India to face Pakistan in ICC Women's World Cup 2022 opener

India is set to face Pakistan in its first match of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2022 on March 6 at Tauranga, New Zealand.

Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson and ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup CEO Andrea Nelson pose with the Women's World Cup trophy during the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2022 match schedule announcement at Hagley Oval on Wednesday.

India is set to face Pakistan in its opener of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2022 on March 6 at Tauranga.

The quadrennial event will be held from March 4 to April 3 across six cities - Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Tauranga and Wellington - with host New Zealand taking on the West Indies in the opener.

The tournament, featuring eight teams, will be played in a league format with each team playing the other once at the end of which the top four will qualify for the semifinals. 

READ : Pakistan beat West Indies by nine runs in second T20I

Australia, England, South Africa, India and host New Zealand were automatic qualifiers for the event owing to their performances in the ICC Women's Championship 2017-20 while Bangladesh, Pakistan and West Indies made the cut based on the ODI team rankings after the World Cup qualifier event was called off in November due to COVID-19-related issues.

England is the defending champion, having beaten India in the final of the 2017 edition. India will be eyeing its maiden title after finishing runner-up on two occasions (2005 and 2017).