Can India match Pakistan's grace and hospitality?

[Maranello]

Some comments on cricinfo in response to Sambit Bal's article. A few interesting snippets here and there, for instance:

I firmly believe that fair articles and journalists will reach beyond the borders to the hearts of the people. The key lies in their hands. I vividly remember the Test series of 1978, when India toured Pakistan, under Bedi. Not because Pakistan won, but because Bedi responded to an appeal for blood to a young child who was suffering from leukaemia. I was 14 then.

[Zainub]

Originally Posted by Maranello

Better to avoid all that and play in friendlier places such as Mohali and Madras....!

A friend of mine lives in Chennai, he is quite dissapointed that Chennai hasn't been awared a single test or one day international.

Originally Posted by Mani Thungudrai, cricket fan from another forum

What?! No tests or ODIs in Chennai?! BLAST!! If they can go all the way south To Bangalore, Cochin and Vishakapatnam to play, why not over here where the crowd is quite simply the best in India?! And I'm quite surprised that Mohali should have been picked as a Test venue, especially since I have doubts about its size and capacity!

For those who don't know, The Board of Control for Cricket in India has announced the following finalised itinerary for the forthcoming Pakistan tour of India.

Arrival in India, Feb 28
Test Warm Up Match vs. Board President's XI, Dharamshala, March 3-5
1st Test vs. India, Mohali, March 8-12
2nd Test vs. India, Kolkata, March 16-20
3rd Test vs. India, Bangalore, March 24-28
ODI Warm up Match, Hyderabad, March 30
1st ODI vs. India, Cochin, April 2
2nd ODI vs. India, Vishakapatnam, April 5,
3rd ODI vs. India, Jamshedpur, April 9
4th ODI vs. India, Ahmedabad, April 12
5th ODI vs. India, Kanpur, April 15
6th ODI vs. India, Delhi, April 17
Departure for Pakistan, April 18

[Maranello]

India's vice-captain and probably the most cultured and thoughtful cricketer around anywhere, Rahul Dravid weighs in with a request to the Indian fans to "watch, cheer and support the teams in the spirit in which the game must be played".

[Zainub]

Nice to see Dravid come up with that, he's such a likeable personality really.

[vvvrulz]

Yeah, I hope Sachin and co. follow suit, these are the guys the public will listen to.