Pakistan Women have been placed in the same group as India Women and six-time champions Australia Women, as the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the fixtures and groups for the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup on Monday.
Australia, the defending champions, secured their last T20 World Cup title in 2020 by defeating India in the final by 85 runs. Pakistan will kick off their campaign on October 3 against Sri Lanka and will face India in their second match on October 6.
The highly anticipated ninth edition of the tournament has been relocated from Bangladesh to the UAE due to political instability in Bangladesh following last month’s student uprisings.
The tournament will now take place in Dubai and Sharjah in October.
The groups remain unchanged, with Australia grouped with 2020 runners-up India, Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand, and Asian teams Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Group A, as announced by the ICC in a press release.
Group B features South Africa, England, 2016 champions West Indies, Bangladesh, and Scotland. Sri Lanka and Scotland secured their spots in the tournament through the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier held earlier this year in Abu Dhabi.
Each team will play four group matches, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals on October 17 and 18, leading up to the final in Dubai on October 20. Reserve days have been allocated for both the semi-finals and the final.
If India advances to the semi-finals, they will compete in Semi-final 1.
In total, 23 matches will be played across the two venues in Dubai and Sharjah.
Group A: Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
Group B: South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Scotland
Additionally, 10 warm-up matches will be held from September 28 to October 1, before the tournament begins.
