ISLAMABAD, The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced fixtures for the ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup 2021 on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The marquee tournament will get underway in UAE and Oman from October 17, with the final to be played in Dubai on November 14.<\/p>\n
Oman will take on Papua New Guinea in the opening match of the event at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground on October 17 while the Super 12 stage commences with a fixture between Australia and South Africa at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n
The complete schedule, announced by the ICC confirms the highly anticipated match between former champions India and Pakistan will take place on October 24 at the Dubai International Stadium while Ashes rivals England and Australia play at the same venue six days later.<\/p>\n
The West Indies, the only side to win the tournament twice, will also feature on the opening day of the Super 12s as they kick off their defence of the title in Dubai against England, top ranked in the MRF Tyres ICC Men\u2019s T20I Team Rankings.<\/p>\n
Sri Lanka, champions in 2014, and Bangladesh, Ireland, Namibia, Netherlands Oman, PNG and Scotland, feature in Round 1 of the 16-team tournament, being hosted by India in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman through to November 14. The top two teams from each group of Round 1 will make it to the Super 12s.<\/p>\n
Abu Dhabi will be the venue of the first semi-final on November 10 while the other semi-final (November 11) and the final (November 14) will be played in Dubai. All day matches are scheduled for 14h00 local time and the day-night matches are slated for 18h00 local time.<\/p>\n
West Indies captain Kieron Pollard is promising exciting cricket, the type that helped them defeat England in a pulsating final at the Eden Gardens in 2016 with Carlos Brathwaite blasting four consecutive sixes in the last over to turn the tables on 2010 champions England.<\/p>\n
West Indies captain Kieron Pollard said, \u201cWe are excited to begin defence of the ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup title later this year. T20 cricket is dynamic and the international scene is highly competitive, with players constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation and we are expecting a spectacular event in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a particularly interesting Super 12 group, which sees us come up against Australia, England and South Africa. We can\u2019t wait to get started! West Indian cricketers have always played an exciting brand of cricket and I am sure our fans in the Caribbean and all over the world are highly anticipating seeing us in action.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pakistan captain Babar Azam said, \u201cThe ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup 2021 schedule announcement brings us one step forward in our preparations for this much-awaited global tournament. We will utilise the build-up period by playing in home series against New Zealand and England and will not only aim to fine-tune our final outlook but also win as many matches as possible so that we can carry that winning form and momentum to the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Pakistan, the ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup 2021 is like a home event as the UAE has been our venue for more than a decade. We have not only nurtured our talent and developed our side in the UAE but have also beaten the top sides in these conditions to peak to number-one in the ICC T20I Team Rankings.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the players are excited, motivated and enthusiastic and view this tournament as an opportunity to showcase our prowess and re-establish our superiority in the shortest format of the game in conditions that suit us best.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom a personal point of view, this will be my first ICC Major Event as Pakistan captain. I tasted success in 2017 and suffered disappointment in 2019 when we missed out on a semi-final spot by a fraction of a point despite beating both the finalists in league matches. I remain focused in inspiring my side with my performances so that we can become the first Pakistan side to win an ICC Major Event in Asia.\u201d<\/p>\n
England captain Eoin Morgan said: \u201cThe ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup is going to be brilliant. The standard of T20 cricket around the world is improving exponentially and every nation has a chance of becoming World Champions. It should be one of the closest and most competitive world tournaments to date and we can\u2019t wait to get started.\u201d<\/p>\n
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson: \u201cAfter so much disruption to world sport due to the pandemic it feels like there\u2019s a lot of excitement about this T20 World Cup.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s always a highly competitive event with every team possessing match-winners who can turn games quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019ve got a pretty well-balanced side with a good mix of exciting new talent and some experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw in last year\u2019s IPL in the UAE that surfaces can change over the course of a tournament and seam bowling as well as spin can work in the conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a strong pool with India, Pakistan and Afghanistan so far. All teams are strong which make way for an exciting competition \u201cI know our guys are really looking forward to another world event and being able to represent New Zealand on the global stage in these challenging times.<\/p>\n
\u201cTournament play is unique and hopefully we can adapt to what\u2019s in front of us and try and gain some momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oman captain Zeeshan Maqsood said: \u201cI extend a warm welcome to all teams who will be playing in our country in the ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to be turning out in a global ICC event on our home ground \u2013 to show the world what we are capable of as players and as a venue.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur preparations are on track under the guidance of coach Duleep Mendis and we aim to be at our best, come October 17. In our group we will be playing against Bangladesh, Scotland and Papua New Guinea. All these teams are very skillful, and we are looking forward to competing against them to the best of our ability. I\u2019m sure there will be thrills aplenty in the much-awaited tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n
The media release for the group announcements is available here.
\nThe groupings:
\nRound 1
\nGroup A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, the Netherlands and Namibia
\nGroup B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Oman
\n(Top two teams from each group advance to Super 12s).
\nSuper 12s
\nGroup 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, A1 and B2.
\nGroup 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, A2 and B1.
\n(Top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals).
\nComplete schedule:
\nRound 1
\n17 Oct: Oman v Papua New Guinea, Muscat (14h00); Bangladesh v Scotland, Muscat (18h00)
\n18 Oct: Ireland v Netherlands, Abu Dhabi (14h00); Sri Lanka v Namibia, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
\n19 Oct: Scotland v PNG, Muscat (14h00); Oman v Bangladesh, Muscat (18h00)
\n20 Oct: Namibia v Netherlands, Abu Dhabi (14h00); Sri Lanka v Ireland, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
\n21 Oct: Bangladesh v Papua New Guinea, Muscat (14h00); Oman v Scotland, Muscat (18h00)
\n22 Oct: Namibia v Ireland, Sharjah (14h00); Sri Lanka v Netherlands, Sharjah (18h00)
\nSuper 12s
\n23 Oct: Australia v South Africa, Abu Dhabi (14h00); England v West Indies, Dubai (18h00)
\n24 Oct: A1 v B2, Sharjah (14h00); India v Pakistan, Dubai (18h00)
\n25 Oct: Afghanistan v B1, Sharjah (18h00)
\n26 Oct: South Africa v West Indies, Dubai (14h00); Pakistan v New Zealand, Sharjah (18h00)
\n27 Oct: England v B2, Abu Dhabi (14h00); B1 v A2, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
\n28 Oct: Australia v A1, Dubai (18h00)
\n29 Oct: West Indies v B2, Sharjah (14h00); Pakistan v Afghanistan, Dubai (18h00)
\n30 Oct: South Africa v A1, Sharjah (14h00); Australia v England, Dubai (18h00)
\n31 Oct: Afghanistan v A2, Abu Dhabi (14h00); India v New Zealand, Dubai (18h00)
\n1 Nov: England v A1, Sharjah (18h00)
\n2 Nov: South Africa v B2, Abu Dhabi (14h00); Pakistan v A2, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
\n3 Nov: New Zealand v B1, Dubai (14h00); India v Afghanistan, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
\n4 Nov: Australia v B2, Dubai (14h00); West indies v A1, Abu Dhabi (18h00)
\n5 Nov: New Zealand v A2, Sharjah (14h00); India v B1, Dubai (18h00)
\n6 Nov: Australia v West Indies, Abu Dhabi (14h00); England v South Africa, Sharjah (18h00)
\n7 Nov: New Zealand v Afghanistan, Abu Dhabi (14h00): Pakistan v B1, Sharjah (18h00)
\n8 Nov: India v A2, Dubai (18h00)
\nKnock-out stage
\n10 Nov: Semi-final 1 (A1 v B2), Abu Dhabi (18h00)
\n11 Nov: Semi-final 2 (B1 v A2), Dubai (18h00)
\n14 Nov: Final, Dubai (18h00).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD, The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced fixtures for the ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup 2021 on Tuesday. The marquee tournament will get underway in UAE and Oman from October 17, with the final to be played in Dubai on November 14. Oman will take […]<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15673,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[3402,9683],"class_list":["post-15669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-sports-news","tag-icc","tag-mens-t20-world-cup"],"yoast_head":"\n