In the highly anticipated ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, India will be playing the arch-rivals Pakistan in their first fixture of the competition, according to the SportsMint sources. The T20 World Cup that will be played in Australia is likely to have 45 matches with the final being played on November 13 in Melbourne.
The game between India and Pakistan will be played on October 23 in Melbourne. The intriguing match can shatter the highest viewership record that was created by the India-Pakistan match in the previous edition of the T20 World Cup last year.
For the Indian fans, it was a disappointing night as Pakistan won the game by 10 wickets. It was also for the first time that Pakistan had beaten India in any ICC World Cup event. The buzz that the neighbouring countries will be facing each other for the second time in consecutive years in an ICC event will set the tone for the tournament. The Indian team led by Rohit Sharma will aim to go 13-1 up against Pakistan in the ICC World Cups.
Apart from Pakistan, the Indian side will also reportedly take on South Africa and Bangladesh on October 30 and November 2 respectively in the Group Stage. According to sources, the two semi-finals will be played on November 9 and 10 respectively.
India’s fixture will reportedly start at 1:40 PM IST. In the India tour of Australia 2020/21, the games of the shortest format commenced at 1:40 PM IST. Considering the 5 hours and 30 minutes time difference between India and Australia, the time range of 1:40 PM IST to 2 PM IST will be viable for the Indian subcontinent.
If the Australian government permits spectators at full capacity in the stadiums, it will be a major boost for the tournament. To back this, the Australian government has permitted the fans to enjoy the Australia Open 2022 from the stands at 50% occupancy. Vaccinated people are only allowed in the stadium to enjoy the tennis competition.
With the permission of 100% capacity in the stadiums later this year, Cricket Australia could generate humongous revenue from the gate receipts. The Indian matches would be highly profitable considering the Indian population in the country. The venue for the India-Pakistan match, Melbourne Cricket Ground has 1,00,024 seats, the massive stadium is likely to be sold out for the historic fixture.Â
The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 was a forgetful experience for team India as the Men in Blue crashed out from the Super 12 stage itself. In the upcoming edition, India reportedly has Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Africa and two more teams in their group. Leaving aside third-ranked Pakistan, South Africa and Bangladesh have acquired the fifth and ninth spot respectively in the ICC T20I rankings. India has occupied the number two spot, being the highest-ranked team in the group at the moment, the Men in Blue has a strong chance to make it to the knockout stage of the tournament. The captain-coach duo of Rohit and Rahul Dravid will aim to conclude India’s rough patch in ICC events and clinch the first international trophy in nine years.
