With the conclusion of the preliminary round matches of the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Cricket tournament, all arrangements are now in place to commence the more crucial Super 8 round.
By February 18, the selection of the eight teams that qualified from the preliminary round matches was completed, and these teams are scheduled to compete under two main groups. Group 1 includes India, South Africa, West Indies, and Zimbabwe, while Group 2 will see Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England, and New Zealand compete. Notably, a strong team like Australia was eliminated in the preliminary round, and in its place, Zimbabwe entered the Super 8 round through rankings, marking a special event in this tournament.The Super 8 matches are scheduled to be held from February 21 to March 1 at several stadiums in India and Sri Lanka, where each team will play one match against every other team in its group. Since the points obtained in the preliminary round will not be carried over to this round, all teams must start scoring from zero again. Ultimately, the top two teams from each group with the highest points will qualify for the semi-finals. These semi-final matches are most likely to be held on March 4 and 5, with the grand final planned for March 8. Stadiums such as Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi in India, and R. Premadasa in Colombo, Pallekele in Kandy in Sri Lanka are ready to host these crucial matches.
According to the match schedule, the excitement of Group 2 matches is set to begin on February 21 with a night match between Pakistan and New Zealand at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
The match between Sri Lanka and England, which has garnered significant attention from local cricket fans, will be held on the afternoon of February 22 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy. On the same evening, India and South Africa will clash in Ahmedabad, India, which will undoubtedly be a thrilling encounter as it brings together the finalists of the 2024 World Cup. Additionally, on February 23, West Indies and Zimbabwe are scheduled to compete in Mumbai, and host nations Sri Lanka and India are heavily relying on home crowd support as they play on their home soil.
