GUWAHATI, March 29 � To organise a cricket match between arch rivals India and Pakistan is really a very tough task. Be it in Pakistan or India or anywhere in the world, the organisers have to pass many a sleepless nights until the match is over.
Whether it is an One-day International, a match in a bilateral series or a World Cup match, an India-Pak tie always draws worldwide attention. People of both the countries keep their fingers crossed and their emotions reach its peak.
Tomorrow, Punjab Crick Association (PCA) will host the World Cup semifinal match between the neighbouring countries. The PCA officials are facing a Herculean task to hold the high-voltage encounter. Right from looking that the proper infrastructure is in place to fulfilling the demand of the ticket seekers of both the countries, the PCA officials have to be on a war footing during the whole month.
The Assam Cricket Association (ACA) also had the opportunity to host an India-Pakistan ODI on November 6, 2007. As it was the first ODI of the five-match series and both the teams were studded with stars like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni, Juvraj Singh, Saurav Ganguly, Shoaib Akhtar, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, etc., the ACA officials had their hands full during those days. Recalling their experience, ACA secretary Bikash Baruah said although it was the 15th ODI for ACA, they had to be more cautious in holding that match. They had to put extra effort as far as the security angle was concerned and the ACA extended its special thanks to the Assam Police for handling the security cover perfectly.
Apart from the security aspect surrounding the match, the ACA also had to prepare a sporting wicket and a good outfield for the high-profile encounter.
Baruah said the PCA officials must have had to pull up their socks as it is a World Cup semifinal where sentiments of both the countries run high. The ACA secretary however revealed that as the match will be played in India, the home team must have some advantage as far the wicket is concerned. Baruah revealed that as per curator of the Mohali ground Daljit Singh, the wicket will be a batsmen friendly and the toss will play a vital role. The team which wins the toss will certainly prefer to bat first and put the runs (somewhere near 300 runs) on the board which will definitely put pressure on the opponent.
It may be mentioned here that, Baruah and former international umpire Niloy Dutta have been invited by the ICC for the final match to be played at Wankhade Stadium in Mumbai on April 2.