Karachi prepares for historic PSL final

City undergoes drastic changes as PCB, government, security officials reveal plans for match day

KARACHI: The excitement is reaching fever pitch as the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is set to finally light up Pakistan’s City of Lights.

After a painfully long gap of nine years, major cricket returns to cricket-mad Karachi as defending champions Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi battle it out for the title on March 25 at the National Stadium of Karachi.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), with the support of the Sindh Government, has decorated the city with posters of players from all six franchises and has lit up the area surrounding the stadium in order to increase the hype of the match.

The stadium’s stands, VIP enclosures, entrance, parking, ground and pitch have all been renovated or prepared for the game.

Spectators will only be allowed to park their cars at the designated spots set by Sindh Police and government, where they will undergo a physical search by the police before their tickets are scanned by the PCB staff.

After that, the PCB’s shuttle service will take spectators to the drop off point, where they will once again be scanned before they walk the final 300 meters to the stadium’s entrance. Vans will also be provided for the elderly and the disabled.

Rangers’ Brigadier Shahid revealed that neither edibles nor power banks will be allowed and that only PCB-verified food stalls will be present inside the stadium. Shahid also advised spectators that the stadium does not have a roof right now and that they should dress accordingly.

After the match, the spectators will be transported back to their respective parking areas via the shuttle service.

On match day, some roads surrounding the stadium will be closed for traffic after 11am. Tracking company TPL has launched an interactive traffic plan for PSL3 final, through which spectators can see blocked and open routes as well as all the parking areas for the match. The map can be accessed using the following link: http://services.tplmaps.com/alerts/PSL.

‘Have been waiting so long for this’

The decade-long cricketing drought in Karachi has understandably left its citizens thirsty for action and they can’t wait for the final.

“It is so great to see the city being lighted up like this,” said cricket fan Hassan Latif, who will be in the crowd come March 25. “We have been waiting for so long to witness something like this and we are really happy that they have done all this to turn into something so festive. Bringing the PSL and international players to Karachi is one of the highlights of this year for our country and I am happy that I bought the tickets. After seeing how the city has been decorated, I can only wonder how big the closing ceremony will be.”