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The schedule for the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia has been announced and India are once again placed in the same group as Pakistan. The Men in Blue will begin their campaign against Pakistan like last year on 23 October at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. With everything repeating from the last year, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar feels that the result of the Pakistan-India game will also be the same as last year.
The former pacer claimed that Pakistan will once again beat India in the T20 World Cup. Akhtar also called Pakistan a better T20 side than India and pitied Indian media for putting extra pressure on their team. "We will beat India again in Melbourne. Pakistan is a better side than India in T20 cricket. It's the Indian media that make unnecessary pressure on their team whenever we have the clash of both the countries in cricket, it's normal for India to lose," Akhtar said.
Notably, Pakistan broke the years-long record and beat India by 10 wickets in the Group stage game. However, India still leads the head-to-head record in World Cups by 12-1. With a change in captaincy, the Men in Blue will be excited to take on Pakistan and take the lead further. Apart from India and Pakistan, Bangladesh and South Africa are also placed in Group 2. These four teams will be joined by Group A runner-up and Group B winner after the Qualifiers stage.
Australia vs New Zealand for opening fixture
The Super 12 stage of the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup will kick off with another arch-rival clash i.e. Australia vs New Zealand on 22 October at the Sydney Cricket Ground in what will be a rematch of the 2021 Finals. Defending champions Australia will be playing at their home ground and thus will be high on confidence. Meanwhile, New Zealand will want revenge for the final's loss. The second game of the day will see England taking on Afghanistan.
While the Super 12 stage starts on 22 October, the Qualifiers stage will start six days earlier i.e. from 16 October. Sri Lanka vs Namibia will mark the start of the tournament.