Mark Your Calendars Womens T20 World Cup Begins on This Date

As the Men's T20 World Cup progresses, the ICC has given a major announcement. They have announced the dates of the Women's T20 World Cup, which is set to commence from 12 June. Being hosted by England, New Zealand will be entering the tournament as the defending champions.

The Men's T20 World Cup will end within two weeks but there is another ICC event lined up later in the year. And it is the Women's T20 World Cup. The ICC has announced the fixtures of the tournament, which further allows the fans to mark their calendars and wait for the tournament to commence.

New Zealand will be entering the tournament as the defending champions for the first time. It will be intense to see how the team goes against the key teams such as India, Australia, South Africa, and the hosts of the tournament, England. On 5 July, we will get to know which team has been able to win the current edition.

Group Distribution

There are 12 teams participating in the tournament, and these teams have been divided into two groups of six teams each. These groups are as follows:

• Group 1: India, Australia, Bangladesh, Netherlands, Pakistan, South Africa
• Group 2: England, West Indies, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Scotland, and Ireland.

Each group has its own set of competitive teams which are ready to dominate in the tournament. The defending champions and the hosts have been placed in the same group. On the other hand, the World Cup winners India and other dominant teams such as Australia and South Africa are present in the same group.

India's Schedule

The schedule of the Women's T20 World Cup has been recently announced by the ICC. India will be having its first ever game of the new edition against Pakistan. The team has already been dominant against Pakistan in the earlier tournaments, as they will now remain eager to do well against them for a positive start.

India's Fixtures in Women's T20 World Cup:

• India vs Pakistan: 14 June, Edgbaston
• India vs Netherlands: 17 June, Headingley
• India vs South Africa: 21 June, Old Trafford
• India vs Bangladesh: 25 June, Old Trafford
• India vs Australia: 28 June, Lord's

India's clash against Pakistan has been scheduled to take place on 14 June, two days after the tournament begins. And India will also be playing the last group stage game against Australia, which will finalise whether they have reached the semi-final stages of the tournament or not. With six teams in a group, India will have to secure at least four wins if they want to reach the next stage.

With India having clashes against Bangladesh, Pakistan, Netherlands, Australia, and South Africa, the team will be eager to maintain a strong line-up. Finishing in the top two of their group will be able to help India to reach the next stage and eventually target their first ever T20 World Cup title in Women's cricket.

What Happened in the Last Edition?

The previous edition of the T20 World Cup was hosted by the UAE. Each and every game came out to be a thriller for the fans to watch, and the tournament even had a final which excluded the two common finalists. In the group stages, Australia and New Zealand came as the table toppers for Group 1, and West Indies and South Africa topped for Group 2.

Pic Source: ESPNcricinfo

South Africa dominated in the semi-final stages against Australia, defeating them by 8 wickets. On the other hand, New Zealand and West Indies had a close encounter, with the Kiwis winning the game by 8 runs. Later in the finals, New Zealand was able to come out on top against South Africa by 32 runs, winning the title for the first time.

India in Women's T20 World Cup

The India Women's team has been a part of the Women's T20 World Cup since the first edition which took place back in 2009. Despite playing all eight editions of the tournament, they have not been able to win the championship even once, as the hunt for a T20 title continues for the Indian team.

Pic Source: ESPNcricinfo

The closest India got to the title was during the Women's World Cup 2020. This edition was being hosted by Australia, and India also played the finals against them. But the Indian team faced troubles while chasing the target, suffering a massive 85-run defeat in the final clash.