India will begin the defence of their Champions Trophy title against Pakistan at next year's tournament in England and Wales, the International Cricket Council announced Wednesday. Pakistan face India on June 4 next year in their first group-stage game of the International Cricket Council Champions Trophy. The Council also announced the fixtures for the eight-team tournament on Wednesday at The Oval in London.
The June 4 2017 clash between the sub-continental giants will take place at the Edgbaston ground in Birmingham - a city with one of the largest Asian populations in England. The top eight teams in the ICC One-day international rankings are divided into two groups with the top-ranked Australia leading Group A and the defending champions India leading the Group B. The last time the Asian giants played in the event in 2013, India beat Pakistan in the rain-hit match by eight wickets. In the 2009 edition, Pakistan then beat India by 54 runs in South Africa, which marked the green shirts' maiden victory in a global event over the arch-rivals.
Council Chief Executive David Richardson announcing the fixtures said, "The ICC Champions Trophy 2017 is not just an ODI [one-day international] competition. It carries a great deal of value since it is being played just three months before the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 qualification cut-off date. As such, every point earned here could be crucial. "What we try and do is make sure that when you add up rankings of the different groups, that they all add up to the same number of points," he replied. "You can do that in a number of ways. You can go 'Zig, zag', you can go like a snake."
Former South Africa wicket-keeper Richardson added: "No doubt we want to try and pit India versus Pakistan in our event. "It's massive around the world, and it's probably no coincidence the two keep ending up in the same group." Pakistan will take on South Africa on June 7 and Sri Lanka on June 12 in their remaining two group-stage fixtures. The 18-day tournament will begin on June 1 with the hosts England taking on Bangladesh.
England, who secured berths in the final when the tournament was staged on their soil, will look to make use of the home advantage again this time. The top-two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals. A total of 15 matches will be played on three different venues. The final is scheduled to be played at The Oval.
Schedule
Thursday, 1 June - England v Bangladesh, The Oval (d)
Friday, 2 June - Australia v New Zealand, Edgbaston (d)
Saturday, 3rd June - Sri Lanka v South Africa, The Oval (d)
Sunday, 4th June - India v Pakistan, Edgbaston (d)
Monday, 5th June - Australia v Bangladesh, The Oval (d/n)
Tuesday, 6th June - England v New Zealand, Cardiff (d)
Wednesday, 7th June - Pakistan v South Africa, Edgbaston (d/n)
Thursday, 8th June - India v Sri Lanka, The Oval (d)
Friday, 9th June - New Zealand v Bangladesh, Cardiff (d)
Saturday, 10th June - England v Australia, Edgbaston (d)
Sunday, 11th June - India v South Africa, The Oval (d)
Monday, 12th June - Sri Lanka v Pakistan, Cardiff (d)
Wednesday, 14th June - First semi-final (A1 v B2), Cardiff (d)
Thursday, 15th June - Second semi-final (A2 v B1), Edgbaston (d)
Sunday, 18th June - Final, The Oval (d)
Monday, 19th June - Reserve day (d).
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