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| January 28, 2006 | Saturday | Zilhaj 27, 1426 |
Lukewarm response for third Test tickets: Shoaib expected to be fit
KARACHI, Jan 28: There was lukewarm response when tickets for the third and final Test between Pakistan and India finally went on sale on Friday.
According to details available, just over 1,000 were sold on the first day at 14 branches of a private bank, which was entrusted the task.
The Pakistan Cricket Board’s policy of giving away 50 per cent means the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) was allotted around complimentary 16,000 tickets of the general enclosure.
All these tickets were distributed through to the public from seven appointed places in the city on Thursday.
The sale of tickets at selected branches of Bank Alfalah was originally scheduled to begin from Thursday, but it was delayed because the excise and taxation department had not stamped these tickets in time.
The highest priced tickets are worth Rs100 for a single day and Rs400 for the entire Test match.
Altogether about 4,600 tickets have been put sale in this category, which cover the Hanif Mohammad, Javed Miandad and Fazal Mahmood Enclosures.
Beside that about 12,000 tickets of Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Zaheer Abbas, Waqar Hasan, Asif Iqbal and Majid Khan Enclosures have also been put on sale.
These tickets are priced at Rs50 for a day’s entertainment and Rs200 for the full match.
Saturday is the last day during tickets will be available from designated branches of the bank.
During the match only the bank’s Gulshan-i-Iqbal branch will be selling the tickets.
However, following the disappointing results at Lahore and Faisalabad, most cricket fans are reluctant to buy tickets for the series-decider which current stands at 0-0.
At least 900 tickets for the Karachi Test have been sold on the Internet of which approximately 600 were bought by the Indians who are expected to attend the match.
Meanwhile, Pakistan received a timely boost ahead of the third and final Test against when fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar showed no signs of being troubled by an ankle injury.
The Rawalpindi Express had an extensive workout during the team’s first practice session at the National Stadium’s nets outside the main ground on Friday afternoon.
Shoaib was bothered by the injury during the listless draw in the record-laden second Test at Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.
Mohammad Sami, the paceman who missed the Faisalabad Test because of illness, also bowled at the nets as did the now fit-again Rana Navedul Hasan.
Mohammad Yousuf, who like Shoaib did not travel with the team when it arrived in Karachi on Wednesday night, joined his team-mates on Thursday after spending sometime with his family in Lahore.
The Indian team did not practiced on Friday as scheduled. Most of the touring squad instead spent the afternoon playing golf.
Both teams will have another session of nets on Saturday before the series-decider begins a day later.
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