Security blanket over Ahmedabad ahead of India-Pakistan match by AFP

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Ground:	Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Scorecard:	India v Pakistan
Event:	Pakistan in India 2004/05

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DateLine: 11th April 2005

 

Elite troops and police swamped this western Indian city, the scene of bloody communal riots three years ago, as India and Pakistan prepared to clash in a key one-day cricket match.

 

Security officials are leaving nothing to chance in Ahmedabad where at least 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in 2002 after the death of 59 Hindus in a train carriage fire blamed by state authorities on a Muslim mob.

 

Pakistan had initially declined to play a five-day Test match in the Gujarat state commercial capital but later agreed to take part in a one-day match after the Indian cricket board and local officials guaranteed high-level security.

 

The sell-out crowd of 47,000 will have to show proof of their identity before they are granted entry into the Motera stadium on the outskirts of the city which resembled a well-guarded fortress on the eve of the match.

 

Gates will open three hours before the scheduled start, to give enough time to check each spectator, who will also not be allowed to bring in water bottles or food packets despite the 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Farenheit) heat.

 

For the first time ever, local organisers have insured the Pakistan team for a total of 445,000 dollars as security cover.

 

Gujarat Cricket Association president Narhari Amin said Monday each of the 16 Pakistan cricketers and four support staff would be insured for 22,000 dollars for their shorter than usual two-day stay in Ahmedabad.

 

"This insurance is to safeguard us against any eventuality," said Amin.

 

Some 15,000 police, commandos and other security personnel will be on hand to guard the cricketers at the hotel and the stadium.

 

The two teams, who arrived on Monday afternoon, will leave for New Delhi immediately after the match on way to Kanpur where the fifth match will be played on Friday.

 

Senior police officer P.K. Jha said he was confident the match would pass off peacefully.

 

"There were a lot of apprehension whether the match could be held in Ahmedabad," Jha said.

 

"We want to show our visitors that they are as safe here as in other parts of India.

 

"We know the security arrangements will cause inconvenience to cricket fans but our top priority is to ensure the Pakistan team returns from here safely."

 

Pakistan's first tour of India in six years has gone off without incident except for last week's scare when a stone was thrown at Pakistan's team bus in Jamshedpur, shattering a window pane and narrowly missing captain Inzamam-ul-Haq.

 

The six-match one-day series is evenly poised after India won the first two games in Cochin and Visakhapatnam and Pakistan bounced back to win the third in Jamshedpur on Saturday.

 

The remaining three games will be played in Ahmedabad, Kanpur (Friday) and New Delhi (Sunday).

 

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf is due to witness the New Delhi match on a personal invitation from Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

(Article: Copyright © 2005 AFP)