Police out in force for Pak-India clash

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MOHALI: Police were out in even greater numbers in and around the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium just 48 hours out from the India-Pakistan World Cup semi-final on Wednesday.

An already high-profile encounter between the rivals was given added security status when Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani accepted an invitation from India counterpart Manmohan Singh to attend the match.

It will be the first game between the two teams on Indian soil since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

It has since emerged that local police received anonymous tips claiming there was a bomb at the PCA Stadium, with the Hindustan Times reporting that a total of four calls were made from the same phone number on Sunday.

Police, with anti-explosive equipment and sniffer dogs searched the ground while the India team trained on the outfield.

Such inspections have become common ahead of major matches at cricket grounds around the world in recent years in response to perceived terror threats.

India's training session, which finished with a game of volleyball, did not conclude until dusk on Sunday.

Meanwhile Pakistan, who like India started their training session with an enthusiastic game of football, resorted to more traditional methods on Monday as their bowlers were put through their paces out in the middle.

Noticeably, the two teams had trained on opposite sides of the ground, with one security officer saying: "This is Hindustan (India) and that is Pakistan."

Around 3,000 police will patrol Wednesday's match with some 2,000 expected to be deployed in and around the 30,000-capacity PCA Stadium on matchday.

An estimated 1,000 police have already descended on the luxury Hotel Taj in nearby Chandigarh where both teams are staying, a force which includes Indian army commandos.

The game, which takes place in the border state of Punjab, has already sparked a flurry of political activity.

Pakistan batsman Misbah-ul-Haq welcomed Gilani's attendance, saying: "It's a good thing, no pressure. He's helping to support us.

"And I think it's a good gesture from the Indian Prime Minister that he invites him to come here and watch the game."

Elsewhere the frantic scramble for hotel rooms and tickets showed no signs of slackening, even though the PCA had insisted as early as last Tuesday that the 14,000 available tickets had been sold, with the rest in the hands of the ICC.

However, there have been numerous reports of a thriving black market in tickets with prices rocketing so that a 5,000-rupee ($112) ticket was being sold for as much as 25,000 rupees ($560).

Meanwhile there are also concerns that as many as 7,000 scanned or fake tickets could be in circulation, leading to fears that numerous fans could be turned away at the gates on Wednesday.

"For a match as big as this one, we cannot do anything about black market tickets," said PCA joint secretary GS Walia.

"As far as we are concerned, we only gave the tickets to those who stood in the queues and bought them." (AFP)