India and Pakistan will be up against each other in yet another ICC World Cup opener. The arch-foes have been slated to meet in the opening game of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on October 23.
In the last edition, hosted by India in the UAE, India were thrashed by 10-wickets by the Babar Azam-led Pakistan, in what was their first defeat against Pakistan in an ICC World Cup game.
The World Cup 2022 will be played in Australia from October 16 with the preliminary round matches slated for the first week. The final is slated for November 13.
Cricket Australia will host the 45 World Cup games across seven venues – Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Geelong, Hobart, and Perth. A total of 45 matches will be played across Adelaide, Brisbane, Geelong, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney.
Australia were to host the World Cup in 2020, but the event was deferred due to outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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FIXTURE HIGHLIGHTS
- Adelaide will see 10 different teams play Super 12 matches in a festival of cricket with India to feature on the first night at Adelaide Oval against Bangladesh on 2 November. Australia will be in action on a Friday night against local Adelaide favourite Rashid Khan and Afghanistan on 4 November.
- Brisbane will host four Super 12 matches with Australia, England and New Zealand to feature on consecutive nights on October 31 and November 1 respectively.
- 2014 champions Sri Lanka will feature in the opening match of the event against Namibia at Kardinia Park, Geelong on 16 October 2022 in the First Round.
- Hobart will see the power-hitters of West Indies play three First Round matches at Bellerive Oval, starting on 17 October 2022. Hobart will also host three Super 12 fixtures
- The state-of-the-art Perth Stadium will host five Super 12 matches with defending champions Australia to play a night match against the winners of Group A on 25 October. Perth Stadium will also be lit up on the opening night of the Super 12 with world number one England taking on Afghanistan
- Sydney will host a massive double-header on 5 November with England to take on the winners of Group A, before Pakistan take on South Africa in the evening match
The 2014 champions Sri Lanka will take on Namibia in the first round opening game at Kardinia Park, Geelong on Sunday, October 16. They’ll be joined by two qualifiers in Group A.
Two-time champions West Indies will also start in the first round, alongside two qualifiers and Scotland in Group B. The matches will be played at Hobart.
In the Super 12, hosts Australia are in Group 1 with world number one England, New Zealand, Afghanistan plus the winner of Group A and the runner-up in Group B from the First Round.
Group 2 features India, Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh, plus the winner of Group B and runner-up in Group A from the First Round.
Hosts and defending champions Australia will start their campaign against trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand on October 22 at the SCG. It will be a re-match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 final.
The Kiwis also face England at The Gabba on November 1 in a re-match of their epic semi-final encounter of last year’s semi-final.
Perth will host a huge double-header on Sunday, October 30 with South Africa taking on India in the evening match. Earlier in the day, Pakistan will be in action against the runners-up from Group A.
The semi-finals will be played at the SCG and Adelaide Oval on November 9 and 10, respectively. The final will be contested under lights at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on November 13.
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