The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday (January 29) announced the fixtures of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in Australia in 2020. According to the fixture, the tournament gets underway on October 18 while Team India will begin its campaign on October 24 against South Africa in Perth.
The Men in Blue will then play a qualifier at MCG followed by a clash against England at the same venue. In their last two fixtures, Kohli and his men will lock horns with another qualifier in Adelaide before they have a showdown against Afghanistan at SCG.
Hosts Australia will face the top-ranked Pakistan in the opening match of the Super 12 stage of the tournament on October 24 in Sydney. The first semi-final will take place at the SCG on November 11, while Adelaide Oval will host the second semi-final in the subsequent night. The summit clash will be held at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground on the evening of November 15.
Defending champions West Indies will start their campaign against New Zealand on October 25 at the MCG. Subsequently, they will face Australia on October 28, a qualifier on October 30, Pakistan on November 3 and another qualifier on November 7.
Having finished ninth and tenth in the ICC T20I rankings, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will play the qualifiers in the First Round of the men’s event, with matches to be played in Geelong and Hobart from October 18-23. The remaining six teams for the first round will be determined through a qualifying tournament to be held in 2019. A total of four teams from the first round, two each from Group A and Group B, will progress to the Super 12 stage.
As far as ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 is concerned – the tournament will kick-start on February 21. In the opening match, defending champions Australia will take on India at SCG. The women’s tournament will also feature double-header semi-finals in Sydney on March 5, 2020 while the final will be played at MCG on March 8.
The remaining matches of Indian women’s are against a qualifier on February 26 at WACA, against New Zealand on February 27 and Sri Lanka on February 29 at Junction Oval, Melbourne.
The eight top-ranked teams based on finishing positions from the World T20 held in West Indies last year have automatically qualified, with the remaining two places to be determined through a qualifying tournament to be held in 2019.
Indian men’s fixtures for ICC T20 World Cup 2020:
Super 12s: India vs South Africa at Perth Stadium, Perth on October 24, 2020
Super 12s: India vs A2 Qualifier at MCG, Melbourne on October 29, 2020
Super 12s: India vs England at MCG, Melbourne on November 1, 2020
Super 12s: India vs B1 Qualifier at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide on November 5, 2020
Super 12s: India vs Afghanistan at SCG, Sydney on November 8, 2020
Indian women’s fixtures for ICC T20 World Cup 2020:
India vs Australia at Spotless Stadium, Sydney on February 21, 2020
India vs Qualifier at WACA, Perth on February 24, 2020
India vs New Zealand at Junction Oval, Melbourne on February 27, 2020
India vs Sri Lanka at Junction Oval, Melbourne on February 29, 2020
(With inputs from The Indian Express)
