After long thirty years, the cricket fans in Dhaka witness a test match when the final of the first Asian Test Championship between Pakistan and Sri Lanka begins Friday.

The final starts at 9:30 am (3:30 am GMT) at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, which already earned fame as a popular venue of cricket through the Wills Cup in last October.

The cricket-mad nation last watched a test match way back in November 1969 when erstwhile Pakistan and New Zealand met in a drawn encounter. Bangladesh was part of Pakistan at that time.

This is for the first time a test match is going to take place at a neutral venue since the Australia-South Africa match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham was washed out on August 7, 1912. And thus the first bid to hold the test tri-series amongst England, Australia and South Africa ended in failure.

On way to the test final, Pakistan won the first match against India by 46 runs. The second match between India and Sri Lanka and the third match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka ended in draw.

Pakistan earned 25 points and Sri Lanka 11 points to confirm their final berth. India, who failed to qualify for the final, secured 10 points.

The two finalists - Pakistan and Sri Lanka - practiced Thursday morning at the venue of the test championship, Bangabandhu National Stadium.

``The pitch is not bad. There is little presence of grass. It may help spinners and we may play with three spinners,'' said Pakistani captain Wasim Akram after the practice session.

The great fast bowler, however said: ``The pitch is not a matter for us. We are familiar with this kind of pitch and weather condition.''

Replying to a question, a smiling Pakistani captain said: ``Dhaka is our second home ground.'' But he promptly added: ``I believe, the crowd will support both the sides and enjoy the final.''

``We'll decide our final 12-member team after a meeting in the evening,'' said Akram, a left-handed fast bowler who made hattrick in the league match against Sri Lanka in Lahore last week.

Akram is the only bowler with hattrick in both test and one-day cricket.

Asked about their chances of victory, the Pakistani captain merely said: ``Winning the toss will be a plus point.''

About their opponent, he said: ``Sri Lanka is a very competitive side. With two of their best players (Chaminda) Vass and Aravinda (de Silva), they look very strong.''

Wajahatullah Wasti, the promising opening batsman of Pakistan who hit consecutive centuries in Lahore test against Sri Lanka, will open the Pakistan innings in the final along with left-handed Saeed Anwar, Akram told a questioner.

``I'm fully fit and we have no injury problem in the current team,'' said Sri Lankan skipper Aravinda de Silva, a replacement of Arjuna Ranatunga who is nursing hamstring injury.

Aravinda, a dependable middle-order batsman, missed the Pakistan-Sri Lanka match in Lahore because of injury.

The Sri Lankan captain said they would decide the final team tomorrow morning.

Aravinda, who expressed his optimism of winning the final, declined to make any comment on the pitch. He, however, said his bowlers will bowl ``wicket to wicket.''

About his captaincy, the veteran campaigner said: ``I got the challenge and will try my best.''

About the Pakistan team, he said they are a ``good side but we'll play to our potential.''

On the absence of off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, Aravinda said: ``We are not dependent on one player.''

Teams:

Pakistan: Wasim Akram (captain), Saeed Anwar, Wajahatullah Wasti, Imran Nazir, Ijaz Ahmed, Yousuf Yohanna, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Moin Khan, Shoaib Akhter, Saqlain Mushtaq, Arshad Khan, Azhar Mahmood and Shahid Nazir.

Sri Lanka: Aravinda de Silva (captain), Hashan Tillekeratne (vice-captain), Russel Arnold, Avishka Gunawardane, Mahela Jayawardena, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Marvan Atapattu, Chaminda Vass, Pramodaya Wickremasinghe, Upal Chandana, Ruchira Perera, Sajeewa De Silva, Ruwan Kalpage and Chandika Hathurasinghe.

Umpires: David Shepherd (England) and Doug Cowie (New Zealand)
Third Umpire: VK Ramaswami (India)
Match Referee: Cammie Smith (West Indies)