India to open Women's T20 World Cup 2026 campaign against Pakistan
Dubai, Jun 18 (PTI): India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening match of ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 at Edgbaston on June 14.
The ICC and hosts England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Wednesday announced the full schedule of the tournament, featuring 12 teams.
The 24-day long tournament will be held from June 12 to July 5 next year and will consist of a total of 33 matches to be played across seven venues in England.
Arch-rivals India and Pakistan will kickstart their campaigns at Edgbaston, whereas the opening match of the tournament will be between hosts England and Sri Lanka at Edgbaston on June 12.
Hampshire Bowl, Headingley, Old Trafford, The Oval, Bristol County Ground and Lord's are the other venues of the competition.
The two semifinals will be played at The Oval on June 30 and July 2, and the final will be at Lord's on July 5.
The 12-team competition will have two groups of six teams each. The Group 1 consists of six-time winners Australia, last edition's runner-up South Africa, India, Pakistan and two qualifying teams.
The Group 2 consists of defending champions New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka, hosts England and two qualifying teams.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals.
After their opening clash against Pakistan, India will move to Headingley for their contest against a qualifying team on June 17, followed by contest against South Africa at the Old Trafford on June 21.
While India will face the second qualifying team of Group 1 on June 25 at Old Trafford, their toughest game will be against Australia on June 28 at the 'Home of Cricket'.
"At iconic venues across the country, we'll see incredible, world-class athletes battling it out in front of hundreds of thousands of fans, who with every ball bowled and run scored, will be contributing to lasting change," said tournament director Beth Barrett-Wild.
📍 England and Wales
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) June 18, 2025
🗓️ 2026
Here are #TeamIndia's fixtures for ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/PTtPmpDCZX
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Alliance partners welcome DMDK into DMK fold, BJP slams Premalatha Vijayakanth's move
Chennai (PTI): Parties in the DMK-led SPA on Thursday welcomed DMDK joining the alliance, while the BJP slammed the move, stating that the "soul of Vijayakanth will not forgive" the party for forging ties with the DMK.
Earlier in the day, the late actor Vijayakanth, founded DMDK, joined the Secular Progressive Alliance here for the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly polls.
Tamil Nadu Congress said DMDK forming an alliance with the DMK is a "significant development" in the state politics.
TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai said, "In view of the forthcoming assembly election, DMDK joining the DMK is a significant development in Tamil Nadu politics."
"I welcome the decision taken by (DMDK General Secretary) Premalatha Vijayakanth and DMDK executives for taking a great decision. I congratulate. This alliance was formed with the aim of prioritizing social justice, secularism, democratic values that will have the power to fulfill the people's expectations," he wrote in a social media post.
"Formed for the welfare, progress and prosperous future of the state, this alliance will surely achieve victory," he said.
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) leader Vaiko, another ally of the SPA, hailed the development as 'sweet news'.
"We happily welcome them. The SPA gets strengthened by this alliance. Victory for the DMK-led alliance has been confirmed with this", he told reporters in Madurai.
However, the Tamil Nadu BJP unit reacted sharply and criticised the move as a 'betrayal' of the DMDK founder's legacy.
The movement created by the Captain joining the anti-people DMK, will "never be forgiven by the Captain's Soul", it said on its social media handle. The DMDK founder is fondly addressed as 'Captain.'
BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan said, "As far as I am concerned, they (DMDK) have boarded a sinking ship. Invoking the legacy of Captain, they have forced their cadres to act as captains of a vessel that is already going down."
Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) chief G K Vasan, who is part of NDA in Tamil Nadu, said the alliance between the DMDK and the DMK was against the expectations of the people.
"As long as Captain was alive, he never formed an alliance with the DMK. People will not accept this alliance," he told reporters in Tiruchirappalli.
Actor-Politician Vijay led-Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) said not even one per cent of the people will accept this DMDK-DMK alliance.
"Captain Vijayakanth faced a lot of insults from the DMK and toiled hard to develop his party. When all these alliance partners converge on a stage, not even 1 per cent of the people will believe in them. They will not accept this alliance at any cost," TVK joint general secretary CTR Nirmal Kumar told reporters in Chennai.
Meanwhile, Premalatha, after announcing her alliance with the DMK, offered prayers at the memorial of Captain in Chennai and later took part in Annadanam (free meal) organised at the DMDK headquarters.
"After the announcement of our alliance, on this special day, I performed a special pooja at the Captain's Temple and offered Annadanam. It is not just a political decision but my commitment to safeguard the people's belief," she said.
"With the blessings of Captain and people's support, we will definitely win", she wrote and shared some images on her social media handle.
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