A few facts and Rules everyone should know--
That sounds like a significant disadvantage Apparently not: India are the favourites – and the last three 50-over World Cups have been won by host countries – followed in the bookmakers’ estimations by England (who won the last World Cup), Australia (who won the one before that) and Pakistan (who haven’t won since 1992 but are quite good). The Netherlands are clearly outsiders, but every team has enough talent to cause anyone who underestimates them real problems. The competition’s format reflects the format being used in the competition: as in one-day internationals, there is enough time for teams to stumble a couple of times and still turn it around. In 2019 India and Australia sailed into the semi-finals with only one and two defeats respectively, while England and New Zealand snuck in with three (Pakistan also lost three but fell foul of those net run rate calculations).
With only two semi-finals and a final, at least the knockout rounds will be straightforward Well, kind of. In theory the semi-finals will pit the team that top the supergroup against the fourth-placed side in Mumbai, while the teams that end up second and third will face each other in Kolkata. But if Pakistan are involved they will play in Kolkata wherever they finish, which might mean the second and third teams end up in Mumbai, and if India qualify they will play in Mumbai wherever they finish, which could push the first and fourth teams to Kolkata, though if both India and Pakistan qualify and have to play each other they default to Kolkata. In short, best hold off on the hotel bookings for now.
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