The 9th edition of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup kicks off on Thursday (October 3). A total of 10 teams, including India, will be vying for the title. Here's a report on this.
The cricket world is now gearing up for another World Cup. The 9th edition of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup will begin in the UAE on Thursday (October 3). A total of 10 teams, including India, which is looking forward to its first title, and six-time champions Australia, will be battling it out for the trophy in the prestigious tournament being held in the Arab country.
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The road to greatness begins today 🏆 pic.twitter.com/0FQkPWCr4V
— ICC (@ICC)
Initially the tournament was scheduled to be held in Bangladesh. But was recently shifted to the UAE in the wake of the political unrest. Dubai and Sharjah stadiums will host the tournament, with a total of 23 matches, including the final. The tournament will run until October 20.
Bangladesh and Scotland will face each other in the opening match on Thursday, while Pakistan and Sri Lanka will face each other in the second match of the day. Australia are once again entering the tournament as favourites. Teams like India, England, South Africa, and New Zealand are also at the forefront of the race to win the coveted trophy.
Here. We. Go 🏏
Who wins the 2024 opener?
Day 1 preview 👉 https://t.co/7WCqYhJTQF pic.twitter.com/9jeICSKyQD
Most days of the tournament will feature 2 matches, with the first match of the day starting at 3.30 pm IST and the second match starting at 7.30 pm.
How is the tournament format?:
The tournament, which has 10 teams, is divided into 2 groups. Each group will have 5 teams. Each team in the group will face each other once. That means 4 matches for a team in the group stage. The top 2 teams at the end of the league phase will advance to the semi-finals. The group stage matches will end on October 15. The semi-finals are scheduled for October 17 and 18, and the final is on October 20.
India-W will play New Zealand-W on Friday
The 2020 runners-up Indian team is eyeing their maiden title this time. The team led by Harmanpreet Kaur will start their campaign against New Zealand on Friday (October 4). The Indian team will also take on a strong Australia, arch-rivals Pakistan, and Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka in the group stage.
The team has star players like Smriti Mandhana, Shefali Verma, Richa Ghosh, Jemima Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, and Shreyanka Patil. Captain Harmanpreet has led the team to the final in 2020, where they were beaten by hosts Australia in front of a packed MCG.
T20 World Cup matches will be telecast live in India on Star Sports network, while the fans can live stream the matches via Disney+ Hotstar app.
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