BANGALORE, April 5: The dates for the second Afro-Asian Cup one-day series, which is being staged in India, have been announced. The three matches, which the ICC have granted full One-day International (ODI) status, will be played in Chennai (June 6) and Bangalore (June 9 and 10). All the games will start at 2.30pm and will be day-night affairs. The organisers have said the two sides will be known as the Asian Tigers and the African Lions.

The timing is slightly surprising given that it is in the monsoon season, but such are the demands on the teams that it was one of the few free periods in the calendar. India will have just finished their series against Bangladesh, and none of the other countries who will supply players are in action.

The first staging of the tournament, which is a fund-raiser for the African Cricket Association and the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), was in South Africa in August 2005. On that occasion the outfields had to be painted green for TV audiences, so far out of the normal season were the games played.—Agencies