New Delhi [India], August 23 : The official warm-up fixtures for this year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in India have been announced, with Team India set to play defending champions England and Netherlands in their two crucial fixtures as part of the preparation for the prestigious event.
The 10 teams will each play two official 50-over contests during the week leading up to the start of the World Cup on October 5, with matches to be held in three different cities across India, as per ICC.
The matches will be held in Guwahati, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram between September 29 and October 3 and will provide teams with the perfect opportunity to acclimatise to the conditions they are expected to face during the World Cup.
On the opening day of warm-up fixtures Bangladesh will take on Sri Lanka in Guwahati, South Africa will tackle Afghanistan in Thiruvananthapuram and New Zealand will face Pakistan in Hyderabad.
Hosts India will battle it out against reigning champions England the following day in Guwahati, while five-time winners Australia will be looking for some valuable practice when they play the Netherlands in Thiruvananthapuram on the same day.
All games will commence at 2 pm IST and teams will be allowed to field all members of their 15-player squads during the matches.
The tournament will officially start on October 5 with a match between England and previous edition finalists New Zealand at Ahmedabad. India will kick-off its campaign against Australia from October 8 in Chennai and will play arch-rivals Pakistan on October 14 at Ahmedabad. The final will take place on November 19 at Ahmedabad.
World Cup warm-up fixtures:
September 29
Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
South Africa v Afghanistan, Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
New Zealand v Pakistan, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
September 30
India v England, Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
Australia v Netherlands, Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
October 2
England v Bangladesh, Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
New Zealand v South Africa, Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
October 3
Afghanistan v Sri Lanka, Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
India v Netherlands, Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
Pakistan v Australia, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.
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