Afridi is a diehard SRK fan, Shahid Afridi is a Fan of SRK, Shahrukh Khan Shahid Afridi

While the Indian team was playing against the Pakistan team on Wednesday at the World Cup semi – final, Pak captain Shahid Afridi's younger brother Javed Afridi was commentating live on a radio station in India.

As the two teams battled to reach the finals, Javed revealed some lesser known facts about brother Shahid. He said, "Shahid is a huge fan of Shah Rukh Khan. He never misses out on his films and has seen My Name Is Khan at least a dozen times."

Javed also revealed that Shahid's mood dropped when he learnt that SRK won't be making it to the stadium in Mohali. "Shahid was upset that he missed a chance of meeting SRK. They have met a couple of times before though and he becomes like a star-struck kid every time."

The two hot Pathans - Shahid Afridi and Shah Rukh have interacted at an event in Mumbai back in 2009. Back then, SRK had said, "No matter how big a star I become, all the girls keep telling me 'You are not like Shahid Afridi'."

Dhoni and our boys will shine: Akshay, India will shine at Finals says Akshay kumar

Akshay Kumar thanks the cricket team for bringing India into the World Cup Final; predicts a win

Akshay Kumar is in the middle of promoting his April 8 release Thank You. But he is not obsessing about it as much about India's role in the World Cup final today.

Says the cricket enthusiast, "Like every Indian, cricket is a religion for me. From the time I was a young boy, I have never missed a single opportunity to play the game — from gully cricket to playing on my porch. Even during shooting, if I have a half hour break, I pick up the bat and start a game in the studio compound with the cast and crew. You will find a cricket kit in the boot of my car always.''

Khiladi's predictions for the World Cup final are no different from that of any other Indian. "My heart says India will win the cup and recreate the 1983 magic,'' he grins. Adding, I can even make you an exact prediction that India will bat first; they will make around 260 runs. Now these 260 runs may not seem such a formidable score, but our boys will take the cup.''

Akki says that he has been making a close study of the game and everything around it. "The astrological conditions in 1983 are similar to those in 2011. That calendar year and this one are similar. The stars are in our favour and that's why I feel MS Dhoni and our boys will shine.''

His face lights up when he talks of MSD and his gang, "The youngsters in our team, be it Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Munaf Patel or any of the other young guns play so well. I admire Dhoni. I want to thank him for bringing India into the finals. He has got India out of such dark situations and made her win. When they were playing with South Africa, we saw Dhoni's genius. Even during this World Cup, he showed his prowess on many occasions. I sincerely wish to say 'thank you India' for bringing us into the finals.''

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Mumbai: In a match-up with exciting possibilities, subcontinental giants India and Sri Lanka will meet in the final of the ICC World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium here on Saturday.

Both teams appeared relaxed as they went through the practice sessions on Friday afternoon. The high-pressure game that will test the nerves of the two sides is the first title clash between them in the premier ODI competition.

India enters the match as the favourite, and expectations are high. If Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side triumphs, it will become the first home team to win the title in the World Cup.

India has the batting might, while Sri Lanka has variety in bowling. Its off-spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan, striving to recover from a hamstring strain, bowled at the nets. He is expected to figure in the summit clash.

Muralitharan, 38, will retire from international cricket after the final. He has 800 wickets in Tests and 534 in ODIs — the highest by any bowler in both formats.

Another legend, the in-form Sachin Tendulkar, has 464 runs from eight matches of this edition at 58.00. The ageless Tendulkar has the opportunity to complete 100 international centuries on his home ground and become part of a World Cup winning team.

Pace-bowling all-rounder Angelo Mathews, down with an injury to quadriceps, has been replaced in the Sri Lankan squad by off-spinner Suraj Randiv.

In the Indian side, left-arm paceman Ashish Nehra has been ruled out as he has a broken finger. Dhoni has said top-order batsman Gautam Gambhir, grappling with a few niggles, is fit for the fray.

The pitch is expected to offer good bounce and carry initially. As the match progresses, the surface could play slower and encourage the spinners.

India won the World Cup in 1983 when Kapil Dev's men bucked the odds to defeat the formidable West Indies in the title clash at Lord's, England.

It has since been a long and rather agonising wait for India as the side sought to reclaim the ‘cup of joy'. Sourav Ganguly's men journeyed to the final of the 2003 event in South Africa, but succumbed to the Aussie firepower in the final.

Sri Lanka, the winner in 1996 and runner-up in 2007, has consistently delivered on the big stage. The side, led astutely by Arjuna Ranatunga and powered by an unbeaten hundred from Aravinda de Silva, defeated Australia in the final in Lahore in 1996.

In the Caribbean in 2007, the side was ambushed by an astonishing century by Australian great Adam Gilchrist.

Captains on pressure, excitement

Talking to the media here on Friday, Dhoni attempted to play down the pressures of the occasion: “The team is living in the present and is not thinking too far ahead.”

Sangakkara, the other wicket-keeper-batsman captain, said: “Everyone is excited. But we are trying to control the excitement and add steel to it.”

Katy Perry strips off for chart-topping E.T. video

Katy Perry has shed her clothes in her video for new single E.T.

The singer revealed her lower half, but to her fans’ surprise it turned out to be that of a faun.

Of course this is simply computer trickery, with Perry playing an alien for the extraterrestrial themed song, reports the Daily Mail.

Using prosphetics and face paint, the singer plays an alien who drifts through space before coming to a rubbish-strewn planet.

Amidst the piles of salvaged steel, she finds a broken robot that, at her touch, turns into a beautiful naked man.

The single is a collaboration with Kanye West, who also appears in the video, although he keeps his clothes on.

The video was premiered Thursday night, soon after Perry hit the number one spot in the U.S. for the fourth consecutive time with the latest track from her ‘California Dreams’ album.

She tweeted her excitement at her fifth chart-topper.

“I just got off stage to amazing news. You''ve made ET number 1!!! This is record breakingly amazing. That''s four in a row! I am in tearssss!!!” she posted.

Courteney Cox sizzles in bikini with co-star Josh Hopkins

Former 'Friends' star Courteney Cox was photographed sizzling in a black bikini as she frolicked in the Caribbean surf with her co-star Josh Hopkins.

Cox, 46, and Hopkins, 40, are currently enjoying a vacation in beautiful St Barts along with the actress’ six-year-old daughter Coco and some mutual friends.

The two have done nothing to dispel rumours that they are dating, even though they have insisted that they are “just friends”.

As previously reported Hopkins has been raving about Cox to his family.

“I know Josh likes her and is very fond of her. He’s said she’s a very nice person. If he approves of her, then I approve of her,” RadarOnline.com quoted the actor’s dad, Larry Hopkins as saying.

“They are both very good looking people,” he added.

Manisha Plays Sex worker, Manisha Koirala Plays as sex worker

Manisha koirala definitely knows that her comeback to the silver screen in Bollywood can be well-done only if she does a challenging role! So, no wonder she took up the role of a sex worker in noted actress Deepti Naval's directorial venture Do Paise Ki Dhoop Char Aane Ki Baarish, after a short gap, followed by her marriage with Nepali businessman Samrat Dahal at the age of 40.

Said to be inspired by real life incidents, the film has Rajit Kapur and New York-based Sanaj Naval in lead roles, besides Manisha. It deals with the bonding between three unlikely and unusual persons: a struggling gay lyricist, an ageing prostitute and her physically challenged 12-year-old son.

Shot in Mumbai's rainy season by Bollywood's finest cinematographer Kiran Deohans, the film has music composed by Sandesh Shandilya for lyrics penned by Gulzar.

Manisha is currently making a comeback in Tamil as Dhanush’s arrogant mother-in-law in Maapillai. She recently made her debut in Malayalam with Shyamprasad's much-acclaimed Electra starring Nayantara.

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She is the sensuous beauty Vidya Balan who will soon be seen as Silk Smitha onscreen. Given her natural sex appeal, everyone wants to give her a tight hug. Here she is, getting sandwiched by two superstars- Shahrukh Khan and Hugh Jackman. This happened during the FICCI event and while Vidya is taken by pleasant surprise, many other men were getting jealous of SRK and Jackman for squeezing such a delicious beauty.

Yupptv hosts online premier of Bollywood Movie

Global Takeoff Inc, a leading provider of converged digital entertainment and advertising solutions, today announced in partnership with Zee Communications, it will release the premier of the movie FALTU online to a worldwide audience through YuppTV.

YuppTV.com is one of the world’s leading portals for Indian programs with distribution rights to more than 30 Indian TV channels.

FALTU, starring Jackky Bhagnani and Puja Gupta, will hit the theatres today.

YuppTV will premiere the movie online on the same day and make it available for viewing on TVs,personal computers, smartphones and other internet-enabled devices starting at 1600 hrs GMT for USD 2.89 with 24-hour subscription validity.

Indians residing overseas have to pay a high price to watch a film - while here in India entertainment is still affordable, said Producer Vashu Bhagnani.

This move will not only generate revenues, but also reduce the eventual, but irrepressible piracy issues.

SRK, Aamir at India Srilanka Finals, Aamir, Shah Rukh Khan to add star power at Wankhede Stadium, India Srilanka ICC world cup finals at Wankhede

One would have thought Bollywood stars would come out in full force at the Wankhede Stadium Saturday, but actors Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan seem to be the only top stars who will be cheering the Men in Blue.

Shooting schedules will keep big names like Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra and Bipasha Basu away from the field where India and Sri Lanka will play the World Cup final. Salman Khan, Abhishek Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar are planning to watch the game on TV at home.

Aamir, who attended the exciting semifinal at Mohali with his wife Kiran Rao, has requested his director Reema Kagti to give him a weekly off from the shooting Saturday, instead of on April 4.

"Aamir plans to wear the same clothes that he wore for the semi-finals as he is superstitious about these things while watching cricket," Aamir's publicist told IANS.

Shah Rukh, a cricket enthusiast and the owner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), chose to stay at home for the semifinal, and watched it with a host of other Bollywood celebrities. But missing the match in Mumbai was out of question, and he will head to the stadium with his children - Aryan, 14, and Suhana, 11.

Soon after India's victory over Pakistan in the semifinal at Mohali, Khan told reporters: "We will win the final also. I have bought an extra T-Shirt for that... so I have to go there and watch the finals Inshallah! The kids want to go and see."

Actress Lara Dutta will add her share of glamour too at the stadium even if her husband, ace tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi, will be busy playing in the finals of Miami Masters tennis tournament in Florida, US.

"Bumper Bonanza Saturday!! Husband in the Miami Open Finals!:-) , will be cheering our Boys in Blue at the stadium!! Praying 4 a double win!!," Lara posted on her Twitter page.

As for Salman, he says he is not a cricket freak, but might end up at the stadium to enjoy the frenzy at the World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka.

"I plan to watch the final from home. But I might also land up at the Wankhede Stadium if I am in the mood," he said.

Abhishek, who had said he doesn't watch the match as he is superstitious about it, plans to catch the action on television.

"It will be good watching the match from my home rather than the stadium. I will be more comfortable," said Abhishek.

Actor-director Farhan Akhtar too would follow suit.

"It will be a good idea to watch the match from the comfort of my home. I will surely have a few friends come over and we will enjoy together," he said.

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The mother of all battles might have already taken place in Mohali when India beat Pakistan, but authorities at the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) and Maharashtra Police are leaving no stones unturned to ensure that the coveted World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka isn't marred by any security issues. 12,000 security personnel have been assigned to guard against any mishap on Saturday as 33,000 vociferous fans are expected to cheer the Men in Blue in an effort to help them win the biggest prize of One-Day International cricket.

Although around 2,000 personnel were assigned to handle security matters at the Wankhede in the group stages, one of the senior officers in Maharashtra Police said that the number had been increased as the law keepers weren't ready to take any chance.

"We don't expect such a highsecurity environment like the Indo-Pak match on Tuesday, but that doesn't give us the liberty to take things lightly. We have beefed up security since March 26, with Maharashtra Police joining hands with the Rapid Action Force, Commandos, State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

"Mumbai has always been a soft target for terrorists and we don't want to keep anything to chance. Just to make sure that there is no lapse, we have had separate briefing for the senior officers and a different briefing for the sub-ordinates," he told Mail Today.

"While the seniors will take position at the major areas including dressing rooms, ICC lounges, hospitality areas etc, the juniors will be posted at the different gates. Frisking is a must and even the VVIPs won't be spared. At the end of the day it is for their safety, so they shouldn't complain. If
anything, they should come in well in advance to avoid missing the match."

A junior inspector said that while they were following all the orders being given by the seniors, not getting food was proving to be a hindrance. "While we get all top-class facilities on match days, things get really difficult on other days as food brought in from our homes goes bad by lunch time. But then, anything for the country's sake. We have been instructed to be at the ground from 8 am in the morning till 8 pm in the evening. After that there is a change in shift," he said.

No Black Marketing
An MCA official told Mail Today that no scope has been left for the touts to have a field day with the final less than 48 hours away.

"Firstly, we have kept no option for people to come to the stadium and buy tickets - it's completely an on-line process - secondly, the tickets will have the name of the ticket holder. So, it won't be possible for black-marketers to buy online tickets and sell them outside.

"The SRPF personnel present at the entry gates will check identity proofs before letting ticket-holders enter the ground. Under no circumstance will there be any exception to that rule. We hope for a fair final with only those with legitimate tickets getting entry," he said.

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Model Poonam Pandey, who has vowed to strip naked if India wins the World Cup cricket title, has been dragged to court in Bhopal, with a lawyer accusing her of depicting Brahmins in poor light.

RK Pandey also named Indian liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who included a scantily clad Poonam in his company’s Kingfisher calendar, in his petition filed in the court of Bhopal's chief judicial magistrate.

"Even if Poonam does not run naked, she should be punished as she not only gave a wrong impression of the (Brahmin) community but insulted Indian culture," the lawyer told reporters. The case will be heard April 5.

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The most downloaded hot model on internet, Poonam Pandey has hit headlines with her sensational statement that she would go nude if team India wins the world cup. Poonam is a die hard cricket fan and she has done a special photoshoot with cricket theme recently.

Now, as India is two steps closer to the world cup, Poonam Pandey has found her own hot way to motivate the team. She said that she would bare all in Mumbai stadium if India wins the cup.

Poonam Pandey takes a leaf out of lingerie models Larissa Requelme and Luciana Sarazar who stated that they would go nude if their football teams win FIFA world cup.

Check out Poonam Pandey hot pics and spicy photo gallery. Imagine her going nude in front of a jam packed stadium. Now India has one hot reason to win this cup, isn’t it?

India beat Pakistan to set up final with Sri Lanka, Pakistan 231, India 260/9, India - 260/9 in 50 overs

MOHALI, India (Reuters) – India beat Pakistan by 29 runs in the second World Cup semi-final Wednesday and will take on Sri Lanka in Saturday’s final in Mumbai.

The 1983 champions posted 260-9 and then returned to bowl out their neighbours for 231 in 49.5 overs to spark jubilant celebrations at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium.

Opting to bat first, India got off to a rollicking start and Sachin Tendulkar (85) got a series of let-offs as well but Wahab Riaz’s (5-46) five-wicket haul restricted the co-hosts to a rather modest total.

Pakistan got off to a decent start too but losing wickets at regular intervals denied them any significant partnerships and batsmen such as Mohammad Hafeez (43) and Asad Shafiq (30) were guilty of throwing away their wickets at the most inopportune time.

Misbah-ul-Haq (56) offered some late resistance but it was not enough in the end.

For India, Yuvraj Singh (2-57) made amends for his batting failure, while Harbhajan Singh (2-43), Ashish Nehra (2-33), Zaheer Khan (2-58) and Munaf Patel (2-40) also shone with the ball.

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India won the Semifinal World cup match 2011 against Pakistan by 29 runs.
Harbhajan Singh tightened the Indian stranglehold on Pakistan by having Shahid Afridi caught by Virender Sehwag in the covers off a full toss in their World Cup semifinal clash at the PCA stadium in Mohali on Wednesday.

Angelina Jolie immortalised in comic book, Angelina Jolie in comic book

Actress Angelina Jolie has been immortalised in a comic book that talks about her rise to fame and life with actor and partner Brad Pitt.

The book, which is a part of the "Female Force" comic series, is written by Brent Sprecher and has illustrations by Nuno Nobre.

It will talk about Jolie's diverse range of movie roles, including her roles in "Gia" and "Girl, Interrupted", and her charity work.

"I learned a great deal about her struggles and triumphs as an actress, mother and humanitarian. Often painted as an edgy, slightly dangerous movie star, what is often not revealed about Ms. Jolie is her tireless commitment to charity work and her dedication to the plight of refugees around the world as a Goodwill Ambassador with the United Nations," aceshowbiz.com quoted Brent as saying.

The "Female Force" series was first published in 2008 to showcase strong and influential women who are shaping modern history and culture.

Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Thatcher, J.K. Rowling and Sarah Palin were among those who have been featured in previous issues.

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MOHALI: Pakistan left-arm pace bowler Wahab Riaz took four wickets, including two off successive balls, to put his side on top in the World Cup semi-final against India on Wednesday.

Riaz, who had earlier dismissed Virender Sehwag lbw after the opener had struck a frenetic 38 with nine boundaries, had Virat Kohli caught for nine then bowled India's form player Yuvraj Singh for a duck with a magnificent inswinging yorker.

He won another lbw appeal against captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (25).

India would have been in more trouble if Pakistan had not dropped Sachin Tendulkar four times, three of them off captain Shahid Afridi. Tendulkar also had an lbw decision reversed on review while a stumping appeal off the next ball was referred to the third umpire.

He was finally out for 85, caught by Afridi, 15 short of becoming the first man to score 100 international centuries.

* Sehwag received a deafening ovation when he drove the third ball of the match to the cover boundary.

He helped himself to a further three fours through an unprotected leg-side and two through the off in Umar Gul's next over followed by a further brace in the hapless paceman's third.

Riaz replaced Abdul Razzaq at the other end and was immediately successful when Sehwag played across his fifth ball and was given out lbw. 49/1 off six overs

* Tendulkar, one short of an unprecedented 100 international centuries, played two exquisite shots off Riaz, turning his wrists late to steer the ball through the leg-side for four then dipping low to carve another boundary through the covers.

With left-hander Gautam Gambhir at the crease, off-spinner Saeed Ajmal was introduced to the attack in the ninth over. 73/1 off 10 overs

* Tendulkar survived appeals off consecutive balls from Ajmal which temporarily silenced the crowd. He was given out lbw for 23 by Ian Gould but appealed against the decision and won a reprieve when the television replay showed the ball would have missed the leg-stump.

Pakistan appealed for a stumping off the next ball and Tendulkar was again reprieved when the replay showed his back foot was grounded. Tendulkar's charmed life continued when he was dropped on 27 off Afridi by Misbah-ul-Haq at mid-wicket mistiming a pull. 99/1 off 15 overs

* Pakistan's luck appeared to turn when off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez lured Gautam Gambhir (27) out of his crease and Kamran Akmal completed the stumping. He added had 68 runs from 66 balls with Tendulkar. But Tendulkar was then dropped on 45 by Pakistan's safest catcher Younus Khan in the covers off the unfortunate Afridi. Tendulkar added to the Pakistan captain's chagrin by driving Afridi over cover to bring up his half-century from 67 balls. 141/2 off 25 overs

* Riaz, brought back into the attack, immediately began to reverse swing the old ball and was rewarded with the wickets of Koli, who lobbed a catch into the covers, and Yuvraj who had averaged 113.66 previously in the tournament. 168/4 off 30 overs

* Afridi recalled Gul, whose first four overs had cost 41 runs, to see if he could emulate Riaz and reverse the ball. Tendulkar received two further lives when he was dropped by Kamran Akmal on 70, a difficult chance behind the stumps, again off Afridi. Akram's brother Umal then dropped Tendulkar on 81 off Hafeez at wide mid-wicket. Tendulkar's luck finally ran out when Afridi held a fierce drive at short-cover off Ajmal. 200/5 off 40 overs

* Dhoni struggled to get bat to ball as the Indian run rate slipped further. He tried to clip Riaz off his legs but missed a ball which was heading straight for the stumps. 221/6 off 45 overs

* Dhoni won an important toss on a hot muggy morning and had no hesitation announcing he would bat in a match which has captured the imagination of the sub-continent.

India selected pace bowler Ashish Nehra instead of off-spinner Ravichandran Aswhin while Pakistan named an unchanged team, again omitting fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar who will retire after the tournament.

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With all eyes set on the ICC World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan — being termed as “final of finals” — the PCA stadium has been turned into a fortress. As part of the three-tier multi-layered security, stadium has been put under a 2.5-km-radius of extensive barricading.

Early on Tuesday morning, endless streams of Punjab Police personnel — requisitioned from across the state — were deployed for duty in and around the stadium. With the stadium’s outer wall surrounded by metal containment barricades, channels fixed on every entry gate, movable barricades in place to regulate traffic around the venue and view cutters installed to visually segregate one area from another, the stadium seemed to be the best protected place in the city. However, no shuttle buses will be in service to ferry spectators to and fro parking lots and stadium on Wednesday.

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New Delhi: A dust-storm, thunder and lightning lashed Chandigarh, followed by mild rains on Tuesday evening just a day ahead of the crucial India-Pakistan semi-final match on Wednesday.
The rain gods can dampen the spirits of tens of thousands of cricket fans and play spoilsport in the eagerly awaited World Cup semifinal at Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium on Wednesday.
The weatherman has predicted clouds to prevail in this region with a possibility of light rain.

"Partly cloudy sky will prevail over in the Mohali region on Wednesday. Thunderstorms and dust-storms along with light rain, by the evening, could also prevail in various parts of this region on tomorrow. Similar conditions are prevailing in this region for the last 24-hours," a Met official said on Wednesday.
"However, it will be comparatively warm tomorrow. The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 30 to 33 degrees Celsius whereas the minimum temperature will be around 17 to 18 degrees Celsius Wednesday," he added.
A hailstorm coupled with lightning and thunder lashed Shimla and its surrounding areas this evening disrupting normal life.
The local MeT office has predicted more rains and thunderstorm at many places during next 24 hours.
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Lahore: Pakistan's Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has announced that each member of the national cricket team will be given 25 acres of fertile land if they beat India in the high-profile World Cup semi-final match.

"My government will give 25 acres of fertile land to each member of the team as a prize if they beat India," Sharif said during a news conference on Monday.

"The Pakistani cricket team deserves appreciation from the nation for displaying outstanding performance in different matches of the World Cup. We are praying for its success," he said.

Sharif advised the Pakistani players not to come under pressure for the crucial game against arch-rival India. Pakistan will play against India tomorrow in high-voltage semi-final match of the World Cup in Indian Punjab, not far from the Pakistani Punjab.

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An edge-of-the-seat contest is in the offing as arch rivals India and Pakistan take on each other in the semi-final of the World Cup at Punjab Cricket Association (PCB) here tomorrow.

The hype and hysteria surrounding the contest has further raised the stakes and despite the repeated assertions by the team managements, players are feeling the heat.

Adding to the pressure on the teams will be the fact that the Prime Ministers of both the countries are specially arriving here to watch the match.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Shahid Afridi have asserted that their sides will give their best and have urged fans to treat it like any other game but the two captains know that it is easier said than done as the passions are running high and the stakes are sky-high.

Both teams are former champions and the desire to regain that status has created unbelievable pressure.

For the record, India has beaten Pakistan four times in World Cup matches and the visitors from across the border have a happy memory of the PCA ground having beaten the hosts twice on this ground.

With the teams in good form, both captains face a similar problem: which set of fast bowlers to play. India have a choice between the misfiring Ashish Nehra and the unimpressive Munaf Patel to partner

Zaheer Khan, while Pakistan are yet to take a call on fielding Shoaib Akhtar alongside Umar Gul.

No team likes to fiddle with a winning combination, but local conditions cannot be ignored either. It means that conditions in Ahmedabad or Colombo may not necessarily be the ideal for Mohali.

For Shoaib, who will almost certainly pull the curtain down on a roller-coaster career after this tournament, it will be one last chance to play his favourite role, that of glory boy. He was a minor part in Pakistan's early run but has been on the bench for their last three games and it is unlikely that he will play tomorrow.

For India, Patel should have walked into the playing XI given his nagging accuracy and wicket-to-wicket line but he has not been very incisive. However the problem is that Nehra and Shantakumaran Sreesanth are not good alternatives.

This semi-final thus boils down to a battle between India's batting and Pakistan's bowling. There are several Indian batsmen in the ICC's top 20 ranking list while there isn't a single name from Shahid Afridi's line-up.

India's progress so far has been due to their batsmen, while Pakistan have found their men of the moment on virtually a match by match basis.

Yet, the two teams are all set to play for a place in the finals.

The deciding factor here, as is the case in all such do-or-die occasions, is nerve, and the ability to tough out a situation. Pakistan look a happy unit.

India's top three - Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir - have to give their side a solid start. Pakistanis realise that this trio is dangerous so they will do everything to get rid of these three as quickly as possible.

The bowlers Zaheer, Harbhajan, part timer Yuvraj Singh will have to bowl well and the side will have to raise the level of their fielding.

As Dhoni admitted that Pakistan has a very good bowling attack, Afridi feels that his side has some good and experienced batsmen.

"We are a compact side," said Afridi adding that his bowlers are well aware of India's batting strength.

India cannot afford middle order batting collapses like the ones which they suffered against South Africa and the West Indies.

Pakistanis are not going to give them any quarters. Pakistan has a good bowling attack but the strong Indian batting line-up has the wherewithal to negotiate it.

But the hosts will have to be weary of their rivals batting. Underestimating them in this department can prove costly.

Teams (from):

India: MS Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Piyush Chawla, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, S Sreesanth.

Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (capt), Misbah-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Ahmed Shehzad, Asad Shafiq, Junaid Khan, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Younis Khan.