England, South Africa to go head to head in Women's T20 World Cup opener, last on October 20

England will take on South Africa in the opening match of the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup on October 3 in Dhaka, according to the tournament schedule released on Sunday. The hosts Bangladesh will also open their campaign on the opening day, taking on one of the qualifiers, also in Dhaka. Reigning champs Australia take on the other qualifier on October 4 in Sylhet. The marquee India-Pakistan match will be hung on October 6 in Sylhet. Australia, India, New Zealand and Pakistan have been drawn together in Gathering A close by with one qualifier, while South Africa, Britain, West Indies and Bangladesh are in Gathering B with the other qualifier. The Gathering A matches will be generally played in Sylhet, while the Gathering B games will be held in Dhaka. The competition, which is being facilitated by Bangladesh, is planned to start on October 3, and end with the last on October 20 in Dhaka. The semi-finals are booked for October 17 in Sylhet and October 18 in Dhaka. The 23 games will be played in Dhaka and Sylhet. Bangladesh are facilitating the Ladies' T20 World Cup for the subsequent time. Australia are the reigning champs, having beaten South Africa in the 2023 T20 World Cup last in Cape Town. The two leftover spots in the Ladies' T20 World Cup will be topped off on Sunday when Sri Lanka, UAE, Scotland and Ireland play out the elimination rounds of the worldwide passing competition in Abu Dhabi.