Sri Lankan cricketers sweated it out at the nets in Kanpur to prepare for the second cricket Test against India starting on Nov 24.

The entire team marched into the ground at around 9:30 am and exercised for a while before practising at the nets.

The drawn first Test's double-centurion Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan and skipper Kumar Sangakkara did some batting practice with local bowlers.

Star off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis later bowled for a while.

Tight security arrangements had been made for the practice session with a number of policemen stationed at the stadium.

There was a breach of security at the stadium on Saturday when a man carrying a gun had entered the premises hours after the two teams landed in the city.

The opening match of the series in Ahmedabad had ended in a draw.

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Ticket sales slow

With few takers for the free passes on offer and just 10 per cent of the total tickets sold so far, the second cricket Test between India and Sri Lanka starting Tuesday in Kanpur has so far failed to enthuse the fans.

The Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association says the ticket sales have been rather slow with only students showing some interest.

"The demand for free passes is also not too high this time," a UPCA official said.

Tickets for the match have been made available at eight State Bank of India branches since Saturday but sources said only 2528 of the 25,598 tickets have been sold so far.

Over 1900 sold tickets are for the student gallery, priced at a nominal Rs 20 for a day's play.

"Gone are the days when fans used to line up for hours to get their tickets. There used to be a mad rush for the free passes among the high and mighty but not many people are bothered about Test cricket anymore," UPCA Joint Secretary P D Pathak said.

Pathak said he is hoping for the sales to pick up as the match draws closer.

"The expenses that we bear to organise a match here can never be earned back through ticket sales. In fact even advertising money can't cover that. Think of it, we have paid Rs 50 lakh as just the rent to host the game in Green Park stadium," Pathak said.

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