The ICC Cricket World Cup will start today and the first match will be played between the defending champions England and New Zealand. Google on Thursday launched its official doodle for the opening day of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India.
Open the Google App or Google Website on your Smartphone, Laptop, Tablet, etc., and the first thing that will pop up will be a Google Doodle where two ducks are seen running across a stump and playing cricket. Once the user clicks on the doodle on the Google homepage, he will be redirected to the complete schedule of the World Cup tournament.
India is hosting the Cricket World Cup this year and it will mark the 13th edition of the tournament which was started in 1975. As per the latest official details, 10 national teams are getting ready to play against each other in this grand tournament.
Cricket fans should note that, in total, 45 matches will be played in the group stage during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Teams from Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka will participate in the 13th edition of the ODI World Cup.
While the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 will have 45 matches in the group stage, four teams will qualify for the knockout stage. This includes two semi-final matches and a final match, which will be held in Ahmedabad. The ICC Cricket World Cup is scheduled to take place across India in various stadiums located in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamshala, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune.
The first match of ODI World Cup on Thursday (5th October) will be between 2019 defending champions England and New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad (Gujarat).
But the highlight of the tournament will undoubtedly be the much-awaited match between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in Ahmedabad on October 14, which will surely attract a huge global audience. All the matches of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 will be telecast live on the Star Sports network, as well as on the Disney+ Hotstar app and website.
The International Cricket Council has allocated a total prize money of $10 million (or Rs. 83 crore) for the ODI World Cup 2023. The winning team will get $4 million (or Rs. 33 crore), while the runner-up team will get $2 million (or Rs. 16 crore).