Guwahati wants to bury past ghost of Indo-Pak match

Guwahati, Nov 3 (UNI) Guwahati wants to bury the ghost of the last match as it prepares to host the first match of the Indo-Pakistan cricket series on Monday.

Images of a burning stadium and helicopter hovering few feet over the wicket in a futile attempt to dry the moisture during last year's Indo-England match still haunts cricket lovers across India.

''That day Guwahati razed and today everybody is after us for tickets. It is long sold out and we have done it in a most transparent manner through banks as well as affiliated district associations,'' said Bikash Barua of Assam Cricket Association(ACA).

This time the weather is fine, so is the mood but the ACA is not taking any chances. They have put out advertisement pleading to the militant group United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) not to do anything untoward during the match.

''We are pleading to everyone, the militants, youth and the students organisations to let the match go off peacefully,'' said Mr Barua. His call came in the background of allegations that some part of the state remains under bandh of hartal call given by one or the other organisation every day.

With India having a moderate winning records on this ground where batting has always been easy, cricket fans are hoping that Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team will improve their records.

India have played eight matches here, winning four of them and losing three. One match against England was abondned last year. But they have never played against Pakistan on this ground.

The security concerns will keep the teams away from Guwahati till tomorrow but it has not been appreciated by most.

UNI