Team India is placed in Group A of T20 World Cup 2024 alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, and co-hosts USA.
The much-awaited T20 World Cup 2024 is set to begin on June 2 in the West Indies and the USA. The first match of the tournament will be played between co-hosts USA and their neighbours Canada at Dallas. The final of the tournament will be played on June 29 at Bridgetown, Barbados.
With a total of 20 teams participating in the tournament, this is expected to be an enthralling contest between bat and ball in the Caribbean. As expected, the focus will be on the most followed cricketing country in the world, Team India. The Men in Blue will come with plenty of expectations once again and will be aiming to end their drought of an ICC trophy, which is going on since 2013.
All the 20 teams have been divided into four groups of five teams each. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Eight stage in which these teams are divided into two groups of four teams each named Group 1 and Group 2.
India are in Group A with arch-rivals Pakistan, Ireland, Canada and USA. While Pakistan pose the biggest threat, Ireland are also strong contenders to cause an upset or two. USA, meanwhile, come off a series win against Bangladesh.
Team India will be led by Rohit Sharma while Hardik Pandya has been appointed his deputy. India has been placed in Group A with Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, and co-hosts USA. It’s not the most threatening group but T20 is a format where no team can be taken lightly.
India will begin its T20 World Cup 2024 campaign against Ireland on June 5 at New York. It will be Ireland’s first match as well. The first match of a big tournament is always crucial and India will look to start the tournament on a winning note. Ireland is set to be led by the experienced opening batter Paul Stirling. They have some seasoned players in their line-up like Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, and Andy Balbirnie and could give a tough time to the Indian side. Ireland have a good bowling line-up as well with players like Mark Adair and Craig Young leading the charge.
The most anticipated clash of the tournament will be between India and Pakistan. Both the star-studded teams will face each other on June 9 at New York. All the tickets for this match had been booked way before. Given the high intesity of the clash, it is expected to be a cracker of a contest. The last match between these two teams was a once-in-a-generation thriller at Melbourne. Pakistan will be led by Babar Azam. They have some world-class players in their line-up like Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, and Mohammad Amir. The battle between Pakistan’s fast bowlers and India’s top order will be an exciting one. This match is likely to decide the topper of Group A.
India will play the co-hosts of the tournament USA on June 12 at New York. It will be a huge moment for the USA players to play a big team like India at home. The home side will look to give it their all and put up their best performance against a star-studded Indian side. USA will know they have nothing to lose and can play with freedom. They will be led by Monank Patel, who is a top order batter. Former New Zealand allrounder Corey Anderson is also part of USA’s squad and he can pose a threat to the visitors. Other players in the squad like Harmeet Singh and Ali Khan have been part of the IPL before and have enough experience of T20 cricket.
India’s last group match will be against Canada on June 15 at New York. Like USA, Canada is also not a regular in ICC tournamentss and it will be a huge opportunity for them to make a mark against a world-class team. This is Canada’s first appearance in a T20 World Cup. They will be led by Saad Bin Zafar. Jeremy Gordon and Junaid Siddiqui are some of the most experienced names in their squad. Although they will face a tough competition from India, they will have nothing to lose and will look to give their best in such a big stage.
India will qualify for the Super Eight stage if they finish among top two teams in Group A. At the moment, the match against Pakistan seems to be the most difficult fixture for Men in Blue in the group stage but no team can be taken lightly in a T20 World Cup.
If India qualifies for Super Eight, they will face one team each from Group B, Group C, and Group D depending upon its standing in the group. If India qualifies as the first-placed team, they will have their Super Eight fixtures on June 20, June 22, and June 24 at Barbados, Antigua, and St. Lucia respectively. In this scenario, India can possibly face England or Australia on June 24, which will be a highly anticipated encounter if it happens.
If India qualifies as the second-placed team, they will have their Super Eight fixtures on June 19, June 22, and June 23. The first match will be played at Antigua while the final two Super Eight fixtures will be played back-to-back at Barbados. In this scenario, India can possibly face South Africa on June 19 at Antigua. The Men in Blue can possibly face England or Australia on June 23 at Barbados under this scenario.
The top two teams from Group 1 and Group 2 of the Super Eight will qualify for the semi-finals. The winners of both the semi-finals will qualify for the final. The first semi-final will take place at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago. According to the IST, this match will be played on June 27 and will start at 6 AM. Meanwhile, the second semi-final will be played at the Guyana National Stadium, Georgetown, Guyana. According to the IST, this match will be played on June 27 and will begin at 8 PM. India will play its semi-final fixture in Guyana if they qualify for that stage.
The first semi-final in Trinidad and Tobago will have a reserve day but there is no reserve day for the second semi-final in Guyana. But the match can be extended by 4 hours in the second semi-final. An additional time of 250 minutes has been allotted by ICC and CWI for this game to have a result.
The final of the T20 World Cup 2024 will be played on June 29 at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados and it will have a reserve day. The match will begin at 7:30 PM IST.
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