The final of the 2011 World Cup and two additional matches will host at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the tournament’s local organising committee announced after a meeting in that city on Wednesday. Mohali will host one semi-final and Ahmedabad a quarter-final, and each will also get two other games.
The rest of the 29 matches allotted to India have been divided equally between Eden Gardens, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Nagpur; their four games each will also include one India game.
The scheduling marks a continuation of Eden Gardens’ return to the mainstream – it has not hosted an ODI since 2007, when former BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya, a rival of the current Sharad Pawar-Shashank Manohar faction, returned to power in the state. However, it will begin its preparations for the World Cup with a one-dayer between India and Sri Lanka in December.
The remaining matches will be divided between Bangladesh (eight games) and Sri Lanka (12) and the full schedule of the 14-nation tournament is to be announced in Mumbai on November 9.
Sri Lanka will stage the other semi-final and one quarter-final, while Bangladesh will host the opening ceremony on February 18 and two quarter-finals.
The 14 teams have been divided into two groups with the top four from each qualifying for the quarter-finals. Group A features defending champions Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya. Group B comprises India, South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland and the Netherlands.
