Tax-free World Cup income approved by India

NEW DELHI: India approved a proposal to exempt the Cricket World Cup from income tax on Thursday, granting the tournament an estimated 450 million rupee ($10.1 million) windfall.

“The Union Cabinet today approved the proposal of the Ministry of Finance for exempting the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 from income tax…in respect of income which is arising in India,” a government statement said.

“The financial implication will be 450 million rupees approximately.”

India and Sri Lanka play the final of the six-week long tournament, which has been hosted by Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, in Mumbai on Saturday.

India granted tax exemption on income to residents and non-residents gained from international sporting events held in India in 2006, in time for that year’s ICC Champions Trophy cricket tournament.

India often exempts ticket sales for popular movies from taxes, especially films which are seen as carrying a social or patriotic message.

Sri Lankan president to watch World Cup final

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa will fly to Mumbai to watch Kumar Sangakkara’s men take on India in the World Cup final on Saturday.

Rajapaksa urged all Sri Lankans to rally around the national cricket team “as it is the best way to pay tribute to Muttiah Muralitharan.” The off-spinner will be playing his last international match on Saturday.

“The ICC had invited the president. The Indian government is looking forward to his arrival and is making arrangements,” presidential spokesman Bandula Jayasekara said.

Rajapaksa’s visit will not carry any of the heavy political overtones of Wednesday’s India-Pakistan semi-final. The prime ministers of the nuclear-armed rivals sat side-by-side to watch the match in what was dubbed “cricket diplomacy”.

Muralitharan, 38, the sole survivor from Sri Lanka’s 1996 champion side, is the leading wicket-taker in both test and one-day cricket.

National carrier Sri Lankan Airlines said on Thursday it will operate an additional flight to Mumbai on Saturday to transport cricket fans, on top of its usual daily service.

We did not want to risk struggling Shoaib: Afridi

MOHALI: Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said the performance of his side’s younger players had been among the positives of a World Cup campaign that ended with a 29-run semi-final loss to India.

And he said he hoped Wednesday’s match, watched by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani, would be the catalyst for more games on Indian soil.

Pakistan have been unable to play matches at home since an armed attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus in Lahore in 2009.

Now Afridi wants to see the restoration of normal cricket ties with India as part of his country’s sporting rehabilitation.

“We want to play in India, we have shown them our hospitality in the past, I hope they do so too,” the all-rounder said.

Pakistan saw 25-year-old left-arm quick Wahab Riaz take a career-best five for 46 as India were held to 260 for nine in the semi-final.

But the Pakistan innings struggled to get going in the face of accurate Indian bowling.

Only 20-year-old Umar Akmal threatened to keep up with the run-rate whilst Misbah-ul-Haq faced 76 balls for his 56 before the 36-year-old was last man out.

“I’m proud of my team, the boys have really done a great job in this competition. We played as a unit and no-one was expecting us to play cricket like this so I’m very happy as a captain,” said Afridi.

“I think the youngsters really performed well. Asad Shafiq and Umar Akmal played well and I hope they will do well in the future. I think we have played better than in the 2003 and 2007 World Cups,” said Afridi.

Pakistan cricket has been under a cloud since last year’s ‘spot-fixing’ scandal in England which led to bans for new-ball duo Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif as well as former Test captain Salman Butt.

“It has been a difficult 10 months for us,” Afridi said. “I am thankful to my board officials and team management for backing me.

“We had a rickety team coming into the World Cup and considering that it has been a good performance.”

As for Riaz, he added: “We didn’t bowl well with the new ball, but because of his bowling we came back, otherwise I thought they would have scored about 300. It was a great bowling performance from him.”

Riaz was selected after Pakistan felt they could not risk Shoaib Akhtar, meaning there was no fairytale farewell for the ‘Rawalpindi Express’, who had said he would retire from international cricket after the World Cup.

“We wanted Shoaib Akhtar to play but he was struggling,” Afridi explained.

“We could not play someone who is at 50 percent or 60 percent of peak fitness. Riaz played in his place and you have seen his performance.”

India’s total of 260 for nine was built on Sachin Tendulkar’s 85 but Pakistan did not help their cause by dropping the man-of-the-match four times.

However, Afridi eventually held the chance that ensured his pre-match prediction that Wednesday would not be the day when Tendulkar scored his 100th international hundred came true.

“I want to congratulate the India team and the whole nation. I think they deserved to win,” Afridi said.

“I think we made some big mistakes in the fielding, we dropped some catches, like for Sachin. Like I told you, Sachin didn’t score a hundred.”

India now face Sri Lanka, beaten by Pakistan in the group phase, in Saturday’s final in Mumbai and Afridi could not pick a winner.

“Both teams are playing very good cricket, both teams are well balanced.”

‘Afridi’s men deserve a heroes’ welcome’

KARACHI: Shahid Afridi’s men should be given a heroes’ welcome when they touch down in Pakistan despite their loss to India in the World Cup semi-finals, urged a number of former players on Thursday.

A few years ago, Pakistan cricketers would have expected anger and backlash following a defeat by their traditional foes but former captain Javed Miandad said the class of 2011 should be lauded as they had exceeded expectations.

“We need to support this team and appreciate their performance. They made mistakes and dropped catches in the semi-final and that cost them the match,” former captain Miandad told Reuters.

“But to reach the last-four stage was in itself a big achievement. They were not the subject of any controversy and played competitive cricket. The future is good for Pakistan cricket.”

Advancing to the last four appeared to be an impossible dream for Pakistan less than two months ago.

The team had lost three of their most talented players — Salman Butt and pace duo Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir — to corruption bans and two weeks before the tournament they did not even know who their captain would be.

But once Afridi was appointed skipper, he united the squad and directed his men with a single minded focus that helped them top their group in the first round. They then went on to humiliate West Indies by 10 wickets in the quarter-finals.

It is these kinds of memories that Pakistanis should hold on to, and not the ones where the team dropped four catches that let Sachin Tendulkar off the hook time and again on Wednesday, said a host of former players.

“The team fought well and had it not dropped the catches offered by Tendulkar the result could have been different,” said Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Former wicketkeeper-batsman, Rashid Latif added: “Any other team would have succumbed to the pressures that came with the spot-fixing and disciplinary scandals. But our boys showed lot of grit and Shahid Afridi led them very well.”

“Let’s not be despondent or angry with this team. It has some outstanding players who will ensure a bright future for Pakistan cricket,” said former captain Moin Khan.

“The great thing about the match was the way it united us and proved how powerful cricket can be as a unifying tool.”

Leading politicians also hailed the team with Punjab chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif, announcing a cash award of half a million rupees ($5,864) for each player.

“The boys have done us proud and played well to reach the semi-finals. I will go myself to greet them,” Sharif told Geo News.

Indo-Pak bilateral series to resume soon: Ijaz Butt

KARACHI: Pakistan cricket chief Ijaz Butt was optimistic that bilateral cricket ties with India will soon resume after the World Cup.

India beat Pakistan in Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final in a match that was attended by prime ministers of both countries and and had been billed as an exercise in ‘cricket diplomacy’.

“The talks with them on resumption of bilateral cricket ties were very fruitful and the Indian Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) has also now assured (us) that the two countries will soon play bilateral series,” Butt told reporters on Thursday after returning from India.

“I think the semi-final is the first step towards resumption of bilateral ties.”

India froze bilateral cricket ties with Pakistan after 166 people were killed in the 2008 Mumbai attacks and also cancelled a full test tour to Pakistan in early 2009.

Since then both countries have only met in multi-team tournaments organised by the International Cricket Council – sport’s governing body.

ICC CWC LIVE: 2nd SF, IND vs PAK

India Innings: 260 for nine

50th Over: Riaz gets a fifer. Zaheer could not stop trying to be a hero and he had to pay for it. Nehra fails to make his ground. Run-out. Raina drives the last ball of the innings for two. India are 260 for nine

49th Over: Gul comes in for another over. Much better line. Zaheer Khan's attitude with the bat is baffling. 250 up for India. Four from Raina. India are 256 for seven

47th Over: Ajmal gets his second wicket, removes Harbhajan. Stumped. Zaheer Khan, the new man in. He needs to slog a few. Just three runs and a wicket off the over. India are 238 for six

46th Over: Gul to Raina. Slammed back over the bowler's head. FOUR! India need a few more of that. 250 is not far away now. And another one. This is turning out to be a good over for India. Harbhajan joins in the fun too- helps a wide one down the leg side down to the fence. India are 235 for six

45th Over: India take the Batting Powerplay. Ajmal in the attack. Raina and Harbhajan at the crease for India and a lot will depend on how they tackle the next five overs.  

42nd Over: Riaz gets his fourth, Dhoni goes. India are in a huge spot of bother here.

40th Over: Unsuccessful UDRS for Pakistan. 200 up for India. India need a few quick runs. Batting Powerplay lurking around the corner. India are 200 for five

37th Over: Tendulkar departs. Afridi holds on to a catch off Ajmal and Tendulkar falls for a well-made 85. The pressure is right back on India. Raina joins Dhoni.

35th Over: Tendulkar DROPPED for the fourth time, now off Hafeez. Afridi cannot believe it. Will it be costly for Pakistan? India are 182 for four

32nd Over: Gul back into the attack for his second spell. Tendulkar and Dhoni looking to build the Indian innings. Crucial phase of play in the match.

26th Over: Riaz gets Kohli. And Yuvraj. On a hat-trick. This is sensational stuff from Pakistan. An out-of-form MS Dhoni walks in to join a solid Sachin Tendulkar. India are 145 for four

22nd Over: Fifty for Tendulkar. The 95th of his ODI career and the second on the trot. And what a way to bring it up too. An exquisitely timed boundary.

Himanshu reckons India are lucky to have Sachin Tendulkar at the crease. It's getting slow and  low gradually. The dual bounce means chasing anything over 250 would worry Pakistan.

20th Over: Tendulkar DROPPED for the second time and again off Afridi. The Little Master has already survived an LBW appeal and a stumping chance. 

18th Over: Mohammad Hafeez breaks through for Pakistan. Gautam Gambhir departs but India are on solid ground in Mohali. Tendulkar on the verge of yet another fifty. India are 116 for two

16th Over: 100 up for India. Tendulkar and Gambhir going strong after a Sehwag blitzkrieg. Pakistan have somehow managed to tighten the noose, just a bit. A great contest shaping up.

Did YOU KNOW?

Sachin Tendulkar is now the leading run-getter in India-Pakistan ODIs.

Our correspondent Himanshu Shekhar says, "Watching Saeed Ajmal bowl one wonders if  dropping R Ashwin was the right move. India would hope that Dhoni got it  right. Meanwhile, Sachin has survived two massive appeals and looks like  in for the long haul."

11th Over: Ajmal continues. Tendulkar gets a lifeline thanks to the UDRS. Gould has to take his decision back. Nothing for Ajmal. The umpire shakes his head, does not like the mistake he made. Another appeal. Stumped, is he? Third umpire rules in favour of Tendulkar and Mohali erupts. India are 76 for one

6th Over: Wahab Riaz into the attack and strikes Sehwag on the pads. REVIEW! And it goes in Pakistan's favour. India are one down. Gautam Gambhir walks into the middle.

4th Over: Razzak runs in. No respite for Pakistan. A boundary for Sehwag and a delightful cover-drive from Sachin Tendulkar.

3rd Over: Sehwag on the rampage, blasts Gul all around the park. Four boundaries. And a free hit too. Gul gets away with it.

1st Over: Sehwag drives Umar Gul through covers and India are away. What a start.

The Toss

 India won the all-important toss and elected to bat against Pakistan in the ICC Cricket World Cup semifinal at Mohali.

It was a great sight to see the Prime Ministers of both India and Pakistan, Dr Manmohan Singh and Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, shake hands with the team members and pass on words of encouragement.

Even the PMs seemed a bit carried away by the sense of occasion!

CaptainSpeak (MS Dhoni): "I think it is vital and better for us to put runs on the board so we could put pressure on the opposition. I also don't know if I can say its the biggest game of my life but its certainly really huge!"

CaptainSpeak (Shahid Afridi): "I think we would have batted first as well but there is not much concern as I see a decent spread of grass that could come in handy for our spinners.

Pitch Report: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly says the track is full of runs and a score of 300 is chaseable. There is a little bit of grass on the pitch that could keep the wicket intact. Fast bowlers will extract mileage in the evening as the weather will come into play.

Our correspondent in Mohali, Himanshu Shekhar says it is a nice and sunny day as Mohali anticipates a cracker of a game. Covers are on the pitch but one expects it to be a typical one with good bounce and carry that would help seamers.

 As the atmosphere builds up with thousands of fans thronging at different gates, the cops seem unable to take control. The entry points are difficult to negotiate and it appears to be as difficult and nightmarish as it feels when crossing the border illegally.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani arrived in Chandigarh today to witness the high octane cricket World Cup Indo-Pak semi-final encounter along with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh.

Gilani, who landed in a Pakistan Air Force aircraft on his first visit to India, was accompanied by his wife Fauzia and was received at the defence airport  by Union Minister of State for Communication Sachin Pilot and Pakistan High Commissioner in India Shahid Malik among others.

TEAMS

India: V Sehwag, SR Tendulkar, G Gambhir, V Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (c), SK Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Z Khan, MM Patel, A Nehra

    

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi (c), Abdul Razzaq, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal

MATCH PREVIEW

By Prateek Srivastava in Mohali

There will be no David or Goliath in the match. The past encounters between the teams suggest that reputation and experience will count for nothing and that every player will be under tremendous pressure with uncompromising and unforgiving fans on both sides. A good performance here can make one part of the folklore while a failure will be as good as sending somebody to the gallows. Never before was a player so conscious of the sword of Damocles.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni understands the magnitude of the occasion and speaks like a sage.

“There is hype, there is hysteria but we are not getting involved in it and that’s what is important. One thing you know about the hype is that thinking about it won’t help your performance and what doesn’t help your performance should be kept out. We have been preparing well, let us see how it goes,” Dhoni said during a press conference on the eve of the match.

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, who is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 21 wickets, admitted that the Indians are the favourites going into the match. But despite that he believes he has got a great team which is capable of taking anyone to the cleaners.

“We have played above expectations so far. We've been through a tough time for the last seven or eight months but now we are playing like a unit. India are the favourites but we are pretty confident about our game. This World Cup matters a lot to us and we will try our best to rekindle the interest in the game back home,” the spinning all-rounder said.

India’s record against Pakistan is very impressive in the tournament: they have never lost to their arch-rivals. However when it comes to overall head-to-head, Pakistan by far has been the best side, winning 69 out of 119 matches.

Many cricket pundits believe the match is actually between India’s batting and Pakistan’s bowling. The pitch at the Punjab Cricket Association has always been partial to batsmen and the curator Daljit Singh has given no sign as yet that it would be any different this time.

As far as team composition is concerned, India are likely to field the same team that knocked the Australians out while Pakistan are unsure whether to go in with injury-prone Shoaib Akhtar.

Both teams have been great rivals over the years. Nothing is going to change on Wednesday, no matter how much people talk about cricket being a medium to thaw the relationship between the star-crossed neighbours. You can count me upon that!

India and Pakistan - World Cup 2011

Approaching milestones

- Virender Sehwag (998) needs two runs to complete his 1000 runs against Pakistan in ODIs.

-  Mahendra Singh Dhoni (976) requires 24 runs to complete his 1000 runs against Pakistan in ODIs.

-  In case of a hundred, Sachin (99) would become the first batsman to complete 100 international centuries.

-  Sachin, in case of a century, would become the first to register six hundreds in India-Pakistan ODIs.  At present, he shares the record with Salman Butt.  Both have registered five hundreds each.

-  Sachin and Brian Lara share a record for most hundreds (5) against Pakistan in ODIs.  In case of his 100th international hundred, he would become the first to post six hundreds against Pakistan.

-  Sachin (6873), in case of 127 runs, would become the first to aggregate 7000 runs at home.

-   Kamran Akmal (2905) needs 95 runs to complete his 3000 runs in ODIs.

-   Misbah-ul-Haq (1949) requires 51 runs to complete his 2,000 runs in ODIs.

- Afridi is all set to establish two important bowling records.  With just one wicket, he would take his tally to 22 and to overtake Waqar Younis' tally of 21 at 17.47 runs apiece in eight games in the Mandela Trophy in South Africa in 1994-95 - the previous Pakistan record for most wickets in a competition.

- Afridi, with only two wickets, would set a bowling record for most wickets by a captain in a competition/series.  Greg Chappell had captured 22 wickets at 17.04 runs apiece in fourteen matches in the Benson and Hedges World Series Cup in Australia in 1980-81.

-   Dhoni (5933) requires 67 runs to complete his 6,000 runs in ODIs.

-   Gambhir (3949) needs 51 runs to complete his 4,000 runs in ODIs.

-   Virat Kohli (1910) needs 90 runs to complete his 2,000 runs in ODIs. 

India vs Pakistan in ODIs/World Cup

 

ODIs

India have won 46 and lost 69 out of 119 contested against Pakistan (NR 4).  Pakistan's winning % of 60.00 is far better than India (40.00)

India have lost both the games against Pakistan at Mohali - by 7 wickets in the Pepsi Cup on April 1, 1999 and by four wickets on November 8, 2007. 

World Cup

India enjoy 100% winning record against Pakistan at the World Cup, having won all four. 

Overall - World Cup

India have won 37 and lost 26 out of 65 contested - winning % 58.59 (NR 1 and Tied 1)

Pakistan's success % is slightly better than India at the World Cup - Won 36 and lost 25 out of 63 played (NR 2) 59.01.

Heavy rainfall, thunderstorm in Mohali ahead of semi-final

KARACHI:  Heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and lightening were witnessed as the venue of Pakistan’s World Cup semi-final against India late Tuesday.

Chandigarh, the capital of Indian states of Punjab and Haryana, and Mohali, where the two teams will meet in the second semi-final of the ICC World Cup, were drenched hours ahead of the clash.

While the rainfall continued for hours, weather forecast for Wednesday remains clear and sunny and the match is likely to go ahead as per schedule.

In the event the match is abandoned due to rain, Pakistan will qualify for the final on the basis of better position at the end of the group matches. Pakistan topped Group A while India was second in Group B.

The match is schedule to begin at 2.30pm local time (02.00pm PST).

India win toss, bat against Pakistan

MOHALI: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat against Pakistan in the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday.

India made one change from the side that beat champions Australia by five wickets in the quarter-finals, with left-arm quick Ashish Nehra replacing off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin as the hosts opted for a three-man pace attack.

Pakistan, who thrashed the West Indies by 10 wickets in their last eight clash, were unchanged and that meant there was no recall for erratic fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar.

India batting great Sachin Tendulkar came into this match needing just one more century to become the first man to score a hundred international hundreds.

The 37-year-old has 51 Test centuries and 48 one-day international tons to his credit.

India have won all four previous World Cup matches between the arch-rivals.

The winners of this encounter will face Sri Lanka, who beat New Zealand by five wickets in Colombo on Tuesday, in Saturday’s final in Mumbai.

All three remaining teams in the tournament have won the World Cup once, with India triumphing in 1983, Pakistan in 1992 and Sri Lanka in 1996.

India: Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt/wkt), Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal (wkt), Asad Shafiq, Younus Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi (capt), Abdul Razzaq, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal

Umpires: Simon Taufel (AUS) and Ian Gould (ENG)

TV umpire: Billy Bowden (NZL)

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)

Pitch conditions: Renowned as a good batting surface, it usually also has plenty of pace and bounce for fast bowlers too.

ICC CWC LIVE: 1st SF, SL vs NZ

New Zealand have put the breaks on Sri Lanka's brisk scoring rate after Jesse Ryder snapped a brilliant catch at point to dismiss Upul Tharanga. Click through for LIVE STREAMING!

Dilshan has become the highest run-getter in the tournament so far.

He surpassed England's Jonathan Trott, who was sitting pretty on top with 422 runs.

Chasing a smallish 218 for a spot in the final, openers Tillakratne Dilshan and Tharanga powered the hosts to a flashing start. Tharanga seemed set for a big one as he took the Kiwi bowlers head on, striking some lusty blows to reach 30 off 31 deliveries that was studded with four boundaries and a towering six.

However, against the run of play, New Zealand struck! Tim Southee bowled a short ball outside the off-stump which was too much to overlook for Tharanga. The Lankan flashed hard but Ryder, who was stationed at point, dived to his left despite his girth and took a one-handed beauty. It stunned the roaring crowd.

Dilshan, however, has kept the stadium abuzz with typical attacking play.Alongwith captain Kumara Sangakkara, the pair is showing no signs of let up in their attacking intent. 

New Zealand: 217 all out

Styris (57) shared an important stand of 77 for the fourth wicket with Ross Taylor to raise New Zealand hopes after they won the toss in this day-night match.

But the Kiwis, in their sixth ICC Cricket World Cup semi-final but yet to take the next step, lost momentum at crucial stages - and their last six wickets fell for 25 runs as they were bowled out for only 217 in the 49th over.

On the same strip, England's 229 for six proved emphatically inadequate in Saturday's quarter-final - suggesting Sri Lanka would be strong favourites for another successful chase.

New Zealand's top three each got started, but little more.

Brendon McCullum was bowled by a Rangana Herath arm ball, attempting to repeat the dose after slog-sweeping the same bowler for six in his previous over.

Then Muttiah Muralitharan got one to turn and bounce to have Jesse Ryder caught behind cutting - and Lasith Malinga (three for 55) returned, after just one over with the new ball, to york Martin Guptill with a trademark inswinger.

From 84 for three in the 22nd over, Styris and Taylor therefore needed to sculpt the innings - and they did so with sense and skill.

Styris' first task was to keep out a clutch of devilish Malinga yorkers, and he survived to drive well against both pace and spin.

Even so when Taylor pulled a rare bad ball from Ajantha Mendis straight to deep midwicket in the 40th over, the onus was back on the Kiwis' number five to see them through to a competitive total.

Kane Williamson escaped a run-out scare when a direct hit by Mahela Jayawardene from mid-off would have stranded him on four, and the 20-year-old then provided powerplay impetus in a breezy 22 from only 16 balls.

But Styris needed to hold his nerve again once Williamson walked across his stumps to be lbw to Malinga.

Then after master off-spinner Murali marked his final international delivery in his native country with a big off-break to have Styris lbw on the back foot, the Kiwis capitulated to Mendis (three for 35).

Tearful fans robbed of Mohali blockbuster

MOHALI: Hundreds of eager fans stood in long queues at the Punjab Cricket Association ground on Monday in a final, desperate bid to find a ticket for the India-Pakistan World Cup semi-final.

Sai Das, a resident of Mohali — the venue for Wednesday’s marquee clash between the bitter rivals — was on the verge of tears as he described his ticket travails.

“I live in Mohali and to think that I have not been able to get a ticket kills me,” said the 22-year-old student as he walked away from the queue of hundreds snaking round the edge of the PCA Stadium.

“I have been coming here for the last three days but the ticket counters open and close in minutes. They have no pity on us. The officials are only giving away tickets to VIPs.”

A group of school students described how they had defied angry parents and made it all the way from nearby Chandigarh just to be able to get the tickets.

“My father scolded me but I didn’t listen,” said Rajan Kumar, 13.

“I saw on a TV channel that some tickets will be put on sale today and I rushed here, giving school a miss.

“Now we are told the report was wrong, no tickets are available. We have been waiting since eight in the morning for the counters to open and it is already close to one in the afternoon.

“I was so excited about watching (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni hitting Pakistan’s bowlers for sixes. But I think I will have to make do with the TV.”

The PCA has maintained for days the match at the 30,000-capacity ground is sold out.

“We started the sale on March 21 and tickets were sold off the next day by noon,” PCA joint secretary G. S. Walia told AFP.

“The whole idea was to sell the tickets before it was known whether India will play Pakistan here. That way the genuine cricket lovers got the tickets but those who wanted only to see India play Pakistan were left out.”

Walia expressed helplessness over the problem of black market tickets.

“It is an individual problem. People came, stood in the queues and bought the tickets. We cannot keep track if they go back and sell these in (the) black (market).”

There are also concerns regarding forged tickets and Walia said: “We will ensure there are enough security checks to make sure the tickets are genuine.”

One fan said a 500 rupee ($12) ticket was fetching up to 20 times its value.

“I know it’s not fair,” said Vinay Gupta, 15.

“But India is playing Pakistan on our soil after so long. I will put all the money that I have saved from my pocket money into this one.”

Among the crowds milling at the huge colonial-style gates of the stadium were also curious onlookers who had gathered just to “soak in the atmosphere”.

“I came here to catch up on all the action,” said 30-year-old bank employee Ved Prakash.

“I know there are no tickets to be bought. I just want to catch a glimpse of the bus which will carry the cricketers to the ground.”

PCB to screen Pakistan-India semi at Gaddafi Stadium

LAHORE: A flood-lit Gaddafi Stadium will screen Pakistan’s semi-final against India, a statement from the Pakistan Cricket Board said on Monday.

The board has been directed by the government to host a live screening of the match at the 60,000-capacity stadium on Wednesday.

Digital screens will be set up for the match, while entry to the stadium will be free of charge, the PCB said.

Earlier, several hundred hopeful Pakistani fans visited the stadium to inquire about tickets for the semi-final.

Pakistan will face co-hosts India in the second semi-final of the ICC World Cup at Mohali’s PCA Stadium on Wednesday.

Security stepped up as Pakistan-India clash nears

MOHALI: Security was ramped up at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium on Sunday as India staged their first training session ahead of the high-profile World Cup semi-final against Pakistan.

The match, the first between the arch-rivals on Indian soil since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, gained an added security headache Sunday when Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani confirmed he will attend Wednesday’s clash.

Police were out in greater numbers in and around the ground on Sunday and there were even “media security officers” escorting reporters into the ground.

Pakistan, the 1992 champions, were put through their paces once again by coach Waqar Younis in an early morning training stint that started with a lively football match.

Coming back to the PCA Stadium was proving particularly pleasant for Pakistan manager Intikhab Alam, who earlier in his career coached a Punjab team featuring both Yuvraj and India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.

“I am nostalgic, I remember this place very well,” former Test leg-spinner Alam told the Sunday Pioneer.

“The two years I spent here earned me friends for life. It feels great to come back.”

The India squad arrived for their scheduled training session later in the day, with off-spinner Harbhajan Singh the only notable absentee.

Like Pakistan, the co-hosts too began with a potentially injury-inducing game of football.

However, it was notable how Sachin Tendulkar, who comes into this game on the back of 99 hundreds, stood away from the fray and opted for the more traditional warm-up method of knocking in a few bats.

Meanwhile flag-waving ‘super-fan’ Sudhir Gautam from Bihar, eastern India, was the lone supporter joining the massed ranks of reporters, photographers and television crews watching training in the stands.

Around 3,000 police will patrol Wednesday’s match with some 2,000 expected to be deployed in and around the 30,000-capacity PCA Stadium on matchday.

An estimated 1,000 police have already descended on the luxury Hotel Taj in nearby Chandigarh where both teams are staying, a force which includes Indian army commandos.

The game, which takes place in the border state of Punjab, has already sparked a flurry of political activity with confirmation that Gilani has accepted an Indian government invitation to watch the match.

Pakistan batsman Misbah-ul-Haq welcomed the move, saying: “It’s a good thing, no pressure. He’s helping to support us.

“And I think it’s a good gesture from the Indian Prime Minister that he invites him to come here and watch the game.”

Elsewhere the frantic scramble for hotel rooms and tickets showed no signs of slackening, even though the PCA had insisted as early as Tuesday that the 14,000 available tickets had been sold, with the rest in the hands of the ICC.

However, there have been numerous reports of a thriving black market in tickets with prices rocketing so that a 5,000-rupee ($112) ticket was being sold for as much as 25,000 rupees ($560).

“For a match as big as this one, we cannot do anything about black market tickets,” said PCA joint secretary GS Walia.

“As far as we are concerned, we only gave the tickets to those who stood in the queues and bought them. We cannot keep track if they sell these in (the) black (market).”

Taufel, Gould to umpire India-Pakistan clash

NEW DELHI: Australia’s Simon Taufel and Ian Gould of England were on Sunday named as the umpires for Wednesday’s highly-charged World Cup semi-final between India Pakistan.

Sri Lanka’s Ranjan Madugalle will be match referee with New Zealand’s Billy Bowden and Australian Rod Tucker acting as the third and fourth umpires respectively.

For Tuesday’s first semi-final between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Colombo, Steve Davis of Australia and Aleem Dar of Pakistan will be the on-field umpires.

Chris Broad is the match referee with South Africa’s Marais Erasmus and Billy Doctrove of West Indies, the third and fourth umpires respectively.

The International Cricket Council said that officials for the final will be made later in the week.