T20 World Cup:  With the first warm-up match today at Perth W.A. C. A ground, Men in blue are all geared up for the upcoming T20 World Cup which begins on 16 October in Kangaroo island.

The Indian contingent is all set for its first warm-up tussle with Western Australia XI. The men in blue seem all set and won’t take this encounter lightly. 

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Rohit Sharma led the Indian team departed for Australia on October 6, two weeks before their first encounter in the T20 WC against arch-rival Pakistan, without their 15th player in the squad as the replacement for injured pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is yet to be announced.

The Indian team will take this gap between the first match as an opportunity to learn and adapt to the OZ conditions. 

 Meanwhile, the team will also play another friendly match against Western Australia XI on Oct 13, before heading toward Brisbane where they will play two warm-up games against defending champions Australia on October 17 and last year’s runners-up New Zealand on October 19.

 In these warm-up matches, India will try to play a balanced playing 11 which could help India in making a deep run throughout the tournament. 

Though seasoned  players like Ravindra Jadeja, Japrit Bumrah, and Shami are ruled out from the world cup due to injuries and health issues, India still has a wide pool of reserve players who offer the same skill set as the seniors. 

Now it is all about clicking at the right time. A strong playing 11 from warm-up matches could set the tone for The Indian team on a high note for the rest of the tournament. 

Team India is placed in group 2 alongside the arch-rival Pakistan, Bangladesh, and South Africa. Two more teams will join them in group 2, based on the result of round 1 qualifiers. 

See how your team is placed in the lead-up to the start of the #T20WorldCup https://t.co/bBTZ5NSOgf

— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) October 10, 2022

 Similarly, in Group 1 which is also referred to as the group of death by many, teams like Trans-Tasman rivals Australia and New Zealand, 2019 ODI WC champion England and the Asian giant killer, Afghanistan will face off against each other.

In group 1 two more teams will make their place after round 1 qualifiers, which is starting on 16 October. 

However, Aus vs NZ on 22 Oct,  Ind vs Pak on 23 Oct,  Eng vs Aus on 28 Oct,  Ind vs SA on 30 Oct,  Eng vs NZ on 1 Nov,  and Pak vs SA on 3 Nov will be the games of the tournament to watch out for. 

Other teams could potentially produce some nail-biting results. But cricket fans from around the globe will be rooting for these high-profile encounters.

This year’s T20  WorldCup will also observe some tempting key players battle from each team.  

India’s run machine Virat Kohli and flamboyant batsman Suryakumar Yadav will try to give the team India much-needed momentum in the middle-over phase while batting.

Australia’s left-arm pace Mitchell Starc and newly recruited all-rounder Tim David will bring serious threat to both the batsmen and ballers.

England’s white-ball captain Jos Buttler and opener Alex Hale’s aggressive batting could set the  right tone for England in posting a good score on board

Kiwi veteran pace spearheads, Trent Boult and Tim Southee’s left and right-hand duo will take care of the opening and death over phase.

South Africa’s left-handed middle order batter David miller can go berserk in no time and Anrich Nortje’s 150 Km plus balling will going to be a real deal to face.

Pakistan’s opener and the no. 1 T20 ranked batter Mohammad Rizwan and Sri Lanka’s allrounder Wanindu Hasaranga’s x-factor can set the momentum for both the sub-continent nations.

India matches:

Ind vs Aus  17 Oct

Ind vs NZ    19 Oct

Ind vs Pak  23 Oct

Ind vs TBD 27 Oct

Ind vs SA    30 Oct

Ind vs Bng  2 Nov

Ind vs TBD  6 Nov