January 24, 2008	Thursday	Muharram 14, 1429

HYDERABAD, Jan 23: After a painstaking wait of 10 years and almost four months, Hyderabad will get the chance of hosting a full-fledged international cricket match when Pakistan face Zimbabwe in the second ODI here at the Niaz Stadium on Thursday.

The last time Hyderabad staged an international fixture was on Sept 28, 1997 when Pakistan defeated India by six wickets in the second game of the three-match One-day International series.

Over the years, Niaz Stadium has seen a lot of historic moments since the first of the five Tests (Pakistan win three) played in the city took place in 1973 when England featured in the second game of a listless three-match series.

This ground has the distinction of recording Pakistan's highest-ever Test partnership when Mudassar Nazar (231) and Javed Miandad (280 not out) added the then world third-wicket record stand of 451 against India in January 1983.

The stadium has the honour of staging the 1000th match in the history of Test cricket when Pakistan hosted New Zealand in November 1984. Needless to say Pakistan won both Tests convincingly. Sadly, that was the last Test match played here. —Sports Reporter