Tournament to begin on October 5 with clash between defending champions England and runners-up New Zealand
Mumbai: The world’s largest cricket stadium in Armedabbbad will be the venue for the World Cup Cricket group match between India and Pakistan on October 15. It will also stage the grand finale on November 19, the ICC announced on Tuesday, June 27, a PTI report in The Tribune, Chandigarh, says.
The tournament will begin on October 5 with defending champions England meeting runners-up New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, which is the largest in the world with a seating capacity of 1,32,000 spectators — 32,000 more than the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
The two semi-finals of the mega event will be played at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium and the Eden Gardens in Kolkata — both iconic venues with a rich legacy — on November 15 and 16 respectively, according to the given schedule.
Ringing in the 100-day countdown to the ODI showpiece, the ICC said hosts India will begin their campaign with a clash against Australia on October 8 in Chennai.
With Guwahati among 12 venues picked to host the matches, including warm-up games, it’s the first time that northeast India will feature in the World Cup.
There will be a total of 10 venues – Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Dharamsala, Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata — hosting the matches during the tournament proper. Warm-up games will be held in Guwahati,Thiruvananthapuram and Hyderabad from September 29 to October 3.
Twelve hosting associations met in Mumbai on Monday, June 26, to discuss the details and finalise venues before Tuesday’s official announcement.
The Wankhede hosted the final of the 2011 World Cup, in which Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led India beat Sri Lanka to end a 28-year-old title drought, while the Eden Gardens played host to the summit showdown between Australia and England in the 1987 edition, in which the former prevailed.
Meanwhile, Pakistan had earlier asked for their match against India to be shifted to Chennai, Bengaluru or Kolkata, but the BCCI and ICC rejected the offer.
There will be 10 teams at this year’s World Cup. As hosts, India have qualified directly, as have Afghanistan, Australia, England, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Pakistan, and South Africa through the 2020-2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League.
There will be a total of 10 venues – Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Dharamsala, Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata — hosting the matches during the tournament proper. Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram in addition to Hyderabad will host the warm-up games from September 29 to October 3.
Two other teams will make it to the World Cup through the Qualifiers, which is being currently played in Zimbabwe. Apart from former champions Sri Lanka and the West Indies, the Qualifiers also feature Ireland, Nepal, the Netherlands, Oman, Scotland, the UAE, the USA, and hosts Zimbabwe.
At the World Cup in India, the 10 teams will play each other once in a round-robin league featuring 45 matches. These will be followed by the semi-finals and the final.
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