Bengaluru, Jun 21 (PTI) It was not the build-up the Pakistan football team would have anticipated ahead of its SAFF Championship opener against hosts India, with more than half of side arriving here only six hours ahead of the tie on Wednesday due to unavailability of tickets on a single flight.

The bizarre chain of events was set off after the Pakistan team arrived in Mumbai from Mauritius at 1:00 am on Wednesday morning.

The Pakistan squad comprising 32 members — players and coaching staff — could not find seats in a single aircraft and was forced to split into two groups.

The first set boarded a 4:00 am flight to Bengaluru, but the second lot took a 9.15 am flight due to some issues pertaining to immigration clearance at the Mumbai airport.

The second batch reached their team hotel close to the Kanteerava Stadium only past 1:00 pm, barely six hours ahead of the kickoff.

However,

Source: PTI News