West Indies players attend a practice session in Ahmedabad yesterday. India play West Indies in the fourth one-day international today. - ReutersAHMEDABAD, India, (Reuters):
SECURITY OFFICIALS was on high alert as India and West Indies went into the fourth day-night one-day international this morning (Ja time) in a series marred by crowd disturbance.
Authorities had made unprecedented security arrangements to prevent rowdy fan behaviour after all three matches so far were disrupted by the crowd throwing objects onto the ground.
Tuesday's third match in Rajkot, the first of three games being played in Gujarat, was abandoned due to crowd trouble and India won the game on the basis of the Duckworth/Lewis method.
That disruption came after the earlier two games in Jamshedpur and Nagpur were interrupted by poor crowd behaviour.
But West Indies captain Carl Hooper said his team would remain focussed.
"The past is behind us, we are totally focussed on the game," Hooper said yesterday.
Manager Ricky Skerritt added: "We are trying to remain focussed on cricket. Over the last series of incidents, players were threatened with bodily harm and it's in that situation we reacted."
The team were led off the field by match referee Mike Proctor in Rajkot and refused to return unless they were given assurances of safety by top officials.
"If there are instances of threat and risk to our players, which we are not ready to tolerate, then we'll take action. We have come here with an open mind, with a willingness and keenness to play. We will review the situation as it unfolds," Skerritt said.
Police are already on high alert in this main city of the riot-scarred western Gujarat state, where widespread communal violence has been common this year.
"The police department has made all arrangements as the match in Ahmedabad is being held in a different atmosphere," Pramod Kumar, deputy inspector general of police of the capital city of Gandhinagar, said yesterday.
"We have kept in mind the attack on Akshardham and other terrorist attacks the world over. All precautions are being taken to prevent any anti-national element from disrupting the match."
Police are bracing themselves to prevent a recurrence of religious violence in which more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died in revenge killings after nearly 60 Hindus were burned to death in a train by a mob in February.
Last month, two gunmen opened fire and hurled grenades at the vast and popular Akshardham temple, a few kilometres from the Sardar Patel stadium, killing 29 and injuring more than 70 people before being shot dead by commandos.
The old quarter of Muslim-dominated Ahmedabad city was rocked by more religious clashes earlier this month.
Kumar said about 1,500 policemen, including commandos, would guard the stadium and senior officials would be present in each stand of the stadium expected to be full to its 50,000 capacity.
The unruly crowd behaviour could not have come at a worse time for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has asked the board to explain the incidents and said it was looking to expand its powers to remove international status from such venues.
"In the first two matches, we went back to the field even after repeated troubles," Skerritt said.
"When our players face genuine risks of bodily harm we naturally get concerned. But we don't anticipate problems here."
West Indies lead 2-1 in the seven-match series.
