ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022: India, Pakistan to face off on October 23

The match will take place at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia

By Web Desk

Published: Fri 21 Jan 2022, 9:09 AM

Last updated: Fri 21 Jan 2022, 9:26 AM

India's opening match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 will be against Pakistan on October 23.

The match will take place at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.

It will be the first World Cup clash between the two nations at the MCG and comes before two more fierce rivals, Australia and England, meet at the venue on Friday, October 28.

Excitement is building for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, following the International Cricket Council's announcement of the fixtures for the October 16 – November 13 event. The world's best cricketers from 16 international teams will clash in 45 matches as the pinnacle global event in men’s T20 cricket comes to Australia for the first time.

Matches will be played across Adelaide, Brisbane, Geelong, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, giving fans around the country the chance to see the biggest global sporting event coming to Australia in 2022.

In the First Round, 2014 champions Sri Lanka and Namibia will play the opening match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 at Kardinia Park, Geelong on Sunday October 16. They’ll be joined by two qualifiers in Group A. Two-time champions West Indies will also start in the First Round, joined in Group B by Scotland and two qualifiers in Hobart.

In the Super 12, hosts Australia are in Group 1 with world number one England, New Zealand, Afghanistan, plus the winner of Group A and the runner-up in Group B from the First Round. Group 2 features India, Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh, plus the winner of Group B and runner-up in Group A from the First Round.

Hosts and defending champions, Australia will play New Zealand in the opening match of the Super 12 at the SCG on Saturday October 22 in a re-match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 Final. The Black Caps will also face England at The Gabba on November 1 in a re-match of their epic semi-final encounter at the 2021 event.

The state-of-the-art Perth Stadium will host a huge Sunday double-header on Sunday October 30 with South Africa taking on India in the evening match. Earlier in the day, Pakistan will be in action against the runners-up from Group A.

The semi-finals will be played at the SCG and Adelaide Oval on November 9 and 10, respectively. It will be the first time the Adelaide Oval will host a World Cup semi-final.

Two global qualifying events will determine the final four places for Australia 2022.

The MCG will host the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 Final, which will be contested under lights on November 13. 2022.

Full fixtures and ticketing information are available at t20worldcup.com.

Australia was originally scheduled to host the event in 2020, before it was postponed due to Covid-19 and re-scheduled for October 16 – November 13 2022. Matches will be played in Adelaide (Adelaide Oval), Brisbane (The Gabba), Geelong (Kardinia Park), Hobart (Bellerive Oval), Melbourne (MCG), Perth (Perth Stadium) and Sydney (SCG).

It’s the first time Australia will host the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after a record-breaking women's event, which was held in February - March 2020. The final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, was won by Australia over India in front of 86,174 spectators, a record crowd for women's sport in Australia and the second-highest crowd ever recorded for a women's sporting event globally.

ALSO READ:

It will be an honour to lead India: Bumrah reveals captaincy ambition

Covid-19: New Zealand's limited-overs series in Australia postponed

Australia will enter the eighth edition of the men’s event as defending champions after winning their maiden ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title in 2021, defeating New Zealand in in the final played at Dubai International Stadium.

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 will feature 16 international teams playing 45 matches with the final to played on Sunday, November 13 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.