India to play 2011 World Cup opener in Dhaka

Mumbai:

India will open their 2011 World Cup campaign against Bangladesh in Dhaka on February 19 and the country will host its first match of the mega-event the next day in Chennai, the ICC announced on Monday.

Placed in Group B, alongside South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland and Netherlands, India will host 29 matches of the quadrennial tournament, including the final and a semifinal.

The first match on Indian soil will have New Zealand and Kenya locking horns in Chennai on February 20.

Denied hosting rights owing to security concerns, Pakistan will play all their group A matches in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka, set to host the second biggest chunk of 12 matches in the event, will have their first game on February 20 with the hosts taking on Canada.

The Lankans are in group A, which also has defending champions Australia, Zimbabwe and Kenya.

Bangladesh, which will host two quarterfinals, will have just eight matches in all to organise.

India's commercial capital Mumbai will host the final of the February-March event.

Mohali will host one of the semi-finals along with two other matches, while Ahmedabad will host a quarter-final and two other games.

Kolkata and Delhi will host one India and three other matches each. Jaipur has been left out of the list of venues with Nagpur, Chennai and Bangalore getting one India game each.

The 2011 event will be a week shorter than the 2007 edition, which was held in West Indies.

"The announcement of the match schedule for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 is an exciting development as not only does it allow all our stakeholders to start planning their tours but it will also remind everyone that we are getting closer to the staging of the biggest event in world cricket, where the leading cricketers from all over the globe will battle it out for the top prize in the game," ICC Vice-President and Chairman of the Central Organising Committee Sharad Pawar said.

"The sub-continent offers some great facilities for the cricketers, spectators, sponsors and media, and with some brand new stadia to be built and others to be upgraded, the match schedule will allow the venues to focus on the task at hand to plan and implement their preparations," he added.

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said advance scheduling would allow the hosts to plan their preparations well.

"The match schedule will allow the teams, commercial partners, spectators and media to commence with planning their tours. Preparation of venues and safety and security planning continues and I am confident that the host countries will showcase our great sport with its great spirit in the best possible light," he said.

"The ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 will be the ICC's next 50-over tournament after the highly successful ICC Champions Trophy 2009 in South Africa," Lorgat said.

"And with plenty of high-quality matches played since that event concluded last month, I'm convinced that the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 in the sub-continent will further cement the status of ODIs and once again illustrate one of cricket's greatest strengths," he added.

Tournament director Ratnakar Shetty promised a memorable World Cup.

"The sub-continent has hosted high-quality events in the past, including two ICC Cricket World Cups in 1987 and 1996, and we are committed to stage another world-class event in 2011, one which will be memorable and enjoyable for all," he said.

Shetty called on the local organisers to spruce up the venues in time.

"The announcement of the match schedule will mean that the venues hosting the matches will have to meet their timelines to ensure everything is ready for what we believe will be a superb spectacle and a great advertisement for the sport which has a huge following in the sub-continent," he said.

"The ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 will be the ICC's next 50-over tournament after the highly successful ICC Champions Trophy 2009 in South Africa," Lorgat said.

"And with plenty of high-quality matches played since that event concluded last month, I'm convinced that the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 in the sub-continent will further cement the status of ODIs and once again illustrate one of cricket's greatest strengths," he added.

Tournament director Ratnakar Shetty promised a memorable World Cup.

"The sub-continent has hosted high-quality events in the past, including two ICC Cricket World Cups in 1987 and 1996, and we are committed to stage another world-class event in 2011, one which will be memorable and enjoyable for all," he said.

Shetty called on the local organisers to spruce up the venues in time.

"The announcement of the match schedule will mean that the venues hosting the matches will have to meet their timelines to ensure everything is ready for what we believe will be a superb spectacle and a great advertisement for the sport which has a huge following in the sub-continent," he said.

The complete schedule is:

Match No 1: Feb 19 India vs Bangladesh, Dhaka;

Match No 2. Feb 20 New Zealand vs Kenya, Chennai;

Match No 3. Feb 20 Sri Lanka vs Canada, Hambantota;

Match No 4. Feb 21 Australia vs Zimbabwe, Ahmedabad;

Match No 5. Feb 22 England vs Netherlands, Nagpur;

Match No 6. Feb 23 Pakistan vs Kenya, Hambantota;

Match No 7. Feb 24 South Africa vs West Indies, New Delhi;

Match No 8. Feb 25 Australia vs New Zealand, Nagpur;

Match No 9. Feb 25 Bangladesh vs Irelans, Dhaka;

Match No 10. Feb 26 Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, Colombo;

Match No 11. Feb 27 India vs England, Kolkata;

Match No 12. Feb 28 West Indies vs Netherlands, New Delhi;

Match No 13. Feb 28 Zimbabwe vs Canads, Nagpur;

Match No 14. Mar 1 Sri Lanka vs Kenya, Colombo;

Match No 15. Mar 2 England vs Irelans, Bangalore;

Match No 16. Mar 3 South Africa vs Netherlands, Mohali;

Match No 17. Mar 3 Pakistan vs Canada, Colombo;

Match No 18. Mar 4 New Zealand vs Zimbabwe; Ahmedabad;

Match No 19. Mar 4 Bangladesh vs West Indies, Dhaka;

Match No 20. Mar 5 Sri Lanka vs Australia, Colombo;

Match No 21. Mar 6 India vs Ireland, Bangalore;

Match No 22. Mar 6 England vs South Africa, Chennai;

Match No 23. Mar 7 Kenya vs Canada, New Delhi;

Match No 24. Mar 8 Pakistan vs New Zealand, Pallekele;

Match No 25. Mar 9 India vs Netherlands, New Delhi;

Match No 26. Mar 10 Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe, Pallekele;

Match No 27. Mar 11 West Indies vs Ireland, Mohali;

Match No 28. Mar 11 Bangladesh vs England, Chittagong;

Match No 29. Mar 12 India vs South Africa, Nagpur;

Match No 30. Mar 13 New Zealand vs Canada, Mumbai;

Match No 31. Mar 13 Australia vs Kenya, Bangalore;

Match No 32. Mar 14 Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, Pallekele;

Match No 33. Mar 14 Bangladesh vs Netherlands, Chittagong;

Match No 34. Mar 15 South Africa vs Ireland, Kolkata;

Match No 35. Mar 16 Australia vs Canada, Bangalore;

Match No 36. Mar 17 England vs West Indies, Chennai;

Match No 37. Mar 18 Sri Lanka vs New Zealand, Mumbai;

Match No 38. Mar 18 Ireland vs Netherlands, Kolkata;

Match No 39. Mar 19 Australia vs Pakistan, Colombo;

Match No 40. Mar 19 Bangladesh vs South Africa, Dhaka;

Match No 41. Mar 20 Zimbabwe vs Kenya, Kolkata;

Match No 42. Mar 20 India vs West Indies, Chennai;

Match No 43. Mar 23 First Quarter-final, Dhaka;

Match No 44. Mar 24 Second Quarter-final, Colombo;

Match No 45. Mar 25 Third Quarter-final, Dhaka;

Match No 46. Mar 26 Fourth Quarter-final, Ahmedabad;

Match No 47. Mar 29 First Semi-final, Colombo;

Match No 48. Mar 30 Second Semi-final, Mohali;

Match No 49. Apr 2 Final, Mumbai.