India, Pakistan to lock horns in cricket world cup on October 15

While the itinerary for the 50-over cricket world cup set to be held later this year has not been revealed officially, it has been reported that the high-voltage India-Pakistan clash is set to take place on October 15 (Sunday) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in the western state of Gujarat.

The marquee tournament is scheduled to take place in India between October 5 and November 19 with the final scheduled at the venue in Ahmedabad.

India lead 7-0 against Pakistan in 50-over world cups

India and Pakistan have played each other seven times in the one-day international world cup since 1992 and the Men in Blue have won on each occasion. Pakistan have beaten India only once in the world cup but that has come in the T20 format.

A report from sports website Cricbuzz has said that the first match of the world cup will be played between defending champions England and the runners-up of the previous edition, New Zealand, at the Ahmedabad stadium on October 5.

Hosts India will play their first match against former champions Australia at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai before taking on their arch-rivals.

India is hosting the 50-over world cup for the fourth time after 1987, 1996 and 2011 but this time, it is the only host.

The matches of the tournament will be played in locations such as Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Delhi, Indore, Dharamsala, Guwahati, Rajkot, Raipur and Mumbai.

Pakistan, whose participation in the tournament has remained a subject of controversy so far, will reportedly play their games in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bengaluru.

A total of 10 teams will be playing in the tournament and like the 2019 format, they will play against each other with the four top teams advancing to the semi-finals.

Seven teams have already qualified apart from hosts India and they are England, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Australia, South Africa and Bangladesh.

The other two spots will be booked after the qualifying matches between teams such as the West Indies, Sri Lanka, Netherlands, Nepal, Oman, among others. 

In India, India and Pakistan have so far locked horns in two cities for the 50-over world cup and they are Bengaluru (1996) and Mohali (2011). Besides, they have played twice in Australia (1992, 2015) and England (1999, 2019) each and once in South Africa (2003).