In Cricket world, there can’t be anything bigger than this – India vs Pakistan semifinals. Suddenly after second quarterfinals, when India defeated Aus and it was decided that India will play against Pakistan, rest of the matches started looking abased (Sad for NZ who have beaten the favorites yet choker SA and for SL who have lead marvelous 10 wicket win over England !). Perhaps they play cricket but India-Pak eat, live, breathe, worship Cricket.

Why did I turn to my forgotten blog (yet again)? Because if something as big as this can’t move me then perhaps no news ever will. In Bollywood terminology (though I have given a Hollywood title), this match is going to have everything one can imagine- strategy, action, drama, politics, emotions – you name it and you have it !

Though like every Indian who thinks that he is a Cricket expert, I can plan to give stats- how Sachin is on verge of 100th ton in International cricket or how out of top 10 batsman in the tournament, three are Indian and Pakistani batsmen don’t even figure in top 25 or how if Afridi is bowling great (Alas, I always think of Afridi – the batsman, if he has started bowling then he’s going to be India’s 12th player) and is no.1 in bowling ranks, then Zaheer is no.2. There is never ending stat sheets on how India has beaten Pakistan in all the previous four world cup clashes but has lost in both matches at Mohali or how Yuvraj, wearing Purple patch, will do in front of his home crowd? There are so many things to write but will I (ohh or did I? ) ? No !

No doubt, this is important. The looser team has to face wrath of their people and winner team perhaps can afford to loose the finals without public anger, Ohh… yeah ! It’s more than a game especially after reading and listening various newspapers and channels since last couple of days. The stage has been set between the two countries with Indian Prime minister sending invite to Pakistan President and Prime-minister and Pakistan in turn accepting it. If I have my facts correct then it’s going to be first visit in a decade of a Pakistani PM to India. Indian PM and his Pak counterpart with atleast 100 of their associates, alongwith all the industrial heavyweights – Mukesh Ambani, Vijay Mallaya and various Bollywood personalities and a huge crowd of fans from both sides of borders – Mohali is going to present the best site, one can imagine in a a game, atleast in India sub-continent !

At the same time, Mohali has been converted to a fortress, with TOI reporting that there are jet planes and anti-aircraft guns deployed in the city and there’s multi-layer security arrangement right from highly sophisticated Black CAT commandos to Central and State force, intelligence agencies like NTRO has also been roped in. The intelligence already has been conveying how extremists can target the tournament, I have full faith on Indian security agencies. They have been hit before but only the people who stay in hotel or travel in train. I am not denying that there might be numerous attacks which has been uncoiled by our security agencies before they even get executed but has even one of our leaders or politicians hurt in these terrorist attacks? Recall, recall more …. Ohh the parliament attack but none of the leaders have been hurt even then. It was just the policemen deployed at the gate. Without dragging the topic to one of my favorite trajectories, I’d say to all my Indian and Pak friends that nothing is going to happen in this match because India and Pak PM are present, their security is in safe hands.

About the results, like all my country mates, I wish India to win but out of no hatred to Pakistan. If you see then these people are most like us, they are our neighbor, they eat the same food as us, speak the same language and has same dialect as us, we share the same genes and same natural disasters like floods every rainy season and famine in Summers, hear the same songs, watch same movies – we are born out of same country ! We are like a family whose younger brother has gone on a wrong path and the elder brother being engaged and convoluted in his own affairs, instead of giving support and helping hand to it’s younger brother started putting the blame of its problems over him.

While the politics is the root of all evil between India and Pakistan, may this 6 hrs game of Cricket change things, hey Ram and Ya khuda !