Watch IPL 2010 LIVE on YouTube

IPL 2010 will be a memorable season for more reasons than one. The quality of cricket, scale of the tournament, and now, the big partnership between Google, the internet giants and IPL.

All 60 games of Season 2010 will be broadcast live on YouTube on www.youtube.com/IPL and also on www.iplt20.com, a revolutionary event that changes how sports will be viewed forever. Viewers now will have the convenience of watching the games live, or the highlights and special features, wherever they might be. They will have uninterrupted access to the games and the unique content created for YouTube right through the iconic tournament. And the best news for cricket fans is that all these features will be available to them on YouTube for free.

This is the first time that Google will be streaming a major global sporting tournament live. This partnership also marks a first-of-its-kind innovation in live streaming of any global cricketing event providing boundary-less access to billions of fans across the world, except in USA where re-broadcast options will be available. On-demand videos, special content (which includes match highlights), player interviews, wickets of the match, top sixes of the match, award ceremony, pitch reports, etc will be available to viewers.

An exclusive "YouTube View" or "fun feed" will provide viewers with an alternative view of the match not available on television or any other media.

Speaking on the occasion, Shailesh Rao, Managing Director, Google India and Media & Platforms, Asia Pacific said: "We are thrilled to have the IPL as our global partner and bring to the YouTube community around the world and here in India an interactive, unique experience building greater awareness around the world for the sport."

According to Lalit Modi, Chairman and Commissioner, Indian Premier League: "This unique initiative by IPL to partner Google India will give the league a global reach on a single distribution platform. This will allow IPL fans anywhere in the world to view the action on-demand as per their convenience, thus making the new dedicated IPL channel on YouTube the biggest virtual stadium in the world. Fan interactions with players, owners and other fans worldwide will ensure that the IPL YouTube destination becomes the most compelling and comprehensive online destinations for the league."

India to host 2011 World Cup final, 29 games

Mumbai will house the 2011 World Cup secretariat and India will host 29 of the 49 matches after the event's Central Organising Committee today reallocated the games following the ICC decision to drop Pakistan as a co-host of the tournament.

Accordingly, the opening match of the 10th edition of the quadrennial tournament would be held as scheduled in Bangladesh on February 19, 2011, while the final would be held in India.

The opening ceremony of cricket's showpiece event would also be held in Bangladesh on February 18.

"The Central Organising Committee, which continues to have Sharad Pawar heading it, has reallocated the matches by which India would host 29 games across eight venues, Sri Lanka 12 games across three and Bangladesh eight at two venues," ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat said here.

"Bangladesh would play host to two quarter finals while one quarter final each would be held by India and Sri Lanka who will also split the two semi finals equally. The final would be held in India (in March, 2011)," Lorgat said.

The reallocation of matches was necessitated by the ICC's decision to take away co-hosting rights from Pakistan due to security concerns in the wake of the terror attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore on March 3.

Pakistan was slated to host 14 ties, including a semifinal, while Lahore was named the home of the secretariat.

"The Central Organising Committee was also reorganised and will continue to be headed by Sharad Pawar with representatives from the three World Cup hosting countries and a representative of the ICC," Lorgat said.

The World Cup Organising Committee also relocated the Secretariat from Lahore to the BCCI's headquarters in Mumbai, besides appointing BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty as the Event Managing Director.

"Prof Shetty will be the Event Managing Director while I S Bindra, the special adviser to the ICC, would be a key person in the management of the World Cup. The secretariat will be in Mumbai in the offices of the BCCI", the ICC CEO said.