ICC World Cup 2011 starts off with a bang at Dhaka
The 10th ICC World Cup of Cricket commenced with a grand opening ceremony at the Bangabandhu stadium in Dhaka in front of a packed audience that was enthralled by some incredible dance, music and fireworks. This spectacular beginning has added
a new dimension to an event which was generally devoid of such fanfare in the years gone by.
The first 9 World Cup events had token opening ceremonies with the most memorable one being the one in 1996 at Kolkata. Eleven years later a new chapter was written in the history of the event with a dazzling ceremony that showcased the love of the game
in the sub-continent, a market that is the most lucrative for any ICC event.
A multitude of dignitaries from the host nation, the ICC and various cricket boards around the world along with the players and captains of the 14 participating teams graced the occasion with their presence.
The President of the ICC Sharad Pawar made a speech on the occasion. Pawar thanked the Bangladeshi government as well as the rest of the hosts for their hospitality and the warmth shown by the cricket crazy fans of the sub-continent.
“Tonight we welcome the captains of the world’s top 14 teams to the opening ceremony of the 10th ICC Cricket World Cup. One of these captains before us tonight will stand in the magnificent new Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on 2 April and receive the ICC Cricket
World Cup trophy. On behalf of the ICC, I wish you all the very best of luck,” Stated Pawar who was appointed at the helm of ICC last year.
Pawar added that the event is the flagship event of the ICC and preparations are in place to make it a grand success. He exclaimed that the next 43 days would see some spellbinding action as teams would fight each other on the field without yielding an inch.
The top eight teams after the group match round would go through to the quarter-finals, with the winners of the two semi-finals contesting for the biggest prize in the game on 2nd of April in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mumbai-c820.
“The ICC Cricket World Cup, our flagship event, provides the stage on which players have the rare opportunity to create legend and to write their own chapter in the history of this great sport. The greatest cricketers in the world will grace this event and
I am sure that their ability, whether with bat or ball, will provide excitement and enjoyment for all cricket lovers,” Pawar further stated.
The tournament is set to kick-off with the opening game between http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 in their
group games would be hoping to carry their momentum forward and strangle their rivals who are on a high themselves after blanking the Black Caps 4-0 in a recent series.
The match would be staged at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium on Saturday and a sell out crowd is expected to watch the match. The Bangladeshi fans would be hoping that their team delivers a similar performance to the one in the last World Cup in the Caribbean
that sent the much fancied men in blue crashing out of the event in the first round.
On the other hand a billion Indians would be praying for a win for their team that is being hailed as a firm favourite for the title given the explosive batting talent that they possess.
Tags: