January 27, 2006	Friday	Zilhaj 26, 1426

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

KARACHI, Jan 26: The Indian cricket team arrived in the city on Thursday afternoon for the third and final Test against Pakistan which gets under way at the National Stadium from Sunday.

Unprecedented security arrangements greeted Rahul Dravid’s men at the Quaid-i-Azam International Airport.  

The squad was surrounded by a large number of security personnel who then escorted the squad to the downtown teams’ hotel.

The Indians, who are scheduled to play their first Test in Karachi after 16 years, are due to have nets at the NSK Academy on Friday morning.

There was better news for the tourists when vice-captain Virender Sehwag was declared fit for the series decider after recovering from food poisoning during the second Test in Faisalabad.

Indian skipper Rahul Dravid said that his team was expecting sporting wicket for the third and final Test starting from Sunday at National Stadium Karachi (NSK).

Talking to reporters at Jinnah Terminal on arrival from Faisalabad, Dravid said that the weather here was ideal for cricket contrary to those of Lahore and Faisalabad and was optimistic that the final Test would yield result of the series.

“We are expecting sporting wicket here as weather is sunny which is ideal for Test cricket and hopefully we will get results in the final Test”, said Dravid.   

Meanwhile, the Pakistan squad flew here early Thursday morning without senior batsman Mohammad Yousuf and fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar.

The pair, who left for Lahore soon after the Faisalabad Test ended on Wednesday, was scheduled to rejoin their team-mates before the Pakistan squad has a practice session on Friday afternoon.