2011 Coupe de France Final, News, Officials
On 29 April, the French Football Federation announced that referee Clément Turpin of Bourgogne would officiate the 2011 Coupe de France final. Turpin has officiate three matches involving either of the two teams this season. He refereed Lille's 6–3 win over Lorient on 5 December 2010. The scoreline is the highest in Ligue 1 this season. Turpin also officiated Lille's 3–1 win over Montpellier two months prior. For Paris Saint-Germain, Turpin handled the team's 2–1 win over Caen on 20 November. Turpin will be assisted by Cyril Gringore of Lower Normandy and Nicolas Danos of the Midi-Pyrénées. Ruddy Buquet of Picardy will serve as the fourth official.


2011 Coupe de France Final, Road to the final, Paris Saint-Germain
Unlike Lille, who opened up the competition against amateur opposition, Paris Saint-Germain faced fellow Ligue 1 outfit Lens at the Parc des Princes. The hosts opened the match by scoring the first five goals. Goals by Zoumana Camara, Nenê, Péguy Luyindula and Guillaume Hoarau, the latter netting two, was enough to allow Paris Saint-Germain progression to the Round of 32. The club's next opponent was amateur club Agen. Due to Agen being two levels below Paris Saint-Germain, the club was designated as the home team.


2011 Coupe de France Final, Road to the final, Paris Saint-Germain
The designation resulted in the location and time of the match becoming the subject of debate for almost an entire week as PSG officials sought to move the match up from 20:45 CET to 18:00 in the afternoon to allow the club enough recovery time for its next match and to also limit possible incidents involving the clubs' supporters.


2011 Coupe de France Final, Road to the final, Paris Saint-Germain
After the French Football Federation ruled in favor of the time change, Paris Saint-Germain began questioning the safety and security of Agen's stadium and requested that the match site be moved to either the Stade Chaban-Delmas in Bordeaux or the Stadium Municipal in Toulouse. Agen officials balked at the idea stating the club's stadium had met all the guidelines and requirements of the federation. Despite appealing for a stadium change, PSG were denied after the federation ruled in favor of Agen on 19 January. In the match, Saint-Germain opened the scoring through midfielder Mathieu Bodmer.


2011 Coupe de France Final, Road to the final, Paris Saint-Germain
Agen, surprisingly, equalized through Mamoudou Daffé just before half-time. Two minutes after the interval, the away side re-took the lead through Luyindula and doubled its lead in the 50th minute after a goal from Hoarau. Despite Agen scoring in the 60th minute to close the lead to a goal, Les Rouge-et-Bleu were able to hold onto the 3–2 victory.


2011 Coupe de France Final, Road to the final, Paris Saint-Germain
In the Round of 16, Paris Saint-Germain faced another amateur club in Martigues. Similar to the Agen match, PSG were tested after Stéphane Biakolo drew the match at 1–1 just before half-time after Hoarau had opened the scoring early in the first half, however, in the second half, the away side were able to maintain its composure en route to a 4–1 victory with Hoarau scoring two goals, completing his hat trick, and Luyindula adding another.


2011 Coupe de France Final, Road to the final, Paris Saint-Germain
In the quarterfinals, PSG faced Le Mans and endured a dull match with the only highlights of normal time being red cards shown to Camara and opposition defender Mamadou Wague. The match, subsequently, went to extra time scoreless and Paris Saint-Germain were, remarkably, rescued by two of the club's academy players. Seventeen-year-old Jean-Christophe Bahebeck, who had made his professional debut in the Martigues match, opened the scoring in the 108th minute and 18-year-old Neeskens Kebano scored the second goal three minutes from time to give PSG a 2–0 extra time win.


2011 Coupe de France Final, Road to the final, Paris Saint-Germain
In the semi-finals, Paris Saint-Germain faced the last club in the competition that wasn't playing in the first division, Angers. Paris Saint-Germain opened up the scoring in the 22nd minute through Bodmer following service from Nenê on the left side. Six minutes after half-time, Nenê was on the receiving end after scoring a left-footed strike. Angers midfielder Sébastien Renouard scored in the 57th minute to give the home side hope, however, three minutes later, the home team's dreams would be slashed following a goal from Hoarau, the striker's sixth goal in the competition. Paris Saint-Germain held onto the 3–1 scoreline until the death, which secured the club a place in the final match.


2011 Coupe de France Final, Road to the final, Lille
Lille began its Coupe de France campaign away to amateur club Forbach. The away side opened up the scoring through Eden Hazard in the first half. In the second half, Lille got goals from Aurélien Chedjou and Gervinho before Forbach were handed a consolation goal from Abdelhak Errai in injury time to go home 3–1 losers. In the next round, Lille were pitted against local rivals Wasquehal.


2011 Coupe de France Final, Road to the final, Lille
Despite Wasquehal being designated hosts for the match, two weeks before it was to take place, it was announced that the match would be played at Lille's ground, the Stade Lille-Metropole, in order to inherit a derby-like atmosphere given the close proximity between each club. Prior to Lille playing in the stadium, from 1995–2005, Wasquehal was its primary tenants. In the match, Lille recorded a 1–0 victory over their rivals thanks to a first half goal from the Brazilian Túlio de Melo. In the ensuing round, Lille was given its first test in the mold of professional club Nantes.


2011 Coupe de France Final, Road to the final, Lille
Nantes, surprisingly, took the lead through Filip Đorđević in the 19th minute. Just minutes before half-time, however, Hazard equalized for Lille. The match ultimately went to a penalty shootout. In the shootout, misses from striker Moussa Sow and midfielder Florent Balmont for Lille and Omar Benzerga and Vincent Sasso for Nantes resulted in Lille entering the fourth set of shooters up 1–0. After two conversions each from both sides, Nantes midfielder Ronny Rodelin's shot was saved by goalkeeper Mickaël Landreau to allow Lille progression to the next round.


2011 Coupe de France Final, Road to the final, Lille
In the quarter-finals, Lille faced fellow first division club Lorient at home. The match was closely contested and, despite Lorient playing with ten men for over an hour due to Bruno Ecuele Manga being sent off, both Lille and Lorient failed to get on the scoresheet, which resulted in a penalty shootout for the hosts for the second consecutive round. Unlike the previous shootout against Nantes, Lille converted all of its chances.


2011 Coupe de France Final, Road to the final, Lille
An Arnold Mvuemba miss on Lorient's third shot gave Lille the advantage and, after Ludovic Obraniak converted his fourth shot for Lille, Hazard stepped up and converted his to send Lille to its first Coupe de France semi-final in over 25 years. In the semi-finals, Lille traveled down south to the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region to face Nice. In the match, both teams failed to test each opposition's goalkeeper. Towards the end of the half, Lille were finally rewarding courtesy of an Hazard goal following a successful link up between the winger and midfielder Obraniak.


2011 Coupe de France Final, Road to the final, Lille
Just minutes after half-time, Lille extended its lead through Gervinho. The away side has numerous opportunities to extend its lead, but each opportunity was either stymied by the opposition or wasted. Lille were still able to hold on to its 2–0 lead, which would be the final scoreline allowing the club to progress to its first Coupe de France final since 1955.


2011 Coupe de France Final, Match, Pre-match
The opening kick-off was done by former French international and 1998 FIFA World Cup-winning goalkeeper Bernard Lama. During his professional career, Lama played for both Lille and Paris Saint-Germain and had arguably the best years with both clubs. He began his football career with Lille amassing over 100 appearances from 1981–1989. In 1992, Lama joined Paris Saint-Germain. With Les Parisiens, he spent six years with the club appearing in over 230 matches winning two Coupe de France titles in 1993 and 1995.


2011 Coupe de la Ligue Final
The 2011 Coupe de la Ligue Final was the 17th final of France's football league cup competition, the Coupe de la Ligue, a football competition for the 44 teams that the Ligue de Football Professionnel manages. The final took place on 23 April 2011 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis and was contested between Marseille and Montpellier. Marseille were the defending champions of the competition and was the fourth club in the competition's history to appear in the final match in back-to-back seasons. The winner was guaranteed a UEFA Europa League place for the 2011–12 season with their appearance being dependent on whether they qualify for the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League. The final and both semi-finals were broadcast live on France 2.


2011 Coupe de la Ligue Final
Marseille successfully defended its title after defeating Montpellier 1–0 courtesy of a second half goal from Taye Taiwo. The title resulted in Marseille becoming the first club in Coupe de la Ligue history to repeat as champions. For the first time in the competition's history, an official Best Player award was given out following the match. The award is sponsored by l'Institut du cerveau et de la moelle épinière (English: Institute for Brain and Spinal Cord Disorders) and its inaugural winner was the lone goal-scorer Taye Taiwo. The award was presented to the player by France national team manager Laurent Blanc, who serves as an ambassador for the institute.


2011 Coupe de la Ligue Final
On 24 April, the Ligue de Football Professionnel announced that it was investigating the Best Player award winner for his actions following the match. The Nigerian defender reportedly made provocative and offensive remarks about the club's Le Classique rivals Paris Saint-Germain while celebrating with Marseille supporters. After being condemned for his actions by Marseille's management and its staff and players, Taiwo issued an apology on the club's official website.


2011 Coupe de la Ligue Final, News, Five referee system for cup
On 20 August 2010, the Ligue de Football Professionnel confirmed that the Coupe de la Ligue would utilized the five-referee system that is currently being used in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. The announcement made the competition the first national cup competition in Europe to adopt the system and was approved by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) on 21 July. The system officially began on 24 August with the start of the second round matches and was in place until the final.


2011 Coupe de la Ligue Final, News, Team backgrounds
Marseille made its second appearance in the final of the Coupe de la Ligue. The club was the competition's defending champions having defeated Bordeaux 3–1 in last year's final and were the fourth club in the competition's history to appear in the final match in back-to-back seasons. Montpellier made its debut in the ultimate match of the Coupe de la Ligue. The club's last major finals appearance in a cup competition was in the 1993–94 season when it reached the final of the Coupe de France. In 1992, Montpellier won the Coupe d'été (English: Summer Cup).


2011 Coupe de la Ligue Final, News, Team backgrounds
The competition was not recognized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel and abolished in 1994, however, the Coupe de la Ligue took a heavy influence from the competition. On 26 January 2011, the defending champions Marseille were designated as the home team for the match. A week before the Coupe de la Ligue Final was to take place, Marseille and Montpellier faced each other in a league match. Marseille defeated hosts Montpellier 2–1 in the match, despite the home team taking a 1–0 lead late in the second half.


2011 Coupe de la Ligue Final, News, Ticketing
The Coupe de la Ligue final has been played every year at the Stade de France since 1998, following the stadium's completion. The stadium has a capacity of 81,338 spectators. Each club that participated in the final received the same quota of tickets, which were distributed to season ticket holders and through each club's ticket sales at a later date. Tickets went on sale to the general public in the third week of March 2011, a month before the final. Pricing was defined by category with Category 1 seats, the highest category, being priced at €90 and Category 4, the lowest, going for €45. The Category 4 seats were primarily reserved for each club's supporters.


2011 Coupe de la Ligue Final, News, Officials
On 7 April, the Ligue de Football Professionnel announced that referee Antony Gautier of Nord-Pas-de-Calais would officiate the 2011 Coupe de la Ligue final. Gautier officiated only one match involving either of the two teams this season; a 2–1 home loss for Montpellier against Nancy on 11 September 2010. He refereed his first league cup final and was assisted by Mickaël Annonier of Atlantique and Nicolas Pottier of Maine. Saïd Ennjimi of Centre-Ouest serve as the fourth official.


2011 Coupe de la Ligue Final, Road to the final, Marseille
Due to participating in European competition, the defending champions Marseille entered the competition in the Round of 16 for the fourth consecutive season. The club began the defence of its title away to Championnat National club Guingamp at the Stade du Roudourou. Marseille recorded a 1–0 victory over the Bretons thanks to a first half goal from the Ghanaian André Ayew. Marseille faced first division foes AS Monaco in the quarterfinals. In the match, which was played at the Stade Vélodrome, Monaco took the lead midway through the first half after midfielder Mathieu Coutadeur converted a penalty.


2011 Coupe de la Ligue Final, Road to the final, Marseille
Just before half-time, Ayew equalized scoring his second goal of the competition. In the second half, Spanish defender César Azpilicueta netted the game-winner to give Marseille a 2–1 victory. In the semi-finals, Les Phocéens were pitted against fellow UEFA Champions League participants Auxerre. A first half injury time goal from Brandão was enough to hold off Auxerre. Marseille later added a second half goal from André-Pierre Gignac to assured the club a 2–0 victory. The semi-final win resulted in Marseille becoming the fourth club in the competition's history to appear in the final match in back-to-back seasons.


2011 Coupe de la Ligue Final, Road to the final, Montpellier
Similar to Marseille, Montpellier began the competition in the Round of 16 due to the club's participation in the UEFA Europa League, though the club was eliminated from Europe months before its first match in the Coupe de la Ligue. Montpellier opened up the competition at home at the Stade de la Mosson against second division club Ajaccio. Goals from the Turk Hasan Kabze and club youth product Bangali-Fodé Koita was enough to secure Montpellier a 2–0 shutout win. In the quarterfinals, Montpellier, for the second straight round, played at home and faced a tough test against Lille.


2011 Coupe de la Ligue Final, Road to the final, Montpellier
Similar to the previous match, Kabze opened the scoring in the first half. The Turkish international later added another goal in the 52nd minute to give Montpellier a 2–0 lead. Lille drew one goal closer following a strike from Eden Hazard in the 67th minute. Despite constant pressure from Lille, the hosts were able to hold onto its 2–1 advantage to progress to the semi-finals where they faced the defending Coupe de France champions Paris Saint-Germain. After 90 minutes, both club's were goalless, which resulted in the match going into extra time. Two minutes from time, Montpellier striker Olivier Giroud netted the game-winning goal to give Montpellier's its first appearance in a final match since the 1994 edition of the Coupe de France.


2011 Coupe de la Ligue Final, Match, Pre-match
Pre -match festivities included a rehearsed show, which displayed over 70 dancers and acrobats from the Cirque Mandingo and Studios de Cirque, 2,500 metres (1.6 mi) of Kevlar rope, 18 giant balloons that represented the previous Coupe de la Ligue finals as well as the current one, and the Coupe de la Ligue trophy. During the introduction and warm-up of the teams, players wore tee shirts showing support for France Télévisions journalists Hervé Ghesquière and Stéphane Taponier, as well as their three companions. The journalists were kidnapped on 29 December 2009 while working in Afghanistan doing a piece for the Pièces à Conviction magazine and have yet to be released. The shirts displayed the pictures of the two journalists, as well as the statements "Libérez les otages!" (English: Free the hostages!) and "Freedom".


2011 Coupe de la Ligue Final, Match, Pre-match
The opening kick-off was done by French triple jumper Teddy Tamgho. Tamgho, who set two world indoor records at the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships, was the third athlete in the competition's final history to kick off the final of the Coupe de la Ligue. 1992 and 1996 Olympic gold medalist Marie-José Pérec and 2002 European and 2003 World Championships gold medalist Muriel Hurtis-Houairi were the previous two.


2011 Coupe de la Ligue Final, Match, Team news
Marseille entered the match without French international Loïc Rémy due to suspension. Rémy was given a straight red card in the team's league match on 17 April against Montpellier after getting into a physical altercation with defender Abdel El Kaoutari. Aside from Rémy, Marseille was also without starting right back César Azpilicueta who is currently rehabbing a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee; an injury he suffered in November 2010.


2011 Coupe de la Ligue Final, Match, Team news
Montpellier entered the match without two players due to suspension. Bosnian international Emir Spahić and French youth international El Kaoutari. El Kaoutari missed the final due to his previously mentioned altercation with Loïc Rémy. Due to previously being given a yellow card in the match, the defender was given a second yellow card for the confrontation with the Marseille striker. Montpellier was also without French youth international Karim Aït-Fana due to injury.


2011 Coventry City Council election
Elections for Coventry City Council were held on Thursday 5 May 2011. As the council is elected by thirds, one seat in each of the wards was up for election. The vote took place alongside the 2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum.


2011 Coventry City Council election
Labour took five seats (Bablake, Sherbourne, Westwood, Whoberley, and Woodlands) from the Conservatives, and retained control of the council with an increased majority, holding 35 out of 54 seats.


2011 Coventry City Council election
During the election count, a box of ballot papers for Cheylesmore ward was misplaced. Before they were discovered, Councillor Kevin Foster was about to concede that he had lost his seat, although after the additional votes were counted he had retained it.


2011 Coventry City Council election, Council composition
The composition of the council before and after the election can be found in the following table:


2011 Coventry City Council election, Ward results
Note: the Green Party candidate stood in this ward as an independent at the last election, so it could be argued that he had a swing of -4.2%


2011 Coventry City Council election, Ward results
Note: The Conservative Party candidate for Henley, Steven Henry Charles Keough, withdrew his nomination.


2011 Craigavon Borough Council election
Elections to Craigavon Borough Council were held on 5 May 2011 on the same day as the other Northern Irish local government elections. The election used four district electoral areas to elect a total of 26 councillors.


2011 Craigavon Borough Council election, Districts results, Craigavon Central
2005: 3 x DUP, 2 x UUP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x SDLP2011: 2 x DUP, 2 x UUP, 2 x Sinn Féin, 1 x Alliance2005-2011 Change: Sinn Féin and Alliance gain from SDLP and DUP


2011 Craigavon Borough Council election, Districts results, Loughside
2005: 3 x Sinn Féin, 2 x SDLP2011: 3 x Sinn Féin, 2 x SDLP2005-2011 Change: No change


2011 Craigavon Borough Council election, Districts results, Lurgan
2005: 3 x DUP, 3 x UUP, 1 x Sinn Féin2011: 3 x DUP, 3 x UUP, 1 x Sinn Féin2005-2011 Change: No change


2011 Craigavon Borough Council election, Districts results, Portadown
2005: 3 x DUP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Independent2011: 4 x DUP, 2 x Sinn Féin, 1 x UUP2005-2011 Change: DUP and Sinn Féin gain from SDLP and Independent


2011 Craven District Council election
The 2011 Craven District Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Craven District Council in North Yorkshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council.


2011 Craven District Council election
After the election, the composition of the council was as follows:


2011 Craven District Council election, Election result
There was no change in the political composition of the council after the election, with the Conservatives retaining a majority. All nine councillors who were defending seats held them, with the closest result being in Skipton West where Liberal Democrat Polly English held the seat with a majority of 7 votes over Conservative candidate David Walsh. The only new councillor after the election came in Gargrave and Malhamdale, where Conservative Simon Myers held the seat previously held by party colleague David Crawford, who stood down at the election.


2011 Craven District Council election, Election result
The results meant the Conservatives retained 18 seats and there were 8 independent and 4 Liberal Democrat councillors following the election, while Labour did not win any seats despite standing in 8 of the 10 seats contested.


2011 Crawley Borough Council election
The 2011 Crawley Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Crawley District Council in West Sussex, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.


2011 Credit Agricole Suisse Open Gstaad – Singles Qualifying
This article displays the qualifying draw of the 2011 Credit Agricole Suisse Open Gstaad.


2011 Credit Suisse Women's Masters Basel
The 2011 Credit Suisse Women's Masters Basel were held from October 7 to 9 at the Curlingzentrum Region Basel in Basel, Switzerland as part of the 2011–12 World Curling Tour. The purse for the event was CHF32,050. The event was played in a triple knockout format.


2011 Cricket Canada Summer Festival
The 2011 Cricket Canada Summer Festival was a cricket tournament in Canada, taking place between 11–13 August 2011. Four teams participated (Afghanistan, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, and the USA) in a round robin tournament.


2011 Cricket Canada Summer Festival, Squads
Mohammad Nabi (vice-captain) Asghar StanikzaiDawlat ZadranGulbudeen NaibHamid HassanHamza HotakIzatullah DawlatzaiKarim SadiqMirwais AshrafMohammad ShahzadNoor Ali ZadranSamiullah ShenwariShabir NooriShapoor Zadran


2011 Cricket Canada Summer Festival, Squads
Jimmy Hansra (captain)Harvir BaidwanKhurram ChohanRustam BhattiParth DesaiTyson GordonRuvindu GunasekeraHamza Tariq (wicketkeeper)Junaid SiddiquiHenry OsindeHiral PatelRizwan CheemaZubin SurkariUsman Limbada


2011 Cricket Canada Summer Festival, Squads
Samuel BadreeAdrian BarathRayad EmritSherwin GangaJustin GuillenAneil KanhaiRichard KellyImran KhanDave MohammedJason MohammedWilliam PerkinsDenesh RamdinNavin Stewart


2011 Cricket Canada Summer Festival, Squads
Quasen AlfredJignesh DesaiAkeem DodsonBhim GeorgeHussain HaidarStu MillsAndy MohammedMuhammad GhousAmir NanjeeJapen PatelSamarth ShahCharan SinghAnand Tummala


2011 Cricket World Cup
The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka, and (for the first time) Bangladesh. India won the tournament, defeating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the final at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, thus India becoming the first country to win the Cricket World Cup on home soil. India's Yuvraj Singh was declared the man of the tournament. This was the first time in World Cup history that two Asian teams had appeared in the final. It was also the first time since the 1992 World Cup that the final match did not feature Australia .


2011 Cricket World Cup
Fourteen national cricket teams took part in this tournament, including 10 full members and four associate members of the International Cricket Council (ICC). The opening ceremony was held on 17 February 2011 at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, and the tournament was played between 19 February and 2 April. The first match was played between India and Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka.


2011 Cricket World Cup
Pakistan was also scheduled to be a co-host, but after the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team in Lahore, the International Cricket Council (ICC) cancelled that, and the headquarters of the organising committee, originally in Lahore, was transferred to Mumbai. Pakistan was to have held 14 matches, including one semi-final. Eight of the games (including the semi-final) were awarded to India, four to Sri Lanka, and two to Bangladesh.


2011 Cricket World Cup, Host selection
The ICC announced on 30 April 2006 which countries would host the 2011 World Cup. Australia and New Zealand had also bid for the tournament; if successful, they would have shared the hosting equally, leaving the location of the final still to be decided. The Trans–Tasman bid, Beyond Boundaries, was the only one delivered to the ICC headquarters in Dubai before the 1 March deadline, but the Asian bidders were granted an extension by the ICC. The New Zealand government had given assurance that Zimbabwe would be allowed to compete in the tournament, following political discussions in the country over whether their cricket team should be allowed to tour Zimbabwe in 2005.


2011 Cricket World Cup, Host selection
The extra time needed for the Asian bid had weakened its prospects, but when the time came to vote, Asia won the hosting rights by ten votes to three. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has revealed that the vote of the West Indies Cricket Board was decisive, as the Asian bid had the support of South Africa and Zimbabwe as well as the four bidding countries. The Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported that the Asian countries had promised to hold fund-raising events for West Indian cricket during the 2007 World Cup, which may have influenced the vote.


2011 Cricket World Cup, Host selection
However, I. S. Bindra, chairman of the Monitoring Committee of the Asian bid, said that their promise of extra profits of around US$400 million had been decisive, that there "was no quid pro quo for their support", and that playing the West Indies had "nothing to do with the World Cup bid".


2011 Cricket World Cup, Format
Late in 2007, the four host nations agreed on a revised format for the 2011 World Cup, identical to that of the 1996 World Cup, except that there would be 14 teams instead of 12. The first round of the tournament would consist of two groups of seven teams. Each team in a group would play all the others once, and the top four from each group would qualify for the quarter-finals. This ensured that every team would play at least six matches.


2011 Cricket World Cup, Qualification
As per ICC regulations, all 10 full members automatically qualify for the World Cup, including Zimbabwe who have given up their Test playing status until the standard of their team improves.


2011 Cricket World Cup, Qualification
The ICC also organised a qualifying tournament in South Africa to determine the four Associate teams who would participate in the 2011 event. Ireland, who had been the best performing Associate nation since the last World Cup, won the tournament, beating Canada in the final. The Netherlands and Kenya also qualified by virtue of finishing third and fourth respectively. All 4 associates kept their ODI status as well as Scotland who this time failed to qualify for the World Cup.


2011 Cricket World Cup, Preparations, Pakistan loses co-host status
In April 2009 the ICC announced that Pakistan had lost its right to co-host the 2011 World Cup because of concerns about the "uncertain security situation" in the country, especially in the aftermath of the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team in Lahore. The PCB estimated that this would lose them $10.5 million. This figure took account only of the fees of $750,000 per match guaranteed by the ICC. The overall loss to the PCB and the Pakistani economy were expected to be much greater.


2011 Cricket World Cup, Preparations, Pakistan loses co-host status
On 9 April 2009 PCB chairman Ijaz Butt revealed that they had issued a legal notice to oppose ICC's decision. The ICC, however, claimed that the PCB was still a co-host, and that they had only relocated the matches out of Pakistan. Pakistan proposed that South Asia host the 2015 World Cup and that Australia and New Zealand host the 2011 event, but this option did not find favour with their co-hosts and was not implemented.


2011 Cricket World Cup, Preparations, Allocation of matches
On 11 April 2005 PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan announced an agreement on the allocation of games, under which India would host the final, Pakistan and Sri Lanka the semi-finals, and Bangladesh the opening ceremony. After being stripped of its status as a co-host, Pakistan proposed to host its allocated games in the United Arab Emirates as a neutral venue. They had played matches in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah in the preceding months. On 28 April 2009, however, the ICC announced that matches originally intended to be played in Pakistan would be reallocated. As a result, India hosted 29 matches across eight venues, including the final and one semi-final; Sri Lanka hosted 12 matches at three venues, including one semi-final; and Bangladesh hosted 8 matches at two grounds, as well as the opening ceremony on 17 February 2011.


2011 Cricket World Cup, Preparations, Allocation of matches
On 1 June 2010 the first tranche of tickets were put on sale after a meeting of the tournament's Central Organising Committee in Mumbai. The cheapest tickets cost 20 US cents in Sri Lanka. In January 2011 the ICC declared the Eden Gardens ground in Kolkata, India, to be unfit and unlikely to be complete by 27 February, when it was scheduled to host a match between India and England. The match was moved to Bangalore.


2011 Cricket World Cup, Preparations, Media and promotion
The World Cup has grown as a media event with each tournament. The ICC sold the broadcasting rights for the 2011 event to ESPN Star Sports and Star Cricket for around US$2 billion. For the first time, the tournament was broadcast in high-definition format, and it was to be covered by at least 27 cameras using recent technology. It was also planned to be shown across platforms such as online and mobile 3G. It was the first time that an ICC event had the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS).


2011 Cricket World Cup, Preparations, Media and promotion
The final was watched live by 135 million people in India, as recorded by the ratings agencies TAM and aMap, including 67.6 million Indian cable and satellite viewers. The final was watched by 13.6% of Indian TV-equipped households on average, with a peak of 21.44% at the end of the game, thus beating the semi-final between India and Pakistan, which had an estimated 11.74% TV rating in India for the whole match. The event was televised in 200 countries with over 2.2 billion viewers, highest for any edition of a Cricket World Cup.


2011 Cricket World Cup, Preparations, Media and promotion, Song
The official song of the 2011 Cricket World Cup has three versions, in Bengali, Hindi, and Sinhala, corresponding to the three host countries. "De Ghuma Ke" (Swing It Hard) is the Hindi version, composed by the trio of Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy. It employs an array of Indian rhythms combined with elements of rock and hip hop. The Sinhala version, "Sinha Udaane", was adapted by Sri Lankan R&B and hip hop artist Ranidu Lankage and composed by lyricist Shehan Galahitiyawa. Both songs were performed at the opening ceremony. "Sinha Udaane" was performed by Lankage.


2011 Cricket World Cup, Preparations, Media and promotion, Mascot
Stumpy, a young elephant, was the official mascot for the 2011 Cricket World Cup. He was unveiled at a function in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 2 April 2010, and his name was revealed on 2 August 2010 after an online competition conducted by the ICC in the last week of July.


2011 Cricket World Cup, Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony was held in the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 17 February 2011, two days before the first match.


2011 Cricket World Cup, Prize money
The 2011 Cricket World Cup winning team would be taking home a prize money of US$3 million and US$1.5 million for runner-up, with the International Cricket Council deciding to double the total allocation for the tournament to US$8.01 million. The winning team will also take home a replica of the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy, that has been awarded since 1999. The decision was taken at the ICC Board meeting which was held in Dubai on 20 April 2010.


2011 Cricket World Cup, Venues
All the Indian stadiums for the tournament had been finalised by mid-October 2009, and those of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in late October 2009. The ICC announced all the venues in Mumbai on 2 November 2009. Two new stadiums were constructed in Kandy and Hambantota, Sri Lanka, for the event.


2011 Cricket World Cup, Umpires
The umpire selection panel selected 18 umpires excluding a reserve umpire, Enamul Haque (Bangladesh) to officiate at the World Cup: five from Australia, three from England, two each from India, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and one each from South Africa and the West Indies.


2011 Cricket World Cup, Squads
Each country chose a 30-member preliminary squad, which would then be reduced to 15. All the 14 teams announced their final squads before 19 January 2011.


2011 Cricket World Cup, Warm-up matches
The following 14 warm-up matches were played before the World Cup started. For statistical purposes, these matches are not considered to be One Day Internationals.


2011 Cricket World Cup, Group stage, Group A
The top four teams from each group qualified for the quarter-finals (indicated in green).


2011 Cricket World Cup, Group stage, Group B
The top four teams from each group qualified for the Quarter finals (indicated in green).


2011 Cricket World Cup, Final
The final was played on 2 April between India and Sri Lanka at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. India were crowned champions after winning by six wickets with only 10 balls remaining. India captain MS Dhoni was named man of the match after an unbeaten, match-winning innings of 91 runs off 79 balls, including the final shot that won the game. After the match, the Indian players paid tribute to Sachin Tendulkar, who was playing in his last World Cup. The final had a viewership of about 997 million people all over the world.


2011 Cricket World Cup 2nd semi-final
The 2nd semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 was played between the Indian cricket team and the Pakistani cricket team at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali on 30 March 2011. India won the toss and elected to bat, making 260 runs in their 50 overs while losing 9 wickets. Pakistan, after starting well, fell short; they were all out for 231 runs in 49.5 overs. Thus, India won the match by 29 runs and qualified for the 2011 Cricket World Cup Final, while eliminating Pakistan from the tournament. India subsequently beat Sri Lanka in the final, winning the 2011 Cricket World Cup.


2011 Cricket World Cup 2nd semi-final, Rivalry background
India and Pakistan have been rivals in various fields since the Partition of India in 1947. Since then the countries have fought three wars against each other. Since the first international cricket match between the two countries in 1952, political or diplomatic tensions frequently influenced their cricket relations, including the suspension of cricket tours. Once it became clear that the two teams would play each other in the 2nd semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011 a great deal of hype was generated; the match was even equated to war.


2011 Cricket World Cup 2nd semi-final, Match
The match was played on 30 March 2011 at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali in India. There were fears that rain would curtail or postpone the match until the Meteorological Department issued assurances that the period of the match would be rain-free. The Indian captain won the toss and elected to bat first. India made 260 runs in their 50 overs, losing 9 wickets. Sachin Tendulkar top scored with 85 runs and was declared the man of the match. Pakistan on the other hand, though getting off to a good start failed to maintain consistency and were restricted to just 231 runs while being bowled out in 49.5 overs. India won the match and confirmed their place in the 2011 Cricket World Cup Final.


2011 Cricket World Cup 2nd semi-final, Match
Fall of wickets: 1-48 (Virender Sehwag, 5.5 ov), 2-116 (Gautam Gambhir, 18.5 ov), 3-141 (Virat Kohli, 25.2 ov), 4-141 (Yuvraj Singh, 25.3 ov), 5-187 (Sachin Tendulkar, 36.6 ov), 6-205 (MS Dhoni, 41.4 ov), 7-236 (Harbhajan Singh, 46.4 ov), 8-256 (Zaheer Khan, 49.2 ov), 9-258 (Ashish Nehra, 49.5 ov)


2011 Cricket World Cup 2nd semi-final, Match
Fall of wickets: 1-44 (Kamran Akmal, 8.6 ov), 2-70 (Mohammad Hafeez, 15.3 ov), 3-103 (Asad Shafiq, 23.5 ov), 4-106 (Younis Khan, 25.4 ov), 5-142 (Umar Akmal, 33.1 ov), 6-150 (Abdul Razzaq, 36.2 ov), 7-184 (Shahid Afridi, 41.5 ov), 8-199 (Wahab Riaz, 44.5 ov), 9-208 (Umar Gul, 46.1 ov), 10-231 (Misbah-ul-Haq, 49.5 ov)


2011 Cricket World Cup 2nd semi-final, Buildup and aftermath
Governments in almost all the states and provinces of both nations declared official holidays on 30 March in view of this match. Thousands of television screens were installed in public places across both nations, and television stores experienced increased sales of sets in order to watch this and other games at the 2011 World Cup. The match was played in front of a huge crowd. This included Victory Venkatesh, Aamir Khan, Priety Zinta, Vivek Oberoi and many other celebrities and diplomats from both nations. Cricket diplomacy was used to strengthen the relationships between the two nations after the deterioration caused by the 2008 Mumbai attacks: Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh invited his Pakistani counterpart, Yousuf Raza Gilani, to watch the match with him at Mohali; Gilani accepted.


2011 Cricket World Cup 2nd semi-final, Buildup and aftermath
After the victory, revelry erupted throughout India and fans across the country celebrated through the night. In Pakistan, the loss was met with violence and agitation by several fans. In Pakistan it was reported that three people, including a Pakistani actor, died of shock after Pakistan lost the match. Pakistani former cricketers and fans criticised the Pakistani team for their weak fielding and batting after a good showing earlier in the competition. The match drew high television ratings – in India it had an estimated 11.74% TV rating for the whole match, although its audience was beaten by the India v Sri Lanka final with 135 million viewers.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final
The 2011 Cricket World Cup Final was a One Day International (ODI) match played between India and Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India on 2 April 2011, Saturday. The culmination of the tenth edition of the World Cup, it was the first time that these two teams had met each other at this stage in the tournament history. India won the match by six wickets—its second World Cup win after the 1983 tournament—and became the third team to have won the title more than once, after Australia (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007 and later 2015) and the West Indies (1975 and 1979).


2011 Cricket World Cup Final
Both teams had progressed through three stages to reach the final. India had won all but two matches to that point, losing to South Africa and tying with England in the group stage. Sri Lanka had won all but one completed match, against Pakistan. The Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara chose to bat first after winning the toss. The team scored slowly until the 17th over when they lost both their openers. Sangakkara added 62 runs with Mahela Jayawardene before being dismissed for 48 runs. Although wickets kept falling at one end, Jayawardene scored 103 runs in 88 balls; he was involved in a partnership of 66 runs with Thisara Perera. The pair took Sri Lanka's total to 274 runs at the close of the innings.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final
In reply, India lost their opener Virender Sehwag to the second ball of the innings, out LBW by Lasith Malinga. Sachin Tendulkar, too, got out quickly. The next set of batsmen, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli, added 83 runs in 15 overs before the latter got out in the 22nd over. India captain MS Dhoni, promoting himself up the order, joined Gambhir and they both added 109 runs, an Indian record in a World Cup final. Gambhir got out for 97 runs in the 42nd over. India chased down the total and won the match by six wickets in the 49th over. Dhoni was declared the "man of the match" for scoring 91 runs, while his compatriot Yuvraj Singh was awarded the "man of the tournament".


2011 Cricket World Cup Final
The match was watched by about 42,000 spectators at the venue and about 135 million viewers on television in India. This was the second time in World Cup history that a host nation won the final and the first time to win on their home ground.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final
The 2011 Cricket World Cup was the tenth World Cup, organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The competition took place between 19 February and 2 April 2011. Co -hosted by India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, the tournament was the third World Cup to be played in the Indian subcontinent. The ICC ruled out Pakistan citing security reasons. There were 14 participating teams, which included four associate members of the ICC—Kenya, Canada, Ireland and Netherlands.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final
The match was the tenth World Cup final and was hosted at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. It was the first time the city has hosted a World Cup final, and was the second final to be hosted by India, after the 1987 final held at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The 2011 final was the first to feature two teams from the same continent, and the first time that two co-hosts contested the final.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final
India were making their 3rd appearance in a World Cup final. Previously, they won the final in 1983, and lost in 2003. Sri Lanka was appearing in their third World Cup final; breakthrough winners against Australia in 1996 they finished as runners up (also to Australia) in the previous World Cup in 2007. Prior to this match, India and Sri Lanka had met each other seven times in World Cup history with Sri Lanka ahead with four wins and two defeats and one game ending in a no-result. In One Day Internationals, India led Sri Lanka with 75 victories against 52 victories for Sri Lanka, while 11 matches had ended with no result.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final
The final generated huge interest. The President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa, a known cricket enthusiast, announced he would attend the match along with his sons. Following this, the Indian President Pratibha Patil also announced her decision to attend the match.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Road to the final
Sri Lanka qualified for the knockouts with a second-place finish in Group A. They won four of their six games, suffered a defeat against Pakistan and against Australia was washed out. Being level on points with Australia, they were placed second in the group due to their better net run rate.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Road to the final
India were drawn in Group B where they finished second behind South Africa. They managed wins in four of their six games, lost one against South Africa while their game against England was a high scoring tie.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Road to the final
Sri Lanka had clinically demolished England in the quarter final, defeating them by 10 wickets. Both the Sri Lankan openers, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga made unbeaten centuries and put up a world-record stand for the first wicket in a World Cup. The New Zealand semi-final was more keenly contested, but was still won with relative ease by Sri Lanka. The matches showcased the effective unconventional bowling of pace spearhead Lasith Malinga, restrictive fielding, and the batting prowess of the Sri Lankan top order.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Road to the final
Both of India's knockout matches were high-pressure contests. Australia was a strong team and the defending champions, and India had to give a very good performance to restrict Australia to 260 and then successfully chase down the target even as wickets fell regularly. India and their semi-final opponents, Pakistan, have historically been rivals, and there was immense public pressure on both teams with the match attended by the Prime Ministers of both countries. India batted first and ultimately defeated Pakistan by 29 runs.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Team composition
India largely retained the same team it had in the semi-final against Pakistan, with just one change. Ashish Nehra, left-arm medium pacer, had suffered a finger fracture while fielding in that match, and he was replaced by another pacer, Sreesanth. India was widely rated as having the strongest batting line-up in the tournament, and chose to back this strength throughout the campaign by playing seven batsmen and four bowlers. Due to Yuvraj Singh performing well with both bat and ball in the tournament, India could afford to play with only four specialist bowlers.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Team composition
Yuvraj bowled his full quota of 10 overs in many matches, including the semi-final against Pakistan. Among the four bowling slots, Zaheer Khan was the pace spearhead supported in most matches by Munaf Patel, while Harbhajan Singh was the regular off-spinner. The fourth slot was taken by different bowlers in different matches, including Sreesanth, Nehra, leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, or off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. The captain had chosen Nehra over Ashwin in the match against Pakistan also. Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had then said he preferred having three seamers because it gave him more options. He already had proven spinners in Harbhajan and Yuvraj, and could call upon many other Indian players who can bowl part-time spin (including Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, and Virender Sehwag).


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Team composition
Sri Lanka made four changes to their side from the semi-final. All-rounder Angelo Mathews had suffered a torn quadriceps and could not play. Sri Lanka knew the Indians' strength was batting, and thus they needed to take wickets to put them under pressure. This led to their choosing a full complement of bowlers. Spin bowler Ajantha Mendis had performed well throughout the tournament, but he had a poor record against India in pre-World Cup clashes and was not chosen for the final. Spinner Rangana Herath was also dropped.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Team composition
Off-spinner Suraj Randiv and batsman Chamara Kapugedera were flown in from Sri Lanka to strengthen the side. Seamers Nuwan Kulasekara and Thisara Perera, who had played matches in the earlier group stage, were drafted into the team. Legendary spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was carrying minor injuries, but was retained. He had announced that he would retire from One Day International cricket after the World Cup, so this was his last match. The semi-final held at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo was his last ODI match on home soil, and there he had been carried around the stadium, perched on his teammates' shoulders, on a lap of honour after that match.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Match details, Match officials
The on-field umpires were Simon Taufel of Australia and Aleem Dar of Pakistan, with Ian Gould being the third (TV) umpire. All of these umpires are highly rated; Taufel has won 5 ICC Umpire of the Year awards, while Dar has won two. Taufel had never been able to officiate in a World Cup final because Australia had been qualifying for the finals in the last four editions. Jeff Crowe was the match referee and Steve Davis the reserve umpire.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Match details, Toss
A controversy developed when Kumar Sangakkara called the toss. The toss came up as heads, but the match referee Jeff Crowe did not hear the call over the crowd. It was decided that there would be a re-toss. Sangakkara called heads as the coin was spun the second time. He won the re-toss and decided to bat.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Match details, Sri Lankan innings
Sri Lanka started the innings slowly, constrained by good bowling from Zaheer Khan and committed fielding from Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, and Virat Kohli inside the 30-yard circle. Zaheer began with three consecutive maidens and the wicket of Upul Tharanga, conceding only six runs in his five-over spell. Sri Lankan opener Tillakaratne Dilshan was bowled by Harbhajan Singh when a delivery carried on to the stumps after deflecting off his gloves. Captain Kumar Sangakkara came in after Tharanga's dismissal, and was building a solid foundation with Dilshan before the latter was dismissed.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Match details, Sri Lankan innings
Mahela Jayawardene came to the crease when Sri Lanka were 60/2 in the 17th over. Sangakkara and Mahela went about the task of consolidating the innings, but eventually Sangakkara was caught behind by Dhoni at 48. New batsman Thilan Samaraweera was adjudged not out by the umpire when a ball hit his thigh pad off the bowling of Yuvraj Singh. The Indians decided to review the decision and he was ultimately given out. Chamara Kapugedera, who was playing his first World Cup match, was caught off a deceptive slower ball by Zaheer Khan.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Match details, Sri Lankan innings
Jayawardene, meanwhile, continued with his quality batting, ultimately scoring 103 not out from 88 balls in a high-class batting display. Helped by the hard-hitting of Nuwan Kulasekara and Thisara Perera, Sri Lanka scored 91 runs in the last 10 overs, including 63 in the batting powerplay (45–50 overs) to take the score to 274/6.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Match details, Indian innings
India had a shaky start, with Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar both dismissed early by Lasith Malinga, leaving them struggling at 31 for two. Sehwag was trapped LBW for a duck on the second ball of the innings. Tendulkar started with some good strokes, racing to 18 off 14 balls, but then edged a catch to wicketkeeper Sangakkara. Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir started the recovery with some fluent stroke play and quick running between wickets, taking India to 114 before Kohli was caught-and-bowled by Tillakaratne Dilshan for 35.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Match details, Indian innings
When he was on 30, Gambhir mistimed a shot off the bowling of Suraj Randiv, sending the ball high up in the air, but Nuwan Kulasekara could not hold on to a difficult chance at long off. Kohli and Gambhir put together an 83-run partnership before Kohli's dismissal. Dhoni came in after Kohli to bat at number five, usually the position of Yuvraj Singh. Both Kohli and Dhoni are right-handed batsmen, while Gambhir and Yuvraj are left-handed.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Match details, Indian innings
Along with other considerations, by coming ahead of Yuvraj, Dhoni ensured there would be a right-left batting combination between him and Gambhir, which makes it difficult for the bowlers to get into a rhythm, and necessitates frequent field changes. Both Gambhir and Dhoni emphasised on preserving the wickets, and later accelerating with a greater flow of boundaries. Gambhir and Dhoni added 109 for the fourth wicket with Gambhir scoring 97. Gambhir tried to bring up his century with a boundary, but his heaving bat failed to connect with the ball, and he was bowled by Thisara Perera.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Match details, Indian innings
Following Gambhir's dismissal, 52 runs were required off 52 balls. Yuvraj Singh was the new batsman and along with Dhoni took India to victory, and Dhoni sealed the match hitting a six off Nuwan Kulasekara, when only 4 runs were required off 11 balls. Dhoni finished on 91 not out from 79 deliveries. Like in many other day-night matches in the subcontinent, dew started to form on the outfield grass in the night, making the ball damp and difficult to grip especially in the later part of India's batting. However, this was a known factor and was taken into consideration by the Sri Lankan captain when he chose to bat first after winning the toss. By crossing the target of 274, India had set a record for the highest successful run-chase in a World Cup final.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Match details, Indian innings
At the end of the match, the batting strength of both the teams stood out. The three top run scorers of this tournament were from these finalists: Tillekaratne Dilshan (500 runs), Sachin Tendulkar (482), and Kumar Sangakkara (465). In the top 10 tournament scorers, there were 3 from Sri Lanka (Upul Tharanga (395) in addition to the previous two), and 4 from India (Gautam Gambhir (393), Virender Sehwag (380), and Yuvraj Singh (362) in addition to Sachin).


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Match details, Scorecard
Fall of wickets: 1–17 (Tharanga, 6.1 ov), 2–60 (Dilshan, 16.5 ov), 3–122 (Sangakkara, 27.5 ov), 4–179 (Samaraweera, 38.1 ov), 5–182 (Kapugedera, 39.5 ov), 6–248 (Kulasekara, 47.6 ov)


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Match details, Scorecard
Fall of wickets: 1–0 (Sehwag, 0.2 ov), 2–31 (Tendulkar, 6.1 ov), 3–114 (Kohli, 21.4 ov), 4–223 (Gambhir, 41.2 ov)


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Post-match ceremony and celebrations
In the post-match presentation, the Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara said that the Indians batted very well, and "looks like you need to make something like 350 runs to put them under pressure." The then Indian captain MS Dhoni said that he had added motivation to play well to justify some unexpected decisions he had made for this match, like playing Sreesanth instead of Ashwin, and promoting himself up the order above Yuvraj. MS Dhoni was named Man of the Match for his powerful and match-winning batting display under pressure. Yuvraj Singh was named Man of the Tournament for good all-round performance with both bat and ball throughout the tournament.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Post-match ceremony and celebrations
After the presentation, an ecstatic Indian team first held the Cup amid showers of champagne and confetti. Some Indian players, including Harbhajan Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, and Yuvraj Singh, had tears in their eyes. The team then carried iconic player Tendulkar on a victory lap around the stadium. Coach Gary Kirsten was also carried around the ground later. The Indian players dedicated their victory to Tendulkar; Virat Kohli said, "he has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. It is time we carried him on our shoulders." Gautam Gambhir dedicated the victory to the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, and to the soldiers guarding India's borders.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Post-match ceremony and celebrations
Celebrations went on through the night in the team hotel. The victory prompted several firework displays and celebrations throughout India.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Broadcast
The final match was broadcast live in India on ESPN Star Sports' website and state-run free-to-air broadcasters Doordarshan and DD1. In Sri Lanka the match was on Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation's Channel Eye.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Broadcast
The ratings agencies TAM and aMap respectively recorded that 135 million people in India watched the final live, including 67.6 million Indian cable and satellite viewers. The game was watched by 13.6% of Indian TV-equipped households on average, with a peak of 21.44% at the end of the game.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, After match, Reception in Sri Lanka
Though Sri Lankan spectators were initially disappointed, they eventually rallied behind their team and welcomed them at the airport with garlands, cheers, and celebration. Sri Lanka's excellent performance throughout the World Cup was appreciated, and it was recognised that reaching the final was a significant achievement in itself. Opening batsman Tillekaratne Dilshan was the highest run scorer in the tournament, with Sangakkara being the third highest (the second highest was Sachin Tendulkar of India).


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, After match, Reception in Sri Lanka
The Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa hosted High Tea for the Sri Lankan players and spouses on the grounds of the Presidential residence, Temple Trees.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, After match, Reception in India
Indian fans were ecstatic at the win, and at the overall performance of the team through the tournament. Celebrations went on through most of India over the weekend.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, After match, Reception in India
The Indian President Pratibha Patil hosted High Tea for the Indian players and spouses on the grounds of the Raj Bhavan (Governor's House) in Mumbai.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, After match, Reception in India
There was no ticker tape parade for the team on an open bus (as was organised after the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup win) because of the hectic schedule, with the 2011 edition of the Indian Premier League starting on 8 April.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, After match, Prizes for Indian players
Apart from the World Cup trophy itself, the Indian team was given many prizes from the cricket boards, various state governments, and public and private companies.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, After match, Change in the Sri Lanka team
After some days of deliberation, Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lankan captain, announced on 5 April that he was resigning from the post of captain of the One Day International and Twenty20 sides in the long-term interest of the team. According to him, as he would be 37 by the time of the 2015 World Cup, could not be sure of his place in the side then and it would be better for a new captain to be groomed now, who would be at the peak of his career during that tournament.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, After match, Change in the Sri Lanka team
He stated he was willing to captain the team for the upcoming tours of England and possibly Australia if the selectors felt this would aid the transition to a new captaincy. A day after Sangakkara's announcement, Mahela Jayawardene resigned from the post of vice-captain, and Aravinda de Silva from the post of Chairman of Selectors.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, After match, Match fixing allegations
In July 2017 the ex Sri Lanka cricket team captain Arjuna Ranatunga made a serious allegation that the cup final match between India and Sri Lanka was fixed. He demanded a probe into the events at the final match. The erstwhile Sri Lankan Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage also supported Ranatunga's match fixing allegations. However, three years later, Sri Lankan Police suspended the match fixing probe citing lack of sufficient evidence. Later International Cricket Council rubbished the match fixing claims made by Ranatunga and Aluthgamage.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, In popular culture
The match formed the climax of 2016 Indian film M.S. Dhoni : The Untold Story, the biopic of then Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The archived footages of the actual match were used and the face of the lead actor was used instead of Dhoni's face. M.S. Dhoni was portrayed by Sushant Singh Rajput.


2011 Cricket World Cup Final, In popular culture
In Sachin Tendulkar's biopic movie Sachin: A Billion Dreams the match is also a significant part of the story plot.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A
Play in Group A of the 2011 Cricket World Cup took place from 20 February to 20 March 2011. The group consisted of hosts Sri Lanka, and along with them, Pakistan, Canada, Kenya, New Zealand, Australia and Zimbabwe. This phase of the tournament was played as a full round-robin amongst all seven teams, with the top four teams advancing to the quarter-finals


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Kenya vs New Zealand
The first match of Group A saw Kenya taking on the New Zealanders. Kenya won the toss and elected to bat first on a pitch which seemed to have a lot of runs. However, the New Zealanders started very well, restricting the Kenyans for runs throughout the first 6 overs. The pressure paid off as Tim Southee trapped Alex Obanda in front with the score at 16 after 7 overs. Fellow opener Seren Waters and Collins Obuya tried to rebuild but Hamish Bennett came into the attack and got Waters lbw to make the score 40/2.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Kenya vs New Zealand
Bennett then ripped through the Kenyan batting and got 3 more wickets in double-quick time to reduce the Kenyans to 49/5. The shattered Kenyans then folded, with only Rakep Patel offering resistance with 16 not out as Southee and Jacob Oram finished off the tail to get Kenya all out for 69 in 23.5 overs.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Kenya vs New Zealand
The New Zealand openers started off quickly in their small chase, with Martin Guptill doing most of the early scoring. Brendon McCullum was bowled off a free hit but got into his stride and finished off the game with two successive boundaries, as New Zealand reached their target in just eight overs without losing any wicket, to complete a ten-wicket win.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Sri Lanka vs Canada
Sri Lanka, one of the co-hosts started off their tournament against minnows Canada. The Sri Lankans won the toss and elected to bat first. Canada bowled well in the early overs, but did not get a wicket, as openers Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan reached 50 runs. When the first wicket did fall, it was a run-out when the batsmen had a mix-up with the score at 63, and Tharanga was dismissed. Dilshan got to his half-century, but fell trying to go for a big hit.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Sri Lanka vs Canada
The Canadians restricted Sri Lanka to 88/2 with over 19 overs bowled; but the two experienced Sri Lankan batsmen, captain Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene came together and got a partnership of 50. Both batsmen got the run rate to over 6 and both seemed to be coasting to their centuries, until Sangakkara on 92 gave a simple return catch to John Davison with the score at 267/2. Jayawardene reached his century but fell immediately afterwards. More wickets fell and the game got hot-tempered, with a confrontation between Angelo Mathews and Harvir Baidwan and Sri Lanka finished with 332/7.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Sri Lanka vs Canada
The Canadian chase went nowhere, with Thisara Perera and Nuwan Kulasekara getting three wickets quickly. Captain Ashish Bagai tried to lead a recovery, but once Perera took his wicket to reduce Canada to 53/5, all doubts about the result finished. Big-hitter Rizwan Cheema took 37, including two huge sixes off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, but the latter ultimately got his wicket as Canada fell to 122 all out.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Australia vs Zimbabwe
Three-time defending champions Australia opened their tournament against Zimbabwe. Australia won the toss and elected to bat; but it was the Zimbabwean spinners who dominated the early stages despite not getting a wicket; as Australia struggled to 32/0 after 13 overs. The 14th over was hit for 17 runs as the score quickly reached 50, but soon after, Prosper Utseya got Brad Haddin lbw, which was given out of referral. Shane Watson then attacked aggressively as he added 79 with captain Ricky Ponting until Watson was out lbw off Graeme Cremer in similar fashion to Haddin's. Ponting was soon run out, but Michael Clarke and Cameron White took the score past 200 until White was bowled. Clarke reached a half-century, and quick cameos by David Hussey and Steve Smith took Australia to 262/6.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Australia vs Zimbabwe
The Zimbabwean reply was disappointing, as the Australian pace trio of Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson reduced Zimbabwe to 44/4. The Zimabweans had some small partnerships going; but that was little resistance as they were all out of 171, with Johnson getting 4 wickets.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Australia vs Zimbabwe
Australian captain Ricky Ponting was handed down a Level 1 charge by the ICC, after he damaged a television set in the dressing room following his run-out.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Pakistan vs Kenya
Pakistan, who were on a poor run of form before this World Cup faced off against Kenya. Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi won the toss and elected to bat first but it was the Kenyan bowlers who struck early, getting opens Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad out early on, leaving Pakistan at 12/2 at the end of 7 overs. Kamran Akmal and Younis Khan then began a rebuilding partnership of 98, until Kamran fell shortly after reaching his half-century.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Pakistan vs Kenya
Younis also reached a half-century and fell immediately, before Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal hit a rapid 118-run partnership, with the latter especially being severe on the bowlers in his 71 off 52 balls. Both men fell towards the end of the innings as Pakistan reached 317/7, helped quite substantially by the Kenyan bowling which conceded 46 extras.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Pakistan vs Kenya
Kenya started off solidly in their big chase, with openers Morris Ouma and Seren Waters adding 37 for the first wicket until a direct hit from Umar Akmal had the latter run out. The Kenyans fought during the first half of their innings, getting to 73/2 before Shahid Afridi bowled Steve Tikolo. He then ran through the lower middle order and the tail with ease, and ended up with figures of 5/16 from 8 overs as Kenya collapsed to 112 all out, with the only resistance offered by Collins Obuya's 47.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Pakistan vs Kenya
Afridi took the best figures for a Pakistan bowler in the World Cup, with 5/16. Kenya bowled 37 wides, equaling the record set by the West Indies, also against Pakistan, in 1989.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Australia vs New Zealand
New Zealand and Australia and both won their first games easily, and now the Tasman neighbours faced off against each other where the winner would get two wins out of two. Australian captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and asked New Zealand to bat. Opener Brendon McCullum blazed away at the start of the innings until Shaun Tait had him caught at third man.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Australia vs New Zealand
New Zealand progressed at a steady run rate after that, reaching 66/2 for after 13 overs until Tait and Mitchell Johnson unleashed a good spell of bowling which resulted in a collapse of 4 wickets for 7 runs. New Zealand showed resistance after that as Nathan McCullum scored a half-century, and Daniel Vettori a quick 44, which allowed them to get 206.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Australia vs New Zealand
Australia started rapidly in their chase thanks to Brad Haddin, who went a well over a run a ball right from the start and quickly reached his half-century. Shane Watson was quiet in the opening phase but soon got into the stride, and Australia reached 100 in just 14 overs. Watson didn't take too much longer to reach his half-century either, and although Hamish Bennett offered New Zealand a ray of hope by getting Watson and Haddin out in the same over, Michael Clarke and Cameron White guided Australia hope with ease within 34 overs, with 7 wickets to spare.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Australia vs New Zealand
Australian batsman Michael Clarke reached 6,000 One Day International runs in his 174 innings during this match. This match was used to decide the annual Chappell–Hadlee Trophy for the 2010-11 season, as Australia and New Zealand did not play any other ODIs against each other during the season.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi won the toss and decided to bat first against Sri Lanka, one of the pre-tournament favorites. Sri Lanka got the wicket of Ahmed Shehzad in the sixth over, but Pakistan still managed to proceed along at a rapid run rate in the first ten overs. Mohammed Hafeez, Pakistan's other opener proceeded along at over a run a ball until a mix up with Kamran Akmal had him run out, and Kamran himself was stumped a few overs later to leave the match evenly poised at 105/3 in the 21st over.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq then built a 104 run partnership in 20 overs without taking too many risks, until Younis fell to Rangana Herath for 72 while trying to accelerate. Misbah stayed not out till the end for a well made 83, but Sri Lanka got the wickets of Umar Akmal and Abdul Razzaq cheaply, and Shahid Afridi before he did too much damage to the score to keep Pakistan to 277/7.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka started off with a very good reply, with their openers Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan accelerating steadily after a slow start to add 76 in just over 14 overs until Hafeez had Tharanga caught at point. This was the turning point of the match, as three more wickets, including that of Dilshan fell soon after to leave Sri Lanka tottering at 96/4.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
Kumar Sangakkara rode his luck with Kamran missing two stumpings off him, and staged a recovery with Chamara Silva, but his luck eventually ran out as the required run rate went up, with Afridi having him caught at long on one short of his fifty. Silva struggled to time the ball early in his innings, being 16 off 49 balls at one point, but he then accelerated rapidly to reach his half-century, but Afridi returned to remove dangerous looking Angelo Mathews. Silva eventually fell for 57 when Kamran did get a stumping right, and despite Nuwan Kulasekara's cameo, Sri Lanka ended up 11 short.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi took his 300th ODI wicket during this match. The defeat was the first home loss for Sri Lanka in World Cup matches.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Zimbabwe vs Canada
Zimbabwe's victory was their fourth biggest by runs margin in ODI cricket, and their biggest in World Cups. Canadian opening batsman, Nitish Kumar, became the youngest ever player in World Cup cricket, aged 16 years and 283 days.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Kenya vs Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga took a hat-trick, the second in his career. He became the first bowler to take two World Cup hat-tricks, and the fourth bowler to take two career ODI hat-tricks.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Pakistan vs Canada
Shahid Afridi, who was named man of the match, set a new record of becoming the first player in World Cup matches to take four or more wickets in three consecutive games.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, New Zealand vs Zimbabwe
Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum set a new record of the highest opening partnership for New Zealand in World Cup matches.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Sri Lanka vs Australia
The no-result ended Australia's World Cup winning streak at 25; Australia had won every World Cup game it had played since the tied semi-final against South Africa in the 1999 Cricket World Cup. Australia's unbeaten run in World Cup matches was not broken, and was extended to 32.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Kenya vs Canada
Canada's win was their third-successive victory against Kenya and their second win in World Cup matches. They had previously beaten Bangladesh in the 2003 Cricket World Cup.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, New Zealand vs Pakistan
New Zealand batted first, making a slow start. At the half-way point, they were 99/2, 163/4 at the 40 over mark and 210/6 by the 46th over. Ross Taylor and Jacob Oram then added 85 more runs from 22 balls. Taylor, playing on his birthday, finished unbeaten on 131 from 124 balls. He survived two early chances, edging a ball from Shoaib Akhtar before scoring. In the same over, he edged another one to Kamran Akmal which wasn't taken. New Zealand added 139 runs in the final ten overs, with 100 of them coming from the final five.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, New Zealand vs Pakistan
Taylor scored 62 runs off the last 16 deliveries he faced, including seven sixes. In reply, Pakistan were bowled out for 192 from 41.1 overs. The match was the first ODI game to be played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy. After the match, Taylor admitted that he'd played with a broken bat. "I cracked it in the nets a couple of days ago", he said. "It seemed to go OK today but hopefully the new one can be just as good."


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe
Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan set a new World Cup record for the opening partnership, scoring 282 runs, beating the previous record of 194. It was also the first occasion in a World Cup that both openers made a century. With their victory over Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka became the first team to qualify for the Quarter Finals of the tournament. In reply, Zimbabwe made a good start, but were dismissed for 188 runs with 11 overs spare.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Australia vs Kenya
Kenya's total of 264 is their highest score in World Cup matches, beating their previous best of 254 against Sri Lanka in the 1996 Cricket World Cup.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group A, Matches, Australia vs Pakistan
The loss was Australia's first loss in a World Cup match since 23 May 1999, when Pakistan defeated Australia at Headingley in the group stage of the 1999 World Cup. This ended a 34-match unbeaten streak (including 32 wins, a tie and a no-result).


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B
Play in Group B of the 2011 Cricket World Cup took place from 19 February to 20 March 2011. The group consisted of hosts India and Bangladesh, along with England, Ireland, Netherlands, West Indies and South Africa. The top four teams advanced to the quarter-finals.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, India vs Bangladesh
The World Cup opened with a match between co-hosts Bangladesh and India, with this being the only match India, the hot favorites, were not playing at home in the tournament. Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and sent India in to bat; however his decision was quickly proved wrong. Virender Sehwag hit the first ball of the tournament for four, and he along with Sachin Tendulkar added 69 for the first wicket at over a run a ball until the latter was run out after a mix-up.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, India vs Bangladesh
Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir then had their team cruise to 152/1, when Gambhir was bowled by Mahmudullah but that did not stop Sehwag, who cruised to his century and then rapidly accelerated along with Virat Kohli. India cruised past 300, and Sehwag posted a career-best 175 before getting out, and Kohli also got his ton as India posted a daunting 370/4 at the end of their 50 overs.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, India vs Bangladesh
Bangladesh started off rapidly in their chase, getting 51 runs in the first five overs without losing a wicket; but soon, at the score of 56, Imrul Kayes played on to a Munaf Patel delivery. Tamim Iqbal got a half-century, but the Bangladesh run-rate slowed after that and they weren't in the hunt, and at the end they got to 283/9 without really challenging the Indian total.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, India vs Bangladesh
Virender Sehwag's score of 175 was his 14th ODI hundred, and the fourth highest score in the history of the Cricket World Cup.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, Netherlands vs England
Netherlands captain Peter Borren won the toss and elected to bat first against England, one of the contenders for the trophy. Netherlands started well, with openers Alex Kervezee and Wesley Barresi going at a quick pace but England fought back, getting both openers soon after; and after 33 overs, Netherlands were 149/4. Then Ryan ten Doeschate accelerated, and went on to score a brilliant century, and this, coupled with very poor fielding from England, helped Netherlands plunder 104 runs off the last ten overs and lead them to a strong 292/6.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, Netherlands vs England
The English started off very strongly in their reply, getting their first 100 runs at a run a ball without losing a wicket. Kevin Pietersen fell soon after, but Netherlands were unable to build on it. England captain Andrew Strauss closed in on a century but holed out and all the England top order batsmen scored runs, with Paul Collingwood and Ravi Bopara taking England home with 1.2 overs to spare.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, Netherlands vs England
The Netherlands score of 292 was the second highest score from an Associate nation playing against a Test nation.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, West Indies vs South Africa
South Africa, another one of the pre-tournament favorites played their first match of the tournament against a West Indies team which is currently in transition. South Africa won the toss, set West Indies in to bat, and opened the bowling with spinner Johan Botha, which was vindicated as he got the wicket of Chris Gayle in the first over. Darren Bravo then came into the crease and played an aggressive knock of 73, with support from Devon Smith in a strong century stand until Botha trapped Bravo in front.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, West Indies vs South Africa
Two quick wickets on debut by Imran Tahir left West Indies on 120/4 but a counterattack from Dwayne Bravo, who was well assisted by Shivnarine Chanderpaul took West Indies to a healthy 209/5 with over 7 overs left. However, Tahir returned to get the wickets of Chanderpaul and Devon Thomas, the other set batsman before Dale Steyn cleaned up the tail to restrict the West Indies to 222.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, West Indies vs South Africa
South Africa stuttered at the start of their reply, with Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis falling cheaply early on. AB de Villiers then came into the crease and counterattacked with a string of boundaries, reaching his half-century at close to a run-a-ball. He and captain Graeme Smith had over a century partnership for the third wicket until Kieron Pollard got one through Smith's defences. This, however turned out to a false dawn for West Indies, as de Villers reached his century off 97 balls, and together with JP Duminy got the remaining 84 runs with over seven overs left.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, West Indies vs South Africa
AB de Villiers century was the fastest by a South African in the World Cup and the South African victory was the 12th successive win against the West Indies.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, Bangladesh vs Ireland
Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan won the toss against Ireland and elected to bat, after conceding 370 against India after setting them in. His decision seemed to be vindicated at the start of Bangladesh's innings, with Tamim Iqbal unleashing a flurry of boundaries immediately, to take Bangladesh to 49/0 after 5 overs. Ireland needed a moment of inspiration and they got it from wicketkeeper Niall O'Brien who did a brilliant stumping to send Imrul Kayes on his way.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, Bangladesh vs Ireland
Ireland quickly built on it, with a direct hit from Ed Joyce catching Junaid Siddiqui short, before both Tamim and Shakib were also dismissed softly. Mushfiqur Rahim and Raqibul Hasan staged a recovery then, and at 147/4 in the 34th over, Bangladesh looked well set for a score above 250 until Mushfiqur top-edged a sweep of George Dockrell. This triggered another collapse, and only a late cameo from Naeem Islam took Bangladesh to 205.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, Bangladesh vs Ireland
Ireland started off solidly in their reply, but then the Bangladesh spinners led by Shakib and Mohammad Ashraful took wickets at regular intervals. The match was evenly poised with Ireland 93/4 after 25 overs. Niall O'Brien was the key to the chase but with the score at 110, he was dismissed after a brilliant catch by Tamim Iqbal. Kevin O'Brien continued to fight, taking Ireland above 150 and giving them another sniff at victory till he holed out to deep square-leg off Shafiul Islam. A pumped-up Shafiul then ran through the tail, and Ireland were all out for 178, falling 27 runs short.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, Bangladesh vs Ireland
Shafiul Islam recorded the best figures for a Bangladeshi bowler in World Cup matches, with 4/21.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, India vs England
Having scored 370 in their previous game, India elected to bat after winning the toss against England. Virender Sehwag, fresh from his 175 the previous game blazed away at the start of the innings, hitting a rapid 35 before falling to Tim Bresnan. Sachin Tendulkar then took over the innings, and was ably assisted by Gautam Gambhir. The duo continued at a very rapid pace and added 133 runs until Gambhir was bowled by Graeme Swann for 51.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, India vs England
Tendulkar went on to get his hundred, his 47th in ODIs and fifth at World Cups, the most by anyone in the history of the tournament. When he was eventually dismissed for 120, India were strongly placed at 236/3 in the 39th over. Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni continued on at a brisk pace, with Yuvraj reaching his fifty off just 45 balls. India passed 300 in the 45th over, but then Yuvraj and Dhoni fell off consecutive balls to trigger a collapse. Bresnan took three wickets in four balls to get his five-for, his first in ODIs, and India did not bat their 50 overs, being all out for 338 with a ball left.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, India vs England
England got off to a very strong start in their chase, with both Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen going a rapid pace. Pietersen was dismissed for 31 in a freak way off Munaf Patel, but Strauss went on to get his fifty. Jonathan Trott was unable to convert a start, but Strauss and Ian Bell then indulged in a sensational stand of 170 runs for the third wicket. The duo also easily kept the required run rate well under control, keeping it around 7. Strauss reached his century off just 99 balls, and Bell took 45 to reach his half-century.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, India vs England
England were 280/2 after 42 overs, when Zaheer Khan produced a sensational over, getting Bell caught at mid-off for 69 and catching Strauss plumb in front for a brilliant 158, his highest score in ODIs. Paul Collingwood and Matt Prior went cheaply, but some lusty blows from Bresnan and Swann kept England in the hunt, with 14 required off the last over. Swann managed 3 off the first 2 balls before Ajmal Shahzad hit a six off the third to leave England with just 5 from 3. A single and a two later meant that 2 was required off the last ball with all three results possible. Swann dug the last ball from Patel away for a single, which meant that the game was tied.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, West Indies vs Netherlands
West Indian bowler Kemar Roach took a hat-trick with the final three balls of the game and became the first West Indian player to take a hat-trick in a World Cup match.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, England vs Ireland
England batted first with Jonathan Trott making 92 from 92 balls. During his innings, Trott reached 1,000 runs in ODI cricket, from just 21 innings, equalling the record set by Vivian Richards and teammate Kevin Pietersen. England finished on 327/8 from their 50 overs. In reply, Ireland lost their captain, William Porterfield with the very first ball, and were struggling at 111/5. Kevin O'Brien then made 100 in just 50 balls, the fastest century in World Cup history. Ireland chased down the 327 set by England, winning by 3 wickets. It was the largest successful run chase in Cricket World Cup history.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, South Africa vs Netherlands
AB de Villiers made his 11th ODI century, with 134 runs from 98 balls. His partnership of 221 runs with Hashim Amla is the highest ODI total in Mohali.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, Bangladesh vs West Indies
Bangladesh were bowled out for 58 runs, which was their lowest ODI score, and the fourth lowest score in World Cup matches. In reply, the West Indian opener Chris Gayle finished 37* and made his 8,000th ODI run.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, England vs South Africa
England batted first and lost the wickets of Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen in the first over. Jonathan Trott and Ravi Bopara put on a partnership worth 99 runs, but England finished all out for 171, with four overs still remaining. In reply, South Africa reached 124 with the loss of just three wickets, but then lost the next four wickets inside five overs for three runs. Stuart Broad took the final two wickets, to give England victory by six runs.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, India vs Ireland
Yuvraj Singh became the first player to score a 50 and take 5 wickets in a World Cup match.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, India vs Netherlands
During the match, Sachin Tendulkar became the first player to score more than 2,000 runs in World Cup cricket. Yuvraj Singh took his 100th ODI wicket, with the dismissal of Wesley Barresi.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, Bangladesh vs England
Bangladesh's score was at one point 169/8 but tail ender 58 run partnership brought victory for the team. Bangladesh's win in this match was only their second against England in a total of 15 ODIs.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, India vs South Africa
India won the toss and chose to bat. Sachin Tendulkar and Virendar Sehwag put on 142 for the first wicket. India reached 267 before the next wicket fell. India then lost their next 8 wickets for 29 runs, to finish with a total 296 all out.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, Ireland vs South Africa
After this victory, South Africa became the first team to qualify for the Quarter-Finals from Group B. Ireland were eliminated following this defeat.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, England vs West Indies
England had to win the game to have any realistic chance of going through to the quarter finals, and 243 all out looked like a difficult score to defend, especially with the poor fielding that had plagued England throughout the tournament. However, the West Indies collapsed to 225 all out, after a spectacular run out by Matt Prior.


2011 Cricket World Cup Group B, Matches, Bangladesh vs South Africa
This is Bangladesh's second lowest score in World Cup and sixth in their ODI history. Bangladesh managed seven runs in the bowling Powerplay, the lowest in the tournament, trumping Kenya who had made nine runs against Sri Lanka. After this victory by South Africa, India and England are qualified for Quarter-Finals from Group B.


2011 Cricket World Cup knockout stage
In the 2011 Cricket World Cup, the knockout stage was the second and final stage of the World Cup, following the group stage. The top four teams from each group (8 total) advanced to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination style tournament. A third place playoff match is not included in the tournament. The one-over eliminator was introduced into One Day International cricket at the 2011 Cricket World Cup knockout stage where a game ending in a tie would be decided via a one-over eliminator. With their victory over Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka became the first team to qualify for the Quarter-finals of the tournament.


2011 Cricket World Cup knockout stage, Matches, Quarter-finals, West Indies v Pakistan
West Indies won the toss and elected to bat first. They lost early wickets and never recovered, being completely bowled out for a paltry 112. Pakistan got there without losing a wicket. This was the West Indies' lowest score in the knockout stages. and the third lowest in their World Cup history. With this win, Pakistan has reached at least the Semi Final stages in five consecutive ICC tournaments, including one ICC Champions Trophy and three ICC World Twenty20.


2011 Cricket World Cup knockout stage, Matches, Quarter-finals, Australia v India
Australia's loss to India ended their 12-year reign as ODI world champions. Australia posted 260 for 6 wickets at the end of their innings with Ricky Ponting scoring 104 runs. In response, India chased down the target with 14 balls to spare. India's innings was built on half-centuries by Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh, as well as an unbroken partnership of 74 between Yuvraj and Suresh Raina.


2011 Cricket World Cup knockout stage, Matches, Quarter-finals, New Zealand v South Africa
This was the sixth time New Zealand had qualified for the semi-final, equalling Australia's and Pakistan's record.


2011 Cricket World Cup knockout stage, Matches, Quarter-finals, England v Sri Lanka
Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga both made centuries as Sri Lanka chased down a target of 230 to win by ten wickets; this run chase set a new record for the highest successful run chase in a ten-wicket victory in ODI history.


2011 Cricket World Cup knockout stage, Matches, Semi-finals, New Zealand v Sri Lanka
For a second consecutive time Sri Lanka defeated New Zealand in the semi-finals of the World Cup and made it to the finals. This was the last match Muttiah Muralidaran played on Sri Lankan soil.


2011 Cricket World Cup knockout stage, Matches, Semi-finals, India v Pakistan
The match was attended by the Prime Ministers of both the countries, Yousaf Raza Gillani of Pakistan and Manmohan Singh of India. Anti -aircraft missiles were deployed at Mohali to prevent any air attacks. The local airport was full of private jets, and an estimated one billion people saw the match on television. Tickets for the match were selling for over ten times their normal selling price on the black market.


2011 Cricket World Cup knockout stage, Matches, Semi-finals, India v Pakistan
India won the toss and elected to bat first. Sachin Tendulkar was dropped four times and survived an early leg before wicket decision before being dismissed for 85. India finished with a total of 260. Pakistan had a steady start, but India kept taking wickets and won by 29 runs.


2011 Cricket World Cup knockout stage, Matches, Semi-finals, India v Pakistan
After the match was over Indian and Pakistani leaders pledged to resolve their differences, including cooperation in the investigation of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Additionally the skies over Delhi were lit up with large numbers of fireworks.


2011 Cricket World Cup knockout stage, Matches, Final
This was Sri Lanka's second consecutive loss in a World Cup Final and was also Muttiah Muralidaran's last ODI match. This match also recorded the highest successful run chase by any team in a World Cup Final and also only the third time that a team batting second had won the World Cup Final. This was also the first time that a host nation in their own country won the World Cup.


2011 Cricket World Cup officials
Officials for the 2011 Cricket World Cup were selected by the Umpire Selection Panel and the information was released on 12 December, 2010. The panel selected 18 umpires and a reserve umpire, Enamul Haque to officiate at the World Cup: five were from Australia, six from Asia, three from England, two from New Zealand and one each from South Africa and West Indies. It also selected five match referees for the event.


2011 Cricket World Cup officials
The panel consisted of David Richardson (ICC general manager - cricket), Ranjan Madugalle (ICC chief match referee), David Lloyd (former player, coach, umpire and then television commentator) and Srinivas Venkataraghavan (former elite panel umpire).


2011 Cricket World Cup officials, Umpires
Out of the selected umpires, 12 belonged to the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires while the remaining six belong to the International Panel of Umpires and Referees. In addition, a reserve umpire Enamul Haque from Bangladesh was selected officiated in the warmup matches and if required, during the event.


2011 Cricket World Cup officials, Umpires
The members of the Elite Panel of ICC umpires are generally thought to be the best umpires in the world and hence officiate in almost all senior cricket tournaments and ICC events. The remaining six were identified as emerging and talented match officials, who had already officiated at international level with the experience of conditions in the Asian sub-continent and were thought to be ready to umpire in the World Cup.


2011 Cricket World Cup officials, Umpires
Aleem Dar and Simon Taufel were elected to the final, second and first final respectively.


2011 Cricket World Cup officials, Referees
Five referees were also selected by the selection panel. They belonged to the Elite Panel of ICC Referees and were considered the best cricket referees in the world. Jeff Crowe was the referee in the final.


2011 Cricket World Cup opening ceremony
The opening ceremony of the 2011 Cricket World Cup took place in Bangladesh at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka on February 17, 2011, two days prior to the start of the World Cup. The cost of the opening ceremony was estimated to be US$30 million (£18.6m), the highest in the history of Cricket.


2011 Cricket World Cup opening ceremony, Performances
Following is a list of performances made at the event:


2011 Cricket World Cup opening ceremony, Countdown and entrance of the captains
The opening ceremony started on 6:00 pm (Local Time) when the prime minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina arrived and was welcomed by handing a water-lily, then the Chayanath choir wearing red and green saris and fatua sang the National Anthem of Bangladesh. After the singing of anthem the countdown began which showed a montage of all the scenes of the previous world cup. Popular Bangladeshi pop singers Mila, Balam and others sang the song "O Prithibi Ebar Ese Bangladesh Nao Chine" (Oh World!) which was enjoyed both by local and foreigners.


2011 Cricket World Cup opening ceremony, Countdown and entrance of the captains
Stumpy, the tournament mascot, was escorted into the ground, on a cycle rickshaw, then pedal-powered cycle rickshaws escorted each of the captains into the center. The captains were accompanied by young children who wore the jersey of the team they were with. The captains assembled at the dais and fireworks take off from the stadium. Indian popular singer Sonu Nigam sang Spirit of Cricket in the dais. After Sonu's song a video footage was shown on the big screen which showed Sangakkara and Sehwag promoting AIDS awareness.


2011 Cricket World Cup opening ceremony, Countdown and entrance of the captains
Mustafa Kamal, the chairman of the BCB delivers his speech at first in English and then in Bengali.


2011 Cricket World Cup opening ceremony, Countdown and entrance of the captains
ICC chief Sharad Pawar walks up and delivered his speech. After that Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina delivered her speech and declared the opening of World Cup.


2011 Cricket World Cup opening ceremony, Cultural programme
After the opening the cultural program showcasing the heritages of India, Sri Lanka and the Bangladesh's performance. The music for the cultural section was composed by Ricky Kej. Electronic kites were being flown above the stadium, then a 3-D electronic depiction of the World Cup on a building outside the stadium was shown. The cup was gone and an image of the Bangabandhu stadium was displayed. A cricket match was being shown; after the display the cultural show began.


2011 Cricket World Cup opening ceremony, Cultural programme, Ending
Canadian rock singer Bryan Adams performed his famous song "Summer of '69" and "18 til I Die". At the end Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy sang the tournament's official song.


2011 Cricket World Cup opening ceremony, Telecast
ESPN, the official broadcasters of the ICC events, produced the telecast of the opening ceremony. Various channels throughout the world used the downlink feed of ESPN's production to provide their respective viewers, live broadcast of the ceremony.


2011 Cricket World Cup schedule
The chronological list of fixtures for the 2011 Cricket World Cup. All times local UTC+05:30 (India). Group-stage kick-off times are subject to change for television or scheduling reasons. It would be a 43-day-long tournament taking place from 19 February 2011 to 2 April 2011.


2011 Cricket World Cup squads
This is a list of the squads picked for the 2011 Cricket World Cup.


2011 Cricket World Cup squads, Group A, Australia
1,2 Callum Ferguson and Jason Krezja replaced Michael Hussey and Nathan Hauritz respectively, who were included in the original squad but pulled out due to injury. 3Michael Hussey later returned to the squad, replacing Doug Bollinger, who was ruled out with injury midway through the initial group stage.


2011 Cricket World Cup squads, Group A, Pakistan
1 Mohammad Junaid Khan replaced Sohail Tanvir, who was originally selected before pulling out due to injury.


2011 Cricket World Cup squads, Group A, Sri Lanka
Muttiah Muralitharan  and Angelo Mathews have forced the Sri Lankan team to call up Chaminda Vaas and Suraj Randiv respectively, as standbys ahead of the World Cup final against India


2011 Cricket World Cup squads, Group A, Zimbabwe
1 Terry Duffin, 2 Tinashe Panyangara & 3Vusi Sibanda replaced Tino Mawoyo, Ed Rainsford & Sean Williams, who were included in the original squad but pulled out due to injury.