Manmohan, Gilani dinner meet begins

Mohali: Are 260 enough runs on the board to defend against Pakistan? Or are India 20 runs too short to play the finals against Sri Lanka this weekend?

Questions on the minds of almost 28,000 people at Mohali's PCA stadium and about a billion others elsewhere in the country as India finished their innings at 260 for 9 in the second semi-final of the cricket World Cup. Questions that shall be answered in the next few hours, with Pakistan out to bat and scoring steadily, having also lost two wickets - openers Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Hafeez.

India are now looking for more wickets, the only way to stop Pakistan's steady march to a total that is not imposing.

On the sidelines of the nail-biting match, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has begun a dinner meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani.

The India innings saw as much drama as possible in 50 overs. And much of that drama revolved around Sachin Tendulkar, who led a charmed life on his way to 85, surviving two close appeals and four dropped catches before being caught by Shahid Afridi, bowled Saeed Ajmal. Too soon for comfort, skipper MS Dhoni, at 25, fell to Wahab Riaz.

Dhoni was Riaz's fourth scalp; he ended with five. Local boy Yuvraj Singh was out on a duck, first ball to Wahab Riaz too. He also got the wickets of Virat Kohli and Zaheer Khan.

The sub-continent came to a standstill as national anthems played and India won the toss and chose to bat first against Pakistan in the second semi-final of the cricket World Cup.

When Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag walked out to bat, almost 28,000 voices rose as one to cheer. A few hours into the match, the cricket has been exciting. There was a collective sigh of disappointment as Virender Sehwag got out after a blistering innings, there were two back-to-back heart-in-the-mouth moments as Sachin survived two close appeals and reviews. Pakistan also dropped him at score 27, 45, 70 and 81. Before finally catching him at 85.

Before Sachin, the dismissal of Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli and Yuvraj in rapid succession already had the match in balance. Sachin and Dhoni attempted to rebuild but the tumble continued after Tendulkar's departure. Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and then finally Ashish Nehra, run out on the penultimate ball, fell at regular intervals.

Celebrities, politicos, industrialists are mere fans

Among those on the edge of their Mohali stadium seats are Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and wife, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi, daughter Priyanka Gandhi with her husband Robert Vadra. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha Meira Kumar is there as are a number of ministers. Rahul Gandhi watched the slog overs of the India innings from a non-VIP stand.

The Ambani brothers, Mukesh and Anil, are at the PCA stadium with their families and Kingfisher Airlines owner Vijay Mallya is watching with son Sidharth.

Aamir Khan and director wife Kiran Rao are representing Bollywood. Also Rahul Bose, Vivek Oberoi and Dino Morea watching some live action at Mohali.

Cricket Dinner Diplomacy

To cheer the Pakistan team, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has led a large delegation to Mohali. The two Prime Ministers met the teams at the PCA stadium before the start of the match.

Mr Gilani, accompanied by his wife Fauzia, was received at the defence airport by Union Minister of State for Communication, Sachin Pilot, and Pakistan's High Commissioner, Shahid Malik, among others.

Before leaving Islamabad for India, Mr Gilani thanked Dr Singh for inviting him to the match, and said that he's "looking forward to a great game." He also said he believes "this match will bridge the gap" between India and Pakistan. (Watch: Match will bridge India-Pak gap: Gilani)

The large delegation accompanying Mr Gilani includes controversial Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who publicly warned his country's cricket team against match-fixing, provoking fierce criticism both within and outside Pakistan. The team is using the Taj hotel in Chandigarh as its base.

Team Singh will include Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon. Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, as well as Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi are not part of the official delegation but are attending the game. They are also attending the dinner that Dr Singh is hosting for the Pakistani delegation at the stadium. (Read: Gosht Barra, Tawa ki Machhi for PMs' dinner)

Last week, in a move that surprised many, Dr Singh formally invited Mr Gilani and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to watch the match with him. Mr Gilani accepted the invitation over the weekend.