The much-awaited schedule of the Men’s ODI Cricket World Cup 2023 was released just 100 days before the commencement of the marquee tournament, unlike in the earlier editions where the schedule was revealed an year earlier.
The delay was likely due to a letter written by the Pakistan Cricket Board to the International Cricket Council (ICC) to clarify that they cannot unilaterally approve the draft fixture list by India released earlier, as they awaited their government’s nod for Pakistan cricket team’s participation in the tournament hosted in India.
The tournament will be played over 46 days with the final match scheduled on November 19 at Ahmedabad.
“A total of 10 teams will participate at the showcase event, the first eight having already qualified through the Cricket World Cup Super League. The final two spots will be determined at the end of the Qualifier tournament in Zimbabwe, which concludes on July 9,” ICC said.
“Each team plays the other nine in a round robin format with the top four qualifying for the knockout stage and semi-finals,” it added.The venues for the most celebrated cricket tournament include: Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Dharamsala, Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata.Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram along with Hyderabad will host the warm-up matches from 29 September to 3 October.
The hosts will kickstart their 50-over World Cup campaign against Australia in Chennai on October 8. The big game against India’s arch-rivals Pakistan is scheduled for October 15, in Ahmedabad.
India World Cup 2023 Matches:
ET OnlineIndia will be playing nine matches at the Group Stage.
Pakistan will be playing its league games across four venues: Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai.
According to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) draft schedule released earlier, ICC ODI World Cup 2023 was set to begin on October 5, with reigning champions England taking on New Zealand at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi stadium, which boasts to be the largest stadium in the world, will also host the big finale game of the tournament on November 19, as per the BCCI draft.
Matches to look out for
Australia and South Africa will meet on October 13 in Lucknow. In a dramatic game in the previous edition in 2019, South Africa had defeated Australia, the five time champions, and the latter will look for a fortune-reversal this time.
The much awaited India vs Pakistan is due on October 15, where the hosts will be looking to maintain the momentum from their last encounter in 2019 world cup where India posted a huge margin victory in Manchester.
India will face New Zealand to try and avenge their 2019 semi-final defeat on October 22 in Dharamsala. That was also former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s final ODI match. Meanwhile, Australia will face their arch-rival England on November 4 in Ahmedabad. The defending champions had thrashed the Aussies to storm into the final four years ago.
The all important ‘Knock-out’ Stage
Clearing the haze around knock-out matches, the ICC announced that the first semi-final will be held on November 15 in Mumbai and the second semi-final will be held on November 16 in Kolkata. The apex governing body for cricket has also kept reserve days for both the semi-final matches.
For the final too, which is scheduled for November 19, a reserve day has been slated.
FAQs
When is ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 beginning?
The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup is set to begin from October 5, 2023. The final is scheduled for November 19 which will be played in Ahmedabad.
When is Pakistan’s match against India?
India vs Pakistan will be held on October 15, 2023 in Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
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