India vs Pakistan : Head to Head
Manmohan & Gilani will watch India vs Pak game at Mohali
New Delhi/Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has accepted his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh's invitation to watch the World Cup semi-final between the cricket teams of the two countries in Mohali on March 30.
The decision, reportedly taken following a meeting between Gilani and Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari late last night, has been conveyed to the Indian government.
On Friday evening, Dr Singh sent this note to Gilani and Zardari. "I propose to be at Mohali to watch the World Cup semi-final match between India and Pakistan to be held on 30th March. There is huge excitement over the match and we are all looking forward to a great game of cricket, that will be a victory for sport. It gives me great pleasure to invite you to visit Mohali and join me and the millions of fans from our two countries to watch the match."
Several reports in Pakistan media said Gilani would informally meet Dr Singh during the match and a formal meeting would be held after the game.
'The Nation' newspaper quoted its sources as saying that Gilani would pay a two-day visit to India for a fresh round of "cricket diplomacy." It said that Gilani's decision to accept Singh's invitation has been conveyed to New Delhi through diplomatic channels. Till last night, there were reports that Gilani and Zardari may have deputed Farooq Naek, the Chairman of Senate or upper house of Parliament, to visit India.
This is the first time in World Cup history that India and Pakistan are going to play against each other at the semi-final level.
The last time they met was in 2003 at the knock-out stages. Every time the two teams have clashed before in World Cup, India has won. (With PTI Inputs)
Bollywood Shouts 'Cut' for India vs Pak
So, come Wednesday, some will get their shoots preponed while most will watch the match at home or between extended breaks at work. A few will even watch the match live.
Deepika Padukone: (Watching it in London) "I will be in London shooting for Desi Boyz. As it is behind India in time, I will get ready early and catch the match before my afternoon shoot. I wish I was in Mohali, catching the action live."
Kareena Kapoor: (Hoping for things to wrap up fast) "I will be busy shooting for Reema Kagti's film with Aamir on that day unless things wrap up fast. Knowing Aamir's around, it probably will!"
Akshay Kumar: Sajid Khan, Sajid Nadiadwala and a few of my close friends are coming over to watch the semis between India and Pakistan on the plasma TV in my house. I love cricket. I am not cheering any particular player but I'm rooting for India. Team India has to win!
Aamir Khan: (Prepones shoot. Now, from 10 am to 2 pm) The actor plans to watch the match with his family at home. He made director Reema Kagti, whose film he is currently starring in, change the timing of the Wednesday schedule, making it from 10 am to 2 pm, so that the cast and crew could catch the action.
Sunil Shetty: (Will be in Mohali) "I am a huge cricket lover. Gautam Singhania and I will head to Mohali for the semis between India and Pakistan. I am rooting for Team India and not for any player in particular."
Sanjay Dutt: (Can't miss it even though he's in HK) "Though I love cricket and have watched most of the World Cup matches, sadly for the semis between India and Pakistan I am not there. What a match it will be! I am in Hong Kong shooting for Dhamaal 2. I will watch it somewhere or maybe on the Net. Though I am rooting for Team India, I love Sachin and Sehwag."
Ajay Devgn: (Will watch during the shoot) "I will be shooting for Rohit Shetty's Singham in Goa and will watch the match between breaks. Rohit has promised to wind up the shoot early that day so we can all get to watch at least half the match."
Anil Kapoor: (Wants Sachin to crack a ton) "Yes, I do plan to watch the cricket semis between India and Pakistan as I love cricket. As of now, I'm a bit uncertain of my plans as I have some guests from Los Angeles flying down for a meeting and at night I'm having a small dinner party. I love watching Sachin Tendulkar's game and it would be fantastic if he got his 100th century during this match! I'm happy Yuvraj has struck form and playing brilliantly now. It's also a great opportunity for India and Pakistan to strengthen their ties in this match and make it a friendship match though on-the-field aggression and competition will be there."
Bipasha Basu: (Catching it at home) "I have still not decided where I will watch the match. Maybe, socially or at home with close friends. But am flying back from Kolkata on that day! Cheering for the entire team and hope they make us proud!"
Sonam Kapoor (Loves to watch Sachin) "I don't know yet whether I will be watching the semis or not. I enjoy the game of cricket, especially when India's playing. I love watching Sachin Tendulkar play!"
Imran Khan: (Wants a TV on the sets) "I'm going to be shooting in Madh Island the entire day. I'm just hoping our director understands our excitement and puts a TV on the sets."
India vs Pak: VIPs welcome, others keep out
Mohali: Outside the Mohali stadium, a young woman desperate for a ticket to Wednesday's big game tries desperately to find a scalper.
"If I could find a ticket, I'd buy it for black market rates," she says, hoping she'll be overheard by someone who's looking to make a quick and big buck.
Nothing.
While regular cricket fans will get no closer to the game than their TV sets, VIPs will find doors opening for them, no password or secret handshake required.
At the stadium, a section reserved for VVIPs will welcome the most important of the important without tickets - all they need to flash is a letter of invitation from Punjab Cricket Association (PCA).
In fact, the poverty of tickets means that the 5000 visas sanctioned by India for cricket fans from across the border will go largely unused.
Of the 30,000 seats in the stadium, 16,000 were made available to the public, with 1000 tickets being released online. The tickets were all sold out within two days from its designated outlets and bank branches.
The rest were distributed to the International Cricket Council (ICC) and state cricket associations, who have distributed them to famous last names and PWMs (People Who Matter).
Also, as many a disappointed cricket fan will point out, many of the 16,000 aam admi seats ended up with black marketers.
Meanwhile, the Chandigarh airport has received 46 requests for permission to land private aircraft for the match. Most planes will not be allowed to park at Chandigarh, they'll have to fly back to Delhi or wait at Amritsar or Dehradun. It's a hard-knock life.
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