T20 World Cup 2012 Schedule

Tue Sep 18 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT	Group C : 1st T20 - Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota
Wed Sep 19 15:30 local | 10:00 GMT	Group B : 2nd T20 - Australia vs TBC R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Wed Sep 19 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT	Group A : 3rd T20 - India vs TBC R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Thu Sep 20 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT	Group C : 4th T20 - South Africa vs Zimbabwe Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota
Fri Sep 21 15:30 local | 10:00 GMT	Group D : 5th T20 - New Zealand vs Bangladesh Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy
Fri Sep 21 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT	Group A : 6th T20 - England vs TBC R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Sat Sep 22 15:30 local | 10:00 GMT	Group C : 7th T20 - Sri Lanka vs South Africa Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota
Sat Sep 22 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT	Group B : 8th T20 - Australia vs West Indies R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Sun Sep 23 15:30 local | 10:00 GMT	Group D : 9th T20 - New Zealand vs Pakistan Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy
Sun Sep 23 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT	Group A : 10th T20 - England vs India R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Mon Sep 24 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT	Group B : 11th T20 - West Indies vs TBC R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Tue Sep 25 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT	Group D : 12th T20 - Bangladesh vs Pakistan Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy
Thu Sep 27 15:30 local | 10:00 GMT	Super Eights, Group 1 : 13th T20 - TBC vs TBC Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy
Thu Sep 27 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT	Super Eights, Group 1 : 14th T20 - TBC vs TBC Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy
Fri Sep 28 15:30 local | 10:00 GMT	Super Eights, Group 2 : 15th T20 - TBC vs TBC R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Fri Sep 28 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT	Super Eights, Group 2 : 16th T20 - TBC vs TBC R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Sat Sep 29 15:30 local | 10:00 GMT	Super Eights, Group 1 : 17th T20 - TBC vs TBC Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy
Sat Sep 29 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT	Super Eights, Group 1 : 18th T20 - TBC vs TBC Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy
Sun Sep 30 15:30 local | 10:00 GMT	Super Eights, Group 2 : 19th T20 - TBC vs TBC R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Sun Sep 30 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT	Super Eights, Group 2 : 20th T20 - TBC vs TBC R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Mon Oct 1 15:30 local | 10:00 GMT	Super Eights, Group 1 : 21st T20 - TBC vs TBC Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy
Mon Oct 1 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT	Super Eights, Group 1 : 22nd T20 - TBC vs TBC Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy
Tue Oct 2 15:30 local | 10:00 GMT	Super Eights, Group 2 : 23rd T20 - TBC vs TBC R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Tue Oct 2 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT	Super Eights, Group 2 : 24th T20 - TBC vs TBC R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Thu Oct 4 19:00 local | 13:30 GMT	1st Semi Final T20 - TBC vs TBC R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Fri Oct 5 19:00 local | 13:30 GMT	2nd Semi Final T20 - TBC vs TBC R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Sun Oct 7 19:00 local | 13:30 GMT	Final T20 - TBC vs TBC R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Twenty20 Rules

Twenty20 cricket is a form of cricket that was introduced in England in the year 2003, mainly with the aim of making the game more interesting and attracting more audience. Though it is similar to the traditional cricket game to quite an extent, there are certain differences as well. Most of these differences arise from changes in the rules and format of the game. We have given a brief description of the rules of T20 cricket in the following lines.

Twenty20 Cricket Rules
General Rules

• In a single innings, each of the bowlers can bowl a maximum of only one-fifth of the total overs i.e. 4 overs in a total of 20 overs.
• If a bowler ever delivers a ball overstepping the popping crease, it is a no-ball. The batting team gets one run for the ball and the next delivery is a free hit. In other words, in the next ball, the batsmen can only be dismissed through a run out.
• If either of the umpires believes that a team is wasting time, he can award a five-run penalty, at his own discretion.
• In a normal T20 game, the interval lasts for 15 minutes. However, in a reduced-overs match, it can be cut to 10 minutes.
• If, and only if, each of the two teams has faced (or had the opportunity to face) five overs, will be a match deemed to have played.
• In each Twenty20 cricket match, one short-pitched ball is allowed per over.
• To calculate a team's net run rate, the average runs per over scored by that team is deducted from the average runs per over scored against it.

Format
The format of a Twenty20 match is quite similar to normal limited-overs match, only the number of overs for batting is just twenty, just as the name of the game suggests. The game is played between two teams, each of them having a single innings of 20 overs. In the context of Twenty20 cricket, there is a visual difference as well, though it is a pretty minor one. In T20, members of the batting team do not arrive from/retire to traditional dressing rooms. Rather, they have a bench, mainly a row of chairs, visibly in the playing arena, used for coming and going purposes.

Field Restrictions

• At the most, five fielders can be on the leg side, at any given point of time.
• In the first six overs of a T20 game, there cannot be more than two fielders outside the 30-yard circle.
• There can be a maximum of five fielders outside the fielding circle, after the first six overs end.
• The fielding team has to start bowling its 20th over within 75 minutes. If it fails to do so, extra six runs will be added to the batting team�s score, for every whole over bowled after the 75 minute-mark. In case the umpire believes that the batting team is wasting time, he may add more time to this.

Tie Deciders
There cannot be a tie in a Twenty20 cricket game. If, and when, there is a tie by the end of a T20 match, it is broken with a one over per side - �Eliminator� or �Super Over�. Each of the two teams nominates three batsmen and one bowler, to play a one-over per side, which can be termed as �mini-match� or �One1�. If a team loses two wickets before the over is complete, it loses the game. If this does not happen, the team with the higher score from its over wins it. In case there is a tie after the �mini-match� as well, the team that has higher number of sixes in its full innings, or in the �One1�, will be declared the winner. If, by any chance, there is still a tie, the winning team is the one with the higher number of fours in both innings.

ICC unveiled logo for World Twenty20

International Cricket Council has released fixtures and official logo of World Twenty20 2012 to be hosted by Sri Lanka in September 2012. The symbol in the logo represents Sri Lankan culture and Sinhala language. As per ICC schedule, inaugural match of World Twenty20 2012 will be played between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe on September 18, 2012. Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium of Hambantota will host the inaugural match of ICC T20 World Cup 2012.