Indian team arrives in Bangalore for 1st T20 against Pak

Bangalore: The Indian cricket team today arrived in the city for the first Twenty20 International against Pakistan at M Chinnaswamy stadium here on December 25.

The entire Indian team except Ishant Sharma landed at Bangalore International Airport around 3.30 pm for the first match of the much-anticipated bilateral series against Pakistan. Ishant is expected to arrive here later tonight, according to Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) sources. On arrival, the players and support staffs were welcomed by KSCA officials after which the team was whisked away to the team hotel. Tight security was provided for the Indian team`s arrival at the airport. Karnataka State Reserve Police, Central Industrial Security Force, city police and gun-totting City Armed Reserves personnel were deployed at the airport. The Indian team is scheduled to practice at the stadium on Monday. After Bangalore, both India and Pakistan will head to Ahmedabad for the second T20 match on December 27 before travelling to Chennai for the first of the three-match ODI series, starting December 30. The second ODI will be played at Kolkata on January 3, while Delhi will host the final one-dayer on January 6. The last time the two neighbouring countries met in a bilateral series was in 2007 when Pakistan toured India. Cricketing ties between the two nations were snapped after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. PTI