The International Cricket Council on Tuesday (June 27) announced the fixtures for the ODI World Cup 2023, slated to be held in India.
The showpiece tournament will kick-off on October 5 with a repeat of the 2019 World Cup final as England take on New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Hosts India will begin their campaign on October 8 against five-time World Cup champions Australia at Chepauk.
Meanwhile, the India-Australia fixture drew a telling reaction from former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting and ex-England captain Nasser Hussain.
Speaking to ICC in a promo video, Ponting weighed in on the conditions in Chennai and who could head into the contest as favourites.
“It’d be a great spectacle that’s one thing I do know, what a great opening game for Australia to be able to play the host nation in a venue like Chennai," said Ponting.
“The upgrade of the stadium is awesome, we know what we can expect from the wicket there, it’s probably be a little bit on the slower side and probably there’s going to be a bit of spin. But the Australians will have the time to get there and get prepared for that conditions wise they’d favour India but Australia have got a very proud record of white-ball cricket in the subcontinent so I’m sure they’ll probably go into that game very confident," he added.
On the other hand, the fixture gave Hussain a reminder of the WTC 2023 final at The Oval, where India lost to Australia by 209 runs.
“Massive occasion, two brilliant sides, India the hosts against Australia, maybe a bit of paycheck for the WTC final, these two sides will be there I reckon in the knockout stages, a great venue to have the two of the biggest names in world cricket," said Hussain.
After the match against Australia, the Rohit Sharma-led side will face Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on October 11. India’s third match in the quadrennial event is a high-octane clash against Pakistan on October 15 in Ahmedabad.
The Men in Blue will go up against Bangladesh on October 19 in Pune, while they will lock horns with New Zealand to try and avenge their 2019 semi-final defeat on October 22 at the picturesque HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala.
Team India will take on England in Lucknow on October 29. The home team’s last three matches include two against the sides that will enter the main event through the ongoing ICC Men’s ODI World Cup Qualifiers.
While India will face the second-placed team from the World Cup Qualifiers on November 2 in Mumbai, they will be up against South Africa in Kolkata on November 5.
India will play their last group stage match against the top-placed team from the World Cup Qualifiers on November 11 in Bengaluru.
