India to play Pakistan on October 23 in ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022

Defending champions Australia will kick start the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 against last year’s finalists New Zealand in the opening match of Super 12 on October 22, 2022, at Sydney Cricket Ground.

Like the previous edition, the tournament will have a six-day First Round qualifier played between eight teams to determine the final four spots of Super 12. The likes of Namibia, Sri Lanka, Scotland and West Indies are among the teams playing in the First Round.

Group A: Namibia, Sri Lanka, Qualifier 2, Qualifier 3

Group B: Scotland, West Indies, Qualifier 1, Qualifier 4

Namibia and Sri Lanka will open the proceedings of the First Round fixtures on October 16 at Kardinia Park in Victoria. All the First Round matches of Group A will be played at Kardinia Park while the Group B teams will play their matches at Bellerive Oval.

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 First Round fixtures

Sunday, October 16

Sri Lanka vs Namibia

Qualifier 2 vs Qualifier 3

Monday, October 17

West Indies vs Scotland

Qualifier 1 vs Qualifier 4

Tuesday, October 18

Namibia vs Qualifier 3

Sri Lanka vs Qualifier 2

Wednesday, October 19

Scotland vs Qualifier 4

West Indies vs Qualifier 1

Thursday, October 20

Sri Lanka vs Qualifier 3

Namibia vs Qualifier 2

Friday, October 21

West Indies vs Qualifier 4

Scotland vs Qualifier 1

The top two teams from each group of the First Round will join Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Pakistan, New Zealand and South Africa who have already qualified for the Super 12, which will start on October 22.

Teams in the Super 12 are bifurcated in two groups consisting of six teams each. The likes of Afghanistan, Australia, England and New Zealand are in Group 1 while Group 2 has Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and South Africa. 

Super 12 Group 1: Afghanistan, Australia, England, New Zealand, Group A winner, Group B Runner-up

Super 12 Group 2: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Group A Runner-up, Group B winner

Meanwhile, the Super 12 matches will be played across six different venues, namely, The Gabba, Perth Stadium, Adelaide Oval, Sydney Cricket Ground, Bellerive Oval and Melbourne Cricket Ground.

ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Group schedule, fixtures and India match times

Like the previous edition, the Group 2 games will begin with the most anticipated clash between India and Pakistan on October 23 at Melbourne Cricket Ground. The Indian cricket team will next face the Group A Runner-up from the First Round followed by South Africa, and Bangladesh before concluding their group stage matches against the Group B Winner.

The group stage matches will run until November 6 before the tournament moves to the semi-finals. The top two teams from each group will play the knockout round on November 9 and November 10. The final of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 will be played on November 13.

Featured photo: AFP / Giuseppe Cacace