World Cup 2011: Rs 45 crore tax waiver to ICC questioned by Maken, other ministers

The government's decision to give a Rs 45-crore tax waiver to the ICC for the World Cup has been questioned by some Ministers, including Sports Minister Ajay Maken , who felt the cash-rich cricket body did not need it and such a step should have been taken to promote other sports.

Maken, supported by Minister for Poverty Alleviation Selja and Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni, raised questions when the matter of waiver came up at the Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here yesterday, sources said today.

The sources said the Sports Minister forcefully highlighted that while such sops were being given to cricket, which is already cash-rich sport, the funds for his ministry had been slashed.

He batted for more support to non-cricket sports, saying they also needed to be taken care of and promoted through financial help, the sources said.

While arguing his case, Maken pointed out that his ministry was planning to organise Panchayat-level sports events aimed at promoting sporting activities at the grassroots level which needed financial support, they said.

Maken was supported by Selja, who felt that his point was valid and needed to be considered.

Soni also backed Maken. She went on to question why private electronic media was being barred from covering the World Cup, referring to the stand-off between the broadcasting media and the ICC.

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar , who is also ICC President, was present during the meeting but did not say anything, the sources said.

Proponents of the tax exemption, including Heavy Industries Minister Praful Patel, however, argued that the law provided for such a measure and not granting it would amount to violation of the law.

The income tax exemption was granted to the ongoing cricket World Cup as it qualified criteria specified under the amendment of the Income Tax Act, 1961, in 2005 in wake of ICC Championship Trophy 2006.

To avail the tax exemption, an event has to be recognised by a global body governing the sport and there should be participation of more than two nations. Moreover, the specified income has to be notified by the government.

ICC Cricket World Cup: 'Ratner moment' almost killed World Cup cricket, says ICC chief

The ICC's chief executive, Haroon Lorgat, said on the eve of the World Cup semi-finals that cricket had narrowly averted killing the 50-over game by repeating the mistake made famous by Gerald Ratner and presenting its product as rubbish.

Instead, as Sri Lanka prepared to face New Zealand at the Premadasa Stadium in the first, and the less celebrated, of the two semi-finals, Lorgat said the World Cup had proved that 50-over cricket was "alive and well."

Ratner made one of the most celebrated corporate misjudgments in history when he joked to the Institute of Directors almost 20 years ago that many of the products in his jewellery shops were "total crap" and that his earrings were "cheaper than an M&S prawn sandwich but probably wouldn't last as long". He almost bankrupted his own company in days.

Lorgat, in a speech to the Sri Lankan press club, quoted a column by The Guardian's cricket correspondent, Mike Selvey, after Sachin Tendulkar had scored the first double hundred in one-day cricket for India against South Africa in Gwalior last year. It was, said Lorgat, a significant moment, proof to him that the 50-over game needed "no more gimmicks or tinkering".

Selvey wrote of Tendulkar's innings: "It is those lingering memories that sustain the argument for 50-over cricket, while T20, brilliant as it can be, is essentially transient: sweet and tasty but gone in a flash, like candyfloss. In 50 overs, there is time for the essential narrative of cricket to unfold."

Lorgat said: "Key administrators around the world were either wanting to or actually tinkering with the format of 50-over cricket. Some were reducing to 40 overs; others wanted to trial split innings while some had even more extreme thoughts.

"As a game we were self-inflicting a crisis on 50-over cricket. It reminded me of a British jeweler who [once] pronounced that his merchandise was rubbish. He simply talked himself out of business.

"A year ago we were in danger of doing the same to our much-loved 50-over cricket. The more we talked of a game in crisis the more we created the crisis and the more we fuelled talk of doom and despondency. A vicious circle. And all the time there was no real evidence of a crisis."

Lorgat suggested that television had attracted record audiences in this World Cup and the India v England match in Bengaluru had been the most-watched game in the history of ODIs. "It doesn't take a genius to predict that when India face Pakistan in Mohali that record may well be smashed."

Only in England, said Lorgat, did research show that 50-over cricket was less popular than Test and Twenty20 cricket – and even there it had a fan base of 16 million. "Not only is 50-over cricket far from death row, it has a strong and vibrant future," he said, adding that the introduction of an ODI League, to run between triennial World Cups, would soon reduce the number of meaningless one-day internationals.

Sri Lanka and New Zealand have quite a billing to live up to, with Sri Lanka regarded as favourites to advance to the final after their 10-wicket demolition of England in Saturday's quarter-final. They plan to use the same pitch; excruciatingly slow the first time, it is not about to quicken up.

New Zealand have reached the World Cup semi-final on five previous occasions and have lost the lot. In the months before the World Cup, they were soundly beaten in all three World Cup countries. Mark Greatbatch stood down as coach and the old campaigner John Wright returned. No one even spoke of them as dark horses this time around but when least expected they are the only non-Asian team in the last four.

Australia vs. Kenya – 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup Preview

This will most probably turn out to be a no contest as Kenya are the weakest team in the tournament and should get blown away by the mighty Australians. Australia will look to wrap up this game quickly as they have another match against the Canadians on March 16th.

Date: 13th March

London Start Time: 09:00

Expert Predictions: Get Them Here!

Venue and Pitch
The match will take place at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Neither the pitch nor the toss will matter as the Kenyans have struggled to win against much lesser teams. The Australians should score over 300 runs if they bat first and bowl out Kenya well within the stipulated 50 overs.

Team News
Australia will be happy to have Michael Hussey back in the team. Hussey brings with him the experience and composure of playing under pressure and will definitely provide stability to the middle-order. Captain Ricky Ponting will have an interesting decision to make as he has to leave out either Cameron White or David Hussey to make room for Michael Hussey.

Kenya have looked completely out of sorts in this tournament. They do not look like they belong on the international stage and have blamed their South African counterparts for not giving them the exposure and support in strengthening their domestic league.

Match Odds
The odds are completely in favor of the Australians 1/100. Kenya know that they do not have the ability to beat Australia; their only hope will be to avoid an embarrassing defeat.

Top Batsman
Shane Watson 11/5 at the top of the order and captain Ricky Ponting 7/2 will be looking to get some big runs against the Kenyans. Also watch out for Michael Hussey who is expected to play in this game after being flown in as a replacement for the injured Dougie Bollinger.

The Kenyan batsmen will find it difficult to handle the likes of Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson. Maurice Ouma 11/2 and David Obuya 9/2 may be the only ones likely to offer any resistance.

Featured Bet
Kenya will be bowled out for less than 200 if they bat first. If Australia get to bat first a total in excess of 300 runs will be very much on the cards.

Match Predictions
The Australians might rest a few key players for this game as they will be confident of securing an easy victory against the Kenyans.

Best Bet: Shane Watson 11/5

SL vs Zim: Sri Lanka can do better: Dilshan

PALLEKELE: After guiding Sri Lanka to the quarterfinals of the ongoing World Cup with his all-round exploits, opener Tillakaratne Dilshan said the team has the ability to play better cricket.

Dilshan hammered a 131-ball 144 during his record 282-run stand for the opening wicket with Upul Tharanga (133) and then, picked up four wickets giving as many runs to cap off a memorable day, as Sri Lanka thrashed Zimbabwe by a massive 139 runs in a Group A match at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.

"Upul and I had a good opening stand today. We are playing good cricket as a unit at the moment, but the important thing is we can do better," Dilshan, who fell one run short of equalling Aravinda de Silva's record for most runs by a Lankan in a World Cup game, said.

Asked if he was aware of the record, the hard-hitting batsman said, "I didn't know that. When I went to the dressing room I was informed that Aravinda's record was 145 and that I had missed the milestone by just one run. That's how it goes, I don't look forward to records," he said.

"In the tournament so far I hadn't capitalised after getting a few decent starts. So I was determined to make it count this time around. It's good to got a hundred," he said.

Dilshan could have recorded the third hat-trick of the World Cup had Mahela Jayawardene, fielding at first slip, latched onto Graeme Cremer's edge. The opener, though, has no regrets.

"Mahela took a terrific catch to create the hat-trick ball. So you can't really blame him. These things happen in cricket," he said.

There had been media reports suggesting that Dilshan had failed a drug test, but Sri Lanka Cricket was quick to squash the rumours saying the player wasn't event tested in the first place.

Told about that, Dilshan said he wasn't worried about the speculations. "Honestly, it didn't bother me," he said.

Zimbabwe were going well at one stage with their openers taking the team to 116 by the 20th over, but Dilshan always knew it was going to be Sri Lanka's day.

"Not really. We knew that when the ball gets old attacking would get difficult. They had a big total to chase and things were under control."

2011 ICC Cricket World Cup - Broad fires England to Thrilling Victory

A superb bowling performance from Stuart broad (4-15) helped England defend a meagre total of 171 and beat South Africa by six runs in a thrilling tie played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai.

England won the toss and elected to bat first and got off to a disastrous start as they lost openers Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen in the very first over of the innings.

Left-arm spinner Robin Peterson was brought on to bowl the first over of the innings and Strauss tried to clear the fence only to find Francois du Plessis at the mid-wicket boundary and three deliveries later Kevin Pietersen was caught in slips by Jacques Kallis.

Robin Peterson struck back in the fifth over when he had Ian Bell caught and bowled with a superb flighted delivery. But a decision by the South African captain to replace Peterson by Jacques Kallis backfired as Jonathan Trott and Ravi Bopara resurrected the England innings putting on 99 runs in 25 overs for the fourth wicket. Trott and Bopara both reached their half-centuries off 87 deliveries respectively.

Imran Tahir then got the crucial wicket of Trott as he had him brilliantly caught off his own bowling for 52 in the 30^th over. Matt Prior couldn't survive for long as he was caught behind off Morne Morkel and England were soon reduced to 134 for 5.

Bopara (60) was the next to depart as he was trapped leg before wicket by Morkel. An over later, they were reduced to 149-7 when Bresnan was trapped leg before wicket by Dale Steyn.  The next three wickets were all taken by Imran Tahir as South Africa were bundled out for 171 in the 46^th with their last three wickets falling for just 22 runs.

In reply, South Africa started positively as openers Hashim Amla and Captain Graeme Smith added 63 runs in 14 overs, but Smith was finally removed by Graeme Swann, caught behind for 22.

The introduction of Stuart Broad changed the whole game as he had Amla - chopping the ball onto his stumps and then Kallis, caught behind for 15 in the next over. AB de Villiers and du Plessis tried to resurrect the innings with a 42-run stand, but both went in the 32^nd and the 33^rd over with the score on 124.  AB de Villiers (25) was cleaned up by Anderson while du Plessis (17) was run out by a brilliant piece of fielding by Ian Bell at short-leg.

In the next over Anderson cleaned up JP Duminy , and with the score on 127, Yardy had Peterson caught behind.  But an eighth-wicket partnership of 33 between Dale Steyn and Morne van Wyk got South Africa back into the match but England hit back in the 47^th over, Tim Bresnan broke the partnership as he cleaned up van Wyk for 13.  With just 12 runs needed, Stuart Broad got into the action and took the last two wickets in four balls in the 48^th over to bowl out South Africa for 165, six runs short of the target.

Ravi Bopara was named the man of the match for his crucial innings of 60 runs from 98 balls.

Result: England won by 6 runs

Scores: England: 171/10

South Africa: 165/10

Man of the Match: Ravi Bopara

Maruti Suzuki plans hard selling the Kizashi Sedan!

Maruti has aggressive promotional plans in place for the Kizashi sedan. The company will be kicking-off an advertisement campaign during the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. According to industry sources, Maruti is likely to spend a sizable amount totaling INR 8 Crores on the entire ad campaign that includes Kizashi TV commercials which will be aired during the World Cup.

The contract for Kizashi advertisements has been awarded to Ad agency, Dentsu, and through these commercials, the company will be trying to highlight the important features and dynamics of the Kizashi Sedan. The luxury on offer and thee sporty aspects of the car is expected to top the promotional agenda.

Maruti has had a torrid time selling the Suzuki Grand Vitara Soft Roader in the past. It was Maruti’s maiden attempt to enter the premium SUV market in India. With the Kizashi, Maruti will embark on a totally aggressive strategy to promote the car in order to increase sales.

Since, its launch, 350 units of the car have been booked, which is pretty impressive given the fact that it costs INR 16.5 lakh ex-showroom New Delhi. The high cost is due Kizashi being brought in as a CBU (Completely Built Unit), through which the overall cost of the car shoots up drastically.

All other rivals of the Kizashi including, Skoda Laura and Toyota Corolla Altis are CKD’s (Completely Knocked Down) giving them an edge over the Maruti product. However, according to the new definition of CKD, Will this purported definitional change actually work to Maruti’s advantage if indeed it does go through is something that only the future can tell. Interestingly, stocks of Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Mahindra &Mahindra shot up as soon as the 2011 union budget was announced with many auto analysts attributing this stock price increase to the definitional change. So, there, Maruti Suzuki is going all out to aggressively hard sell the Kizashi Sedan and the coming days will be witness to how well this latest tack of it works.

Big Game today of ICC World Cup 2011 Group B : England vs South Africa

After Ireland’s heroics against England on Wednesday night, English team would be hoping to come over it when they meet strong South Africa who are on the top of their game and have just thrashed Netherlands to a 231 runs defeat.

England would be looking to gain the lost points against India and Ireland as West Indies have beaten Bangladesh by a huge margin which takes them on the second position in the Group B point tally with 4 points and impressive net run rate of +2.67 where England is sitting on the fourth position after playing 3 games.

On the other hand, Smith of the other hand is quite confident to get into the next round as his team performing upto the expectation, however he expressed his feelings after the Ireland win over England which was the biggest upset of the world cups so far. He said, “ I saw the game last night and didn’t sleep for an hour after that. We know Ireland can beat the big sides and it was good to see the spirit of the World Cup come alive,”

Leg-spinner Imran Tahir, who impressed in his debut against the West Indies, also put a good show against Netherlands would be looking to continue with his good form as he took three wickets for 19 against Dutch team with the tail-enders especially struggling to read his variations.

Amla and de Villiers are two of the best batsmen in the world and and batting very well. England bowlers would not want to work in bowling department as as South African batsmen are in top form which makes their team probably the strongest and most balanced side in the competition. De Villiers’s after his second successive hundred against Netherlands would be keen to cash in on his good form.

England team would require Kevin Pietersen to stay longer on the crease because if he stays for 40 overs mammoth score is guaranteed and along with that Strauss would be hoping their bowlers to get into the rhythm specially James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

Ad agencies gird up for World Cup, IPL-4

To handle the influx of sports marketing and media buying accounts during the ICC World Cup 2011, which begins this Saturday, and IPL-4, leading media buying agencies are drawing up fresh action plans which include new recruitments, new media tools and integration of digital media with ground activation. For instance, Madison World's dedicated sports marketing unit Performance Management Group (PMG) has added muscle to its existing team by hiring fresh talent to handle additional work in the next three months.

Likewise, Maxus, a Group M company, has invested in fresh talent in the digital media business to reach out to mobile and internet users. Maxus is currenlty handling the media accounts of Vodafone, Nokia, Hero Honda, Perfetti India and Loreal among others. Yet another agency, Aegis Media India, is strengthening its services to provide a 360 degree communications package to its clients. The agency is handling the ad accounts of Philips and Adidas. Clearly, its action in the Rs. 2,000 crore sports marketing sector in India. These two sports events are expected to collectively add over Rs. 1,700 crore to the Indian advertising pie worth over Rs. 22,000 crore annually. With technological advancements, media agencies are also betting big on digital media during the sports events.

On Madison’s strategy, Sam Balsara, chairman and managing director of Madison World, said, “We have already hired competent professionals to provide expert advice and services to our clients. We are fully geared to handle additional work during these sports events.”

2011 ICC Cricket World Cup: India vs England: Tendulkar & Strauss Score Centuries, Match Ends In A Tie

Cricket Update on iSport: The much awaited India vs England tie saw both sides scoring a mammoth 338 runs to end the match in a tie.

Sachin Tendulkar scored his 47th hundred in ODIs ending his innings at 120 runs. England's skipper played his best ODI knock to score 158.

Both teams played a cliffhanger of match that saw the power of play shift towards both teams during the course of the 100 overs. The match resulted in a draw with both teams showing a solid performance as a unit.

Match Summary

India 338 all out (49.5 overs)

Sachin Tendulkar (120), Yuvraj Singh (58), Gautam Gambhir (51)

England 338-8 (50 overs)

Andrew Strauss (158), Ian Bell (69)

India vs England live - coverage stream cricket world cup 27 feb 2011

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Your key to surviving the roads during the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup

The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup is upon us! This means we'll be spending more evenings at home, our cola intake will see a rise, and if we win, which no doubt we will, it's going to send the noise pollution radar into a frenzy. So by the end of this month, we will be, in no particular order, fat, deaf and mad. No, read it like this. You will soon be sharing road space with deaf and mad people with slow reflexes.

How to counter this? Well, start with leaving really early for work. Ride/drive out at 5am. Bribe your office security chap and catch a good three hours of snooze on your office desk. If possible, don't go back home at all. Certainly avoid going shopping with your better half, because then you'll have to pretend to be deaf and mad as well. Well, mad at least. Deaf you will turn into anyway. Stay away from Indicas, or generally any cars, that have a leather ball sticker tearing the bootlid open or knocked out stumps or any such cricket-centric livery. They will be overtly charged with emotions, whether we win or lose, and will be as flexible about sharing lanes as the bark of a Banyan tree.

If you're the 'been all over the world' type, make sure you peel off all stickers of other cricket playing nations' flags from your car. You may be pelted with stones or collectively manhandled. None of which, I'm sure, you desire. Also, make sure you wear clothes as close to blue as possible. Certainly avoid green, yellow, dark green, dark blue, maroon, orange and for purely aesthetic reasons, pink.

Oh, and hopefully by the end of the tournament, exciting motorcycles like the Honda CBR 250R, the Mahindra Mojo and the Hyosungs should be amongst us. This means you'll have enough horsepower to compensate for those extra kilos you've piled on. As for me, well, Germany doesn't play cricket, so I couldn't be bothered.

World Cup Match 6: Pakistan power to easy win against Kenya

It was half-centuries galore from the Pakistani top order as they crushed Kenya by 205 runs in their ICC Cricket World Cup opener at Hambantota in Sri Lanka on Wednesday. Pakistan, a true dark horse at this year's event, recovered from a disappointing start to reach to reach a strong score of 317 on the back of fifties from both the Akmal brothers and sometime skippers Younus Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq. They then backed up their batting effort with an efficient performance in the field to knock Kenya over for just 112 runs in 33.1 overs. Skipper Shahid Afridi led the way on the field picking up 5-16 to lead the rout.

Winning the toss and batting first, Pakistan started slowly as their openers struggled to come to terms with the pace of the track at Hambantota. Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shahzad fell cheaply after spending a fair bit of time at the crease and Pakistan were struggling at 12 for 2 after 7 overs. A much needed partnership came with Kamran Akmal and Younus Khan putting together 98 runs for the 3^rd wicket before the former was stumped for 55 off the bowling of left arm spinner Shem Ngoche.

Misbah-ul-Haq joined Younus in the middle and opened his account hitting a six straight down the ground. Younus and Misbah added 55 runs together before Younus was trapped leg before. The former skipper made an even 50 runs, doing a lot of running on the big Hambantota ground with boundaries not so easy to come by. He referred his dismissal to the third umpire for review, but the decision was upheld.

Umar Akmal came in next and looked his natural self, attacking the Kenyan bowling right away. Misbah and Umar brought up their fifties in a partnership of 118 runs lasting till the 47^th over. Pakistan finished for 317 in the end losing seven wickets with Umar Akmal top scoring with 71.

The Batting Powerplay proved to be vital for Pakistan in taking their total above 300 as they picked up 71 runs during those 5 overs. The Kenyans looked exhausted as the innings drew to a close, conceding lots of extras including 37 wides, a new record.

Kenya started cautiously with both openers Maurice Ouma and Seren Waters defending early on. Shoaib Akhtar was on target from the first ball he bowled, conceding just 10 runs in his 4 overs and beating the bat on several occasions.

The opening stand of 37 was Kenya's best of the innings, and was cut short when Waters (17 from 31b) was brilliantly run out by a direct hit from Umar Akmal. Ouma fell shortly after for 16 with Umar Gul picking up his first wicket.

Steve Tikolo and Collins Obuya tried to build another partnership but Shahid Afridi bowled a charging Tikolo in the 23^rd over. After that the wickets just kept falling with Obuya scoring freely from the other end. The veteran once-upon-a-time-leg-spinner smashed three huge sixes in his innings of 47 which finally ended when he was caught in the deep off the bowling of Shahid Afridi, becoming the skipper's fifth scalp.

Umar Gul came back to finish things off with Pakistan just one wicket away from victory and bowled Ngoche with the first ball of his new spell as Kenya were knocked over for just 112. It was another poor display from the Kenyans with the bat, and their lack of skill against quality bowling resulted in another huge loss for them today. For Pakistan though, it was the perfect game to kick-start their tournament, with most of their batsmen taking advantage of the opportunity to bat themselves into some form, and then the bowlers doing the business when asked.

The only areas of concern for the Asian giants will be the ideal mix of their side with Abdul Razzaq proving a touch expensive early on in his spell and the opening batsmen not getting their act together at all. They have little time to iron out those flaws as they take on Sri Lanka in a huge game at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Saturday.

Kenya's tough start to the tournament continues on the 1st of March as they face a third consecutive test playing nation when they too take on co-hosts Sri Lanka at the same venue.

Teams:

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Kamran Akmal (wk), Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi (c), Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar

Kenya: Seren Waters, Maurice Ouma (wk), Collins Obuya, Tanmay Mishra, Steve Tikolo, Rakep Patel, Jimmy Kamande (c), Thomas Odoyo, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Shem Ngoche, Elijah Otieno

Mini Scorecard

Pakistan 317/7 in 50 overs (6.34 runs per over)

U Akmal 71(52) T Odoyo 3-41

Misbah-ul-Haq 65(69) S Tikolo 1-44

Kenya 112 all out in 33.1 overs (3.38 runs per over)

C Obuya 47(58) S Afridi 5-16

S Waters 17(31) U Gul 2-12

Emirates Airline begins ICC 2011 Cricket World Cup celebrations

The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup kicked off with co-hosts India and Bangladesh facing off at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka. Emirates, in its capacity as an ICC Official Partner, is sponsoring the 10th Cricket World Cup as excitement builds across South Asia ahead of what promises to be a spectacular tournament.

"The ICC 2011 Cricket World Cup will be a truly global event where the eyes of the world will fall on three of our key territories in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka," said Sir Maurice Flanagan, Executive Vice Chairman, Emirates Airline & Group. "We look forward to seeing this exciting tournament unravel and hope that our promotional offerings to fans will be well received across the event."

Throughout the event Emirates will be running a host of match day promotions to engage the attending crowds, including bringing the airline's 'Flying Catch' to all three countries. Cricket enthusiasts from far and wide will be able to show off their fielding skills and by doing so have a chance of winning much sought after Emirates merchandise.

In the stadium itself Emirates will be running its 'Upgrade' promotion where two lucky fans will be picked to enjoy a premium match experience in line with the airline's famous customer service. Cabin Crew will select spectators at random just before the match starts for the exclusive experience.

Emirates fans will also be handed out to the crowd at selected matches, not only to cool people down but to allow Emirates to run its new 'Spot the Fan' competition.

Spectators are encouraged to wave their fan at the correct moment to win a chance of being selected by the Cabin Crew to win a whole host of Emirates merchandise.

The 43-day event will be played across eight cities in India, three in Sri Lanka and two in Bangladesh, ensuring that all host nations have the opportunity to support the tournament. Emirates Airline will be bringing fans closer to the action throughout the event, enabling them to 'Live the Unforgettable'.

Cricket World Cup Betting - Canada v Sri Lanka

The last time that cricket's World Cup was played on the Indian sub-continent, Sri Lanka were the surprise winners. They open this year's campaign against a surprising Canada team.

Canada

The Canadians had to win a playoff against Afghanistan to reach this tournament, and many were disappointed that they did. Perennial attendees, they have never had a competitive side, hold the record for the lowest score made in the competition and have only ever had one player even approaching first class standard. All of this is set to change, though. In their warm-up game against England they were looking like the same old Canada until big-hitting Rizwan Cheema took charge, blasting 93 to bring them within an ace of victory. And if you think he can't do that again, remember that his one day international strike rate is higher than that of Pakistan's big gun (and this week's captain) Shahid Afridi.

Sri Lanka

The co-hosts have a major selection problem – just who do they leave out for this game. Sri Lanka's top six seem to be settled, having all-rounder Angelo Mathews come in at seven gives them a big hitting option lower down the order and the fact that the next four men in should all be batting at eleven scarcely seems to bother them. In fact, the bowlers they leave out would walk into the first eleven of most of the sides in this tournament, including India's. The World Cup is the final hurrah for the legendary Muttiah Muralitharan and he will see this game as a chance to add another five wickets to his already unbeatable international haul.

Prediction

The big problem for Canada's chances are that that record low score of 36 came against these opponents. Two of the side – John Davison and Ashish Bagai (who actually led something of a revival after they lost six wickets for twelve) – played in that game. The Canadian psyche is such that they will want to avenge that humiliation and this is the first chance that they have had to do so. Although they will be good enough to give a number of other sides in their group – including New Zealand and Kenya, who play earlier – a run for their money, the Sri Lankans would be too strong for most Test nations, let alone one of the minnows.

Odds

There isn't much point betting on Sri Lanka – you will do well to find odds of less than 1/50 – but it is worth looking at bets on Canadian individuals. Bet365.com will give you 13/2 on Cheema being the top scoring batsman for Canada and 4/1 on him being the top bowler, either (or both) of which look good value indeed.

Cricket World Cup 2011: Quick guide to Team India

(FILE) This combo picture shows India's 15-man squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 which runs from February 19 to April 2, 2011 in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. (From Top L-R) Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Piyush Chawla, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel and coach Gary Kirsten. (AFP)

TNN

Clueless about cricket and too embarrassed to ask? TOI presents a quick guide to Team India.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Opening Ceremony Live Stream Online | Live on STAR Cricket, ESPN and StarSports

The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup will be the Tenth Cricket World Cup and will be hosted by three South Asian Test cricket playing countries: India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The World Cup will use cricket’s One Day International format, with fourteen national cricket teams scheduled to compete. The World Cup will take place between February and early April 2011, with the first match to be played on 19 February 2011 with co-hosts India and Bangladesh facing off at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka and the final at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on 2 April 2011.

CC Cricket World Cup 2011 will start on 19th January 2011. But before that, awaits a cultural extravaganza that will be organized in Bangladesh and its ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Opening Ceremony. The opening Ceremony will go live on 17th of February on DHAKA in Bangladesh and this will be full of cultural programmes with all players attending the ceremony.

This event telecast will go live on STAR Cricket, ESPN and StarSports from evening 5:30 PM local time India and you can watch the highlights of it on next day.

This extravaganza night is of duration of total 4 hours which will feature many performances from Bangladesh, India and few from other countries. The Main attaction of this event is Brayan Adams and lot of Indian and Bangladeshi Singer. So all cricket fans are in vited to see this match.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Opening Ceremony,Many Famous Artist, Singers, Actors From East

The cricket extravaganza is just waiting to knock the door and its just few steps away. ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 will start on 19th January 2011.The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup will be the 10th Cricket World Cup and will be hosted by three South Asian Test cricket playing countries: Bangladesh,India,and Sri Lanka .

World Cup Opening Ceremony Live Stream

It will be Bangladesh’s first time co-hosting a Cricket World Cup. The World Cup will use cricket’s One Day International format, with fourteen national cricket teams scheduled to compete. The World Cup will take place between February and early April 2011, with the first match to be played on 19 February 2011 with co-hosts India and Bangladesh facing off at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka.The opening ceremony will be held on 17 February 2011, two days before the start of the tournament  with the final on 2 April 2011 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

The Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka is all set for the grand opening ceremony of the tenth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup on February 17. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will officially declare the beginning of biggest sporting extravaganza of the year, ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. ICC President Sharad Pawar, officials of the ICC governing body, members and presidents of various cricket boards and the 14 participating teams will be present at the stadium

Bangladesh ready for opening gala

A family pass by the flags of participating countries of Cricket World Cup in Dhaka Wednesday. Bangladesh has spruced up its capital Dhaka for the World Cup. (AFP)DHAKA: Bangladesh has spruced up its capital Dhaka for the World Cup as it seeks to take advantage of a prime opportunity to rebrand a country often known only for devastating floods and cyclones.
The impoverished South Asian nation has spent more than $100 million to tidy up for the tournament it co-hosts with India and Sri Lanka, looking at the showpiece as the biggest event since independence in 1971.
Beggars have been paid to stay off roads, hawkers have been evicted from overcrowded pavements and buildings given a new coat of paint. Efforts have even been made to reduce the infamous traffic jams in the bustling capital.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s efforts to forge a new image for the country, whose economy has grown at a hefty rate of six percent annually over the past decade, has won support from private banks and businesses.
“In the present world perspective, sports is not a mere entertainment, rather they help brand a country,” Hasina said at the renovated Bangabandhu National Stadium where Thursday’s opening ceremony takes place.
Canadian singer Bryan Adams will be the star attraction at the opening ceremony, which will also include performances by Indian, Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi artistes.

Dhoni ton lifts India
Indian batting, led by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s power hitting, forced New Zealand into submission by piling on a massive total and earned the co-host an easy 117-run win in the warm-up game Wednesday.
Dhoni started cautiously but tore apart the New Zealand bowling once he got set, blasting an unbeaten 108 off just 64 balls, with 11 boundaries and three massive sixes.
Gautam Gambhir (89), Virat Kohli (59) and Suresh Raina (50) also chipped in with half-centuries as India amassed a massive 360-5 from 50 overs, after opting to bat first.
New Zealand started on a positive note and took the attack to the Indian pacemen but failed to keep the momentum going once the Indian spinners came into action.
The loss of openers Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar early did not prove costly for India as Gambhir and Kohli laid the foundation for the onslaught with a 106-run partnership for the third wicket.
Dhoni and left-hander Raina, who was under pressure to confirm his place in the team, added 124 runs for the fifth wicket. Raina persished after completing a 26-ball half century. The Indian captain at one point hit seven consecutive boundaries – five off Jacom Oram and two against off-spinner Nathan McCullum – and made the bowlers pay for drifting on to his pads.
The Indian pace attack, without the experienced Zaheer Khan, did not look threatening, and it was left to the spinners to put the brakes on.
Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum added 94 for the opening wicket but New Zealand kept losing wickets at important junctures, making it an impossible chase.
Brendon McCullum’s run out when he started looking threatening did not help either. Spinners Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla and Yuvraj Singh and left-arm paceman Ashish Nehra all finished with two wickets for India.

Bangladesh ready for opening gala

A family pass by the flags of participating countries of Cricket World Cup in Dhaka Wednesday. Bangladesh has spruced up its capital Dhaka for the World Cup. (AFP)DHAKA: Bangladesh has spruced up its capital Dhaka for the World Cup as it seeks to take advantage of a prime opportunity to rebrand a country often known only for devastating floods and cyclones.
The impoverished South Asian nation has spent more than $100 million to tidy up for the tournament it co-hosts with India and Sri Lanka, looking at the showpiece as the biggest event since independence in 1971.
Beggars have been paid to stay off roads, hawkers have been evicted from overcrowded pavements and buildings given a new coat of paint. Efforts have even been made to reduce the infamous traffic jams in the bustling capital.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s efforts to forge a new image for the country, whose economy has grown at a hefty rate of six percent annually over the past decade, has won support from private banks and businesses.
“In the present world perspective, sports is not a mere entertainment, rather they help brand a country,” Hasina said at the renovated Bangabandhu National Stadium where Thursday’s opening ceremony takes place.
Canadian singer Bryan Adams will be the star attraction at the opening ceremony, which will also include performances by Indian, Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi artistes.

Dhoni ton lifts India
Indian batting, led by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s power hitting, forced New Zealand into submission by piling on a massive total and earned the co-host an easy 117-run win in the warm-up game Wednesday.
Dhoni started cautiously but tore apart the New Zealand bowling once he got set, blasting an unbeaten 108 off just 64 balls, with 11 boundaries and three massive sixes.
Gautam Gambhir (89), Virat Kohli (59) and Suresh Raina (50) also chipped in with half-centuries as India amassed a massive 360-5 from 50 overs, after opting to bat first.
New Zealand started on a positive note and took the attack to the Indian pacemen but failed to keep the momentum going once the Indian spinners came into action.
The loss of openers Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar early did not prove costly for India as Gambhir and Kohli laid the foundation for the onslaught with a 106-run partnership for the third wicket.
Dhoni and left-hander Raina, who was under pressure to confirm his place in the team, added 124 runs for the fifth wicket. Raina persished after completing a 26-ball half century. The Indian captain at one point hit seven consecutive boundaries – five off Jacom Oram and two against off-spinner Nathan McCullum – and made the bowlers pay for drifting on to his pads.
The Indian pace attack, without the experienced Zaheer Khan, did not look threatening, and it was left to the spinners to put the brakes on.
Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum added 94 for the opening wicket but New Zealand kept losing wickets at important junctures, making it an impossible chase.
Brendon McCullum’s run out when he started looking threatening did not help either. Spinners Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla and Yuvraj Singh and left-arm paceman Ashish Nehra all finished with two wickets for India.

Fake ticket scam hits Bangladesh ahead of tourney

Just two days to go before the World Cup officially begins, Bangladesh, one of the three tournament’s hosts, has been hit by a ticketing crisis.

On Tuesday, the owner of a printing press and three of his staff members were arrested for producing fake tickets for the tournament while, on the same day, the warm-up game between Bangladesh and Pakistan was half full because fans could not get into the ground.

Magistrate AHM Anwar Pasha sentenced Gayanath Mazumdar, 52, to two years in jail and fined him Sh114,265 after a tip-off led police to his printing press.

Three other employees were also fined the same amount each, although they will not serve time.

During the raid, it was discovered that the printing press had previously been involved in fake ticketing for concerts and other major events.

Holders of tickets printed at this press would not have had access to match venues because the barcode readers would have rejected them, said Pasha.

Even legitimate ticket holders battled to get into the stadium for the warm-up match because of the systems in place.

Fans who bought the 9,000 vouchers released to a local bank were unable to get their match tickets without first verifying their identity at the stadium.

Proof of purchase

The company handling the ticketing, Kyazoonga, insisted on this process instead of simply issuing the match tickets despite being asked to distribute them without checking names and identification.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) asked for the tickets to be handed out to voucher holders without any checks because the fact that they were in possession of a voucher was proof of purchase of a ticket.

“I will have to take a look at what happened but it is very unfortunate,” GS Hasan Tamim of BCB’s ticket and seating committee said while giving his assurance that the problem would be solved for the opener between Bangladesh and India on Saturday.

The stadium has a capacity of 25,000 but there were only 14,500 people inside during the game, with thousands more standing outside, waiting to get their tickets.

Bangladesh is hosting six matches, including two quarter-finals, as well as the opening ceremony on Thursday.