ipl teams 2011

Kochi and Pune are the two new teams added this year. They will start playing from this 2011 season 4.

Chennai Super Kings: M S Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay, Albie Morkel (all retained), Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, S Badrinath, Joginder sharma, Sudeep Tyagi, Michael Hussey, Dwayne Bravo, Doug Bollinger, scott Styris, Ben Hilfenhaus, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suraj Randiv, George Bailey and Francois Du Plessis.

Deccan Chargers: Shikhar Dhawan, Ishant sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra, Manpreet Gony, Kevin Pietersen, Cameron White, Kumar Sangakkara, JP Duminy, Dale Steyn, Daniel Christian, Chris Lynn, Juan Theron and Michael Lumb.

Delhi Daredevils: Virender Sehwag (retained), Irfan Pathan, Naman Ojha, Ajit Agarkar, Ashok Dinda, Umesh Yadav, Venugopal Rao, David Warner, James Hopes, Morne Morke l, Aaron Finch, Matthew Wade, Roelof van der Merve, Andrew McDonand, Travis Birt, Colin Ingram and Robert Frylinck.

Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga (all retained), Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel, Andrew Symonds, David Jacobs, James Franklin, Clint McKay, Moises Henriques and Aiden Bllzzard.

Rajasthan Royals: Shane Warne, Shane Watson (both retained), Rahul Dravid, Pankaj Singh, Ross Taylor, Johan Botha, Paul Collingwood and Shaun Tait.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (retained), Zaheer Khan, Saurabh Tiwary, Cheteshwar Pujara, Abhimanyu Mithun, Mohammed Kaif, T Dilshan, A B De Viliers, Daniel Vettori, Dirk Nannes, Charl Langeveldt, Luke Pomersbach, Johan van der Wath, Rile Rossouw, Nuwan Pradeep and Jonathan Vandlar.

Team Kochi: V V S Laxman, S Sreesanth, R P Singh, Parthiv Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Ramesh Powar, R Vinay Kumar, Mahela Jayawardene, Brendon McCullum, Steven Smith, M Muralidharan, Brad Hodge, Tisara Perera, Stephen O’Keefe, Owais Shah, Michael Klinger and John Hastings.

Team Pune: Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa, Ashish Nehra, Murali Kartik, Graeme Smith, Tim Paine, Agelo Mathews, Nathan McCullum, Callum Ferguson, Wayne Parnell, Mitchell Marsh, Jerome Taylor, Alfonson Thomas and Jesse Ryder.

King XI Punjab: Dinesh Karthik, Abhishek Nayar, Praveen Kumar, Piyush Chawla, Adam Gilchrist, Shaun Marsh, David Hussey, Stuart Broad, Ryan Harris, Dimitri Mascarenhas and Nathan Rimmington.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan, Manoj Tiwari, L Balaji, Jaidev Unadkat, Jacques Kallis, Brad Haddin, Shakib Al Hasasn, Brett Lee, Eoin Morgan, Ryan ten Doeschate and James Pattinson

ipl 4 schedule

Indian Premier league 2011 , Season 4 begins in the month of April and ends in May. IPL 2011 starts after the world cup.

Provisional schedule as announced bu BCCI

April 8: Chennai Super Kings v Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai (8 pm)

April 9: Deccan Chargers v Rajasthan Royals, Hyderabad (4 pm); Kochi v Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kochi (8 pm)

April 10: Delhi Daredevils v Mumbai Indians, Delhi (4 pm); Pune v Kings XI Punjab, Navi Mumbai (8 pm)

April 11: KKR v DC, Kolkata (8 pm)

April 12: RR v DD, Jaipur (4pm); RCB v MI, Bangalore (8 pm)

April 13: Pune v Kochi, Navi Mumbai (4 pm); KXIP v CSK, Mohali (8 pm)

April 14: DC v RCB, Hyderabad (8 pm)

April 15: MI v Kochi, Mumbai (4 pm); DD v KKR, Delhi (8 pm)

April 16: CSK v RCB, Chennai (4 pm); DC v KXIP, Hyderabad (8 pm)

April 17: RR v KKR, Jaipur; Pune v DD, Navi Mumbai (8 pm)

April 18: Kochi v CSK, Kochi (8 pm)

April 19: DD v DC, Delhi (4 pm); RCB v RR, Bangalore (8 pm)

April 20: MI v Pune, Mumbai (4 pm); KKR v Kochi, Kolkata (8 pm)

April 21: KXIP v RR, Mohali (8 pm)

April 22: MI v CSK, Mumbai (8 pm)

April 23: KKR v RCB, Kolkata (4 pm); Delhi v KXIP. Delhi (8 pm)

April 24: DC v MI, Hyderabad (4 pm); RR v Kochi, Jaipur (8 pm).

April 25: CSK v Pune, Chennai (8 pm)

April 26: DD v RCB, Delhi (8 pm)

April 27: Pune v CSK, Navi Mumbai (4 pm); Kochi v DC, Kochi (8 pm)

April 28: KKR v KXIP, Kolkata (4 pm); RR v MI, Jaipur (8 pm)

April 29: RCB v Pune, Bangalore (8 pm)

April 30: Kochi v DD, Kochi (4 pm); MI v KXIP, Mumbai (8 pm)

May 1: RR v Pune, Jaipur (4 pm); CSK v DC, Chennai (8 pm)

May 2: DD v Kochi, Delhi (8 pm)

May 3: DC v KKR, Hyderabad (8 pm)

May 4: CSK v RR, Chennai (4 pm); Pune v MI, Navi Mumbai (8 pm)

May 5: Kochi v KKR, Kochi (4 pm); DC v DD, Hyderabad (8 pm)

May 6: RCB v KXIP, Bangalore (8 pm)

May 7: KKR v CSK, Kolkata (4 pm); MI v DD, Mumbai (8 pm)

May 8: RCB v Kochi, Bangalore (4 pm); KXIP v Pune, Mohali (8 pm)

May 9: RR v CSK, Jaipur (8 pm)

May 10: KXIP v MI, Mohali (4 pm); DC v Pune, Hyderabad (8 pm)

May 11: RR v RCB, Jaipur (8 pm)

May 12: CSK v DD, Chennai (8 pm)

May 13: Kochi v KXIP, Indore (8 pm)

May 14: MI v DC, Mumbai (4 pm); RCB v KKR, Bangalore (8 pm).

May 15: KXIP v DD, Dharamsala (4 pm); Kochi v RR, Indore (8 pm)

May 16: KKR v MI, Kolkata (8 pm)

May 17: Pune v DC, Pune (8 pm)

May 18: KXIP v RCB, Dharamsala (4 pm); CSK v Kochi, Chennai (8 pm)

May 19: Pune v KKR, Pune (8 pm)

May 20: MI v RR, Mumbai (8 pm)

May 21: KXIP v DC, Dharamsala (4 pm); DD v Pune, Delhi (8 pm)

May 22: RCB v CSK, Bangalore (4 pm); KKR v RR, Kolkata (8 pm)

May 24: Qualifier 1, Mumbai (8 pm)

May 25: Eliminator, Mumbai (8 pm)

May 27: Qualifier 2, Chennai (8 pm)

May 28: Final, Chennai (8 pm).

ipl 2011 time table

Date	Time	Teams	Venue
April 8	8 PM IST	Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Chennai
April 9	4 PM IST	Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals	Hyderabad
April 9	8 PM IST	Kochi v Royal Challengers Bangalore	Kochi
April 10	4 PM IST	Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians	Delhi
April 10	8 PM IST	Pune Warriors vs Kings XI Punjab	Navi Mumbai
April 11	8 PM IST	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers	Kolkata
April 12	4 PM IST	Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils	Jaipur
April 12	8 PM IST	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians	Bangalore
April 13	4 PM IST	Pune Warriors vs Kochi	Navi Mumbai
April 13	8 PM IST	Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings	Mohali
April 14	8 PM IST	Deccan Chargers vs Royal Challengers Bangalore	Hyderabad
April 15	4 PM IST	Mumbai Indians v Kochi	Mumbai
April 15	8 PM IST	Delhi Daredevils v Kolkata Knight Riders	Delhi
April 16	4 PM IST	Chennai Super Kings v Royal Challengers Bangalore	Chennai
April 16	8 PM IST	Deccan Chargers v Kings XI Punjab	Hyderabad
April 17	4 PM IST	Rajasthan v Kolkata Knight Riders	Jaipur
April 17	8 PM IST	Pune Warriors v Delhi Daredevils	Navi Mumbai
April 18	8 PM IST	Kochi v Chennai Super Kings	Kochi
April 19	4 PM IST	Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan Chargers	Delhi
April 19	8 PM IST	Royal Challengers Bangalore v Rajasthan Royals	Bangalore
April 20	4 PM IST	Mumbai Indians v Pune Warriors	Mumbai
April 20	8 PM IST	Kolkata Knight Riders v Kochi	Kolkata
April 21	8 PM IST	Kings XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals	Mohali
April 22	8 PM IST	Mumbai Indians v Chennai Super Kings	Mumbai
April 23	4 PM IST	Kolkata Knight Riders v Royal Challengers Bangalore	Kolkata
April 23	8 PM IST	Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab	Delhi
April 24	4 PM IST	Deccan Chargers v Mumbai Indians	Hyderabad
April 24	8 PM IST	Rajasthan Royals v Kochi	Jaipur
April 25	8 PM IST	Chennai Super Kings v Pune Warriors	Chennai
April 26	8 PM IST	Delhi Daredevils v Royal Challengers Bangalore	Delhi
April 27	4 PM IST	Pune Warriors v Chennai Super Kings	Navi Mumbai
April 27	8 PM IST	Kochi v Deccan Chargers	Kochi
April 28	4 PM IST	Kolkata Knight Riders v Kings XI Punjab	Kolkata
April 28	8 PM IST	Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians	Jaipur
April 29	8 PM IST	Royal Challengers Bangalore v Pune	Bangalore
April 30	4 PM IST	Kochi v Delhi Daredevils	Kochi
April 30	8 PM IST	Mumbai Indians v Kings XI Punjab	Mumbai
May 1	4 PM IST	Rajasthan Royals v Pune Warriors	Jaipur
May 1	8 PM IST	Chennai Super Kings v Deccan Chargers	Chennai
May 2	8 PM IST	Delhi Daredevils v Kochi	Delhi
May 3	8 PM IST	Deccan Chargers v Kolkata Knight Riders	Hyderabad
May 4	4 PM IST	Chennai Super Kings v Rajasthan Royals	Chennai
May 4	8 PM IST	Pune Warriors v Mumbai Indians	Navi Mumbai
May 5	4 PM IST	Kochi v Kolkata Knight Riders	Kochi
May 5	8 PM IST	Deccan Chargers v Delhi Daredevils	Hyderabad
May 6	8 PM IST	Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kings XI Punjab	Bangalore
May 7	4 PM IST	Kolkata Knight Riders v Chennai Super Kings	Kolkata
May 7	8 PM IST	Mumbai Indians v Delhi Daredevils	Mumbai
May 8	4 PM IST	Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kochi	Bangalore
May 8	8 PM IST	Kings XI Punjab v Pune Warriors	Mohali
May 9	8 PM IST	Rajasthan Royals v Chennai Super Kings	Jaipur
May 10	4 PM IST	Kings XI Punjab v Mumbai Indians	Mohali
May 10	8 PM IST	Deccan Chargers v Pune Warriors	Hyderabad
May 11	8 PM IST	Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers Bangalore	Jaipur
May 12	8 PM IST	Chennai Super Kings v Delhi Daredevils	Chennai
May 13	8 PM IST	Kochi v Kings XI Punjab	Indore
May 14	4 PM IST	Mumbai Indians v Deccan Chargers	Mumbai
May 14	8 PM IST	Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders	Bangalore
May 15	4 PM IST	Kings XI Punjab v Delhi Daredevils	Dharamsala
May 15	8 PM IST	Kochi v Rajasthan Royals	Indore
May 16	8 PM IST	Kolkata Knight Riders v Mumbai Indians	Kolkata
May 17	8 PM IST	Pune Warriors v Deccan Chargers	Pune
May 18	4 PM IST	Kings XI Punjab v Royal Challengers Bangalore	Dharamsala
May 18	8 PM IST	Chennai Super Kings v Kochi	Chennai
May 19	8 PM IST	Pune Warriors v Kolkata Knight Riders	Pune
May 20	8 PM IST	Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals	Mumbai
May 21	4 PM IST	Kings XI Punjab v Deccan Chargers	Dharamsala
May 21	8 PM IST	Delhi Daredevils v Pune Warriors	Delhi
May 22	4 PM IST	Royal Challengers Bangalore v Chennai Super Kings	Bangalore
May 22	8 PM IST	Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals	Kolkata
May 24	8 PM IST	Qualifier 1	Mumbai
May 25	8 PM IST	Eliminator	Mumbai
May 27	8 PM IST	Qualifier 2	Chennai
May 28	8 PM IST	Final	Chennai

ipl 2011 Auctions

IPL 4 2011 started at ITC Gardenia in Bangalore on Saturday, Jan 8. The auction will continue for two days (Jan 8 and Jan 9). The auction has been broadcasted live on Set Max. Here is the team wise bidding results -

Kings XI Punjab

Adam Gilchrist - Rs 4.14 cr ($900,000)
dinesh karthik - Rs 4.14 cr ($900,000)
* David Hussey - Rs 6.44 cr ($1.5 mn)
* Abhisek Nayar - Rs 3.68 cr ($8,00,000)
* Stuart Broad - Rs 1.84 cr ($400,000)
* Pravin Kumar - Rs 3.68 cr ($800,000)
* Ryan Harris - Rs 1.49 cr ($325,000)
* Piyush Chawla - Rs 4.14 cr ($900,000)
* Shaun Marsh - Rs 1.84 cr ($400,000)

Rajasthan Royals

* Pankaj Singh - $95,000
* Shaun Tait - $300,000
* Ross Taylor - Rs 4.6 cr ($1 million)
* Rahul Dravid - Rs 2.3 cr ($500,000)
* Johan Botha - Rs 4.37 cr ($950,000)
* Paul Collingwood - Rs 1.15 cr ($2,50,000)

Team Kochi

* John Hastings - $20,000
* Michael Klinger - $75,000
* Owais Shah - $200,000
* Stephen O'Keefe - $20,000
* Vinay Kumar - $475,000
* Thisara Perera - $80,000
* Mahela Jayawardene - Rs 6.75 cr ($1.5 million)
* VVS Laxman - Rs 1.84 cr ($400,000)
* Brendon McCullum - Rs 2.18 cr ($475,000)
* S Sreesanth - Rs 4.14 cr ($900,000)
* RP Singh - Rs 2.3 cr ($500,000)
* Parthiv Patel - Rs 1.33 cr ($290,000)
* Ravindra Jadeja - Rs 4.37 cr ($950,000)
* Steven Smith - Rs 92 lakh ($2,00,000)
* Ramesh Powar - Rs 82.8 lakh ($1,80,000)
* Brad Hodge - Rs 1.95 cr ($4,25,000)
* Muttiah Muralitharan - Rs 5.1 cr ($ 1.1 mn)

Kolkata Knight Riders

* James Pattinson - $100,000
* Ryan ten Doeschate - $150,000
* Jayadev Unadkat - $250,000
* Balaji - $500,000
* Gautam Gambhir - Rs 11.04 cr ($2.4 million)
* Yusuf Pathan - Rs 9.66 cr ($2.1 million)
* Jacques Kallis - Rs 5.06 cr ($1.1 million)
* Brad Haddin - Rs 1.49 cr ($3,25,000)
* Shakib al Hasan - Rs 1.95 cr ($4,25,000)
* Brett Lee - Rs 1.84 cr ($4,00,000)
* Eoin Morgan - Rs 1.65 cr ($3,50,000)
* Manoj Tiwary - Rs 2.48 cr ($4,75,000)

Mumbai Indians

* Clint McKay - $110,000
* Munaf Patel - $700,000
* Rohit Sharma - Rs 9.2 cr ($2 million)
* Andrew Symonds - Rs 3.91 cr ($850,000)
* David Jacob - Rs 87.4 lakh ($1,90,000)
* James Franklin - Rs 46 lakh ($1,00,000)
* Moises Henriques - ($50,000)
* Aiden Blizzard - ($20,000)

Delhi Daredevils

* Andrew McDonald - $80,000
* Venugopal Rao - $700,000
* Roelof van der Merwe - $50,000
* Umesh Yadav - $750,000
* Ashok Dinda - $210,000
* Ajit Agarkar - $210,000
* Matthew Wade - $100,000
* Irfan Pathan - Rs 8.74 cr ($1.9 million)
* David Warner - Rs 3.4 cr ($750,000)
* Naman Ojha - Rs 1.24 cr ($270,000)
* James Hopes - Rs 1.61 cr ($350,000)
* Morne Morkel - Rs 2.18 cr ($475,000)
* Aaron Finch - Rs 1.4 cr ($300,000)

Chennai Super Kings

* Scott Styris - $80,000
* Suraj Randiv - $80,000
* Joginder Sharma - $150,000
* Ben Hilfenhaus - $100,000
* Sudeep Tyagi - $240,000
* Nuwan Kulasekara - $100,000
* Wridhiman Saha - Rs 46 Lakh ($1,00,000)
* Dwayne Bravo - Rs 92 lakh ($200,000)
* Doug Bollinger - Rs 3.22 cr ($700,000)
* R Ashwin - Rs 3.91 cr ($850,000)
* Michael Hussey - Rs 2.0 cr ($425,000)
* S Badrinath - Rs 3.68 cr ($800,000)
* Faf du Plessis - ($120,000)
* George Bailey - ($50,000)

Sahara Pune Warriors

* Jerome Taylor - ($100,000)
* Mitchell Marsh - ($290,000)
* Wayne Parnell - ($160,000)
* Callum Ferguson - ($300,000)
* Nathan McCullum - ($100,000 )
* Ashish Nehra - ($850,000)
* Angelo Mathews - ($950,000)
* Tim Paine - ($270,000)
* Yuvraj Singh - Rs 8.2 cr ($1.8million)
* Graeme Smith - Rs 2.3 cr ($500,000)
* Robin Uthappa - Rs 9.66 cr ($2.1 million)
* Tim Paine - Rs 1.24 cr ($270,000)
* Ashish Nehra - Rs 3.91 cr ($ 850,000)
* Nathan McCullum - Rs 46 lakh ($100,000)
* Callum Ferguson - Rs 1.38 cr ($300,000)
* Angelo Mathews - Rs 4.4 cr ($950,000)
* Murali Karthik - ($400,000)
* Jesse Ryder - ($150,000)
* Alfonso Thomas ($100,000)

Royal Challengers Bangalore

* Johan van der Wath - ($50,000)
* Luke Pomersbach - ($50,000)
* Charl Langeveldt - ($140,000)
* Abhimanyu Mithun - ($260,000)
* Dilshan Tillakaratne - Rs 2.99 crore ($650,000)
* Zaheer Khan - Rs 4.14 crore ($900,000)
* AB de Villiers - Rs 5.06 cr ($1.1 mn)
* Daniel Vettori - Rs 2.53 cr ($550,000)
* Saurabh Tiwary - Rs 7.36 cr ($1.4 mn)
* Dirk Nannes - Rs 2.99 cr ($650,000)
* Cheteswar Pujara - Rs 3.2 cr ($700,000)
* Mohammad Kaif - ($130,000)
* Nuwan Pradeep - ($20,000)
* Rilee Rossouw - ($20,000)
* Jonathan Vandiar - ($20,000)

Decan Chargers

* Manpreet Gony - ($290,000)
* Daniel Christian - ($900,000)
* Kevin Pietersen - Rs 2.99 cr ($650,000)
* Cameron White - Rs 5.06 cr ($1.1 million)
* Kumar Sangakkara - Rs 3.22 cr ($700,000)
* Shikhar Dhawan - Rs 1.38 cr ($300,000)
* JP Duminy - Rs 1.38 cr ($300,000)
* Ishant Sharma - Rs 2.07 cr ($450,000)
* Dale Steyn - Rs 5.32 cr ($1.2 mn)
* Amit Mishra - Rs 1.38 cr ($300,000)
* Pragyan Ojha - Rs 2.30 cr ($500,000)
* Colin Ingram - ($100,000)
* Travis Birt - ($20,000)
* Robert Frylinck - ($20,000)
* Rusty Theron - ($85,000)
* Michael Lumb - ($80,000)
* Chris Lynn - ($20,000)

Cricket World Cup

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

Having won a series 4-2 in India last autumn soon after retaining the Champions Trophy, Australia are still the team to beat despite the recent Nat West Series reverse to England. A powerful batting line-up (what a luxury to have Michael Hussey coming in at six or seven) will be augmented by Brad Haddin (injured for the games with England). And if they can get their best bowlers fit then it is difficult to see Ponting's side not at least reaching the semi-finals. No one will fancy facing a quartet of Bollinger, Johnson, Tait and Harris even on the slower pitches of the subcontinent. But could the lack of a top class spinner cost the Aussies in the end?

Sri Lanka will also be strong given that they could play at home right up to and including the semi-final. They may have lost the recent Asia Cup final at home to India, but their recent form has been good. Kumar Sangakkara has an excellent and varied line-up of bowlers including Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews and Muttiah Muralitharan who will be determined for a one day swansong as happy as his test exit. Add to that a strong batting line-up including the skipper, Tillakaratne Dilshan, the imperious Mahela Jaywardene and the consistent Thilan Samaraweera, then most observers would back the Lankans to also make the semi-finals.

Although Pakistan were knocked out in the preliminary stage of the Asia Cup, their performances under new (and now only limited overs) captain Shahid Afridi were much improved with the losses to Sri Lanka and India both going to the wire. The top order is a bit shaky and invariably relies on the Akmal brothers and the skipper to get it out of trouble, so a recall for Younis Khan and/or Mohamamd Yousuf must be on the cards. Any side that can name Umar Gul, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Aamer in its XI will be confident of restricting the opposition to gettable targets and then there is the joker in the pack of Shoaib Akhtar. As ever, Pakistan will be dangerous floaters.

New Zealand will be tough to beat as usual, but with Shane Bond retired and some of their more established names past their best, heavy reliance will be placed on (Super)Dan Vettori and Ross Taylor. The Black Caps would seem to be most at risk from coming a cropper against a Zimbabwe side fresh from beating India twice and Sri Lanka once in the recent triangular competition they hosted. When you add in the mix, Zimbabwe's useful complement of spinners, it wouldn't be a massive surprise if they made the quarter finals ahead of Vettori's men. The two minnows in the group, Canada and Kenya can be discounted with the latter a shadow of the side that shocked everyone by reaching the semi-finals in 2003.

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

Just like the England football team, India will have to cope with ridiculously high expectations from its media and supporters, which will be compounded by the fact that they are playing at home. Will they be able to cope with the pressure? At least MS Dhoni is an excellent captain who has won a major trophy (this year's IPL) on Indian soil (as well as the 2007 World T20). And when you add the skipper to a batting line-up that includes Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, then you begin to understand why most Indian supporters hopes are high; more so if Yuvraj Singh can regain form and fitness. But it is the bowling department where India look short outside of the excellent Harbhajan - even Zaheer Khan has looked out of sorts recently. The recent triumph at the Asia Cup came after a shadow side had been embarrassed in Zimbabwe. Semi-finals at least, but winners?

A lack of quality spin options could cost South Africa dear on the subcontinent, although any team containing the batting prowess of Amla (especially on subcontinent pitches), Smith, De Villers and Kallis plus the pace and brilliance of Steyn will be tough to overcome, even if the proteas have no spinner of note. But then comes the typical South African problem of underperforming (some would say choking) at pretty much every World Cup. They have recently easily beaten West Indies in the Caribbean, but can they overcome the Asian giants, Australia or even England? We doubt it.

England's one day fortunes have taken a sudden rise in the last nine months and their supporters will be dreaming that Andrew Strauss' men can repeat their World T20 success and win the World Cup for the first time. Most of the side is settled and with Ravi Bopara announcing himself in the final game of the series with Bangladesh as the answer to the number six conundrum, only one or two doubts remain. Does Andy Flower stick with Michael Yardy as Graeme Swann's spin twin or does he twist with the precocious Adil Rashid? The only other doubt concerns the new ball opening pair. James Anderson has been out of sorts, but probably has enough credit in the bank. Tim Bresnan however, is clearly not an international bowler of sufficient class so Ajmal Shahzad who impressed against Bangladesh, the great survivor Ryan Sidebottom or Steve Finn could join Anderson in the XI. Whether England can actually win is debatable especially given their poor recent record on the subcontinent, but they have their best chance since 1992.

With Bangladesh playing at home and the West Indies increasingly in turmoil, Chris Gayle's men could suffer the ignominy of failing to get out of the group. Bangladesh have some talented players and if they can have more days in the sun like they did at Bristol against England (rather then the subsequent defeats to Ireland and Netherlands), then more familiarity with the winning habit could make them dark horses on home pitches next year. West Indies were humiliated by South Africa 5-0 at home recently and a huge improvement is required before the main event starts in just over seven months. Don't discount the most dangerous of the minnows Ireland either, who will be spirited opposition for anyone. The Netherlands though can expect to be the whipping boys of this group and certainly won't repeat the success of their footballers by reaching the final.

World Cup

The Cricket World Cup is, of course, the most important competitive event in cricket, organized by the International Cricket Council ICC every four years. You can well imagine that this seminal event draws cricket fans from all over the world, all of them determined to see the matches from the very best angle on the pitch. Tickets for the Cricket World Cup competition are selling well ahead of time and the best seats are the first ones to sell out, so you need to get all of your Cricket World Cup tickets before they are gone! Do not wait in long lines and miss your chance to witness the greatest event this coming cricket season, order your tickets online today for the Cricket World Cup! Treat yourself to Cricket World Cup tickets right here at Worldticketshop.com - Your Ticket to Fun!

The first phase of tickets for the 2011 World Cup in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have been put on sale following a meeting of the tournament's Central Organising Committee in Mumbai. The tickets have been priced affordably, with the cheapest costing 20 cents US in Sri Lanka, the committee said.

World Cup 2011

Cricket Schedule of ICC World Cup 2011. Fixtures of ICC World Cup 2011 has been announced. The first schedule match of ICC World Cup 2011 between India vs Bangladesh begins Feb 19, 2011 onwards. Keep viewing CriSchedule for latest updates on Cricket Schedule and Fixtures of upcoming ICC World Cup 2011.

Good times are here for India. The country will get to host the tenth world cup of its most loved sport in 2011 along with co-hosts Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It will be the first time co-hosting for Bangladesh in a cricket world cup. Fourteen national teams are scheduled to compete for the coveted cup between February and early April 2011. According to the announced fixtures of ICC World Cup 2011, the first match will be played among co-hosts India and Sri Lanka at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

The formerly announced time-table of 2011 world cup also included Pakistan as a co-hosting nation but the 2009 attack on Sri Lankan cricket team at Lahore which left seven players injured, forced the world cup governing body (ICC) to strip off Pakistan of its co-hosting rights on Apr 17, 2009. India will now host 29 of the total 49 planned matches including the all important grand final at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai and one semi-final as well. Sri Lanka will host 12 matches while the first time nation Bangladesh has been given the opportunity to host the tournament opener along with eight other matches. Since India has been allotted the highest number of matches, the ICC has moved its headquarters to Mumbai to ensure smooth and timely preparations for the event. Mr. Ratnakar Shetty has been appointed as the managing director of the event, while the security directorate will be headed by Mr. Shashank Manohar of BCCI.

The allocation of world cup venues is always a much sought after event with major cricketing nations bidding for hosting rights. To avoid favoritism, the ICC prefers to rotate venues between major cricket playing nations. In the bidding for the 2011 event, Australia/New Zealand had an upper hand over the trio of India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as they had not had a chance to host the World cup since 1992. But Indias argument that the trio being a bigger group of countries helped clinch the final deal. The 2015 cricket world cup will be held in Australia/New Zealand.

Cricket world cup organized every four years is the fourth largest and one of the most eagerly awaited and viewed event of the cricket world. It is widely considered to be the pinnacle of achievement in this sport. The excitement among fans is already palpable as the first phase of tickets was put for sale in Mumbai on 1 June 2010. Priced affordably at around 20 US cents, the organizing committee is expecting to reap in bumper sales and not diminish the euphoria of fans. The new revised format of the world cup wherein 14 teams instead of 16 will be participating also ensures that fans get to see their favorite teams play a minimum of six matches even if they are ruled out of the tournament due to early defeats.

Cricket fan or not- there is no way you can escape the all-engulfing madness. From cricket merchandise at stores to travel packages to host nations and restaurants and cafes serving cricket-themed food, the fever is all over. Personal relationships too are not unaffected by the craze. While the love for cricket unites some, it also spells doom for many relationships. There is simply no running away, so prepare to drown yourself in the drone of cricket slogans in the year to come.

So, Get the latest ICC World Cup 2011 Schedule to be played in 2011. The world cup 2011 schedule will begin on Feb 19, 2011. Cricket World Cup 2011 schedule will have 14 teams, out of which 10 would be of test rank status.