T20 World Cup: Pakistan to lock horns with arch-rival India on October 23

Melbourne: Pakistan will face arch-rival India on October 23 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in a high-octane opening match of the 2022 T20 World Cup.

Australia will start the defence of their men's T20 World Cup title against trans-tasman rivals New Zealand at the SCG in a rematch of last year's final while India and Pakistan will face each other at the MCG.

They were among the standout contests in the fixture list for the 2022 T20 World Cup that was announced in Friday. The tournament begins on October 16 with Sri Lanka facing Namibia in Geelong before the Super 12 starts on October 22 in Sydney.

The eighth edition of the global tournament will begin on October 16, and played across seven venues in Adelaide, Brisbane, Geelong, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, with the final to be played on November 13 at the MCG.

The ICC event will kick off with defending champions and hosts Australia taking on Trans-tasman rivals New Zealand on October 22 while another mega clash is lined up on October 23, as Pakistan will lock horns with arch-rival India. A total of 16 international teams will clash in 45 matches as the pinnacle global event in men's T20 cricket comes to Australia for the first time.

Pakistan, placed in Group 2, are joined by India, Bangladesh and South Africa, plus the winner of Group B and runner-up in Group A from the First Round. 

The edition in Australia was planned to take place in 2020; however, the Covid-19 pandemic forced its postponement to 2022. The 2021 T20 World Cup, originally scheduled in India, was played in the United Arab Emirates and Oman between October/November, in which Australia defeated New Zealand in the final to be crowned T20 world champions for the first time.