England, South Africa to face off in Women's T20 World Cup opener, final 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.

Defending champions Australia take on the other qualifier on October 4 in Sylhet. The marquee India-Pakistan match will be held on October 6 in Sylhet.

Australia, India, New Zealand and Pakistan have been drawn together in Group A alongside with one qualifier, while South Africa, England, West Indies and Bangladesh are in Group B with the other qualifier.

The Group A matches will all be played in Sylhet, while the Group B games will be held in Dhaka.

The tournament, which is being hosted by Bangladesh, is scheduled to begin on October 3, and end with the final on October 20 in Dhaka. The semi-finals are scheduled for October 17 in Sylhet and October 18 in Dhaka.

The 23 games will be played in Dhaka and Sylhet. Bangladesh are hosting the Women's T20 World Cup for the second time.

Australia are the defending champions, having beaten South Africa in the 2023 T20 World Cup final in Cape Town.

The two remaining spots in the Women's T20 World Cup will be filled up on Sunday when Sri Lanka, UAE, Scotland and Ireland play out the semifinals of the global qualifying tournament in Abu Dhabi.