World Cup 2023: India to start campaign on Oct 8 against Australia; match against Pakistan on Oct 15

The schedule for ICC World Cup 2023 has been announced, where hosts India will start their campaign on October 8 against Australia. The championship will start with England and New Zealand match at the Narendra Modi Stadium on October 5. The highly-anticipated clash between India and Pakistan will be played at the venue. Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 15 at 2 PM.

It will be the first time that India will hold the prestigious ODI World Cup 2023 on its own, where a total of 48 matches will be played during the course of 46 days for the event. The tournament will begin on October 5 with the final on November 19.

Here's India's schedule:

India vs Australia - October 8, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai at 2 PM
India vs Afghanistan - Oct 11, Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium, Delhi at 2 PM
India vs Pakistan - Oct 15, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad at 2 PM
India vs Bangladesh - Oct 19, Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Gahunje at 2 PM
India vs New Zealand - Oct 22, Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala at 2 PM
India vs England - Oct 29, Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpai Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow at 2 PM
India vs Qualifier 2 - Nov 2, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai at 2 PM 
India vs South Africa - Nov 5, Eden Gardens, Kolkata
India vs Qualifier 1 - Nov 11, M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

 

India last won the World Cup back in 2011 and reached the final four stage in the next two editions – 2015 and 2019.

BCCI Secretary Jay Shah has announced that the final of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The much-anticipated encounter between India and Pakistan will also be played at the same venue. 

Meanwhile, the first semi-final will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on November 15 while the second semi-final will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata a day later.

Both semi-finals and the final will have a reserve day. November 20 is the reserve day for the final. 

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

The shortlisted World Cup venues are Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Dharamsala, Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad. 

At this year's World Cup, 10 teams will be qualifying for the final tournament. As hosts, India have qualified directly. Besides India, Afghanistan, Australia, England, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Pakistan, and South Africa have also qualified for the 2020-2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League.

For the last two slots, World Cup Qualifiers are being played in Zimbabwe, where West Indies might get disqualified, as per experts, after losing their match against Netherlands on Monday. To still qualify, it will now have to win all their remaining three matches.