India, Australia set to play second cricket Test match in Hyderabad with city still reeling from bombings

Australia’s Moises Henriques plays a shot during the final day of the country’s first Test match against India at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, India on Feb. 26, 2013. IANS

Hyderabad, Feb 28 (IANS) Australia’s diminutive opener David Warner said he felt safe Hyderabad despite heightened security measures after last week’s twin bombings that left 15 dead and more than 100 injured.

Despite concerns, the Indian cricket board did not shift the second Test match between Australia and India slated to begin March 2 — following an Indian victory in the first Test in Chennai that concluded Tuesday — from Hyderabad and the city’s police commissioner has assured unprecedented security levels.

Some 2,000 security personnel — including five platoons of armed forces and more than 1,400 police — have been deployed at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. In addition, the Hyderabad Cricket Association is installing 70 CCTV cameras at the venue and mobile phones, bags, banners and cameras have been banned inside.

“I feel totally safe any time I come to India, with the security that we’ve got and the stuff that’s in place. I think they didn’t really want anyone on the roads to and from the ground but that’s virtually impossible with 10 million people living in Hyderabad,” Warner was quoted as saying by the Australian media.

“The stuff that’s going on out of our control is what it is. It’s what happens sometimes in these places and you’ve just got to deal with it.”

Warner is not a newcomer to India but he is on his first Test tour.

“Obviously it’s not ideal to come here in these situations and seeing people being injured and killed is disappointing and very sad but, in hindsight, I don’t think they had another venue to play at,” Warner told Sky Sports Radio.

“We’re here to play cricket, that’s our job and we’ve just got to get on with it.”

IANS 2013-02-28 20:44:08

Tags: Australia, Chennai, cricket, Hyderabad, India, Test match