India to face South Africa in 2013 ICC Champions Trophy opener

London, Aug 21 - India will face South Africa in the opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy in Cardiff on June 6, 2013.

India and South Africa are in Group B along with Pakistan and the West Indies while defending champions Australia, England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka are in Group A.

Hosts England are set to begin their campaign on June 8 at Edgbaston against Australia.

India face Pakistan on June 15 while Australia are set to take on New Zealand on June 12.

Cardiff, Edgbaston and The Oval will each host four group matches in the competition, which will see the eight teams divided into two pools of four.

The top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals, to be hosted at The Oval and Cardiff, with the winners then progressing to the ICC Champions Trophy Final at Edgbaston on Sunday, June 23.

Tournament director Steve Elworthy commented: “This will be an incredible opportunity for fans to see the world’s very best One-Day International sides in action over the space of less than three weeks and the fixture schedule has thrown up a host of exciting head-to-head contests.”

“The format means every match counts and all eight teams will feel that they are capable of winning the tournament in a competition which is set to be one of the highlights of the 2013 summer.”

Tickets for the tournament are expected to go on sale from early November and further details of how to purchase these will be released via the ICC website – www.icc-cricket.com

Fixture list in full:

Group A: Australia, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka

Group B: India, Pakistan, South Africa, West Indies

Fixtures

Group stage

Jun 06: India v South Africa (Day) – Cardiff

Jun 07: West Indies v Pakistan (Day) – The Oval

Jun 08: England v Australia (Day) – Edgbaston

Jun 09: Sri Lanka v New Zealand (Day) – Cardiff

Jun 10: Pakistan v South Africa (Day) – Edgbaston

Jun 11: India v West Indies (Day) – The Oval

Jun 12: Australia v New Zealand (Day/Night) – Edgbaston

Jun 13: England v Sri Lanka (Day/Night) – The Oval

Jun 14: West Indies v South Africa (Day) – Cardiff

Jun 15: India v Pakistan (Day) – Edgbaston

Jun 16: England v New Zealand (Day) – Cardiff

Jun 17: Sri Lanka v Australia (Day/Night) – The Oval

Knockout

Jun 19: Semi-final A1 v B2 (Day) – The Oval

Jun 20: Semi-final A2 v B1 (Day) – Cardiff

Jun 23: Final (Day) – Edgbaston