India meet Bangladesh first in 2007 World Cup

India have a fairly easy opener in the 2007 Cricket World Cup -- against Bangladesh. Hosts West Indies and Pakistan feature in the tournament opener on March 13 at Jamaica.

Two days after the opening ceremony, Pakistan will take on West Indies in Group D while India, placed in Group B along with Bangladesh, Bermuda and Sri Lanka, plays their first match on March 17, according to the World Cup schedule announced by the International Cricket Council in Trinidad on Tuesday.

India, who will play all their group matches in Trinidad, take on qualifiers Bermuda on March 19, four days before they face Sri Lanka, in their last league match.

The top two teams from each of the four groups will qualify for the second round -- the Super Eight Series -- which will be held between March 27 and April 21.

The semi-finals will be played at Jamaica and St Lucia on April 24 and April 25 respectively, with the final at Barbados, on April 28.

Reserve days have been set aside for all matches throughout the tournament.

Before the opening ceremony on March 11, all teams play warm-up matches between March 5 and 9, with India slated to play Holland (March 6) and West Indies (March 9).

The round-robin will see six games over a period of 11 days in each of the four groups. The winners and runners-up from each group will earn the right to advance to the Super 8 stage of the tournament, where teams will play each of the other teams advancing -- except the team which advanced from their own group -- for a total of six games each.

The Super 8 stage will be played in four countries: Antigua, Guyana, Grenada and Barbados. The last match of this segment of the tournament will take place on April 21.

The event logo and mascot, a teenage character called `Mello', who embodies the lifestyle of the region, were also unveiled on Tuesday.

Following are the groups:

POOL 1 (St Kitts & Nevis)
Australia
South Africa
Netherlands
Scotland

POOL 2 (Trinidad & Tobago)
Sri Lanka
India
Bangladesh
Bermuda

POOL 3 (St Lucia) 
New Zealand
England
Kenya
Canada

POOL 4 (Jamaica)
West Indies
Pakistan
Zimbabwe
Ireland