Melbourne: The schedule for the T20 World Cup to be played in Australia in October has been released today. The Indian team will face Pakistan in its first match in the Super-12 division.
The T20 World Cup is set to take place in Australia from October 16 to November 13. The World Cup takes place in 7 cities in Australia: Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Geelong, Hobart and Perth.
A total of 45 matches are being played in these 7 cities. With the participation of 16 teams, 12 teams have already been confirmed for the World Cup and 4 teams will be confirmed soon.
The first round matches against Sri Lanka at Cardina Park in Geelang will start on October 16 with the match against Namibia. In Group A, both teams will be selected through a qualifying round. Similarly, the two-time champion Mayo Islands have been relegated to the Super-12 round. The Mayo Islands, in Group G, face Scotland and two qualifying teams.
The teams in the Super-12 rounds are divided into two divisions, Group-1, and Group-2. In Group-1, England, New Zealand, Afghanistan, the top team in Group A and the second place team in Group B will qualify.
In Group-2, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh, the first place team in Group B and the second place team in Group A will qualify.
The hosts and defending champions Australia face New Zealand in their first match in Sydney. New Zealand face England in Brisbane on November 1.
India and Pakistan, considered arch-rivals in the world of cricket, are in the same group as in the last World Cup. India will face Pakistan in their first match on Sunday, October 23 at the MCG Grounds.
India clash with Group 2 runners-up in Sydney on October 27
India face South Africa in a match on October 30 at Perth Stadium
Bangladesh will take on India in a match on November 2 at the Adelaide Stadium.
The Indian team will clash with the top team in Group-B in the last Super-12 match in Melbourne on November 6.
The Indian team can easily beat Bangladesh in Group-1, 2nd place in Group-A and 2nd place in Group-B. If South Africa and Pakistan beat one of the two teams, the Indian team will almost certainly reach the semi-finals.
The ICC has felt that the interest in the World Cup has waned as the Indian team has been knocked out of the Super 12 round of the World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. That is why the last match of the Super-12 round is scheduled to be played between the top teams in the India-Group-B division.
It is noteworthy that if the Indian team has some difficulties in going to the semi-finals, they can win the last league match with some target and go to the semi-finals.
Both semi-finals take place in Sydney and Adelaide, with the final taking place in Melbourne.
Reigning champions Australia, New Zealand, England, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Afghanistan and Bangladesh will go head-to-head in the Super-12 division. Sri Lanka, the Mayo Islands, Scotland and Namibia, who were ranked 8th in the T20 rankings, will advance to the first round, while the remaining 4 teams will advance to the first round through the ongoing qualifying round.