The President's ticket, and walking across the border
Until the end of the Indian tour of Pakistan, we will be running a daily Paper Round of what newspapers in India and Pakistan, and from around the world, are saying about this series
Wisden Cricinfo staff
19-Mar-2004
Until the end of the Indian tour of Pakistan, we will be running a daily Paper Round of what newspapers in India and Pakistan, and from around the world, are saying about this series. This is what the media had to report today:
He may be the most influential man in Pakistan, but even Pervez Musharraf needs to buy a ticket to watch the cricket. According to the Times of India, he paid Rs 4500 (Rs 1500 per ticket) to watch the one-day international at Rawalpindi along with his family. The newspaper quoted Shahryar Khan, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, as saying: "He is patron-in-chief of the PCB and doesn't need tickets to watch matches. But he overruled the PCB request and paid for himself and his family."
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The News, a Pakistan daily, reports that about 1000 Indian fans will walk across the border in hte next few days to watch the one-dayers over the weekend. "About 500 Indian spectators will cross the Wagah border on foot on Friday," said Alamzeb Khan, a border-force officer for the Sutlej Rangers. "They are coming to witness the one-day international matches here." An similar number are expected to come in before the last two ODIs in Lahore, on March 21 and 24.
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Sourav Ganguly's request to extend the boundary ropes was allowed at Rawalpindi, but he wasn't quite as successful at Peshawar. Tariq Rana, the head curator of the Arbab Niaz Stadium, confirmed that Ganguly had made a similar request here: "Ganguly insisted that since the boundary on either side of the squares was at 75 yards and the boundary ropes in front of the wickets were just 70 to 71 yards, they should also be extended by five to six yards," Tariq said, according to The News. "His argument was that if the boundary rope was extended it would allow the batsmen to run for longer periods." The request was turned down, though, as the curator felt that would leave very little space between the ropes and the fencing, increasing the possibilities of injuries to fielders.
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In his column in the Asian Age, Rajan Bala suggests that the Indians should gamble on playing an extra spinner to curb the free-stroking Pakistani batsmen. The Indian bowlers were tonked around in the first two ODIs, and were struck a further blow with the injury to Ashish Nehra, but Bala sees this as an opportunity to innovate. "It is in crisis situations like this, when there is a shortage of quality and penetrative bowlers, that one must be innovative," he writes. "It is all about pulling off a bluff or two." Bala recalled the 1992 World Cup, when Martin Crowe experimented with Dipak Patel's offspinners at the start of the innings. "This is not to suggest that either Ramesh Powar or [Murali] Kartik be given the new ball. But if Ganguly took the chance he might flummox a batsman like [Shahid] Afridi who is capable of much indiscretion."