HYDERABAD, Jan 21: Sale of tickets for the second One-day International (ODI) between Pakistan and Zimbabwe began in the city on Monday.

The tickets are being sold from two branches of Bank Al-Falah.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided not to sell the tickets from the Niaz Stadium, where the match will be played on Thursday.

An official of the bank’s main branch said that around 1,200 tickets had been sold from his branch on the first day, mainly to students, who had opted for Rs50 tickets of the general enclosure.

He added that sale of tickets would likely to increase following the first encounter between both the teams in Karachi as spectators were not sure before the first ODI if the match would be played in Hyderabad.

“Around 3,500 tickets have been given to my branch while another branch at grain market is given around 1,500 tickets to facilitate cricket enthusiasts,” the official said.

The PCB had advertised only one branch of the bank for the sale of the tickets but now two branches are doing the job.

On the other hand, foolproof security arrangements are being made for the ODI as over 2,000 police and ranger personnel guard the hotel, where both the teams would be staying, and the stadium.

Police have requested rangers to provide them force for deployment on rooftops of the stadium.

In addition, all spectators would be checked thoroughly with the help of metal detectors and surveillance cameras will be used to record movement of people to help the police. Sniffer dogs would also be used for the purpose.

Tickets would be checked at four different places and these checkpoints would be manned by cameras. Only valid ticket holders would be allowed entry into the premises of the stadium.

Parking facility would be provided on the SRTC ground and the PCB is likely to run bus service from the SRTC ground to the stadium for spectators.

Police would take control of the ground on Wednesday to be followed by a bomb disposal squad.