The ICC World Cup 2011 is a biggest cricket tournament scheduled to take place in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in February-March 2011. It will be the 10th cricket world cup.

Group A: Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya

Group B: India, South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland and Netherlands.

ICC World Cup 2011 Schedule, Scorecard, Points Table

Group A: Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya
Group B: India, South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland and Netherlands.

ICC World Cup 2011 Schedule, Scorecard, Points Table

MUMBAI – India will play a One-day tri-series in Zimbabwe during May-June that will involve Sri Lanka as the third team, it was announced by the Indian cricket board here Friday.

The tri-series will start May 28 with India taking on Zimbabwe in Bulawayo and the final is slated for June 9 in Harare. India will stay back for two Twenty20 matches June 12 and 13 in Harare, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced.

India replaced New Zealand, which pulled out citing security issues. India last toured Zimbabwe for two Tests and a One-day tri-series, involving New Zealand in 2005.

India Zimbabwe Srilanka 2010 Cricket Series – Schedule and Fixtures

Cricket results, ICC World Twenty20 2010, cricket match

1st Match, Group B: New Zealand v Sri Lanka at Providence – Apr 30, 2010

New Zealand won by 2 wickets (with 1 ball remaining)

Sri Lanka 135/6 (20/20 ov); New Zealand 139/8 (19.5/20 ov)

2nd Match, Group D: West Indies v Ireland at Providence – Apr 30, 2010

West Indies won by 70 runs

West Indies 138/9 (20/20 ov); Ireland 68 (16.4/20 ov)

3rd Match, Group C: Afghanistan v India at Gros Islet – May 1, 2010

India won by 7 wickets (with 31 balls remaining)

Afghanistan 115/8 (20/20 ov); India 116/3 (14.5/20 ov)

4th Match, Group A: Bangladesh v Pakistan at Gros Islet – May 1, 2010

Pakistan won by 21 runs

Pakistan 172/3 (20/20 ov); Bangladesh 151/7 (20/20 ov)

5th Match, Group C: India v South Africa at Gros Islet – May 2, 2010

India won by 14 runs

India 186/5 (20/20 ov); South Africa 172/5 (20/20 ov)

6th Match, Group A: Australia v Pakistan at Gros Islet – May 2, 2010

Australia won by 34 runs

Australia 191 (20/20 ov); Pakistan 157 (20/20 ov)

7th Match, Group B: Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe at Providence – May 3, 2010

Match scheduled to begin at 09:30 local time (13:30 GMT)

8th Match, Group D: West Indies v England at Providence – May 3, 2010

Match scheduled to begin at 13:30 local time (17:30 GMT)

9th Match, Group B: New Zealand v Zimbabwe at Providence – May 4, 2010

Match scheduled to begin at 09:30 local time (13:30 GMT)

10th Match, Group D: England v Ireland at Providence – May 4, 2010

Match scheduled to begin at 13:30 local time (17:30 GMT)

11th Match, Group A: Australia v Bangladesh at Bridgetown – May 5, 2010

Match scheduled to begin at 13:00 local time (17:00 GMT)

12th Match, Group C: Afghanistan v South Africa at Bridgetown – May 5, 2010

Match scheduled to begin at 17:00 local time (21:00 GMT)

13th Match: TBA v TBA at Bridgetown – May 6, 2010

14th Match: TBA v TBA at Bridgetown – May 6, 2010

15th Match: TBA v TBA at Bridgetown – May 7, 2010

16th Match: TBA v TBA at Bridgetown – May 7, 2010

17th Match: TBA v TBA at Bridgetown – May 8, 2010

18th Match: TBA v TBA at Bridgetown – May 8, 2010

19th Match: TBA v TBA at Bridgetown – May 9, 2010

20th Match: TBA v TBA at Bridgetown – May 9, 2010

21st Match: TBA v TBA at Gros Islet – May 10, 2010

22nd Match: TBA v TBA at Gros Islet – May 10, 2010

23rd Match: TBA v TBA at Gros Islet – May 11, 2010

24th Match: TBA v TBA at Gros Islet – May 11, 2010

1st Semi-Final: TBA v TBA at Gros Islet – May 13, 2010

2nd Semi-Final: TBA v TBA at Gros Islet – May 14, 2010

Final: TBA v TBA at Bridgetown – May 16, 2010

The Sahara group, the biggest patron of sports in the country, became owners of the Pune franchise after offering a staggering US$370m. The other new franchisee is a consortium of five companies called Rendezvous Sports World, which bid US$333.33m for Kochi. There were three other qualified bidders, including Adani Enterprises and VC digital solutions Pvt Ltd (Videocon), who were in the fray to become part of the IPL, which will be heartening for any existing franchise owners looking to offload their stake.’

Pune and Kochi are two new teams launch in IPL 2011

“It only shows there is no recession for the IPL and it is on the upswing,” Lalit Modi, the league’s commissioner, said after announcing the new franchises in Chennai.

Sahara, who have been sponsoring Indian cricket for the past 15 years, had bid for the same amount for three cities, but ultimately chose Pune over Ahmedabad and Nagpur. “When we considered the cities, in terms of infrastructure and logistics, Pune came first,” Abhijit Sarkar, the head of Sahara’s corporate communications, said. “Ït is also close to Mumbai – the commercial capital of India – and Aamby Valley (an upmarket township owned by the Sahara group).”

Ajay Shirke, president of the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) and a prominent businessmen from Pune, said he was obviously happy about Pune being rated as the most popular venue at the auction with three out of the five bidders preferring Pune as their home base over the rest of the 11 cities. Puneites have been hungry for top-quality cricket for nearly half a decade now. The last international match played in Pune was in the 2005 ODI series between India and Sri Lanka.

“MCA has always maintained that we will support all bids that are made for Pune,” Shirke, who was present at the auction venue in Chennai, told Cricinfo. “That only increases Pune’s association with cricket manifold.

“What they [the bidders] would have kept in mind was the market of Mumbai and Pune are nearby. Then there are private cities like Lavasa and Aamby Valley, which are about 20 kilometres from the ground.”

According to Shirke, the Sahara franchise would have its home ground situated on the outskirts of Pune city, in Gahunje, which is on the Mumbai-Pune expressway. The ground construction is already underway with Shapoorji Pallonji being the main contractors.

He was confident that the ground would be ready in time for the IPL’s fourth season when Sahara would unveil its team. “The construction work has already started and it should be ready by March 2011,” Shirke said.

While Sahara have a long history of sports sponsorship and are a high-profile corporate group, little is known about the winners of the Kochi franchise. It is a consortium with five partners – the Rendezvous group, Parini developers, Anand Shah Estate, Anchor Earth Private Limited and Film Waves. Minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor was involved in bringing the group together, but has no stake in the franchise.

In fact, Tharoor clarified to Cricinfo that he had no stake in the Kochi franchise and that his role was limited to encouraging the consortium that bagged the team. “My role consisted only of encouraging and blessing the venture, and steering it to Kerala,” he told Cricinfo.

“Tharoor was involved in facilitating and trying to get a team for the state,” Modi confirmed. “He is an ardent fan of cricket and he has been trying to get people from Kochi to bid for it. I think his involvement ends there.”

Modi said the tournament’s organsiers would provide the Kochi franchise a home ground till the Kerala Cricket Association completes construction of its new stadium. “Kerala Cricket Association is in the process of building the infrastructure and as when the stadium is ready teams will play there,” he said. “But till the structures are ready, the IPL will provide them with an alternate venue.”

Speaking to reporters, Shailendra Gaikwad of Rendezvous World Sport said, “We have closely been following every development within the IPL, right from the inaugural year. Today, I am very happy for our consortium of Rendezvous World Sport and the people of Kochi as we finally have a team to call our own in this amazing city-based sports franchise”

While the huge money offered by the new franchisees shows the health of the IPL, Modi said there were no plans in the near future to further increase the number of teams involved. “We also have no plans to expand further immediately. In fact I don’t foresee an expansion in many, many years to come but then you never know.”

The IPL will now feature 10 teams and – if the current format is retained – a total of 94 games, from the existing 60. After the first season in 2008, the league has already expanded its reach to other centres such as Cuttack, Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Dharamsala.

The franchise auction process was to have been completed on March 7 but was postponed by two weeks after the bidders and the BCCI objected to stiff financial clauses.