So you are glued to the television these days watching your favorite team win this year’s World Cup? For the ardent cricket lovers, there is no better sports extravaganza than the ICC World Cup 2011. Waking up late nights, cheering up for your favorite team, managing the evening as per the match schedule, all add up to the cricket fever. Be it victory or loss, for the teams we are supporting and otherwise, there is so much of an emotional involvement we undergo. This time the excitement is even more owing to the fact that the matches are being held at Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh. Majority of the matches would take place in India, this is what adds to the enthusiasm for the Indian sports fanatics.
India travel packages allow sports lovers and visitors to choose the locations where the matches are being held and even book the best hotels in the city. A complete World cup experience that is. Let us have a look at some of the cities where the matches are scheduled to take place.
Mumbai, known as the city of dreams, hosts a couple of ICC world Cup matches that are to take place. They are:-
- Match Number 30 (New Zealand v/s Canada), on 13th March, 2011
- Match Number 38 (Sri Lanka v/s New Zealand), on 18th March, 2011
- Match Number 49 (S1 Winner v/s S2 Winner), to be held on 2nd April, 2011
The city is the commercial capital of the country and is renowned for it being busy all the time. The city never sleeps. Tourist attractions would include names such as Gateway of India, Juhu Beach, Film City, Hanging Gardens, Prince of Wales museum and many more. World Cup tour packages would not only cover the days when the matches are planned, but would take visitors for sight seeing as well. For accommodation, you can choose from the following hotel options:-
- Hotel Oberoi
- Leela Kempinski
- Le Royal Meridien
- Taj Hotel
- Hyatt Regency Hotel
- JW Mariott Hotel
New Delhi is yet another important destination with regards to the cricket world cup. Known as the capital city of the country, the venue for the matches is Feroz Shah Kotla Cricket Stadium. The numbers of matches to be played are:-
- Match Number 7th (West Indies v/s South Africa), on 24th February, 2011
- Match Number 12th (West Indies v/s Netherlands), on 28th February, 2011
- Match Number 23rd (Kenya v/s Canada), on 7th March, 2011
- Match Number 25th (India v/s Netherlands), on 9th March, 2011
The matches are a major attraction, yet visitors can opt in for sightseeing. Guided tours or group tour packages are available at affordable cost. Eminent places to visit are National Museum, Red Fort, Jama Masjid, India Gate, Qutub Minar and many more. With regards to hotel, you can select from the following accommodation options:-
- Hotel Centaur
- Hilton Garden Inn
- Hotel New Delhi
- Grand Hotel
- Park Royal Inter Continental
- Hotel Taj Ambassador
- Taj Mahal Hotel
Chennai, located in South India is a prominent venue for World Cup matches this year. It is popularly known as the IT hub and has quaint weekend holiday getaways located near by. The city houses the famous Chidambaram Stadium and has attractive tourist attractions as well. The match dates and teams for Chennai are:-
- Match Number 2nd (New Zealand v/s Kenya), on 20th February, 2011
- Match Number 21st (South Africa v/s England), on 6th March, 2011
- Match Number 36th (England v/s West Indies), on 17th March, 2011
- Match Number 42nd (India v/s West Indies), on 20th March, 2011
Post the matches take a stroll around and visit the nearby tourist spots. The popular ones include Marina Beach, Government Museum & National Art Gallery, Kapaleswar Temple and Gudiyam Caves. The accommodation choices are as follows:-
- The Park, Chennai
- Park Sheraton & Towers
- Abu Palace, Chennai
- Le Royal Meridien
- Radisson GRT Hotel
- Taj Coromandel
In Bangalore, it’s the famous M.Chinnaswamy Cricket Stadium that would be hosting the matches this year. Popularly termed as the IT capital of India, the city has well known tourist attractions such as Botanical Gardens, Ulsoor Lake, Tipu Sultan’s Fort and Palace and many more. The match details are listed below:-
- Match Number 15th (England v/s Ireland), on 2nd March, 2011
- Match Number 21st (India v/s Ireland), on 6th March , 2011
- Match Number 31st (Australia v/s Kenya), on 13th March, 2011
- Match Number 35th Australia v/s Canada), on 16th March, 2011
For your hotel accommodations in Bangalore, you choose from the options listed below:-
- Taj Residency
- The Park Hotel
- Ishta Hotel
- The Lalit Ashok
- Le Meridien
- The Leela Palace
Other cities where the matches are held include Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, and Nagpur. The first match was held on 19th February 2011, between Bangladesh and India, and the venue was Dhaka. By now, there have been quiet a few matches that have already been played. Each match sets a new challenge for the players, with new twists and turns. There are unexpected losses as well as victory. The final match would take place on 2nd April, 2011 at Mumbai, between the best teams from Group A and Group B that would survive and play their best.
In between, all these there was an unseen setback that cricket fans witnessed this world cup 2011. Eden Gardens was stated as unfit to host the matches that were scheduled here. Eden Gardens have always been every players dream ground to play at least once in their life time. However, the ICC declared that it would be quiet a “challenge” to arrange for relocation, keeping in mind the travel and ticket requirements. Further the council also asserted that, each stadium across India had been given enough time for preparation and renovation. However, cricket being the most cherished game, the matches still continue with the same zest and zeal.
Indian Holiday
Indian Holiday Pvt. Ltd. (IHPL) is a 2 time National Tourism Award winning destination management company based in Delhi. This travel blog is an initiative to inform the visitors about all aspects of India that include her history, heritage, culture and tourist attractions and destinations.
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