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One three-day game, three Tests, five ODIs, one Twenty20 international: India confirms Pakistan tour itinerary

By Muhammad Ali

LAHORE: India has confirmed Pakistan tour itinerary. “Yes, we have received their confirmation,” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) director cricket operations Zakir Khan told Daily Times on Friday. “The tour itinerary, venues and dates, will be released on Tuesday or Wednesday after consulting the board’s international cricket committee,” Zakir added. He said the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) had also given its nod to the venues that were proposed by the PCB. India will play one three-day match, three Tests, five one-day internationals (ODIs) and one Twenty20 international during their tour that will begin on January 4 and conclude on February 24.

Zakir said they were eagerly awaiting the home series against India. Starved of international cricket, Pakistan will be playing their first Test in almost 13 months when they host India. Pakistan’s last Test was also against India in Bangalore in December 2007. “The series against India is the most important assignment for our team.” Zakir said the postponement of the ICC Champions Trophy was a big blow for Pakistan.

India, led by Rahul Dravid, last visited Pakistan in 2006 to play three Tests and five ODIs. This was India’s seventh tour of Pakistan since 1954. Pakistan won the Test series 1-0, with a 341-run victory in Karachi, while the first and the second Tests played in Lahore and Faisalabad ended in draws. However, the hosts were unable to maintain the winning run in the ODIs: having won the first tie out of five, Pakistan lost the remaining four against their archrivals.

Pakistan-India cricket started in 2004 after a hiatus of more than a decade. India, captained by Sourav Ganguly, came to Pakistan in the first week of March for three Tests and five ODIs. The one-dayers were held in Karachi, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Lahore while the Tests were staged in Multan, Rawalpindi and Lahore. The tour, described on both sides of the boarders as ‘historic’, was the most hyped since partition in 1947. The hype surrounding the tour was not out of place. India had not played a full tour on Pakistani soil for the last fifteen years as political agendas put the sport, regarded as a religion in the sub-continent, on the back burner.

India, who had never won a Test series in Pakistan in 52 years of cricketing relations between the two countries, claimed the glory by winning the ‘Friendship Series’ – both one-day and Test series – to the disappointment of Pakistani fans. There were great expectations from Inzamamul Haq and his men but they failed to come up to the expectations of the people. India, who won the limited overs series 3-2 and Test series 2-1, thus completed their tour on a happy note. The victory also saw captain Ganguly making his own piece of history as not only did he become the first captain to lead India to a series win on Pakistan soil but also became the most successful skipper ever with 15 Test wins, erasing Mohammad Azharruddin’s record of 14 wins.

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