After a brief lull,the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium is going to come alive again next month as the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) has allotted a Ranji Trophy match between Punjab and defending champions Mumbai to be played here from November 3 to 6. Confirming the news,Mohinder Singh,secretary Chandigarh Cricket Association (CCA) affiliated with PCA,said,It a matter of great pride that after a long gap the Stadium has been allotted a Ranji Trophy match. As India vs Australia ODI match is being held on November 2 at the PCA Stadium,it would have been difficult to conduct the Ranji match starting next day. So,the PCA allotted the match to us and we will leave no stone unturned in order to have a good cricket match. It may be recalled that the last time the Stadium hosted a first-class match was in 2005 when Haryana Cricket Association (HCA) hosted the Haryana-Bihar Plate Group semifinal here. They had also hosted an ODI between India and Australia in October 2007 but the Punjab-Mumbai Ranji match assumes importance as the PCA last hosted a Ranji match here in 1995 and with the coming up of the PCA Stadium in 1993 (Mohali),they had kissed goodbye to the Cricket Stadium. Actually,the success of the ODI in October 2007 also prompted the Kings XI Punjab franchise to work out hosting a few of the IPL 2 games here. But since the IPL 2 was shifted to South Africa at the last moment,the move never materialized. If everything goes to plan,the IPL 3 may see a few games being played here.
