New Delhi may stage 2011 World Cup final

NEW DELHI: New Delhi has emerged as the strongest contender to host the cricket World Cup final in 2011, an Indian official said on Monday.

The showpiece match will, however, not be held at the Ferozeshah Kotla, the Test venue in the Indian capital, but at a new stadium to be constructed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

"We are zeroing in on New Delhi for the final," said the official who attended a meeting related to the World Cup in London last week.

"If all goes well, the match will be staged at our own stadium. The BCCI has already acquired land for it."

The 2011 event will be co-hosted by South Asia's four Test nations -- India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh -- who defeated a joint bid by Australia and New Zealand in April.

Officials from the four countries have already agreed that the final will be staged in India, while Pakistan and Sri Lanka will host a semi-final each.    Bangladesh will host the opening ceremony.

This is the third time the World Cup will be held in South Asia, the commercial hub of the sport. India and Pakistan co-hosted the event in 1987 and again in 1996 with Sri Lanka.

The next edition of cricket's biggest tournament will be staged in the Caribbean in March-April next year.