| Rain can play spoilsport in India-Pakistan semifinal | ||||||
| The rain gods can dampen the spirits of tens of thousands of cricket fans and play spoilsport in the eagerly awaited World Cup semifinal between India and Pakistan at Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium here Wednesday. | ||||||
| The weatherman has predicted clouds to prevail in this region with a possibility of light rain by the evening. "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 here told IANS 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. Besides the hopes of so many cricket fans, many other things are at stake in this match. All the tickets have been sold out. Apart from Indian fans, around 200 Pakistani cricket lovers are also expected in the stadium. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur are also coming to witness the match. On the invitation of Manmohan Singh, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has also confirmed his presence for the marquee game. "We do not want rain to spoil the game. We want the full action of 100 overs and nothing less than that. We would pray to God to postpone the rain," Parul Singhal, a young cricket enthusiast who has come from Delhi to see this match, told IANS. If the weather remains on the positive side, the PCA pitch curators are expecting a good clash. "It is a good ODI wicket and would be batsman friendly. Though we are not expecting anything dramatic out of the pitch but it would be very entertaining for the crowd. Around 280 runs would be a good score for the side batting first," Daljeet Singh, chief curator of PCA Stadium pitch, told IANS. He added: "Pace bowlers would get some good movement and bounce out of the pitch. Spinners would also get help after 15 to 20 overs of play. Dew could be a problem but we have kept the grass low to tackle it. The outfield would be very fast." Indian team captain MS Dhoni and coach Gary Kirsten have had a close look at the wicket and also talked to Singh. | ||||||
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