ICC World Twenty20 2016 in Kolkata, India

India will host the Twenty20 cricket championship, pitting the biggest nations in the sport against each other.

Twenty20 is the shortest form of a sport famous for lasting a long time. In fact, cricket may be the only sport in the world which can be played for five days in a row and still end without a winner.

In order to bring cricket to a wider audience, sporting authorities decided to introduce Twenty20, in which each team is only allowed to play 20 overs each. This means batsmen are incentivized to play more aggressively, making for bigger hits and a quicker pace of play.

The latest edition of the World Twenty20 championship will see 16 teams battle it out for the crown. Traditional cricketing nations such as India, Pakistan, England and Australia are automatically entered into the second round, while smaller nations such as Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Oman have a chance to join them by qualifying from Round One.

Over the course of the tournament 58 matches will be held of men’s and women’s competitions, and the championship will be hosted at eight different venues across India from March 8 April 3. The finals will be held in Kolkata, while Mumbai and New Delhi will each host semifinals.

Book your flights and hotels early if you want to catch the bigger matches. In cricket-mad India it’s likely popular options will sell out quickly.