The Hindu : Special trains to Lahore

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 09, 2004

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Special trains to Lahore

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 8. In view of the excitement and enthusiasm among cricket lovers to visit Pakistan for the first two one-day Internationals in Lahore, India and Pakistan have decided to run two special trains to cope with the rush of fans heading for the one-dayers scheduled for March 21 and 24.

According to the arrangement finalised by the two sides, the special trains will leave from Old Delhi Railway station at 9.50 p.m. on March 19 and 22 for Attari from where the fans will be taken to Lahore by special trains run by Pakistan.

The official sources said here that the Pakistan side has confirmed the arrangements.

Talking to mediapersons after a book release function, the Railway Board Chairman, R. K. Singh, said the existing arrangements in the bi-weekly Samjhauta Express train would be augmented by adding two coaches.

Sporting pitches await Indians: Curator

PTI reports from Lahore: Contrary to speculation that Pakistan will conspire to rattle pace-weary Indians on tailor-made wickets, the curator for the one-day and Test series has said he has prepared sporting pitches which would give ``equal chance to batsmen and bowlers.''

Englishman Andy Atkinson, given the task to work on the pitches for the entire series, denied he had any specific instructions to make fast pitches for the high-profile series.

``Although I have talked to the Pakistan Cricket Board officials, there are no specific instructions from anyone. All pitches would definitely be sporting pitches which would give equal chance to batsmen and bowlers,'' Atkinson said.

``Pitches should not support just one team, it should have bounce and pace initially, help the batsmen as well and deteriorate to help spinners towards the end,'' he said.

The former Essex curator is also an advisor on pitches to the International Cricket Council and was in Dhaka for the ICC Junior World Cup as a supervisor.

Playing against India doubles pressure: Afridi

Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has said that playing against India creates enormous pressure on Pakistani players since everyone wanted to perform at their best.

``Playing against India puts double pressure on a player, and the body language of the players is not normal because everyone wants to give his best. It's a huge challenge for us but we are up to it,'' the Online quoted Afridi as saying here Sunday.

``I am thrilled at the prospect of playing for Pakistan again because I was the only one who was not given a chance after the World Cup and my joy is doubled when I think I am going to play against India,'' the paper quoted him as saying.

Bedi backs India to create history

Bishan Singh Bedi believes the Indian cricket team, ``a better combination'' than Pakistan, stands a good chance of creating history by beating their arch-rivals in their own backyard.

``This is a unique series where the Indian players have a chance to create history by beating Pakistan in Pakistan for the first time,'' the former Indian captain said in BBC Hindi's special programme `Aapki Baat BBC Ke Saath' broadcast on Sunday night.

``I have no doubt in my mind that our team is a better combination than Pakistan. What we need to do is believe in ourselves.

India has a strong nucleus, and this chance should not be lost. Our boys could create history and they should do it. If this nucleus clicks, it is our chance this time,'' the former Indian captain said.

Bedi was confident of the Indians doing well because of the abilities of their key batsmen.

``The cause of my confidence about the team is that we have three batsmen who could show stars in the day to Pakistani bowlers. They are Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and finally Sachin.''

Tickets sold out

In Karachi, high demand for tickets for the first one-dayer forced the PCB to set up five different outlets in the city and do away with its one-window service policy. And tickets were sold out within hours after sales resumed on Monday.

The ticket sale was suspended after clashes with police on Sunday.

But things went smoothly when booths reopened this morning and it took just a few hours for more than 21,000 tickets to be snatched up.

``Everything has gone well today,'' Zakir Khan, the PCB general manager for cricket operations, said.

``We sold tickets from five other spots in the city apart from the booths at the stadium and that helped.''

About 20 per cent of the tickets were sold earlier over the Internet.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport