November 11, 2007	Sunday	Shawwal 29, 1428

KANPUR, Nov 10: Starved of international action for nearly two-and-a-half years, cricket fans in Kanpur are waiting impatiently to watch the big hitting players of India and Pakistan as the two sides lock horns in the third One-day International at Green Park here on Sunday.

The stadium is all decked up for the match and the locals are confident that the Indians would wipe out the memories of Shahid Afridi’s 46-ball 102 knock on April 15, 2005.

The swashbuckling Pakistani all-rounder had single-handedly snatched the game from India and curator Shiv Kumar says the track still remains a belter.

“In that match, more than

500 runs were scored on this track and nothing has changed. It is still full of runs and spectators can look forward to lots of sixes and fours on Sunday,” Kumar told PTI.

“However, because of light fog in the morning here the pitch would be a bit damp at the start of play which would favour the fielding side initially,” he added.

Both the teams are locked 1-1 in the five-match series and the city’s cricket lovers can’t

wait to see Yuvraj Singh or captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni outshine Afridi and Misbah-ul-Haq to carve out a crucial victory for the hosts.—Agencies