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No tear gas shells were fired, there was no baton charge and there was no hide and seek between the fans and the police as has so often happened when the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium has hosted a big match.

The fans who turned up to watch Pakistan play New Zealand Wednesday in the second day-night international were on their best behaviour much to the relief of the strong contingent of police deputed in and around the stadium.

No untoward incident was reported as police this time did not allow access to any ticket-less spectators to the road leading up the stadium, which has been one of the main reasons for trouble in the past.

A full house of around 20,000 witnessed the match in a disciplined manner unlike the games staged at the venue earlier when police had to resort to the use of tear gas and baton charge fans outside the stadium.

Sri Lanka and England teams who have played here felt the effects of tear gas fired outside the stadium, that resulted in play being disrupted, thereby earning the town a reputation of being a trouble spot. However, all that was erased Wednesday, thanks to the fans and thanks too to the police who handled the crowd well.

Stone-throwing crowd in the first One-day International at Karachi last Sunday, had led to stoppage in play for a good 20 minutes. Meanwhile, there were no reports of any fake tickets being sold in the vicinity of the stadium as tickets printed for the match were embossed and therefore could not be easily duplicated.

© Dawn