India will face archrivals Pakistan in a highly anticipated clash of the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at Eisenhower Park in Nassau County, New York, on June 9. The tournament will take place from June 1-29, with the opening match to be played between co-hosts USA and Canada, as per the schedule released by broadcasters Star Sports. The 2024 event will be co-hosted by the West Indies, the United States and Canada.
India, the 2007 T20 World Cup winners, are slotted in Group A alongside Pakistan, USA, Canada and Ireland. They will be playing all of their group matches in the USA. India kick-off their campaign against Ireland on June 5 in New York, before facing Pakistan on June 9.
They will play their third game in New York against the USA on June 12, before facing off against Canada in Miami on June 15.
All of India’s matches have a start time of 8:30 pm IST. The semifinals will be played on June 26 and 27 in Guyana and Trinidad respectively, before the final at Barbados on June 29.
England are the defending champions, having beaten Pakistan in the 2022 T20 World Cup final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The Jos Buttler-led side will open its title defence against their archrivals Australia on June 8 in Barbados. Canada, the USA and Uganda will be making their first-ever appearance at a Men’s T20 World Cup in 2024.
Overall, 55 matches will be played in the tournament, across six venues in the West Indies and three stadiums in the USA.
In the Caribbean, Kensington Oval in Barbados, Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad, Providence Stadium in Guyana, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia and Arnos Vale Stadium, St Vincent will be the hosts.
In the USA, Eisenhower Park in New York; Broward County in Lauderhill, Florida and Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas, will be the venues. The 20 teams will contest for the coveted silverware in the shortest format, which is an increase from 16 teams in the 2022 edition of the tournament in Australia.
The 20 teams will be divided into four groups of five each for the first round. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Eight stage. In Super Eight, teams will be split into two groups of four each.
A1, B2, C1 and D2 finishers will be in one group, while A2, B1, C2 and D1 will be slotted in the other group. The top two sides from two groups of the Super Eight will advance to the semifinals.
2024 Men’s T20 World Cup groupings:
Group A: India, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, USA
Group B: England, Australia, Namibia, Scotland, Oman
Group C: New Zealand, West Indies, Afghanistan, Uganda, Papua New Guinea
Group D: South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Netherlands, Nepal
Source: IANS