Team India enters World Cup 2023 without warmup matches ahead of this grand tournament starting on 5th October 2023. Recently, the Warm-up game between India and the Netherlands on 3rd October 2023 was abandoned without even conducting the toss session due to severe rains at Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram (Kerela). As usual, the rain at this venue continued to become the spoilsport of the game.
At the same venue, the match between New Zealand and South Africa on 2nd October 2023 was interrupted by drastic rains, and New Zealand won against South Africa by 7 runs using the DLS Method.
In recent times, Kerela has been experiencing intense rains and is expected to continue for half of October 2023 with excess usage of umbrellas, raincoats, and ground covers.
On the other side, fans might have a sigh of relief knowing that the league matches, semi-finals, and finals of the ICC World Cup 2023 tournament are not organized to take place at venues such as Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram (Kerela) and Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati (Assam). The teams that have played warm-up matches at both these locations have either experienced an abandoned match or a match concluded by using the DLS method due to the interference of severe rainfalls.
Indian cricket team has been unfortunate not to play both their warm-up matches without even a single ball being bowled as shown below in detail:
| Match | Date | Venue | Toss | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IND vs ENG 4th Warm-up Game | 30th September 2023 | Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati | India won the toss and chose to bat first | Match cancelled without a ball being bowled |
| IND vs NED 9th Warm-up Game | 3rd October 2023 | Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram | No Toss Session conducted | Match cancelled without a ball being bowled |
Table of Contents
- 1 India enters World Cup 2023 without warmup: Overall Results of the Warm-Up Matches on 3rd October 2023
- 2 India enters World Cup 2023 without warmup: Overall Results of the Warm-Up Matches
- 3 India enters World Cup 2023 without warmup: 15 Unknown and Interesting Stats to be known about the Warm-Up Matches
India enters World Cup 2023 without warmup: Overall Results of the Warm-Up Matches on 3rd October 2023
Out of the 3 warm-up matches conducted on 3rd October 2023( Tuesday) at different venues, the only warm-up match that was abandoned without a ball being bowled was the 9th Warm-up game between India and Netherlands
Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan 8th Warm-up game: Interesting Highlights to be known
Afghanistan marked its entry into the World Cup league matches with a massive 6-wicket win against Sri Lanka at Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati (Assam).
The pitch conditions favored the team batting second at this venue as Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi decided to bowl first after winning the toss.
Despite losing early wickets, Sri Lanka gave their best performance by posting a total of 294-10 in 46.2 overs. Sri Lankan skipper Kusal Mendis was the top-performing batsman by playing a destructive and unbeaten knock of 158 runs in just 87 balls- including 19 fours and 9 sixes.
In contrast to the batting performance, the Sri Lankan bowling attack counter failed against Afghanistan’s batting lineup and the arrival of intense rain showers made the DLS method come into action.
Afghanistan had to chase 257 runs in 42 overs under the revised playing conditions. Afghanistan opening batman Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s quickfire century of 119 runs in 92 balls ( including 8 fours and 9 sixes) along with the middle order batsman Rahmat Shah’s brilliant performance of 93 runs from 82 balls (including 10 fours and 3 sixes) steered their team to a comfortable chase by scoring 261-4 in 38.1 overs with a 6 -wicket win and 23 balls to spare.
The Sri Lankan weak bowling lineup was completely dominated by Bangladesh and Afghanistan during the warm-up matches at the same venue which indicates the higher chances of other competitive teams to counter-attack easily by delivering a moderate batting performance.
India vs Netherlands 9th Warm-up Game: Abandoned Warm-Up Match
The abandoned game paves the way as India enters World Cup 2023 without warm-up matches. It would be a challenging task for India to face their opposition teams in the league matches of this upcoming tournament without any warm-up matches with the severe interference of rainfall.
Overall, the Indian cricket team is left with no other option but should consider the recent ODI series against Australia as their warm-up match ahead of their ICC World Cup 2023 1st Match against Australia on 8th October 2023 ( Sunday) at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad(Gujarat).
The Indian cricket team had to face a hard-luck as they could neither experience full-fledged 50-over games in their warm-up matches nor play under the revised playing conditions by using the DLS method.
Australia vs Pakistan 10th Warm-up game: Thrilling Highlights of the Game to be Known
Australia after losing the ODI series against India 2-1, needed a perfect rehearsal before they could compete with other competitive teams in the league matches of ICC World Cup 2023 played in India.
Australian cricketers were aiming to get valuable training experience on various pitch conditions at different venues across India and were successful in getting a perfect warm-up match against Pakistan at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.
Australian skipper determined to make use of this rare opportunity by choosing to bat first after winning the toss. Pakistan spin bowler Usama Mir grabbed 2 quick wickets from Australian opening batsmen David Warner ( 48 runs from 33 balls- including 4 fours and 3 sixes) and Mitchell Marsh ( 31 runs from 48 balls- including 2 fours and 2 sixes) gave a challenging start to Australian batsmen.
Despite the strong performance of the Pakistan bowlers, Australia managed to score a mammoth total of 351-7 in 50 overs with the contribution of their top-performing batsmen such as:
- Glenn Maxwell ( 77 runs from 71 balls – including 5 fours and 6 sixes)
- Cameron Green ( 50 runs from 40 balls- 4 fours and 1 six)
- Josh Inglis ( 48 runs from 30 balls- 8 fours and 1 six)
- And Marnus Labuschagne ( 40 runs from 31 balls including 5 fours)
Identical to their impressive batting performance, Australian bowlers grabbed 4-quick wickets of the Pakistan batsmen. Pakistan marked their 2nd innings with a collapsing start and at one stage with a score of 83-4 in 14.5 overs, it seemed effortless for Australian bowlers to wrap up the match with a huge-margin win.
However, the Pakistan batsmen gave their best efforts to bounce back from their unsteady start with the strong contribution of their best batsmen such as:
- Babar Azam ( 90 runs from 59 balls- including 11 fours and 2 sixes)
- Iftikhar Ahmed ( 83 runs from 85 balls – including 6 fours and 4 sixes)
- Mohammad Nawaz ( 50 runs from 42 balls – including 6 fours and 1 six)
Despite the best performance of the above-listed batsmen, Pakistan lost to Australia in a close encounter game by a margin of 14 runs thereby scoring 337-10 in 47.4 overs.
With this 14-run win against Pakistan, Australia is charged to enter the league matches of the ICC World Cup 2023 with confidence and will be ready to face their 1st match of the ICC World Cup tournament against India on 8th October 2023 (Sunday).
India enters World Cup 2023 without warmup: Overall Results of the Warm-Up Matches
The warm-up matches ahead of the ICC World Cup 2023 tournament started on 29th September 2023 ( Friday) have been wrapped up on 3rd October 2023 ( Tuesday).
Here is the overall glimpse of the results of the warm-up matches played by different teams at different venues:
| Match | Date and Day | Timings | Venue | Toss | DLS Method | Score | Result | Toss Outcome:Result for the team after winning the toss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SL vs BAN 1st Warm up game | 29th September 2023, Friday | 02:00pm IST / 08:30 am GMT | Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati | Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat first | NA | SL: 263-10 (49.1 overs) BAN: 264-3 (42 overs) | Bangladesh Won by 7 wickets | Not favorable for Sri Lanka |
| SA vs AFG 2nd Warm-up game | 29th September 2023, Friday | 02:00pm IST / 08:30 am GMT | Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram | No Toss session conducted | NA | NA | Match cancelled without a ball being bowled | NA |
| PAK vs NZ 3rd Warm up game | 29th September 2023, Friday | 02:00pm IST / 08:30 am GMT | Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad | Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first | NA | PAK: 345-5 (50 overs) NZ: 346-5 (43.4 overs) | New Zealand won by 5-wickets | Not favorable for Pakistan |
| IND vs ENG 4th Warm-up game | 30th September 2023, Saturday | 02:00pm IST / 08:30 am GMT | Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati | (India won the toss and chose to bat first) | NA | NA | Match cancelled without a ball being bowled | NA |
| AUS vs NED 5th Warm-up game | 30th September 2023, Saturday | 02:00pm IST / 08:30 am GMT | Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram | Australia won the toss and chose to bat first | Match reduced to 23 overs due to heavy rain | AUS: 166-7 ( 23 overs) NED: 84-6 (14.2 overs) | NO RESULT | NA |
| BAN vs ENG 6th warm-up game | 02nd October 2023, Monday | 02:00pm IST / 08:30 am GMT | Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati | Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bat first | Match reduced to 37 overs due to heavy rain England revised target: 197 runs | BAN: 188-9 (37 overs) ENG: 197-6 (24.1 overs) | England won by 4-wickets ( DLS Method) | Not favorable for Pakistan |
| NZ vs SA 7th warm-up game | 02nd October 2023, Monday | 02:00pm IST / 08:30 am GMT | Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram | New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat first | 37 Overs ( Implemented after the start of heavy rains) | NZ: 321-6 (50 overs) SA: 211-4 (37 overs) | New Zealand won by 7 runs ( DLS Method) | Favorable for New Zealand |
| SL vs AFG 8th warm-up game | 03rd October 2023, Tuesday | 02:00pm IST / 08:30 am GMT | Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati | Afghanistan won the toss and chose to field first | Match reduced to 42 overs ( implemented in between the 2nd innings) Revised Target for Afghanistan: 257 runs in 42 overs | SL: 294-10 (46.2 overs) AFG: 361-4 (38.1 overs) | Afghanistan won by 6 wickets ( DLS Method) | Favorable for Afghanistan |
| IND vs NED 9th warm-up game | 03rd October 2023, Tuesday | 02:00pm IST / 08:30 am GMT | Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram | No Toss session conducted | NA | NA | Match cancelled without a ball being bowled | NA |
| AUS vs PAK 10th warm-up game | 03rd October 2023, Tuesday | 02:00pm IST / 08:30 am GMT | Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad | Australia won the toss and decided to bat first | NA | AUS: 351-7 (50 overs) PAK : 337-10 (47.4 overs) | Australia won by 14 runs | Favorable for Australia |
India enters World Cup 2023 without warmup: 15 Unknown and Interesting Stats to be known about the Warm-Up Matches
As the warm-up matches are concluded, here are the interesting stats ( from the above-listed results table) to be considered about the different teams participating in ICC World Cup 2023 based on the performance of different teams ICC World Cup 2023:
- India is the only team to enter the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023 tournament by experiencing abandoned warm-up matches without having a single ball bowled.
- Pakistan is the only team that has played a full-fledged 50-over match against their opposition without any interruption due to rain.
- The warm-up matches were played at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad were concluded with a fair result by providing an opportunity for both the teams to play a complete 50-over game without the interference of severe rainfalls and the DLS method.
- Pakistan lost 2 out of 2 warm-up matches against their opposition that were played in Hyderabad – New Zealand by 5 wickets and Australia by 14 runs.
- Sri Lanka identical to Pakistan, lost both warm-up matches against their opposition at the same venue – Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati: A 7 wicket- loss against Bangladesh and a 6-wicket loss against Afghanistan (using the DLS method)
- Sri Lanka is the only team that has lost their both warm-up matches batting first at the same venue.
- Sri Lanka and Pakistan are the two teams that have lost 2 out of 2 warm-up games against their opposition.
- India and the Netherlands are the only teams that are unfortunate not to play a complete warm-up game against their opposition ahead of the ICC World Cup 2023 tournament.
- New Zealand is the only team to win their 2 out 2 warm-up matches against their opposition- A 5-wicket win against Pakistan and a 7-run win against South Africa ( by using the DLS method).
- Out of the 4 warm-up matches played at Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram, only 1 match was concluded with a result by using the DLS method. The other 2 matches were abandoned without a single ball being bowled and 1 match was interrupted in between due to severe rains and canceled with a no-result game.
- The warm-up matches conducted on 30th September 2023 at different venues: Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati, and Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram, were inconclusive with a proper result due to extreme rainfall.
- Teams such as Australia, England, and Afghanistan have won 1 out of 2 warm-up matches against their opposition-with 1 match commonly resulting in an inconclusive ( abandoned match) or a NO RESULT game due to heavy rains.
- Bangladesh is the only team to win 1 out of 2 warm-up matches with a combination of 1 win and 1 loss against their opposition.
- Teams such as England, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, New Zealand, and South Africa have experienced playing games in India with the DLS method coming into action.
- New Zealand and Pakistan are the only teams to have scored above the 300-run mark in batting 1st and 2nd innings of their warm-up matches against the opposition.