Ahmedabad to host India-Pakistan fixture, World Cup final

The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will play host to the opener, the marquee India-Pakistan, Australia-England games as well as the final of the forthcoming men's ODI World Cup, it was officially confirmed on Tuesday (June 27) at an ICC event in Mumbai to mark the '100 days to the World Cup' countdown. The quadrennial tournament will continue in the format used in 2019: 10 teams will play each other in a single-group phase with the top-four teams progressing to the semifinals.

Defending champions England will meet New Zealand in the rematch of the final from four years ago to kick-start the prestigious tournament on October 5. A total of 10 venues: Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, Pune, Dharamsala, Lucknow will host games over six and a half weeks. In all, the tournament will comprise 48 games played over 46 days. Only six of these fixtures will be day games (10:30 IST start) with the rest of the day-night games scheduled to begin at 14:00 IST.

Meanwhile, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram in addition to Hyderabad will host the warm-up matches from September 29 to October 3.

As reported by Cricbuzz yesterday, the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai will host the first semi-final (No.1 v No.4) on November 15 with the action shifting to the Eden Gardens in Kolkata the following for the second semi-final between the second and the third-placed teams. Incidentally, both Mumbai and Kolkata have played hosts to both a World Cup semifinal and final in earlier editions of this tournament. And like in the previous edition, both the semifinals and the final will have a reserve day.

India's World Cup 2023 League stage schedule

Two-time champions India will begin their World Cup with a clash against the five-time winners Australia in Chennai on October 8. They'll then play Afghanistan in Delhi on October 11 before the blockbuster clash against rivals Pakistan on October 15. Rohit Sharma's team will criss-cross the country during the league phase, playing only a solitary game at each venue.

Along with hosts, seven other countries - New Zealand, England, Bangladesh, Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and South Africa secured a direct entry to the World Cup by virtue of finishing in the top-eight of the Cricket World Cup Super League. The final two slots will be taken up by the finalists of the ongoing World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.

Click here for the full World Cup schedule.

Note:

• If the West Indies qualify, they will be Q1 irrespective of where they finish in the Qualifiers

• If Sri Lanka qualify, they will be Q2 irrespective of where they finish in the Qualifiers

• If Pakistan qualify for the semi-finals, they will play in Kolkata

• If India qualify for the semifinals, they will play in Mumbai unless playing against Pakistan, in which case they will play in Kolkata

Key Dates:

• October 5: England vs New Zealand, Ahmedabad (Tournament Opener)

• October 8: India vs Australia, Chennai

• October 15: India vs Pakistan, Ahmedabad

• October 28: Australia vs New Zealand, Dharamsala

• October 29: India vs England, Lucknow

• November 1: New Zealand vs South Africa, Pune

• November 4: England vs Australia, Ahmedabad

• November 15: First Semifinal, Mumbai

• November 16: Second Semifinal, Kolkata

• November 19: Final, Ahmedabad