Schedule for ODI Cricket World Cup in India Announced

NEW DELHI, June 27: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday has announced the full schedule for the 2023 ODI World Cup to be held in India. The tournament starts on October 5 with the 2019 finalists, England and New Zealand, taking each other on at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

India will begin its campaign against Australia on October 8 in Chennai and play a highly anticipated clash with Pakistan on October 15 at the Ahmedabad stadium, the world’s largest cricket stadium with a seating capacity of 1,32,000 spectators — 32,000 more than the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The match between India and Pakistan will be the eighth meeting between the two in an ODI World Cup. India have won all of the previous seven encounters.

The last time the teams met in the 50-overs World Cup was in 2019 at Old Trafford when India beat Pakistan by 89 runs (DLS method). Pakistan had earlier asked for shifting of their match against India to either Chennai, Bengaluru or Kolkata, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the ICC rejected the request.

With 10 teams participating, each team plays the other nine in a round-robin format with the top four qualifying for the knockout stage and semi-finals. The final group stage match will be England against Pakistan in Kolkata on November 12.

The first semi-final will be held on Wednesday, November 15, in Mumbai, and the second semi-final will be held on the following day in Kolkata. Both semi-finals will have a reserve day. The Final will take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19, with November 20 slated as the reserve day.

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.

Two other teams will make it to the World Cup through the World Cup 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.

With Guwahati among 12 venues picked to host the matches including warm-up games, it’s the first time the World Cup is entering the northeast India. 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.

India’s World Cup Fixtures:

Oct 8, Sunday

Vs Australia

Chennai

Oct 11, Wednesday

Vs Afghanistan

Delhi

Oct 15, Sunday

Vs Pakistan

Ahmedabad

Oct 19, Thursday

Vs Bangladesh

Pune

Oct 22, Sunday

Vs New Zealand

Dharamsala

Oct 29, Sunday

Vs England

Lucknow

Nov 2, Thursday

Vs Qualifier 2

Mumbai

Nov 5, Sunday

Vs South Africa

Kolkata

Nov 11, Saturday

Vs Qualifier 1

1. England vs New Zealand: October 5 in Ahmedabad
2. Pakistan vs Qualifier 1: October 6 in Hyderabad
3. Bangladesh vs Afghanistan: October 7 in Dharamsala
4. South Africa vs Qualifier 2: October 7 in Delhi
5. India vs Australia: October 8 in Chennai
6. New Zealand vs Qualifier 1: October 9 in Hyderabad
7. England vs Bangladesh: October 10 in Dharamsala
8. India vs Afghanistan: October 11 in Delhi
9. Pakistan vs Qualifier 2: October 12 in Hyderabad
10. Australia vs South Africa: October 13 in Lucknow
11. England vs Afghanistan: October 14 in Delhi
12. New Zealand vs Bangladesh: October 14 in Chennai
13. India vs Pakistan: October 15 in Ahmedabad
14. Australia vs Qualifier 2: October 16 in Lucknow
15. South Africa vs Qualifier 1: October 17 in Dharamsala
16. New Zealand vs Afghanistan: October 18 in Chennai
17. India vs Bangladesh: October 19 in Pune
18. Australia vs Pakistan: October 20 in Bengaluru
19. England vs South Africa: October 21 in Mumbai
20. Qualifier 1 vs Qualifier 2: October 21 in Lucknow
21. India vs New Zealand: October 22 in Dharamsala
22. Pakistan vs Afghanistan: October 23 in Chennai
23. South Africa vs Bangladesh: October 24 in Mumbai
24. Australia vs Qualifier 1: October 25 in Delhi
25. England vs Qualifier 2: October 26 in Bengaluru
26. Pakistan vs South Africa: October 27 in Chennai
27. Qualifier 1 vs Bangladesh: October 28 in Kolkata
28. Australia vs New Zealand: October 28 in Dharamsala
29. India vs England: October 29 in Lucknow
30. Afghanistan vs Qualifier 2: October 30 in Pune
31. Pakistan vs Bangladesh: October 31 in Kolkata
32. New Zealand vs South Africa: November 1 in Pune
33. India vs Qualifier 2: November 2 in Mumbai
34. Qualifier 1 vs Afghanistan: November 3 in Lucknow
35. England vs Australia: November 4 in Ahmedabad
36. New Zealand vs Pakistan: November 4 in Bengaluru
37. India vs South Africa: November 5 in Kolkata
38. Bangladesh vs Qualifier 2: November 6 in Delhi
39. Australia vs Afghanistan: November 7 in Mumbai
40. England vs Qualifier 1: November 8 in Pune
41. New Zealand vs Qualifier 2: November 9 in Bengaluru
42. South Africa vs Afghanistan: November 10 in Ahmedabad
43. India vs Qualifier 1: November 11 in Bengaluru
44. England vs Pakistan: November 12 in Kolkata
45. Australia vs Bangladesh: November 12 in Pune
46. Semi-final 1: November 15 in Mumbai
47. Semi-final 2: November 16 in Kolkata
48. Final: November 19 in Ahmedabad

(Manas Dasgupta)