Cloudy sky ahead of India-England tie

BANGALORE - Scores of fans queued up at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here Sunday morning for the day-night India-England World Cup cricket match. But with the sun playing hide and seek, the hot topic of discussion was — would rain play spoilsport?

Their concern was palpable as the meteorological department predicted 60 percent chance of rain towards evening or night.

Police began allowing spectators to enter the stadium at 10.30 a.m. for the match starting at 2.30 p.m. after an elaborate security drill of physical frisking and mobile checking.

Many fans had their faces painted with the tri-colour even as groups of boys and girls hovered around the stadium, selling Indian flags.

Over 7,000 police personnel with sniffer dog squads were on duty at the stadium for security. The stadium was also guarded overnight by over 100 police personnel.