 14 game points by winning a 20-shot rally.
19-6: Srikanth dictates the entire rally but while going for the kill, sends the cross-court drop just wide.
16-4: Four straight points for the Indian.
13-4: Ali finally breaks Srikanth’s run of points with a lucky deflection off the net but on the very next point, makes a service error as he holds the shuttle too high.
11-3: Short lift from Ali, the Indian gets into position and sends another cross-court smash to take an eight-point lead into the mid-game interval.
8-3: A gentle serve from Ali and Srikanth wastes no time in finishing the point with a cross-court return smash.
4-3: Cross-court drop from Srikanth lands just wide.
2-0: Ali makes mess of an easy net shot.
1-0: Murad Ali serves first. Sends the cross-court lift wide. First point goes to Srikanth.
| FIRST TIE: Mixed Doubles - B. Sumeeth Reddy/Ashwini Ponnappa bt Muhammad Bhatti/Ghazala Siddique 21-9, 21-12 |
SECOND GAME
21-12: Reddy finishes the game and the match with a down-the-line smash. India leads 1-0.
20-11: Nine match points for Indians.
18-9: Superb movement from Reddy, Quickly stepped back on the opponent’s serve and finished it with an overhead smash.
15-9: Pakistani pair does well to keep the rally going despite fierce shots from Reddy. However, the 32-shot rally, longest of the match so far, ends with Siddique sending the cross-court return just wide.
13-9: Reddy sets up the point with the drop shot, gets the apt lift on the return from Bhatti and buries the smash.
11-8: A slender three-point lead for Reddy and Ponnappa at the halfway stage in this second game.
10-8: Reddy goes for the cross-court kill. Good strategy but poor execution as the shuttle lands wide.
8-6: Ponnappa hits another body smash towards Siddique. Hits the Pakistani shuttler before she can even react.
5-6: Body smash from Ponnappa leaves Siddique in no position to return.
3-5: A couple of wild smashes from Reddy. Completely misses the line on both occasions.
0-1: A 28-shot rally to begin the second game and it is the Pakistani pair that takes the point as Ponnappa completes misses the drive from Siddique.
FIRST GAME
21-9: Reddy and Ponnappa win the opening game as Reddy hits the smash down the line giving no chance to Siddiique.
20-9: Eleven game points for the Indians.
18-8: A rare error on the smash by Reddy as he hits one bang into the net.
14-4: Three points in a row for the Indians to resume the opening game. Too easy for the defending champions at the moment.
11-4: Reddy and Ponnappa enter the mid-game interval with a seven-point lead in just six minutes.
8-3: Four straight points for the Indians. Making full use of the lack of communication between their opponent pair.
4-3: Pakistan reduces the deficit. Bhatti comes up with a brilliant cross-court smash to end the rally.
3-0: Ponnappa and Reddy take the early lead.
Warm up is done. Game time!
6:28PM - For the first match i.e. mixed doubles tie, the shuttlers from both nations have entered the arena. Live action shortly.
6:20PM - Here’s the final line-up
Mixed Doubles - B. Sumeeth Reddy/Ashwini Ponnappa vs Muhammad Bhatti/Ghazala Siddique
Men’s Singles - Kidambi Srikanth vs Murad Ali
Women’s Singles - PV Sindhu vs Mahoor Shahzad
Men’s Doubles - Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/ Chirag Shetty vs Murad Ali/Muhammad Bhatti
Women’s Doubles - Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand vs Mahoor Shahzad/Ghazala Siddique
6:15PM - Just 15 minutes to go for this mouth-watering clash.
MATCH PREVIEW
Indian badminton contingent begins its title defense in the mixed team event at 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Friday when it faces Pakistan in its Group A opener.
The tie, which will be played on Court No. 2 at the National Exhibition Centre, comprises matches in all five categories: men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
Four years ago, India had beaten Pakistan 5-0 in the group stage match in Gold Coast.
Line-ups:
| India | Pakistan |
| PV Sindhu | Murad Ali |
| Treesa Jolly | Muhammad Irfan Saeed Bhatti |
| Aakarshi Kashyap | Mahoor Shahzad |
| Gayatri Gopichand | Ghazala Siddique |
| Ashwini Ponnappa | |
| Lakshya Sen | |
| Satwiksairaj Rankireddy | |
| Chirag Shetty | |
| Kidambi Srikanth | |
| B. Sumeeth Reddy |
When and where to watch?
The India vs Pakistan mixed team Group A opener at the 2022 Commonwealth Games will be live telecast on Sony Sports Network and streamed on Sony Liv from 6:30PM IST.
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