18 April 2005	Monday	08 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1426

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NEW DELHI, April 17: President Gen Pervez Musharraf joined Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi in a bullet-proof glass enclosure to catch the opening overs of the last one-day match between Pakistan an India at the Ferozeshah Kotla grounds here on Sunday. Thousands of spectators crammed into the stadium roared as a smiling Musharraf offered a salute.

Mr Singh also greeted the crowds waving both Indian and Pakistani flags.

Pakistani fans secured 2,000 tickets for the unfinished stadium, packed to its reduced 30,000 capacity for security reasons.

The leaders, who had shaken hands with the players after Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat, enjoyed tea and biscuits in air-conditioned comfort while spectators felt the heat as temperatures rose to 40 degrees Centigrade.

New Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was among those forced to sweat it out.

“Today’s match is a symbol of the friendship between our two countries and that’s why we are carrying both the flags,” New Delhi college student Rameshwari Singh told reporters outside the stadium.

Despite the friendly atmosphere, thousands of troops were protecting the fortified stadium.

Mobile phones were banned inside the ground, with water bottles and food.

Spectators had to pass through metal detectors and were frisked at several points by armed commandos who demanded ticket-holders show proof of identity.

Helicopter gunships clattered overhead while police and paramilitary troops formed a three-tiered security cordon around the stadium. Snipers manned adjacent buildings, anti-aircraft batteries were deployed and all surrounding roads closed.

Two helicopters were on standby outside to evacuate the leaders in the event of trouble.

Gen Musharraf could be seen exchanging pleasantries with other invited VIPs behind the smoked glass.

Before arriving at the stadium, he maintained a diplomatic line by not predicting the result of the match.

“I don’t know,” he said at his hotel. “In a game there is a result. You don’t get a result by seeing a match,” said President Musharraf, clad in a grey suit.

—AFP