T20 World Cup 2021: All you need to know about the tournament
After a long wait of over four years, the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 is finally being played in United Arab Emirates & Oman. The 7th edition of the T20 World Cup was due to take place in Australia in 2020, but the International Cricket Council (ICC) had to postpone the event because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed venue for the 2021 tournament was India, but because of the severity of the pandemic in India, the location was changed to UAE & Oman.
The previous six editions of the T20 World Cup have been very successful. The first T20 World Cup was played back in 2007 in South Africa. After that, there had been five more T20 World Cups played all around the globe. The most successful cricket team in the T20 World Cup is West Indies, with two titles to their name. India, Pakistan, England & Sri Lanka have also won the T20 World Cup titles in 2007, 2009, 2010 & 2014, respectively.
T20 cricket is the shortest format of international cricket, which helps in engaging more audiences than One Day Internationals (ODIs) and Test Cricket formats. On top of that, T20 cricket also brings many associate members of ICC into the limelight and gives them a taste of international cricket, which hardly happens in Test & ODI cricket formats. Cricketing nations like Ireland, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, Netherlands, Namibia & Oman are all participating in the qualifying round of the 2021 T20 World Cup, giving them a chance to play at the highest level of international cricket.
The T20 World Cup 2021 will have two different rounds, the qualifying round and the Super 12. The matches will take place in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, and Muscat. The tournament will have 12 qualifying round games, 30 group stage games, 2 Semi-Final games, and the final will be played on the 14th of November 2021 in Dubai.
The Qualifying Round
The top two teams from Group A and Group B will qualify for the Super 12 round.
The Super 12 Round
The top two teams from Group 1 & Group 2 will qualify for the knockout stage (semi-finals).
Knockout Stage (Semi-Finals):
Team A1 (Top team of Group 1) vs Team B2 (2nd placed team of Group 2)
10 November 2021
Team A2 (2nd placed team of Group 1) vs Team B1 (Top team of Group 2)
11 November 202
The grand final of the tournament will be played on the 14th of November in Dubai International Cricket Stadium, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Matches to watch out for:
The 2021 edition of T-20 World Cup is filled with some exciting contests, the following contests are ones that the cricket fans would be most excited about:
India vs Pakistan – This contest taking place on the 24th of October in Dubai is perhaps the most awaited contest in the World Cup. Nothing comes closer to the excitement & thrill of an India versus Pakistan game. Although Pakistan hasn’t been able to win against their arch-rivals in the world cup, they will be itching to change this embarrassing history. On the other hand, India will be going into this contest as the favorite to win the World Cup 2021. Given the history attached and the stakes being high to qualify for the knockout stages, this match is expected to be a mouthwatering & exhilarating contest.
England vs West Indies – This contest brings to mind the final of the T-20 World Cup back in 2016. Carlos Brathwaite of West Indies smoked four consecutive sixes to beat England in the final & win the T-20 World Cup title. The English team has grown by leaps & bounds and is entering the tournament arguably as one of the favorites. The Englishmen will be looking for revenge which will make this contest interesting to watch.
India vs New Zealand – The last time these two teams met in a T-20 World Cup back in 2016, New Zealand bowled India out for 79 runs & handed them a crushing defeat. It’d be interesting to see how India would tackle the Kiwis spin duo this time around.
Australia vs England – The Ashes rivals would be competing against each other in the T-20 format, which calls out for a thrilling contest.
Pakistan vs New Zealand – The Kiwis canceled their tour of Pakistan recently due to security concerns which caused a huge tussle between the Pakistan & New Zealand cricket boards. The PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja advised the Pakistan cricket team to answer the blackcaps on the cricket field. It will be very interesting to see how the two teams would put the politics aside and compete on the ground.
The T-20 World Cup 2021 promises to be worth watching. Sky247 will be bringing the T-20 World Cup 2021 live to our viewers so that they can enjoy all the thrill & excitement. Sky247.net, a brand making its name in the sports world, is now amongst one of the biggest sports brands in India. Sky247 has had promising partnerships with some global cricket events, such as Abu Dhabi T-10 powered by Sky247.net, Sky247.net Abu Dhabi ODI series, Emirates D-20, Pakistan vs South Africa T20Is and Pakistan Super League sixth edition in 2021.
Written by Waqas Mustafa (Sky247 Team)