Canadian rocker Bryan Adams made it a night to remember, headlining a glitzy opening ceremony that officially opened the 2011 World Cup in Dhaka on Thursday.
This edition of the 50-over big bash will be Sachin Tendulkar’s last. He holds every conceivable batting record in one-day and Test cricket and is the only player ever to score 200 runs in the 50-over version of the game.
But the biggest prize in cricket has eluded the Master, despite having played in every World Cup for India since 1992.
The closest India has ever come to the World Cup Trophy was in 2003 when they reached the final of the tournament only to lose out to Ricky Ponting’s Australia. India have a great chance to go all the way this time though with the majority of World Cup matches being played on home turf. India are jointly hosting the competition with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh — the first for the subcontinent since 1996.
The World Cup features a staggering 49 matches at 13 venues and will be carried live in its entirety in some 220 countries, making the tournament the third most watched televised event behind the Fifa World Cup and the Summer Olympics.