Australia are all set to open the gates for the eighth edition of the T20 World Cup as Sri Lanka host Namibia in the curtain-raising encounter on Sunday (October 16) in Geelong. The clash will mark the beginning of the showpiece event as the former champions play minnows Namibia while UAE and Netherlands also go head-to-head in another crucial encounter later in the day.
While the big boys like India, hosts Australia, England, and South Africa will start their journey next week in the Super 12, the current crop of teams will compete in Round 1. With two groups on offer in Round 1, two teams each from each group will make the later stage of the tournament. Round 1 will act as qualifiers for the Super 12 stage that begins on Saturday (October 22).
T20 World Cup 2022
Who are in the Round 1?
The likes of former champions Sri Lanka and West Indies will be competing in Round 1 as they bid for a place in the Super 12. Joining them are the likes of Zimbabwe, Netherlands, UAE, and Namibia who all secured their passage through qualifiers earlier in the year.
Round 1 features eight teams, split into two groups of four, who did not automatically qualify for the Super 12s. Each team in Round 1 will play the other in their group once, before the top two from each group progress to the Super 12s, and the other teams are eliminated. All matches in this round are played either at Geelong's Kardinia Park, or Hobart's Blundstone Arena.
Round 1
Group A: Namibia, Netherlands, Sri Lanka, UAE
Group B: Ireland, Scotland, West Indies, Zimbabwe
Super 12s
Group 1: Afghanistan, Australia, England, New Zealand, A1, B2
Group 2: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, South Africa, B1, A2
Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam
The finals
The semi-finals will be played on November 9 and 10, in Sydney and Adelaide respectively. Should Australia reach the final four, they will play in in the November 9 semi-final in Sydney, regardless of whether they finish first or second in their group.
If Australia don't make the final four, the first semi-final in Sydney will be Group 1 winner v Group 2 runner-up, and Group 2 winner v Group 1 runner-up in Adelaide.
The final will be played at the MCG on Sunday November 13 All matches start at 1:30 PM IST.
At what time will the Sri Lanka vs Namibia Round 1 match in T20 World Cup match start?
The Sri Lanka vs Namibia Round 1 T20 World Cup match will begin at 9:30 AM IST.
At what time will the Netherlands vs UAE Round 1 match in T20 World Cup match start?
The Netherlands vs UAE Round 1 T20 World Cup match will begin at 1:30 PM IST.
Where can in watch the T20 World Cup in India?
The T20 World Cup 2022 will be broadcasted on Starsports Network in English, Hindi, and its regional channels. The same can be live streamed on Disney+Hotstar which will be the online platform for the showpiece event down under.
