Dubai, June 16 (UNI) Cricket fans across the subcontinent are set for a blockbuster showdown as India and Pakistan are slated to meet in a high-voltage league-stage clash at the upcoming ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025, with the full schedule officially announced on Monday by the International Cricket Council.
In a much-anticipated fixture likely to draw massive viewership, India will face arch-rivals Pakistan in Colombo on 11 October, setting the stage for one of the most emotionally charged encounters of the tournament.
The 2025 edition of the Women’s World Cup will be held jointly in India and Sri Lanka from 30 September to 2 November, returning to Indian soil after over a decade. Hosts India will launch their campaign against Sri Lanka in the tournament opener at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, while defending champions Australia will begin their title defence against New Zealand on 1 October in Indore.
The tournament format follows a single round-robin league where the eight qualified teams, India, Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, will face each other once, with the top four advancing to the semifinals.
In the build-up, India will play two warm-up games, including a key preparatory clash against 2022 runners-up England on 24 September in Bengaluru, followed by South Africa in Guwahati on 27 September.
Matches will be spread across five cities – Bengaluru, Indore, Visakhapatnam, Guwahati, and Colombo, with semifinals scheduled in Bengaluru and either Guwahati or Colombo, and the Final set for 2 November in either Bengaluru or Colombo.
This will be the 13th edition of the Women’s Cricket World Cup since its inception in 1973. Australia, who secured their record seventh title in 2022, qualified automatically along with the top six finishers of the ICC Women’s Championship. Pakistan and Bangladesh sealed the final two spots via the global qualifiers earlier this year.
As the countdown begins, all eyes will be on the India-Pakistan face-off, a contest that continues to transcend sport and capture imaginations across the globe.
