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http://www.htcricket.com/htcricket/7912_1598574,00160115.htm

Only 537 Indians watch Lahore Test
 
Qaiser Mohammad Ali (Indo-Asian News Service)
Lahore, January 14, 2006

Only 537 Indians have so far purchased tickets for the first ongoing India-Pakistan Test at the Gaddafi Stadium here, a top Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said Saturday.

"We have sold 537 tickets to Indian fans and they even collected their tickets and are watching the match today," Naveed Iqbal Cheema, PCB's general manager (development and infrastructure) and ticketing coordinator for the ongoing India-Pakistan series, told IANS.

PCB has earmarked 8,000 tickets for Indians for the whole series, the same number that they offered for the historic and immensely successful tour of 2004.

The tickets are available on the official PCB website, www.pcboard.com.pk.

Giving the break-up of the 537 tickets purchased by Indians, Cheema said 184 were seated in the Imran Khan Enclosure, 181 in Abdul Hafeez Kardar Enclosure, 80 in the Fazal Mahmood Enclosure, named after the late former fast bowler, 35 in the Javed Miandad Enclosure, 27 in the Wasim Akram Enclosure, 23 in the Waqar Younis Enclosure and seven in the Khan Mohammed Enclosure.

More spectators are expected for the five-match one-day international series that begins in Peshawar Feb 6.

Although the PCB has offered the same number of tickets for Indians on this tour, the enthusiasm is clearly not the same as it was during the 38-day visit in March-April 2004.

A vital difference in the itinerary and frequent India-Pakistan series exchanges are perhaps the reasons for the tepid fan response towards the series both among locals and the Indians.

While the one-day internationals were played first in 2004, this time the Test series is being held at the start.

India's 2004 tour was also the first full-fledged one after almost 15 years, and the starved fans in Pakistan spontaneously flocked the grounds for one-dayers at Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar.