November 12, 2002	Tuesday	Ramazan 6, 1423

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AHMEDABAD (India), Nov 11: India’s riot-scarred western Gujarat state will throw a tight security blanket around venues of three One-day International cricket matches against West Indies it is hosting this week.

The first of the three matches, part of the ongoing seven-game series against West Indies, will be played Tuesday in Rajkot followed by games in Ahmedabad and Baroda.

Officials said private security guards will join local police and paramilitary troops to guard the grounds and spectators will be passed through metal detectors to prevent unruly crowd behaviour and the possibility of any terrorist attacks.

West Indies lead 2-0 after wins in Jamshedpur and Nagpur last week.

“We are not taking any chances,” K. Nityanandam, Gujarat’s home (interior) secretary, said.

“All precautionary measures are being taken in view of the situation prevailing in the country.”

Police are on high alert in Gujarat to prevent a recurrence of religious violence early this year in which more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died in revenge killings after nearly 60 Hindus were burned to death in a train by a mob in February.

Rights groups estimate the death toll at 2,500.

Last month, two gunmen opened fire and hurled grenades at the vast and popular Akshardham temple in Gujarat’s capital Gandhinagar, killing 29 and injuring more than 70 people before being shot dead by commandos.

The old quarter of the nearby Muslim-dominated Ahmedabad city, the venue of the fourth one-dayer, was rocked by more religious clashes last week.

Vikram Patel, the general secretary of Gujarat Cricket Association, said they will deploy 125 private security guards in stadiums to prevent spectators from carrying anything which could be used to disrupt the match.

“I don’t think last week’s violence will affect the peaceful conduct of the match. Cricket lovers in Ahmedabad have always behaved well and we don’t anticipate any trouble,” he said.

The first two games of the series have so far been disrupted by unruly crowd behaviour and match referee Mike Procter has been asked to submit a report to the ICC on the first Jamshedpur game, which was stopped for 10 minutes as a result of missile-pelting.

But officials said matches in Gujarat have in the past been largely peaceful and smooth conduct of crowded Hindu festivals in recent weeks had helped erase fears of any retaliatory attacks backed by extremist Islamic groups.

“There is no fear (of terror attacks) now. It is comforting to see major festivals, where you had gatherings of several thousands of people being held peacefully,” Kiran More, former India wicket-keeper and secretary of Baroda Cricket Association, said.

Meanwhile, unseasonal rain washed out India’s final preparations Monday ahead of the crucial third one-dayer.

Saurav Ganguly’s home side, beaten in the first two matches, need a win on Tuesday to have a realistic chance of keeping their hopes alive in the seven-game series.

Heavy early morning rain washed away the practice session for both teams on Monday. The skies cleared by afternoon, but the ground was too wet to allow the players even light training.

“The teams obviously do not want to have injuries before an important match,” said organiser Niranjan Shah, a former secretary of the Indian cricket board.

India, who won the Test series 2-0, have struggled to forge a winning team in the absence of star batsman Sachin Tendulkar and seamer Zaheer Khan, both of whom were rested for the series due to niggles.

The bowling, specially the spinners, appears to be a major worry after the West Indians sucessfully chased 283 in the first one-dayer at Jamshedpur and 279 in the second at Nagpur.

West Indian captain Carl Hooper rubbed the point in, saying his counterpart Ganguly must have a “headache” because of the failure of frontline spinners Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh to stem the run-rate.

“The worry for the Indians is that not only these fine bowlers have failed to take wickets, they have also gone for runs,” Hooper wrote in his column for the Press Trust of India.

“They are the leading Indian bowlers, yet have gone for five-six runs an over. It is not easy to replace them either. It is difficult to opt for such an extreme option.”

India may opt for all-rounder Sanjay Bangar, a useful medium-pacer, in place of either Kumble or Harbhajan, but the playing eleven will be named only after a close look at the conditions before the toss.

Hooper said he was wary of an Indian backlash in the remaining five matches and warned his team against being complacent.

“India are good enough to come back any time,” he said. “But they have played a lot of cricket in this past few months and a few of them could be jaded.—Reuers/AFP