Zayed Cricket Stadium wins hearts

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi finally joined an elite group of cities that have hosted one-day Internationals, approved by the International Cricket Council (ICC), after the two-match DLF Cup Friendship Series concluded here late on Wednesday night.

A good Pakistan win in the first match, followed by a convincing display by the Indians in the second engagement in a packed stadium helped exceed Abu Dhabi Cricket Club's (ADCC) expectations for the state-of-the-art Zayed Cricket Stadium's international debut.

True, there were a lot of glitches in the organisation of the two back-to-back matches. Yet, the ADCC, Indian and Pakistan boards and the International Cricket Council (ICC) can take solace from the fact that there was no dearth of the primary ingredient for the success of a venue a packed house.

More cricket is in store for the Zayed Cricket Stadium with the Euro-Asia Cup starting tomorrow and it gives the ADCC a good opportunity to iron out the flaws.

Youngster Venugopal Rao will lead the India A team in the Euro-Asia Cup, while R.P. Singh and Robin Uthappa are also in the squad.

The six teams for the Euro-Asia Cup, to be held here from tomorrow to May 5, have been divided into two groups. India, Pakistan and Holland are in Group A while Sri Lanka, Ireland and the UAE comprise Group B.

Apart from the three India A players, two other Indian players did not accompany the team that left early yesterday morning. Virender Sehwag and Ajit Agarkar have decided to spend a couple of days with their families here in the UAE after a hectic season so far.

Eager to be back

Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq must be very eager to come back and play at the Zayed Cricket Stadium. Inzamam, who has shed some kilos and was looking in good shape, was named Man of the Series in the DLF Cup. This was the second successive time he was named Man of the Series here. Last May, he led a Pakistan Masters XI to victory here and drove away a Camry as the Man of the Series in the tri-nations tournament.

Inzamam, however, did not appear at the post-match press conference on Wednesday. However, during the presentation ceremony, both Inzamam and Indian skipper Rahul Dravid praised the swanky stadium, hailed by many as one of the world's best.