Glasgow, July 23 (IANS) India's women's pairs combination of Pinki Singh and Rupa Rani Tirkey battled past Malta in a dramatic tiebreak to open their Commonwealth Games 2026 Bowls campaign with a hard-fought victory in the sectional Group Play stage on Thursday.

Competing in the discipline's new indoor format, now officially called Bowls for the first time in Commonwealth Games history, the Indian pair overcame a spirited challenge from sisters Rebecca Louise Rixon and Connie-Leigh Rixon, recovering from a tense second set before Pinki produced the decisive bowl in the tiebreak to seal the contest.

India made an assured start, taking control from the opening end. After Rupa Rani Tirkey settled into her rhythm, Pinki capitalised with accurate deliveries that earned India two points for an early 2-0 advantage.

The Rixon sisters responded in the next end to trim the deficit to 2-1, but Pinki once again rose to the occasion in the third end. With Malta appearing to hold the advantage, the Indian skip delivered a bowl that initially looked short before a closer inspection confirmed it was nearest to the jack, allowing India to extend their lead.

The momentum remained with the Indian duo as they produced another clinical end, placing two bowls close to the jack to stretch the score to 5-1 before closing out the opening set emphatically.

Rupa delivered two outstanding bowls in the decisive end of the first set, while Malta's attempt to force an opening through an aggressive drive backfired, knocking away their own scoring bowls. India capitalised to claim the set comfortably by a 7-1 margin.

The second set, however, unfolded very differently. Pinki's well-judged final bowl in the opening end nudged the jack into India's favour to hand the pair a 2-0 lead, but Malta hit back immediately. Connie-Leigh Rixon produced a superb final delivery to shift the jack and earn her side two crucial points, levelling the contest.

With momentum swinging repeatedly, both teams traded crucial ends. Pinki once again rescued India under pressure, winning a measurement call after placing a bowl inches from the jack to edge her side back in front.

Malta refused to fade, however. Rebecca Louise produced a superb response in the penultimate end before the Rixon sisters held their nerve in the final regulation end to level the second set and force a tiebreak.

The sudden-death shootout began with Malta in control after placing two bowls closer to the jack than India's best effort. Rupa improved India's position with her final delivery, leaving Pinki responsible for deciding the outcome.

Her first attempt narrowed the gap without changing the score, while the second rolled agonisingly close before stopping short. Everything rested on the final bowl.

Displaying remarkable composure, Pinki delivered a brilliant final effort that swung the tiebreak in India's favour, completing a memorable comeback and securing victory for the Indian pair.

The result gives India a winning start in the women's pairs competition and highlights the resilience of the Pinki-Rupa combination, with Pinki repeatedly producing decisive deliveries in the biggest moments of a contest that went right down to the final bowl.

--IANS

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