The Cricket World Cup will begin on Oct 5 with England facing New Zealand in Ahmedabad and the same venue hosting the final on Nov 19, organisers said, with the schedule for the showpiece in India also confirming Pakistan's participation.
The fixtures were revealed by the International Cricket Council during an event in Mumbai, less than four months before the start of the 50-overs tournament, with the delay partly due to sour political relations between India and Pakistan.
India's refusal to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup in August-September triggered the latest dispute between the neighbours. The stalemate was finally resolved when Pakistan agreed to split matches with Sri Lanka, where India played its Asia Cup matches.
South Asia's arch-rivals will meet in the tournament's most anticipated match on Oct. 15 in Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium. India begin their campaign on Oct. 8 against five-times champions Australia in Chennai. England's opener against New Zealand is a rematch of the 2019 final in which England prevailed via a now-scrapped boundary count rule.
Among other key fixtures, 1992 champions Pakistan meet Australia in Bengaluru on Oct. 20, while England take on South Africa the following day in Mumbai. Australia captain Pat Cummins said he was looking forward to the atmosphere at the match with India in Chennai.
The first semi-final will take place on Nov. 15 in Mumbai with Kolkata hosting the second the following day. Both games, as well as the final, will be day-night fixtures.
There will be a total of 10 venues for the 10-team tournament - Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Dharamsala, Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata.
Apart from hosts India, the teams that have qualified include Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa.
