Teams arrive for city ODI STAFF Reporter GUWAHATI, NOV 6 – Star-studded teams of India and Australia landed at the Lok Priya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport around 3:20 pm today and were escorted to their respective hotels under strict security vigil as Guwahatians geared up to witness the much-awaited cricket tie between the two cricketing giants. With Australia winning the Hyderabad cliffhanger on Thursday securing a 3-2 lead in the ongoing seven-match Hero Honda Cup series, cricket fans here, along with rest of the country, are expecting a thriller at the ground here.
Minutes after arriving at the airport by a chartered flight, players and officials of both the teams were accorded a warm reception and thereafter directly taken to their respective hotels via two different routes.
Armed security personnel of both Assam Police and paramilitary forces were also deployed at various strategic locations along the route.
Cricket fans, young and old alike, assembled at various points to get a look of their favorite cricketers as the cavalcade of both team India and Australia moved towards their hotels. The buses carrying members of both the teams reached there hotels around 4 pm.
The first Indian player to get down from the bus (AS-01-C 3333) was master-blaster Sachin Tendulkar, followed by his opening partner Virender Sehwag, Ashish Nehra, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Amit Mishra, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Virat Kohli, Tyagi, Yuvraj Singh and Mahindra Singh Dhoni.
Hotel sources informed that the players and officials have been accommodated on the fourth and fifth floors of the hotel building. A sizeable crowd was seen gathering in and around the hotel since afternoon hoping to get a glance of their heroes.
While Team India is putting up at Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok, the Australian team has been accommodated at Hotel Nakshatra at Beltola.
Both the teams were welcome – with traditional Assamese phulam gamosas and japis at the entrance of the hotels.
The fan gathering at Nakshatra was, however, comparatively thin. Ponting and his boys too have been accommodated on the fourth and fifth floors of their hotel building, hotel sources said.
“I have been waiting here since 2:30 pm after I read in the newspapers that the teams would be arriving around 3 pm, but unfortunately I could not see anything as we were made to stay at a distant place from the entrance gate,” Sanjeeb Borkotoky, a student.
Senior Superintendent of Police (City) Pradeep Chandra Saloi told The Assam Tribune that security arrangement is continuously being reviewed so that no untoward incident may take place.
