ICC T20 World Cup: All that you need to know
The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 has started today with the group stage getting underway. Eight teams are participating across two groups and four will be qualifying for the Super 12s. Notably, eight teams have already made it to the Super 12. West Indies come into the World Cup as the defending champions. Here we present the complete details.
45 matches to be played over 29 days
The opening match of the tournament is between PNG and Oman. Bangladesh also face Scotland later in the evening. There will be a total of 45 games played over a period of 29 days. The tournament, divided into two stages, will see the Super 12s start on October 23 when Australia take on South Africa.
Where is the tournament being held?
The T20 World Cup was originally scheduled to be played in India but was shifted to the Middle East due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Four venues will be used across UAE and Oman; the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Oman, besides grounds in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah in the UAE. Notably, the UAE venues recently hosted the second half of the IPL season.
T20 World Cup final will be held on November 15
There are two stages of the T20 World Cup, with Round 1 running from October 17 to 22 and the 'Super 12s' between October 23 and November 8. The semi-finals are to be played on November 10 and 11 before the final. The final will be played on November 15.
Key details about Round 1 (group stage)
Round 1 of the T20 World Cup sees eight teams split into two groups of four. Sri Lanka, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Namibia are in Group A. Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Oman are in Group B. Each nation in Round 1 will play the other in their group once, before the top two from each group progress to the Super 12s.
Key details about the Super 12s
Group 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, A1, B2 Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, B1, A2 These eight teams qualified automatically for the Super 12s. The teams have been split into two groups based on their ranking in March this year. Four teams from Round 1 will join the Super 12s. From there, four teams will progress into the last four.
Teams in Super 12s will play warm-up matches
The teams that have qualified for the Super 12s will feature in warm-up matches before the second round starts. Each side will play two warm-up games. India will take on England and Australia in the warm-ups.
