As soon as the Finance Minister pressed the two separate buttons - one for the four light towers and the other for the country's first-ever electronic board, the curious onlookers burst into cheers.
The 12x6.5-metre scoreboard, which has been installed by the South African company Display Solution Inc at a cost of Taka three crore, first welcomed the Finance Minister at the Bangabandhu Stadium and then entertained the crowd with their attractive animations.
The lights have been installed by German electronic giant Siemens at a cost of Taka seven crore and 31 lakh. A total of 410 bulbs each of 200 watts, have been fixed on the four lattice towers.
State Minister for Youth and Sports Obaidul Quader, Deputy Minister for Shipping and president of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Saber Hossain, Bangladesh Olympic Association vice-president Faruq Khan MP, Bangladesh Football Federation general secretary Harun-ur Rashid MP, Youth and Sports Secretary ASM Shahjahan, Bangladesh Swimming Federation president Rear Admiral Mohammad Nurul Islam and National Sports Council secretary S M Ali Kabir were also present on the occasion.
Asif elated
Asif Iqbal, the event manager of the Wills International Cup, was delighted with the newly installed lighting system and the electronic scoreboard.
Talking to The Daily Star, the former Pakistan captain who have played 58 Tests and scored 3575 runs with the eleven centuries at the average of 38.85 from 1964-65 to 1979-80, said, ``Now you have the most modern electronic lights and scoreboard in the world. This is definitely a milestone in your cricket.''
Bodner in town
Meanwhile, John Bodner, a senior producer of WorldTel, arrived in the capital to monitor the Bangabandhu National Stadium.
WorldTel, the American based TV production company, will telecast the knockout tournament involving nine Test playing nations Live on behalf of the Doordarshan, the state run Indian television network.
Talking to this correspondent, Bodner said the main team would start to arrive by October 20.
This is the second visit by the official following the successful coverage of Coca-Cola Independence Cup in January.
BSWA Award
Bangladesh Sports Writers Association (BSWA) has decided to award the player-of-the-final.
The lucky person will be selected through a panel of four members of the association. They are: Ataul Haque Mallick, ASM Rouqibul Hassan, Rezaur Rahman Sohag and Utpal Shuvro.