ICC ODI World Cup Schedule: Kolkata to host semi-final if India face Pakistan, claims report

The ICC on Tuesday announced the full schedule of the 2023 ODI World Cup, with defending champions England taking on 2019 runners-up New Zealand in the opening game on 5 October.

India, who are hosting the showpiece event entirely for the first time after co-hosting it in 1987, 1996 and 2011, will begin their campaign against Australia in Chennai three days later. The Men in Blue then face arch-rivals Pakistan in Ahmedabad a week later.

Read | Full schedule of Indian team in 2023 ICC ODI World Cup

The ICC had on Monday shifted the venues of the two semi-finals from Bengaluru and Chennai to Mumbai and Kolkata. Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium will host the first semi-final on 15 November with Kolkata’s Eden Gardens hosting the next one on 16 November.

According to a report on ESPNCricinfo, India will play their semi-final clash at the Wankhede Stadium should they make it to the last four. The only exception here is if they end up facing Pakistan, in which case the blockbuster Indo-Pak semi-final will take place at the Eden Gardens.

The last time India and Pakistan locked horns in a World Cup semi-final was in 2011 at Mohali’s PCA IS Bindra Stadium where Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar scored a match-winning 85 and the Men in Blue ended up qualifying for the final with a 29-run win.

Though their unbeaten run against Pakistan in T20 World Cups came to an end in the 2021 edition in the UAE, India have maintained their winning streak against Pakistan in ODI World Cups. The Men in Blue have won all seven matches against their arch-rivals since they first met in Sydney in the 1992 World Cup.

Pakistan had earlier expressed their reluctance to play their group match against India at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, which will also be hosting the opening clash as well as the final. Their request for the match to be moved to a different venue, however, was turned down both by the ICC and the BCCI.

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