Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the world. There are only 10 countries that play test cricket. There are several other associate countries like Hong Kong, Netherlands, Scotland, Ireland, Afghanistan and Oman who have also participated in the T20 World Cup Qualifiers to get into the round of top 10. Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are the two test playing nations that took part in the qualifiers because of their low rankings. It is one of most watched tournament because it follows a compact format. This is the fifth edition of the T20 World Cup. The first version was won by India while Pakistan went on to win the second edition of the T20 World Cup. The next two editions were won by England and West Indies respectively.
Talking about the current edition of the T20 World cup it is being hosted in India from 8th march till 3rd April. Before the start of the world cup qualifiers took place between the associates. The top two teams from both groups are going to qualify for the super 10. From these 10 teams top four teams will be selected to play the semi-finals that will be held on 30th and 31st March. The winners of these semi-finals will face each other in the final and definitely the winner of the final will be named the champion of the 5th edition of T20 World Cup.
The ten teams are divided into the group of two. Each group contains five teams. Both the teams that topped their group in the qualifiers were added to each one of the group. The firs group that is known as Group A contains South Africa, Sri Lanka, England, West Indies and Afghanistan. Afghanistan is the team that topped its Group B in the qualifiers thus it was included in the super 10 in the opposite group. While the second group that is known as Group B has Pakistan, India, New Zealand, Australia and Bangladesh. Bangladesh is the team that topped Group A in the qualifiers thus it was added to the opposite group. The actual event is going to start on 15th March with an opening match between India and New Zealand. The most popular match of this tournament is between Pakistan vs. India that is going to be held on 19th March at Kolkata in India. India and Pakistan are old rivals and when they meet on the field of cricket then it is the topic that is discussed the most. This match is not only discussed by Indians and Pakistani’s but it is a topic that is discussed all across the world because of the rivalry between the both countries. Initially this match was to be held in Dharamshalla, another venue reserved for T20 World Cup matches but due to political uncertainty and threats to the visitors the match was moved to Kolkata. Since the Indians are playing on their home ground they are declared as the favourites to win the match between India and Pakistan. But we all are aware of the fact that Pakistan is the most unpredictable team in the world. When it is their day no one can stop them from winning. As Pakistan has performed poorly in Asia Cup thus the fans are not expecting much from Pakistan but we cannot ignore the fact that whenever they are declared as the “underdogs” they have performed extremely well and they have astonished the world with their exceptional performance. India is also been among the favourites to win the cup as they are playing on their home ground. In addition to this it is a well-accepted fact that India has the best batting line up among all the teams thus India has a high percentage of winning the cup as India has flat wickets.
Along with male T20 World cup ICC has organised women T20 World Cup. The teams that are fighting to win the title are as follows
- India
- Pakistan
- Australia
- England
- Bangladesh
- Ireland
- Sri Lanka
- New Zealand
- West Indies
- South Africa
This is the fifth edition of women T20 World Cup live. The previous four versions have been won by different teams. The first edition was won by West Indies while the rest three editions were claimed by Australia. There was a qualifier held for female T20 World Cup as well. The top eight teams from the last event directly qualified for the event while the last two spots which were occupied by Bangladesh and Ireland who came through the qualifiers. This event is also being held in India on the same grounds on which the male T20 World Cup is being held. Women teams are also divided into two groups that are known as Group A and Group B. The first group contains five teams that are Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa and Sri Lanka. While the second group that is known as Group contains the other five teams that are India, Pakistan, England, West Indies and Bangladesh. The matches have also started from 15th March. The opening match of the women tournament was held between India and Bangladesh.
The most interesting match of the tournament is going to be held on 19th march between Pakistan women and the Indian women at Feroz Shah Kotla New Delhi. On the same day the same male teams are going to meet each other at Eden Garden in Kolkata. These both matches have made this world cup pretty interesting.
The matches of women teams are held in the afternoon. The semi-finals are also going to be held on the dates on which semi-finals for males are going to be held that is the 30th and the 31st March. The top two teams from each group are going to qualify for the semi-final while the winners of semi-finals are going to play the final. The winner of the final is going to be the winner of the World Cup.
