Pakistan to take on India in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on Oct 24
DUBAI (92 News) – Pakistan, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Champions in 2009, will open their campaign in the 2021 event against India at the Dubai International Stadium on October 24, as the ICC announced the schedule of the 16-team event.
The Babar Azam-led side will also face New Zealand and Afghanistan in Group 2 of the Super 12s stage, along with two qualifiers from Round 1. They will play New Zealand at the same venue on October 27 and take on Afghanistan in Dubai on October 29. Ashes rivals England and Australia play at the same venue six days later.
The West Indies, the only side to win the tournament twice, will also feature on the opening day of the Super 12s as they kick off their defence of the title in Dubai against England, top ranked in the ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings.
Sri Lanka, champions in 2014, and Bangladesh, Ireland, Namibia, Netherlands Oman, PNG and Scotland, feature in Round 1 of the 16-team tournament, being hosted by India in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman through to November 14. The top two teams from each group of Round 1 will make it to the Super 12s.
Abu Dhabi will be the venue of the first semi-final on November 10 while the other semi-final (November 11) and the final (November 14) will be played in Dubai. All day matches are scheduled for 14h00 local time and the day-night matches are slated for 18h00 local time (+4 GMT).
Pakistan captain Babar Azam said: “The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 schedule announcement brings us one step forward in our preparations for this much-awaited global tournament. We will utilise the build-up period by playing in home series against New Zealand and England and will not only aim to fine-tune our final outlook but also win as many matches as possible so that we can carry that winning form and momentum to the United Arab Emirates.
“For Pakistan, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 is like a home event as the UAE has been our venue for more than a decade. We have not only nurtured our talent and developed our side in the UAE but have also beaten the top sides in these conditions to peak to number-one in the ICC T20I Team Rankings.
“All the players are excited, motivated and enthusiastic, and view this tournament as an opportunity to showcase our prowess and re-establish our superiority in the shortest format of the game in conditions that suit us best.
“From a personal point of view, this will be my first ICC Major Event as Pakistan captain. I tasted success in 2017 and suffered disappointment in 2019 when we missed out on a semi-final spot by a fraction of a point despite beating both the finalists in league matches. I remain focused in inspiring my side with my performances so that we can become the first Pakistan side to win an ICC Major Event in Asia.”
England captain Eoin Morgan said: “The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is going to be brilliant. The standard of T20 cricket around the world is improving exponentially and every nation has a chance of becoming World Champions. It should be one of the closest and most competitive world tournaments to date and we can’t wait to get started.”
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson: “After so much disruption to world sport due to the pandemic it feels like there’s a lot of excitement about this T20 World Cup. “It’s always a highly competitive event with every team possessing match-winners who can turn games quickly. “I think we’ve got a pretty well-balanced side with a good mix of exciting new talent and some experience."
Groupings:
Round 1
Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, the Netherlands and Namibia
Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Oman
(Top two teams from each group advance to Super 12s)
Super 12s
Group 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, A1 and B2.
Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, A2 and B1.
(Top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals)
Complete schedule:
Round 1
Oct 17: Oman v Papua New Guinea, Muscat (14h00); Bangladesh v Scotland, Muscat (18h00)
Oct 18: Ireland v Netherlands, Abu Dhabi (14h00); Sri Lanka v Namibia, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
Oct 19: Scotland v PNG, Muscat (14h00); Oman v Bangladesh, Muscat (18h00)
Oct 20: Namibia v Netherlands, Abu Dhabi (14h00); Sri Lanka v Ireland, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
Oct 21: Bangladesh v Papua New Guinea, Muscat (14h00); Oman v Scotland, Muscat (18h00)
Oct 22: Namibia v Ireland, Sharjah (14h00); Sri Lanka v Netherlands, Sharjah (18h00)
Super 12s
Oct 23: Australia v South Africa, Abu Dhabi (14h00); England v West Indies, Dubai (18h00)
Oct 24: A1 v B2, Sharjah (14h00); India v Pakistan, Dubai (18h00)
Oct 25: Afghanistan v B1, Sharjah (18h00)
Oct 26: South Africa v West Indies, Dubai (14h00); Pakistan v New Zealand, Sharjah (18h00)
Oct 27: England v B2, Abu Dhabi (14h00); B1 v A2, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
Oct 28: Australia v A1, Dubai (18h00)
Oct 29: West Indies v B2, Sharjah (14h00); Pakistan v Afghanistan, Dubai (18h00)
Oct 30: South Africa v A1, Sharjah (14h00); Australia v England, Dubai (18h00)
Oct 30: Afghanistan v A2, Abu Dhabi (14h00); India v New Zealand, Dubai (18h00)
Nov 1: England v A1, Sharjah (18h00)
Nov 2: South Africa v B2, Abu Dhabi (14h00); Pakistan v A2, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
Nov 3: New Zealand v B1, Dubai (14h00); India v Afghanistan, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
Nov 4: Australia v B2, Dubai (14h00); West indies v A1, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
Nov 5: New Zealand v A2, Sharjah (14h00); India v B1, Dubai (18h00)
Nov 6: Australia v West Indies, Abu Dhabi (14h00); England v South Africa, Sharjah (18h00)
Nov 7: New Zealand v Afghanistan, Abu Dhabi (14h00): Pakistan v B1, Sharjah (18h00)
Nov 8: India v A2, Dubai (18h00)
Knock-out stage
Nov 10: Semi-final 1 (A1 v B2), Abu Dhabi (18h00)
Nov 11: Semi-final 2 (B1 v A2), Dubai (18h00)
Nov 14: Final, Dubai (18h00)
