World Cup Match Between India And Pakistan Is Scheduled For Ahmedabad

June 28, 2023 / By Zunair Tahir / Sport News

The International Cricket Council said on Tuesday that India will host Pakistan’s cricket team for the first time in seven years at the 50-over World Cup in October, with the first semi-final taking place in Mumbai on November 15 and the second in Kolkata the following day.

On October 5, the world’s largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad, which will also host the championship match, will open the tournament with a match between the defending champions England and New Zealand.

The most anticipated match between rivals India and Pakistan will take place on October 15 in the same potentially tense location, after the hosts’ campaign opener against Australia a week earlier.

Due to Pakistan’s prior rejection to visit India, the schedule wasn’t released for several weeks. However, a solution was made when Pakistan agreed to host a hybrid-style Asia Cup in September.

According to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), their side would need permission from Islamabad to compete.

Sami Ul Hasan, the director of communications at PCB, said, “We are coordinating with our government for direction.

This stance is in line with what we informed the ICC when they shared the draught timetable with us and asked for our input a few weeks ago, he said.
Pakistan, which has a majority of Muslims, is concerned about Ahmedabad, the city where India’s Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi was born. Pakistan has previously voiced reluctance to play in the 132,000-seat stadium.

At least 1,000 people, predominantly Muslims, died in sectarian violence in Ahmedabad in 2002, which was the epicentre of fatal religious rioting and shocked the whole globe.

Due to security concerns, the match during Pakistan’s previous T20 World Cup cricket tour of India was moved from Dharamsala to Kolkata.

The top four teams from the 10-team round-robin round will advance to the semi-finals, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said in a statement 100 days before the competition starts. The 48-match tournament will be contested at 10 locations over 46 days.

The World Cup Super League has already produced eight clubs that have qualified. At the conclusion of the current qualifying round in Zimbabwe, the remaining two seats will be filled.

Playing at the World Cup at home would be a fantastic experience, the Indian captain Rohit Sharma said. “India won here 12 years ago, and I know supporters across the country are eagerly awaiting our arrival on the pitch this time.”

Due to long-standing political difficulties, India and Pakistan only play cricket against one other in international events, generally at neutral grounds, most notably last year during the T20 World Cup in Australia.

As a result, each game between the South Asian neighbors ranks among the most popular athletic events on the world stage, and any victory is exploited to bolster nationalism at home.

273 million people watched the India vs. Pakistan 50-over World Cup match in 2019.

Since 2012, India and Pakistan have not played one another in a bilateral series on either nation’s territory.

Additionally, they haven’t faced off in a Test match since 2007, instead just competing in the shorter games.

Deep cultural and linguistic ties exist between India and Pakistan, but their past is marred by murder and tragedy.

Three wars have been fought between the two nuclear-armed countries since the subcontinent was divided in 1947.

India last took home the ODI World Cup trophy in 2011. Since then, in 2015 and 2019, respectively, Australia and England have won the championship in their own backyards.

On October 29 in Lucknow, India will play England, while on November 4 in Ahmedabad, the English will play Australia.

The semifinal and championship games will be place on reserve days, and all three will be day-night affairs.

World Cup Match Between India And Pakistan Is Scheduled For Ahmedabad

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