Only three days remain for the 10th edition of the T20 World Cup to start and the excitement is sky-high, as expected. India head into the tournament as the defending champions after their title triumph
in the Caribbean and the United States in 2024.
India will begin as strong favourites on home soil, but the unpredictable nature of T20s promises plenty of excitement. The T20 World Cup gets underway on Saturday, February 7 at 11 am IST, with Pakistan taking on the Netherlands in Colombo.
It is one of three games on the opening day, alongside West Indies vs Scotland at 3 pm IST and India vs USA at 7 pm IST. The opening group stage features 20 teams split into four groups of five and runs until February 20, with three games scheduled daily at the same time slots, except on the final day, which will have a single match at 7 pm IST.
Let us take a look at the format of the T20 World Cup
The T20 World Cup will follow the same format as the 2024 edition, the largest in the tournament’s history, with 20 teams. All sides will compete in an initial group stage, where each team plays four games, with the top two from every group advancing to the Super 8s.
The Super 8s will be held across India and Sri Lanka and will feature two groups of four teams, with eight sides seeded to assist with scheduling and logistical planning.
Those eight teams are Australia, India, South Africa and West Indies in Group 1 and England, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Group 2. If they advance, they will be placed into these groups based on their seeding, not their finishing positions in the initial group stage.
In the Super 8s, the top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals, with group winners taking on the runners-up from the opposite group. Across both stages of the tournament, teams earn two points for a victory, one for a no result and none for a defeat.
