New Delhi: The One-Day International World Cup, 2023, will be played from 5 October to 19 November, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced Tuesday, with the marquee India-Pakistan game to take place on 15 October in Ahmedabad.
The inaugural match will be between England and New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, and the finale will also be played in that city.
Mumbai and Kolkata will host the two semifinals on 15 and 16 November respectively.
ICC World Cup 2023: England to play New Zealand in opening match on October 5. India to kick-start campaign against Australia on October 8. pic.twitter.com/dWSQwk1pFd
— ANI (@ANI) June 27, 2023
There will be a total of 10 venues – Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Dharamsala, Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata.
Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram in addition to Hyderabad will host the warm-up matches from 29 September to 3 October, the ICC said at an event in Mumbai Tuesday.
Host India begin the men’s cricket campaign on 8 October against five-time World Cup winners Australia in Chennai.
“A total of 10 teams will participate at the showcase event, the first eight having already qualified through the Cricket World Cup Super League. The final two spots will be determined at the end of the Qualifier tournament in Zimbabwe, which concludes on 9 July,” the ICC said, adding, “Each team plays the other nine in a round robin format with the top four qualifying for the knockout stage and semi-finals.”
India will play New Zealand to try and avenge their 2019 semi-final defeat on 22 October in Dharamsala.
Australia will face arch-rival England on 4 November in Ahmedabad. The defending champions had thrashed the Aussies to storm into the final four years ago.
The knockout fixtures – the semi-finals and the final – will be day-night affairs with the matches beginning at 2 pm.
Also read: Australia’s Gardner battled finger injury in record-breaking blitz