Women's ODI World Cup: Colombo to host India vs Pakistan on October 5

ICC recently announced the fixtures of the opening games and the knockouts for the upcoming 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup, with the blockbuster game between India and Pakistan scheduled to kick off on October 5 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The contest takes place at a neutral venue under a hybrid hosting model devised due to ongoing diplomatic tensions between the two countries.

The 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup, beginning on September 30, will be India’s first time hosting the event since 2013. However, citing the strained bilateral ties, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) reached a hybrid agreement that sees all of Pakistan’s fixtures, including the semi-final and final, if they qualify, being held in Colombo rather than in India. Notably, a similar approach was practiced in the 2025 Champions Trophy, where India opted to play their matches in Dubai instead of travelling to the host nation, Pakistan.

Pakistan's entire campaign will take place in Colombo, where they will face Bangladesh on October 2, followed by clashes against Australia (Oct 8), England (Oct 15), New Zealand (Oct 18), South Africa (Oct 21), and Sri Lanka (Oct 24). If they progress to the knockout stages, the semi-final and final will also be hosted in Colombo.

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The competition is set to kick off with hosts India taking on Sri Lanka in Bengaluru on September 30. India will travel to Colombo for the Pakistan encounter before returning to Bengaluru for their October 26 fixture against Bangladesh. Meanwhile, other games, including the Australia vs England match, will be held on October 22 in Indore and South Africa’s matches against New Zealand (Oct 6) and Australia (Oct 25), also in Indore.

Defending champions Australia will begin their campaign on October 1 against New Zealand in Indore and will face Pakistan in Colombo just a week later. Furthermore, England will be seen playing against South Africa (Oct 3 in Bengaluru), Sri Lanka (Oct 11 in Guwahati), and New Zealand (Oct 26 in Guwahati).

Matches will be hosted across five venues: Bengaluru, Indore, Guwahati, Visakhapatnam, and Colombo. The semi-finals are set for October 29 (Guwahati or Colombo, depending on Pakistan’s qualification) and October 30 (Bengaluru). The final will be played on November 2 at either Bengaluru or Colombo.