Proteas to begin World Cup campaign against New Zealand
South Africa will begin their 2027 Cricket World Cup campaign against New Zealand after being drawn with England, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and a qualifier.
Co-host South Africa has been placed in Group B alongside England, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and a qualifier in the group stage of the 2027 Cricket World Cup.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Thursday that the Proteas will begin their campaign against New Zealand at Newlands in Cape Town on October 9.
India will meet defending champions Australia and bitter rivals Pakistan in their first two matches at the 2027 Cricket World Cup,
The India-Australia match, a repeat of the 2023 final, will be in Cape Town on October 7, and the India-Pakistan clash will take place in Johannesburg three days later.
The tournament, hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, will start on October 2 and the final will be played on November 21.
The group match between India and Pakistan will be played at the Wanderers Stadium, the tournament's biggest venue, and tickets are almost certain to be in high demand.
ALSO READ:Countdown begins to biggest-ever Rugby World Cup
Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and a qualifier will be the other teams in Group A.
Zimbabwe will play all of their group matches at home, with two matches in Bulawayo, two in Harare and the last fixture in the group against India at Victoria Falls.
England will meet two of their main rivals in the group in Gqeberha. They will play South Africa on October 16 and New Zealand on October 23.
Also in Group B will be Sri Lanka and a qualifier.
After a preliminary round to eliminate two of the three lowest-ranked teams, 12 teams will be split into two groups for round-robin matches before the top three in each group, and the best fourth-placed team, qualify for a Super Seven phase, followed by semi-finals and the final.
Because of political tensions between the two countries, India and Pakistan have only played each other in ICC events since Pakistan toured India for three one-day internationals and two Twenty20 internationals in December 2012.
The rivalry is intense despite India having won all eight matches against Pakistan in Cricket World Cups and eight out of nine in T20 World Cups.
*AFP contributed to this report
