India and England will play the opening match of the 2006 Champions Trophy in Jaipur as per the fixtures announced at the launch of tournament in Delhi on Thursday.
NEW DELHI: India and England will play the opening match of the 2006 Champions Trophy in Jaipur as per the fixtures announced at the launch of tournament here on Thursday.
International Cricket Council (ICC) president Ehsan Mani and Sharad Pawar, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), signed the agreement for the eight-nation tournament to be played in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Mohali and Jaipur from Oct 7 to Nov 5.
In all, 21 matches, all day-night affairs, will be played over 30 days, at the end of which the winning team will take home a cheque of $500,000.
Mumbai, Mohali and Ahmedabad will stage five matches each while Jaipur will host six. That final will be played at Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium November 5 as international cricket would return there after 11 years.
"India's love for cricket is enormous and the supporters here deserve a world class tournament. The Champions Trophy is that world-class event this country has been craving," Mani said at the lunch.
"And with a new format that should ensure every match will feature a huge amount of intensity, this tournament promises to be the best Champions Trophy yet," he said.
This the first time that the teams - and groupings - have been chosen according to the rankings of the ICC One-Day Championship Table as on April 1.
The top six countries automatically qualified for the main round of the biennial tournament. Two more will join them after a qualifying competition that will be held between teams ranked from seventh to 10th - defending champions West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe between October 7 and 14.
Group A comprises Australia, India, England and the second-placed team in the qualifying round, while Group B has South Africa, Pakistan, New Zealand and the top team emerging from the qualifying round. The main tournament will be played between Oct 15 and Nov 5.
"BCCI is very excited to be hosting this prestigious event that will bring all the major cricket playing sides together in India for the first time in 10 years," said Pawar.
"The ICC Champions Trophy is an important event for world cricket and we are looking forward to working in partnership with the ICC to deliver an exceptional tournament."
India has finally managed to host an ICC event after 10 years. The previous event was the 1996 World Cup, hosted along with Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Qualifying round:
Oct 7: Sri Lanka vs. Bangladesh, Mohali
Oct 8: West Indies vs. Zimbabwe, Ahmedabad
Oct 10: Sri Lanka vs. Zimbabwe, Ahmedabad
Oct 11: West Indies vs. Bangladesh, Jaipur
Oct 13: Bangladesh vs. Zimbabwe, Jaipur
Oct 14: Sri Lanka vs. West Indies, Mumbai
The top two teams after the league stage - Qualifier 1 and Qualifier 2 - will advance to the main tournament.
Main tournament:
Oct 15: India vs. England, Jaipur
Oct 16: New Zealand vs. South Africa, Mumbai
Oct 17: Pakistan vs. Qualifier 1, Jaipur
Oct 18: Australia vs. Qualifier 2, Mumbai
Oct 20: New Zealand vs. Qualifier 1, Mumbai
Oct 21: Australia vs. England, Jaipur
Oct 24: South Africa vs. Qualifier 1, Ahmedabad
Oct 25: New Zealand vs. Pakistan, Mohali
Oct 26: India vs. Qualifier 2, Ahmedabad
Oct 27: Pakistan vs. South Africa, Mohali
Oct 28: England vs. Qualifier 2, Ahmedabad
Oct 29: India vs. Australia, Mohali
Nov 1: First semi-final, Mohali
Nov 2: Second semi-final, Jaipur
Nov 5: Final
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