Pakistan team arrives

The Pakistan cricket team, led by Mohammad Hafeez, arrived here on Saturday night, ahead of its limited-overs series against India commencing with the Twenty20 match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on December 25.

Pakistan will play two Twenty20 games and three One-Day internationals.

Pakistan’s current tour also reflects a thaw in cricketing ties between the two nations, which were frozen after the terror strikes in Mumbai in November 2008.

Subsequently, India did not have any bilateral cricketing engagements with Pakistan though the rivals did clash in ICC events, the most notable being the 2011 World Cup semifinal at Mohali.

Pakistan last played a bilateral series against India in India during 2007. The host won the three-match Test series 1-0 and the five-game ODI series 3-2.

The schedule: Dec. 25: Twenty20 at Bangalore;

Dec. 28: Twenty20 at Ahmedabad;

Dec. 30: First ODI at Chennai;

Jan. 3: Second ODI at Kolkata;

Jan. 6: Third ODI at Delhi. — Special Correspondent