Five World T20 games you can't miss

Bangladesh v Ireland
March 12, 1am AEDT, Dharamshala

This is the second game for two teams desperate to qualify for the main event, and despite Bangladesh shaping as strong favourites, Ireland have a happy knack in recent times of springing upsets at major ICC events.

The Tigers, fresh from a berth in the Asia Cup final and extremely comfortable in familiar subcontinent conditions – albeit across the border in India – are a formidable T20 side. Plenty of the top eight nations, including Australia, will be nervously looking over their shoulder if they qualify for Group 2.

The Irish are ranked 15th in T20 cricket and have warmed up for this tournament with matches against Papua New Guinea in Townsville (a 2-1 series win) and the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi (1-1), and the likes of Boyd Rankin and Will Porterfield are going to have to be on song if they're to shock the Bangladeshis.

The Tigers were taught a harsh lesson by India in the final of the Asia Cup but the fact they even had a shot at the title – beating Sri Lanka and Pakistan on the way – indicates this team is very much the real deal when it comes to the game's shortest format.

A win here could well see them take one step into the main group stages, alongside Australia, India, Pakistan and New Zealand – and that's exactly what will be expected from a nation of 150 million cricket lovers.

The history: These two sides have met four times in T20 internationals. Bangladesh wiped the floor with Ireland 3-0 in a three-match series in Belfast in July 2012, however in their only World T20 meeting, back in June 2009 in England, it was Ireland who shocked the subcontinent side with a comfortable six-wicket win. Current New South Wales coach Trent Johnston was the hero for the Irish, taking 3-20.

Australia v New Zealand
March 18 8.30pm AEDT, Dharamshala

With fiercely-contested Test and ODI series fought over the past few months, a World Cup final thrashing last March, and the traditional rivalry between these two Antipodean neighbours, this shapes as a must-watch World T20 clash.

Australia's form has been hot and cold in the build-up, but Steve Smith's men are world-beaters on their day. Unfortunately for the green-and-gold army, those days have been few and far between when it comes to World T20 tournaments. Other than an appearance in the 2010 final against England, there's been very little to get excited about – a fact underscored by their most recent campaign, when they exited in the group stages with just one win beside their name.

If the recent ODI series in New Zealand is anything to go by, these two sides are very evenly matched in the short formats. The Kiwis lost the first of their three matches against Pakistan in January, but bounced back with a pair of emphatic wins. The loss of Brendon McCullum is significant, but they have plenty of firepower even without the former skipper: Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill, Corey Anderson and the lesser known Colin Munro have all hit their straps recently, while Ross Taylor is a welcome return to the playing group after injury.

The history: In a glaring example of the intermittent nature of T20 international cricket, these two sides have not met since before the 2010 World T20 tournament, when New Zealand hosted a two-match series in February of that year and the series finished one-all after the Kiwis won the second match in a Super Over. Australia won the three prior meetings between the two sides – including the first-ever T20 international – but come March 18, the relatively ancient history between these two sides is likely to be inconsequential.

India v Pakistan
March 20 1am AEDT, Dharamshala

As the 2015 World Cup showed us, the cricket world stops when these two nations square off. Australia's much-hyped rivalry with New Zealand is kid's stuff compared to the passion and history attached to the meetings between India and Pakistan, subcontinent nations who haven't faced each other in Test cricket since December 2007 due to political hostilities.

Yet politics aside, anyone who was at the Adelaide Oval during last year's World Cup will tell you it is a glorious occasion when India and Pakistan meet; the venue is awash with colour, the crowd is rapturous, and the atmosphere is arguably on par with any of world sport's rivalries.

Expect no less in Dharamshala, when the teams meet for what will be the second match of their respective campaigns. India face a difficult first-up clash with New Zealand, while Pakistan meet the top qualifying nation from Group A – likely to be Bangladesh, who they've lost to on the last two occasions they've met. A loss for either of these teams in their opening clash will certainly spice up this meeting, but on the other hand, this match doesn't need any further context to be billed as the biggest of the tournament's group stages.

The history: India hold all the aces here: seven matches, six wins (one after a 'bowl off), one defeat. The biggest of these victories was the inaugural World T20 final, when the neighbouring countries squared off in Johannesburg for the right to lift the trophy for the first time. India won a thriller by five runs, and a nation's obsession with T20 cricket was born. 

South Africa v West Indies
March 26 1am AEDT, Nagpur

Perennial under-achievers versus Twenty20 wildcards. Little is certain when the Proteas take on the West Indies in the 20-over game but one thing you can bank on is entertainment. And lots of it. Stacked with showmen, the West Indies have done well to combine the spectacular with serious substance, winning the tournament in 2012 and reaching the semi-finals on two other occasions.

Fast-bowling coach Curtly Ambrose recently declared the Caribbean collection of islands "a great chance" of becoming the first team to win the World T20 twice, and few could argue given the quality of their squad. Boasting genuine match-winners in Andre Russell, Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Samuel Badree, the Windies are capable of beating any side on their day.

They'll come up against a high-quality South Africa side who have transferred their World Cup reputation of under-delivering into the World T20; from six attempts, they're yet to reach a final. With world beaters AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn leading a host of other explosive players, captain Faf du Plessis certainly has the cattle to win the whole shebang, however that's regularly been the case for the Proteas. By the time these two sides square off, they'll have played twice each, meaning a semi-final spot – or an early exit – could well be in the offing.

The history: South Africa have won six and lost three of nine matches between the two sides, however two of those West Indian victories came in the last series in which they met – a 2-1 win for the Calypso Kings in South Africa in January 2015.

India v Australia
March 28 1am AEDT, Mohali

Two superpowers of world cricket collide at the business end of the tournament in what has all the hallmarks of a classic encounter. This is the final match for both sides in the group phase of the tournament, but given the unpredictable nature of T20 cricket, it's anyone's guess as to how each team will have fared in their preceding three matches.

Having won the Asia Cup in style, and beaten Australia in their own backyard prior to that, India are deserved favourites on home soil, and it will take something special to stop the likes of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Ravi Ashwin and co from lifting the silverware.

Despite their poor World T20 history, Australia's XI is high on class and experience, particularly in India given the glut of T20 cricket the likes of Aaron Finch, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Shane Watson, Steve Smith and others have played there in the Indian Premier League.

As they did in Australia, India will come at the Australians with a spin-heavy game plan, and Australia will look to combat that with Warner shifted to the middle order and a heavy artillery of allrounders providing Smith with options to continually rotate his bowlers.

The history: These two sides have met 12 times in T20 internationals and India hold the advantage by eight games to four. Only two of those matches have been in India, with the home side prevailing on both occasions. At the last World T20, they squared off in Dhaka, and after posting 159 on the back of 60 from Yuvraj Singh, India spun the Australians out for 86 – Ashwin the chief destroyer with 4-11.