Kanpur, Nov 18 : Authorities have beefed up security in Kanpur ahead of the third One-Day International to be played on Thursday between India and England.

The administration has turned the hotel, where players will stay and the Green Park stadium in virtual citadels as a five-tier security cordon would be protecting the players and the match would be played in a fortified security conditions.

"We have arranged five tier security cordons both at the hotel Landmark and at the stadium premises. Players will be coming to stadium on November 19 for practice and on 20 for the match. They will leave the hotel on 21. So on these days there will be additional security for the players," said O.P. Singh, superintendent of police, officer in charge for players security.

The ground staff of the Green Park stadium too has been toiling hard for many days to prepare ground for the third showdown between the two traditional rivals.

"I have prepared a very good pitch for the one-day match. People will get a chance to watch a very good match. In the morning there will be some moisture. Therefore, the team batting first will have to be initially watchful," said Shiv Kumar, pitch curator of the Green Park stadium.

The stadium has something to boast about. It still sports half a century old traditional scoreboard as the workers are busy making it operative.

"This score board is 53 years old. My grandfather designed it. There are only two score boards of its kind, this is one and the other is at Lords. To run the score board about 50 to 60 workers are needed. This is different in many respects compared to the modern digital scoreboards. I am proud to be a part of it as it inherits tradition," said Manpreet Singh, scoreboard curator.

Meanwhile, ticket counters were thronged by thousands of cricket enthusiasts eager to witness the match.

Police had to intervene to restore order as some unruly fans tried to break queue for purchasing the entrance ticket today.

ANI