DUBAI – The wait is over as ICC Twenty 20 World Cup rolls into action today, the first qualifier of the mega event will be played between Oman and Papua New Guinea at Al Amerat Cricket Ground, while Bangladesh will face Scotland in the second fixture.
The tournament will be played at three venues, Dubai International Stadium, Sheikh Zayed Stadium, and Oman Cricket Academy Ground.
𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝔻𝕒𝕪 🥳
What are your predictions?#T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/xe2Y9AoP08
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) October 17, 2021
The cricket carnival, in which 16 teams will compete, is divided into three stages named Round 1, The Super 12 stage, and knockouts which include the semi-final and the final.
In the first round [Round 1], eight teams will be competing in two groups and the top two from each of the groups will move to the Super 12 stage.
Later, the top team from Group A and the second seed from Group B advance to Group 1 of the Super 12s, with the top seed from Group B and the second seed from Group A going into Group 2.
Likewise, the Super 12 stage is also divided into two groups featuring six teams. The top two teams from each group will progress to the final stage.
Round 1
Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Namibia
Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, Oman
Super 12
Group 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, top team Group A, second-team Group B
Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, second-team Group A, top team Group B
Meanwhile, the neighboring arch-rivals Pakistan and India will face each other in Dubai on October 24 in one of the biggest clashes of the event.
PAKvNZ: New Zealand team cancels Pakistan tour minutes before first ODI
Men in Green have won their last Twenty20 cup in the UAE in 2009 while Pakistani skipper Babar Azam is optimistic to slam India saying their familiarity with the UAE pitches will help them break the jinx.
On the other hand, India’s Virat Kohli played down the famous rivalry, stating the match with Shaheens as ‘just another game’. “I have always approached this game as just another game of cricket. I know there is a lot of hype created around this game more so with ticket sales and the demands for tickets”, he said.
Meanwhile, the winner will share part of the $US5.6m allocated as prize money for the mega event. The winning team will receive $1.6m, with the runners up receiving $800,000 while both losing semi-finalists will receive $0.4 million.
Former T20 World Cup winners
| India | (2007) |
| Pakistan | (2009) |
| England | (2010) |
| West Indies | (2012) |
| Sri Lanka | (2014) |
| West Indies | (2016) |
