ICC World Twenty20 2014: Format of the tournament

The fifth edition of the Twenty20 World Cup in 2014 will feature 16 teams -- India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Hong Kong, Zimbabwe, Ireland, UAE and Netherlands -- across two rounds.

In the first round, there are two groups - A and B with four teams each. Teams will play each other in their respective groups and the teams finishing top of both groups will advance to the second round (Super 10 stage).

Group A and Group B of 1st Round:

Group A Group B
Bangladesh     Zimbabwe
Afghanistan    Ireland
Nepal             UAE
Hong Kong     Netherlands


The second round consists of four teams each in Group 1 and 2 based on their seedings. The winner of Group A from first round will join Group 1 in the second round and the winner of Group B will feature in Group 2 in the following manner:

This is how the group tables will look in the second round:

Group 1 Group 2
Sri Lanka (1)      West Indies (2)
England (4)       India (3)
South Africa (5) Pakistan (6)
Australia (7)       New Zealand (8)
Qualifier A1 (9)   Qualifier B1 (10)



All teams play within their own groups and the top two from both proceed forward for the semi-finals. The format here requires the table-topper of Group A to face the second-placed team in Group B and vice versa in the semis. The winners of these two ties lock horns for the title in the final.


Points system and scenarios

In the first two rounds, a win fetches two points, a Tie/No result/abandoned match results in a point each for both sides while a loss mean no points.

If teams are tied on points in their group, the following scenarios are considered to decide which team goes through to the second round:

1) The team having wins in the group.

2) In case the number of wins are also same,  the team with the higher Net Run Rate progresses.

3) If the teams are tied on all of the above three counts, then the team winning the head-to-head in the group goes through.

4) If the teams are still on par, the team with the higher seed advances.

Semi-finals:

If a semi-final match ends in a tie,  a Super Over is played, wherein each team nominates three batsmen and a bowler. The team that scores the most in that over wins the match. In case of a tie in the Super Over, the team that has hit the maximum number of sixes wins. If the Super Over can't be completed, then the team that topped its group in the second round advances to the final.

Final:

The winners of the two semi-final matches take on each other in the final. In case of a tie, they play a Super Over. If the Super Over is not completed, the two teams are declared joint winners.

Fixtures:

Round 1

Date and Time                          Match                               Venue
Sunday, March 16 (15.00 IST)    Bangladesh vs Afghanistan    Mirpur
Sunday, March 16 (19.00 IST)    Hong Kong vs Nepal            Chittagong
Monday, March 17 (15.00 IST)    Ireland vs Zimbabwe           Sylhet
Monday, March 17 (19.00 IST)    Netherlands vs UAE            Sylhet
Tuesday, March 18 (15.00 IST)    Afghanistan vs Hong Kong  Chittagong
Tuesday, March 18 (19.00 IST)    Bangladesh vs Nepal           Chittagong
Wednesday, March 19 (15.00 IST) Netherlands vs Zimbabwe  Sylhet
Wednesday, March 19 (19.00 IST) Ireland vs UAE                 Sylhet
Thursday, March 20  (15.00 IST) Afghanistan vs Nepal          Chittagong
Thursday, March 20 (19.00 IST) Bangladesh vs Hong Kong    Chittagong
Friday, March 21 (11.00 IST)    Zimbabwe vs UAE                Sylhet
Friday, March 21 (15.00 IST)    Ireland vs Netherlands          Sylhet



Round 2 fixtures:

Date and Time                        Match                              Venue
Friday, March 21 (19.00 IST)    India vs Pakistan                   Mirpur
Saturday, March 22 (15.00 IST) South Africa vs Sri Lanka       Chittagong
Saturday, March 22 (19.00 IST) England vs New Zealand       Chittagong
Sunday, March 23 (15.00 IST)    Australia vs Pakistan             Mirpur
Sunday, March 23 (19.00 IST)    India vs West Indies             Mirpur
Monday, March 24 (15.00 IST)    New Zealand vs South Africa Chittagong
Monday, March 24 (19.00 IST)    Sri Lanka vs Qualifier B1        Chittagong
Tuesday, March 25  (19.00 IST) West Indies vs Qualifier A1     Mirpur
Thursday, March 27 (15.00 IST) South Africa vs Qualifier B1    Chittagong
Thursday, March 27 (19.00 IST) England vs Sri Lanka             Chittagong
Friday, March 28 (15.00 IST)    Australia vs West Indies          Mirpur
Friday, March 28 (19.00 IST)    India vs Qualifier A1                Mirpur
Saturday, March 29 (15.00 IST) New Zealand vs Qualifier B1    Chittagong
Saturday, March 29 (19.00 IST) England vs South Africa          Chittagong
Sunday, March 30 (15.00 IST)    Pakistan vs Qualifier A1          Mirpur
Sunday, March 30 (19.00 IST)    Australia vs India                   Mirpur
Monday, March 31 (15.00 IST)    England vs Qualifier B1          Chittagong
Monday, March 31 (19.00 IST)    New Zealand vs Sri Lanka      Chittagong
Tuesday, April 1 (15.00 IST)    Australia vs Qualifier A1            Mirpur
Tuesday, April 1 (19.00 IST)    Pakistan vs West Indies           Mirpur
Thursday, April 3 (19.00 IST)    1st semi-final                         Mirpur
Friday, April 4 (19.00 IST)    2nd semi-final                             Mirpur
Sunday, April 6 (19.00 IST)    Final                                       Mirpur