The overwhelming response to the match, being held after a long gap of five years, could be gauged from the fact that thousands of tickets were sold out from the specified branches of Habib Bank Limited in the city and Latifabad on the first day of sale on Wednesday and now the students and the general public are running from pillar to post to somehow get tickets for the match.
The ground, having hosted 10 tests including 3 dayers and 2 days and six one-day international, was denied even a first class match since January 15, 1992 when it was last selected for a one-days between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The most redeeming feature of this ground is that Pakistan has not yet lost one single match against any world team.
Destruction of the ground was started following devastating monsoon rains of August 1994 when the ground presenting a view of a lake. As an aftermath of the rain a grand musical concert of maestro Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan had to be shifted. The musical concert was organised by Off Beat Club led by Dr. Mohammad Ali Tony. The ground remained submerged under rain water for a considerable period and no proper steps were taken by the authorities concerned for draining out rain water but instead the stagnant water on nearby localities, too, was diverted to the ground which did a permanent damage to it.
Niaz Stadium, founded by the then Commissioner late Niaz Ahmed in 1962 for a national football championship, was also deprived of hosting a 1996 World Cup fixture because of ruined condition of its outfield although the organisers claimed that they after spending around Rs. eight million - the renovation and maintenance work of the ground was completed in January 1996. However, unfortunately this work was still in progress. The City Cricket Association Hyderabad Division Cricket Association cannot be absolved of its duty in this regard because when this centre was being considered for 1996 World Cup's fixture, its representatives were in the forefront with the administration, but they did not lodge enough protest as to why extraordinary concentration was being given to the outlook of the stadium whereas the match was to be played over the outfield of the ground.Meanwhile the renovation work of the ground entered the final phase on Wednesday.
Dawn has so far received massive complaints about the non-availability of tickets except for V.I.P. enclosure as to how 10 thousand tickets were sold on the first day of sale.
Complainants expressed their reservations in this regard saying that the tickets would be sold out through black marketing.