A good contest is expected in the first one-day international cricket match between the Pakistan 'A' and India 'A' which will be held at the Sheikhupura Stadium on Friday.
The game will begin at 9:30 am. Both the teams will play 50 overs a piece. The sale of tickets has not been very encouraging. Arrangements for the match have been completed.
Light showers hit Sheikhupura on Thursday as they had plagued the suburban city of Lahore on Wednesday. However, those were not expected to affect or delay the start of the match. Of course, if there are no more rains during the night. Many a match have been spoiled by heavy downpour in Sheikhupura in the past. Due to absence of proper covers and mopping up arrangement, water had been seeping through and depriving the cricket-crazy fans of that city a feast of good cricket. However, new covers have been acquired by the authorities.
Pakistan 'A' vice-captain Basit Ali, former Test batsman, told this reporter late on Thursday evening that the Pakistani eleven be announced on Friday morning before the commencement of the match. The Indian 'A' management has also held back the announcement of the team. Both the teams are staying in a five-star hotel in Lahore and will go to Sheikhupura on Friday at 7:30 am.
The Indian 'A' coach, former Test opener Srikkanth was non-committal about win of his team. He said that the boys were in ``high spirits'' after a fine victory in the last ``Test'' at Karachi but he would not like to say emphatically that they could win the one-day match at Sheikhupura as well. In a limited-over game, it was difficult to predict a win. The Pakistan 'A' was also pretty strong.
The two teams did exercises and net-practice at the Academy ground adjacent to the Qadhafi Stadium on Thursday. While the Pakistan team practised in the morning, the Indian 'A' side did workouts in the afternoon.
Buoyed by its win in the fourth and last four-day unofficial Test at the National Stadium, Karachi which earned them 1-0 win in the series, the Indian 'A' team will go flat out to maintain its winning streak. But the Pakistan 'A' side will also not be a ``push-over'' as it comprises of some excellent all-rounders like Shahid Afridi, Naeem Ashraf and Abdul Razzaq.
The Pakistan 'A' team will be led by the experienced Test paceman Aaqib Javed, who will be playing at his home ground before the home crowd. In fact, he had gone to Sheikhupura on Thursday. He will spearhead the Pakistani attack and will be supported by young left-arm paceman Naeem Ashraf and right-arm paceman Abdul Razzaq. The experienced Test off-spinner from Peshawar Arshad Khan has been included in the team in place of Murtaza Husain. The left-arm Test spinner Muhammad Husain, who is a fine fielder and a hard-hitting batsman, has also strengthened the Pakistan team. Humayun Farhat is the only wicketkeeper in the team and he is also a promising batsman. It has openers Salim Elahi and Shahid Afridi. The middle-order includes good batsmen Basit Ali, Hasan Raza (both Test players) and Akhtar Sarfaraz. Young Bilal Asad is expected to be the 12th man.
The India 'A' team also has some fine stroke-players and all-rounders, who can he spectators their money's worth with good display. Agarkar, Captain Khoda, Abbas Ali, Prasad, Bahutule, Rohan Gavaskar have all performed well during the tour of this country despite the fact that it has been adversely affected by rains.
The two teams will be picked out of the following players:
Pakistan 'A': Aaqib Javed (Captain), Salim Elahi, Shahid Afridi, Basit Ali (Vice-captain), Akhtar Sarfaraz, Hasan Raza, Muhammad Husain, Humayun Farhat, Abdul Razzaq, Naeem Ashraf, Arshad Khan, Bilal Asad.
India 'A': Waseem Jafar, Khoda (Captain), Paranjape, Abbas Ali, R.S. Gavaskar, Prasad, Raul, Agarkar, David, Bahutule, Madhukar, Kartik.