ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024 Schedule: India to play New Zealand first, followed by Pakistan
As per the newly released ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024 schedule, India will start their campaign against New Zealand on 4th October, followed by Pakistan on 6th October.
The Indian Women's Cricket Team will take on arch-rivals Pakistan on October 6 as per the new and updated Women's T20 World Cup fixture released by ICC on Monday. The ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024, which is all set to begin on October 3, was scheduled to be held in Bangladesh but was moved due to security reasons. Post that, ICC decided to shift the tournament to UAE with BCB still being the hosts of the marquee tournament.
The groups are still the same. Defending champion Australia are in Group A alongside India, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Group B consists of South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh and Scotland. Each side will play four group matches, with the top two teams from each group progressing to the semi-finals.
The two semis will be played on October 17 and 18 and the final in Dubai on October 20. There is also a reserve day for both the semi-finals and the final.
If India advances from the group stage, they will feature in the first semi-final. 10 warm-up matches will be played from September 28 to October 1.
Team India will play their tournament opener against New Zealand on 4th October in Dubai followed by the much-awaited match against arch-rival Pakistan on 6th October at the same venue.
The Indian Women's team will then play against the defending champions Australia on 13th October in Sharjah.
Young guns at the top, perfect lengths, experience in the middle: Pune Warriors set a T20 blueprint at Women's Maharashtra Premier League
Without many superstars in the team, Pune Warriors won 7 out of 7 games to win the Women's Maharashtra Premier League 2025. Gaanesh Tyagi, the analyst of the team, shared the blueprint of the win with Sportz Point.
Seven out of seven wins. Invincible Pune Warriors defeated all the odds to come out victorious in the Women's Maharashtra Premier League 2025.
While other franchises had big names, such as Smriti Mandhana, Tejal Hasabnis, and Kiran Navgire, among many other stars of the women's game, Pune Warriors had a clear plan and strategy.
With only prominent names in Anuja Patil and Shweta Mane, the Pune Warriors Women's team depended on clear thoughts, executions and camaraderie to win the league. Team analyst Gaanesh Tyagi shared all the secrets in an exclusive interview with Sportz Point.
Gaanesh is a high performance analyst from Mumbai, who has worked for more than 10 T20 franchise teams. He was also the analyst of the Mumbai Cricket team, which won their first ever Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament in 2023.
The team combination: All-rounders, effectiveness and youth
Even before stepping onto the field to win the tournament, teams must first succeed in a different battle during the draft or auction. This is where many teams secure half of their victory. Women’s cricket has different demands than men’s cricket, and in T20 cricket, the need for strong all-rounders reaches its peak.
With captain Anuja Patil being the perfect all-rounder for the team, the coaching staff opted for additional all-rounders to effectively manage the middle overs.
"The entire coaching staff and captain Anuja Patil were involved in building the team. We aimed to have more all-rounders while also featuring skilled individuals for every situation in the game,” Gaanesh explained to Sportz Point.
During their initial meeting with the players, captain Anuja and the coaching staff discussed a comprehensive plan for winning the tournament. This provided every player with a clear roadmap and clarity on how they needed to prepare for each aspect of the game.
"In that first meeting, we talked about how we should be winning the tournament. Each player knew their role within the team, which helped provide a clear roadmap for everyone,” Gaanesh added.
This phrase has become quite popular in world cricket. Even in the Indian Premier League, the team with the superior bowling combination often performs better. Analysts play a crucial role here by offering insights on optimal lengths, lines, speeds, and determining who should bowl at various stages of the game.
For Pune Warriors, prior to each match, analysts would provide each bowler with a specific plan to tackle all potential batters they might face.
"In women’s cricket, understanding lengths is crucial. Knowing what length to bowl against which batter is key. We had strategies for each opponent.
"So, it was all about execution on the field, which our bowlers accomplished successfully. That’s why we had two bowlers, Chinmayee Bhorpale (the Purple Cap winner) and Anuja Patil, in the top five highest wicket-takers list," Gaanesh stated.
When you have a young and relatively inexperienced team, it’s essential to have someone who can guide each player. Just as the Rajasthan Royals had Shane Warne, Pune Warriors had Anuja Patil.
Anuja, who has played 50 T20Is for the Indian national team, possesses the knowledge necessary to win cricket matches. With her leadership, every young player learned how to approach each match to achieve victory.
"We affectionately called her the 'Boss Lady.'
The entire team respected and followed her decisions. In tournaments like this, a clear direction is crucial, and Anuja provided the guidance we needed with her experience."
Balancing the mix of youth and experience in team building can be challenging. Some players on the squad were born after Anuja and Shweta Mane began their cricket careers.
There was a noticeable gap in age and experience, so the team needed to blend these elements effectively to perform at their best.
Both Anuja and Mane acted as both friends and firm mentors, fostering a harmonious environment that brought out the best in young players like 17-year-old Akshaya Jadhav, 16-year-old Suhani Kahandal, and U-23 player Khushi Mulla, who ended up being the fourth-highest run-scorer of the tournament.
"Youth at the top and experince in the middle"
Although the powerplay and death overs seem to be entertaining, it is the middle overs that decide the winner in a T20 game. Be it with the bat or ball, the 7-15 overs of a T20I game are the most crucial overs.
That is why Pune Warriors had the plan of having the most experienced players playing the middle order, be it with the bat or ball.
That even allowed youngsters like Khushi Mulla, Suhani Kahandal and Akshaya Jadhav to have the freedom to enjoy the game.
"The middle overs control the outcome of the game. We even saw Smriti Mandhana batting in the middle order for Ratnagiri Jets. So, from the start of the tournament, we wanted to have experince in the middle overs and youth at the top," Gaanesh explained.
"Discipline, calmness and execution"
Winning all seven of your games is a significant challenge, and in T20 cricket, it’s nearly impossible to maintain that momentum throughout.
However, according to Gaanesh, if the team maintains discipline, calmness, and focuses on execution, the chances of not losing become greater.
He recounted the last over of the final match against Solapur Smashers: “We needed to defend 9 from 6 and it became 4 from 4. But we kept calm under pressure and executed well to win the title.”
Whenever a team without many superstars win any tournament, there comes a question of whether they will be able to continue that in the next season. We have seen it with the Rajasthan Royals in the past as well.
Since winning the inaugural season, they have not been able to win any trophies. What's the secret sauce to keep winning?
"Process," Gaanesh said.
He feels all the youngsters who got a bit of fame and name from this season need to aim for bigger goals and achievements. This is how they will be able to keep them ready for next season. Most importantly, they need to focus on the process which has given them results.
Indian star opener Smriti Mandhana has regained the number one spot in the women's ICC ODI rankings for the first time since November 2019, according to the latest update released by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old Mandhana has moved up one place to return to the top spot while South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt has slipped to joint second place with new England skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt after scoring 27 and 28 in the first two ODIs against the West Indies.
Mandhana now sits comfortably with 727 rating points after Wolvaardt held the top spot for over six months. The Indian star batsman has been in great form lately and scored the 11th century of her career, amassing 264 runs across five outings with a 52.80 averae and a strike rate of 90.41 during India's recent tri-series final against Sri Lanka and South Africa in Colombo.
Mandhana named ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year
The India vice-captain had a stellar run in ODIs in 2024, following which she was named as the ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year, scoring more runs than she ever has before in a calendar year, racking up 747 runs in 13 innings. Mandhana is one of only four women to record at least 10 centuries, with her 4473 runs standing 10th on the all-time charts.
Mandhana’s rating points currently eight ahead of newly-appointed England skipper Natalie Sciver-Brunt at 719 points. Wolvaardt dropped to equal second alongside Sciver-Brunt, while fellow South African’s Tazmin Brits (up five spots to 27th) and Sune Luus (up seven places to 42nd) are among the big movers this week on the list for ODI batters.
Jemimah Rodrigues and captain Harmanpreet Kaur, being the only other Indian batters in the top 30, placed at 15th and 16th, respectively.
ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 Full Schedule announced; India to face Pakistan on October 5
The ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 schedule was revealed on Monday, with hosts India and Sri Lanka slated to play the opener at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on September 30.
The schedule of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 has been released. The Women's World Cup will begin on September 30 with hosts India playing their first match against Sri Lanka at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
The eight-team tournament will be a round-robin format with the top four teams advancing to the semi-finals. The much-awaited final will be played on November 2. Australia will begin their campaign against New Zealand on October 1 at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore.
India vs Pakistan Match details
Due to tension between India and Pakistan, Pakistan will play all its matches in Colombo, Sri Lanka under the hybrid hosting model agreed upon by BCCI and PCB. In such a situation, the teams playing with Pakistan including India will go to Colombo, which is a neutral venue.
The most awaited match of the group stage between India and Pakistan will be played on 5th October in Colombo.
Women's Cricket World Cup 2025: Venues
India : Bengaluru, Guwahati, Indore, Visakhapatnam
Sri Lanka : Colombo
The tournament will be held at five major venues in the two countries. Bengaluru and Colombo have been shortlisted as potential hosts for the final.
South Africa have broken a 27-year drought by claiming an emphatic five-wicket victory over Australia in the ICC World Test Championship Final at Lord's. Here are the past winners of the last 10 ICC tournaments.
South Africa have broken a 27-year drought by claiming an emphatic five-wicket victory over Australia in the ICC World Test Championship Final at Lord's. Here are the past winners of the last 10 ICC tournaments.
The Oval, London hosted one of the biggest cricket rivalries on 18 June 2017. The match was the 2017 Champions Trophy final between India and Pakistan. Pakistan sent the Indian squad back to the pavilion in less than 31 overs and won the final by 180 runs. Fakhar Zaman won the man of the match award.
The night of 14th July 2019 has to be one of the most interesting and different in cricket history. Both England and New Zealand scored the same during their innings and also in the super-over. The result of the match was decided in an interesting method; the team with the superior number of boundaries was the winner. Hence, England won the tournament.
Winning the World Test Championship has to be New Zealand's biggest victory in cricket history. Southampton hosted the final from 18 June to 23rd June 2021. Kane Williamson led the team to victory and the final test match by 8 wickets. With bowling figures of 5/31, 21 & 2/30, Kyle Jamieson was the Man of the match in the final.
Australia once again proved its dominance and worth on the night of the 2021 T20 World Cup final. The entire Australian team contributed their best and clinched the trophy last night to beat New Zealand by 8 wickets. David Warner chose the best platform to prove himself after a humiliating IPL season. Mitchell Marsh scored an unbelievable knock of 77* in 50 balls and won the Man of the Match award.
5. T20 World Cup - England (2022)
England won their third ICC trophy as they clinched the T20 World Cup 2022 title after beating Pakistan in the final by five wickets. Sam Curran was adjudged the player of the tournament for his 13 wickets in the tournament. Curran was also the player of the final as his 3/22 helped England restrict Pakistan to 137 in the first inning. This was England's second T20 World Cup title.
6. World Test Championship - Australia (2023)
India again failed to win any ICC trophy since 2013 as Pat Cummins-led Australia defeated India by 209 runs. Australia scored a massive 469 in the first inning as Steve Smith and Travis Head scored tons for the Aussies. The first-inning score proved to be too much for India as they scored only 296 in the reply and Australia put more pressure with 270 in the second inning.
Despite starts for Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, India failed to get close to the score and eventually suffered the defeat.
With this win, Josh Hazlewood, David Warner, Pat Cummins, Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc became the only players to win all ICC Trophies.
7. ICC World Cup - Australia (2023)
Two-time ODI World Cup winners.
Pat Cummins and Australia's dream run continued as they won the ICC Men's World Cup for a record sixth time in 2023 defeating India, again. In one of the most visited and watched World Cup finals in Ahmedabad, Australia defeated India by six wickets.
Despite a great start with the bat, India lost captain Rohit Sharma and post that kept on losing wickets. They could only score 240 in the first inning and though Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami tried their level best, Travis Head's excellent ton (137) took Australia over the line. Head was player of the match in back-to-back ICC Finals.
India finally broke their jinx of ICC finals after beating South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2024 final in Barbados. They clinched their second T20 World Cup title as Rohit Sharma's men defeated the Proteas team by seven runs in the final.
Virat Kohli (76) and Axar Patel (47) played some solid knocks to take India to the highest total (176) in a T20 World Cup final. Though South Africa were cruising for an easy win, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Arhsdeep Singh managed to pull things back for India with the ball. Virat Kohli was adjudged the player of the final and Jasprit Bumrah was named the Player of the tournament for his 15 wickets in the tournament.
9. Champions Trophy - India (2025)
India made it back-to-back global cricket tournaments with a four-wicket victory over New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy final in Dubai.
Chasing 252 against the Blackcaps, India reached home in 49 overs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The spinners put up a splendid show, helping India restrict the Blakcaps for 251 for 7 after the side latter team won the toss and opted to bat first.
Kuldeep Yadav (2 for 40) and Varun Chakravarthy (2 for 45) picked two wickets apiece while Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami scalped one wicket each. Daryl Mitchell (63) and Michael Bracewell (53) played crucial knocks for the Blackcaps.
In the chase, India got off to a flying start, thanks to Rohit Sharma's dominating 76. Shreyas Iyer (48) and KL Rahul (34 not out) also played crucial knocks as India edged past New Zealand to win the Champions Trophy for the third time.
This was India’s second consecutive ICC title win - it had won the T20 World Cup crown in June last year. India has now won two ODI World Cups, two T20 World Cups and three Champions Trophy titles.
10. World Test Championship- South Africa (2025)
South Africa have broken a 27-year drought by claiming an emphatic five-wicket victory over Australia in the ICC World Test Championship Final at Lord's. The Proteas made reasonably light work of the 69 runs they needed to win the mace on the fourth morning in London, with Kyle Verreynne hitting the winning shot to deliver South Africa their first men's senior ICC trophy since 1998.
In the match, South Africa opted to bowl first and put on a clinical show to bundle out Australia for just 212 in the first innings, thanks to Kagiso Rabada’s brilliant 5 for 51 spell. In reply, Australia packed up the entire South African first innings for just 138, thanks to skipper Pat Cummins’s spell of 6 for 28.
South Africa continued to fight back with the ball, reducing Australia to 73 for 7 at one point in the second innings. However, Mitchell Starc (58* not out) and Alex Carey (43) led a lower-order resistance, taking the final score to 207 and setting South Africa a challenging target of 282 to win the match.
In reply, South Africa lost two quick wickets. But then Aiden Markram (136 not out) and skipper Temba Bavuma (66 not out) played historic innings and stitched together a match-winning partnership to help the Proteas record the joint second-highest successful fourth-innings chase at Lord’s. They went on to win the match and lift the ICC WTC 2025 mace.
Note: The article was first written by Shreya Ghosh and then got updated by Koushik Biswas.
Indian men's cricket team with seven ICC trophies are the second most successful team in men's cricket history. Australia with ten trophies lead the list of teams with the most ICC trophies.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) conducts different cricket events and tournaments throughout the year. ICC tournaments are the biggest platforms in the game of cricket, where the top teams contest against each other for championship podiums.
Contributing to the team on a big stage like this will always be remembered for a long time. The ODI World Cup is conducted once every four years, whereas the Men's T20 World Cup is played every two years. The ICC Champions Trophy is where only the top 8 teams compete in each finals tournament.
Last but not least, the World Test Championship is played over two years. This article thoroughly talks about the men's cricketing teams that have won ICC trophies at some point in time. Let's take a look at the teams with the most ICC Trophies.
Australia's sheer dominance over other cricketing teams is nothing new. For decades, Australia has been executing out-of-ordinary performances and winning trophies for the country. Out of all the cricketing countries, Australia has the most ICC trophies.
Till now the Aussies won 10 ICC trophies. Australia is the only team to win 6 ICC World Cups. The most successful team in the Cricket World Cup clinched the trophy in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015, and 2023. Interestingly Australia made a record of being the only team to win the trophy in all the countries that hosted the World Cup.
Australia won the ICC Champions Trophy twice in 2006 and 2009 against West Indies and New Zealand respectively. Lastly, Australia lifted their first-ever ICC T20 World Cup trophy after defeating New Zealand in the 2021 T20 World Cup. They claimed the ICC World Test Championship after defeating India at the Oval by a huge margin of 209 runs.
India sits in the second position on this prestigious list of most ICC Trophies by any team. India won their first-ever ICC World Cup in 1983 under the captaincy of Kapil Dev. Later again 28 years, the men in blue won the World Cup for the second time under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in 2011.
The Indian men's cricket team also reached the semifinals four times in 1987, 1996, 2015, and 2019. Meantime, they lost in two finals in 2003 and 2023.
The men in blue won the Champions Trophy thrice. First, in 2002, both the finalists India and Sri Lanka were declared the co-champions of the 2002 Champions Trophy. In the 2013 edition, India defeated England by 5 runs and won the Champions Trophy for the second time in Birmingham. Their latest triumph came via Champions Trophy 2025, as they defeated New Zealand by four wickets in Dubai in the final.
Lastly, India won the inaugural edition of the ICC T20 World Cup in 2007 after defeating Pakistan in Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg. In the 2024 T20 World Cup, India defeated South Africa by 7 runs to lift the trophy for the second time.
Next on this list is West Indies with a total of 5 ICC trophies. The first-ever ICC World Cup final was won by West Indies in 1975. West Indies once again continued their reign in the next edition of the World Cup as well, in 1979. The Caribbean team also won the Champions Trophy in 2004. Lastly, West Indies became the winner of the ICC T20 World Cup twice; once against Sri Lanka in 2012 and the other time against England in 2016.
England | 3
England team after winning the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022. Image- ICC
Till 2010, the England team has not had any ICC Tournament. But, it was in 2010, when they won their first ICC T20 World Cup against arch-rival Australia. Craig Kieswetter guided them home in the final for their first-ever ICC Trophy. Post that, they have been a phenomenal white-ball team and won two ICC World Cups since then.
In 2019, they won their first ICC Men's ODI World Cup as Ben Stokes made all the difference in the final against England in a match where boundary count helped England to win the World Cup.
England's latest ICC Trophy triumph came under Jos Buttler as they became the first-ever team in Cricket history to hold the ODI and T20 World Cup at the same time. Jos Buttler and company won the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 as Sam Curran won the player of the tournament after taking 13 wickets with the ball. Curran also was the player of the match in the final as well.
Pakistan | 3
Pakistan sits in the fourth position on the list of most ICC Trophy wins by any team with 3 ICC trophies. The first-ever ICC trophy won by Pakistan was during the 1992 cricket World Cup. Pakistan defeated England in the final and won by 22 runs.
The next ICC trophy won by Pakistan was in the 2009 T20 World Cup where they beat Sri Lanka in the final and won the title by 8 wickets. The most recent and last ICC win of Pakistan is the 2017 Champions Trophy where they defeated India by 180 runs.
With 3 ICC trophies, Sri Lanka sits in 5th position on this list. Sri Lanka won their first-ever ICC World Cup in 1996 where they played against Australia in the final hosted in Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. They went ahead to win their next ICC trophy in the 2002 Champions Trophy. The winner of the tournament is actually both India and Sri Lanka as both the finalist teams were declared as co-champions.
The last time Sri Lanka won an ICC Trophy was when they defeated India in the 2014 T20 World Cup hosted in Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium Dhaka.
The New Zealand cricket team has won a total of 2 ICC trophies since they started competing in tournaments conducted by ICC. The Kiwis won their first-ever ICC Trophy in the 2000 Champions Trophy. Nairobi hosted the final of New Zealand vs India where New Zealand won the match by 4 wickets.
The next ICC Trophy won by the Kiwis was the ICC World Test Championship. Once again, New Zealand played against India in the final of an ICC event and clinched the trophy in the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship final.
South Africa have broken the jinx and finally won an ICC trophy after 27 years, only their second ICC title after beating Australia by five wickets at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground to become World Test champions. Chasing 282 runs to win, Aiden Markram registered his eighth Test century and played one of the most important knocks of his career with 136 runs to guide the Proteas to a historic win.
Meanwhile, in the 1998 ICC Champions Trophy hosted in Bangladesh, South Africa beat West Indies in the final to win their first ICC title. Jacques Kallis was exceptional and contributed the most to the team reaching and winning the final and was awarded the player of the tournament. He hit a century and picked up a five-wicket haul as well.
Note: The stats include shared trophies. The article was first written by Shreya Ghosh and then got edited by Abishek Goswami.
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