ODI World Cup 2023: Indian fans gear up to gift Pakistan's Babar Azam 'taste of defeat' on 29th birthday

The ICC revealed on Tuesday during a highly anticipated event in Mumbai that the Men's ODI World Cup 2023 will start on October 5 with the reigning champions England playing the runners-up of the previous tournament, New Zealand, in the opening match at Ahmedabad. On October 15, which also happens to be Babar Azam's 29th birthday, the highly anticipated India vs. Pakistan match will take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The final will also be held on November 19 at the largest cricket stadium in the world, with the two semifinal matches taking place on November 15 and 16 at Kolkata's Eden Gardens and Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, respectively.

Also read: ODI World Cup 2023 schedule OUT: Ahmedabad to host India vs Pakistan on October 15; complete fixtures here

Given the storied rivalry between India and Pakistan, the October 15 clash is expected to be one of the most watched in the competition. The tournament's 13th game will be this one.

The last encounter between India and Pakistan was during the 2019 World Cup in Manchester’s Old Trafford Cricket Ground, when India scored a big win. The Player of the Match was Rohit Sharma, who scored 140 off of 113. KL Rahul had scored 57 runs off 78 deliveries, while Virat Kohli had hit 77 runs off 65. Babar Azam of Pakistan had 48 points after 57 balls. Pakistan chose to bowl after winning the toss. Sarfaraz Ahmed, the captain of Pakistan, lauded Rohit Sharma's performance. 

Also read: ODI World Cup 2023: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma reveal venue they are looking forward to play in (WATCH)

India and Pakistan have faced each other in seven World Cup encounters, and the Men in Blue have defeated their arch-rivals in all the clashes in the showpiece tournament. 

In their last encounter during the T20 World Cup, India defeated Pakistan by 4 wickets with Virat Kohli playing an explosive innings of 82 runs. And Indian fans will be hoping that King Kohli joins the party once again to hand Pakistan yet another taste of defeat when the two teams face each other in the October 15 blockbuster. Some fans took to Twitter to even state that a defeat would be their gift to Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, who will turn 29 on that day.

Also read: ODI World Cup 2023, India vs Pakistan: Date, time, venue, tickets, where to watch and more

"Birthday ke din to Birthday Boy ko pita jata hai humare yaha. Babar ko Dabar ki zarurat padegi," said one Indian fan on Twitter, while another added, "Why did the match have to be on HIS BIRTHDAY MAN??? I KNOW I'LL EITHER COME OUT DEPRESSED ASF (high chances) OR ILL CRY TEARS OF JOY."

"On October 15, history will repeat itself," added a third fan along with a video of the winning moment of the last India vs Pakistan encounter. A fourth fan noted, "Virat Kohli will finish in style once again."

Here's a look at some of the other reactions on Twitter:

The World Cup, the premier event for ODI cricket, will be held in India for the fourth time and for the first time since Team India's historic victory there in 2011. All 48 games will be played at ten different locations.

India will be playing their matches in Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Pune, Dharamsala, Lucknow, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad. 

Surprisingly enough, the famous Rajiv Gandhi Stadium that has a capacity if 55,000 and hosted 5 Tests, 7 ODIs and 3 T20Is, is the only historic international venue where India do not have a league match scheduled. 

At Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium, Rohit Sharma and company will open their campaign on October 8 against a raging Australian team. With the exception of Pakistan and Australia, the only teams to defeat India at the 2019 World Cup were New Zealand in Dharamsala and England in Lucknow. India lost their lone league game against England at Edgbaston four years ago, and the BlackCaps eliminated them with an 18-run victory in the semifinal after a rain-shortened game that lasted 24 hours. 

The announcement comes exactly 100 days before the World Cup kicks off, an extraordinary postponement that is expected to have an impact on travel arrangements for fans and the media group.

Prior to India and Australia's thrilling Test match at The Oval, the World Cup schedule was due to be announced on the sidelines of the World Test Championship final. It was claimed that Pakistan's desire to reschedule two of their matches—against Australia in Bengaluru on October 20 and Afghanistan in Chennai three days later—was the cause of the postponement. The schedule supposedly shows that the BCCI rejected their proposal.

In fact, the fixtures for the 2019 World Cup in England were declared way in advance – on April 18 – more than a year before the tournament began on May 30. The competition has experienced an unusually low level of buzz as a result. For some reason, the BCCI and ICC both maintained a non-disclosure policy regarding the schedule.