India-Pakistan World Cup semifinal takes cricket to another dimension

Sachin Tendulkar features prominently on a big, handpainted advertisement hanging over a rickety conveyer belt at the Chandigarh Airport, a promotional campaign inviting World Cup visitors to "Watch countries fight to protect their boundaries."

Looking around Mohali two days before the epic World Cup semifinal between archrivals India and Pakistan, it's obvious the government and police are taking the message literally, and very seriously.

Police and soldiers, some heavily armed, some carrying bamboo canes, are omnipresent around the Punjab Cricket Association ground, venue for the match. Some are in armoured vehicles and four-wheel drives, others on horseback.

Mostly turban-wearing Sikhs, they're stationed at every intersection along the 10-kilometre route from team hotels to the stadium, scouring the nearby scrub for any signs of a security threat, and guarding every road and pedestrian entry to the venue.

The stakes are high, with the winner progressing to the April 2 final at Mumbai.

The tension is much higher than usual for a World Cup semifinal, however, given it is Pakistan's first match in India since the November 2008 terror attacks which killed 166 people in Mumbai and were blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

The prime ministers of India and Pakistan will sit together to watch the match in a rare show of sporting diplomacy between nuclear-armed and cricket-obsessed neighbours.

Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has accepted an invitation from his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, to watch the match, adding to the security presence.

"There is no one in the country who does not want to be here in Mohali. There is more excitement than a final," Sukhbir Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab state, told a news conference Monday.

He said the high-level politicians and other high-profile guests and cricket fans would be safe.

"All arrangements have been made from the police point of view," he said.

Up to 1,000 protesters aiming to use the heavy media presence at the stadium to highlight a grievance with their local government employer was rapidly dispersed on Monday, with authorities on high-alert following an alleged bomb hoax at the stadium late the previous day.

A police bus had its windscreen smashed and bricks and debris littered the road near the stadium. But within an hour there was no trace of any incident.

Vague reports of possible terror threats have come and gone throughout the tournament, but no match will be more heavily controlled than this.

GPS Bullar, Mohali's Senior Superintendent of Police, told local media that 2,200 police were on cricket-related details, along with paramilitary forces and commandos.

In New Delhi, India and Pakistan began two days of diplomatic talks amid a surge in good will before the semifinal.

India and Pakistan share some cultural, religious and language ties, but have fought three wars since the 1947 partition by Britain. Peace talks stalled after the Mumbai attacks.

Officials and the media expect the shared passion for cricket will help encourage peace talks that were frozen after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Indian news channels have offered almost nonstop pre-match coverage since India beat three-time defending champion Australia in Ahmedabad last Thursday to advance to the match against Pakistan, which had cruised through with an easy quarterfinal win over West Indies in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The positive vibe is being relayed on the other side of the border, too.

"This latest chapter in cricket diplomacy represents a rare chance for the two countries to patch up relations that have been strained since 2008," the Express Tribune reported.

Pakistan team manager Intikhab Alam urged the public not to think of the match as anything more than an on-field battle, saying the contest shouldn't be built up for any negative political reasons.

The local advertising gurus probably didn't account for Pakistan reaching the semifinal, if the banner at the airport was any indication. On it, Tendulkar was depicted playing a classic cut shot, with children and an elderly woman waving Indian flags. The bowler and fielder were in Australian uniforms. The painted stadium was decorated with the flags of the three co-hosts — India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka — along with those of Australia and South Africa, no doubt the early favourites to reach the semifinals.

Instead, it is Pakistan riding high after beating both Australia and Sri Lanka in the group stage. But Shahid Afridi's squad is at a disadvantage, with India playing at home and having a 4-0 record in World Cup meetings with Pakistan.

When Tendulkar walks onto the PCA ground in quest of his 100th international century and in pursuit of a World Cup title — the only major accolade to elude him in a two-decade career, the stadium will be full and the city will be overflowing.

On Monday, there were no vacancies at hotels.

Tickets have been sold out for days, but that hasn't stopped hundreds of people queuing outside the stadium ticket office desperate to buy any seats that come back for sale. That's hardly likely, given the demand and the fact that some tickets on the black market are being offered for 100 times the original price.

The cyber crime branch of the Chandigarh police arrested a software engineer who was trying to sell five Mohali match tickets online at extremely inflated prices, news channel CNN-IBN reported. The man was expected to spend 14 days on remand.