India vs Pakistan: an epic boiling over

The time is ripe, the stage is set, the armageddons are ready! One desperate for a big win, the other trying to justify its status! On the way, old wounds may split open or fresh ones may be inflicted: that's the nature of an Indo-Pak encounter, and this one's no different.

While expectations soar on both sides of the border, tempers are sure to reach a crescendo and emotions set to drool over when the two teams line up for their national anthems before an epic ICC Cricket World Cup semifinal.
The journey for the two estranged neighbours though hasn't been without a few bumps before and during the World Cup.

Bloodshed in the Pakistan heartland during Sri Lanka's tour there had devastating consequences. The ICC snatched the World Cup holding rights from Pakistan as a penalty and cricket deprivation in terror-infested Pakistan deepened.

Pakistan bit the bullet by dropping the likes of Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik coming into the mega event after surfing over tsunamic tides of match-fixing in England.

Indecisiveness over naming the captain made the PCB look inept at handling team affairs. Only a turnaround in New Zealand helped restore sanity and Shahid Afridi was handed over the reins.

Unexpectedly, Pakistan took the blows on its chin, only to turn back and land a few in the World Cup with wins over Sri Lanka and Australia. But the campaign didn't go by without the customary Pakistani unpredictability. They survived 'Canadian' close shaves and 'Kiwi' disasters on their way to road-blocking the Caribbean caravan in the quarterfinals. And now, they have an Indian mountain to climb in the semifinals.

India's build-up, though more settled, had its fair share of problems, largely selection quandaries, surrounding around the inclusion of Piyush Chawla. And when the fans had somehow digested the leg-spinner's inclusion, a setback followed when Praveen Kumar was 'elbowed' out of the World Cup, giving S Sreesanth a new lease of life.

The pre-tournament favourites, like Pakistan, had a few scary incidents during their swim into the semifinals. They survived a choking gulp at the English channel, an unexpected high tide while crossing Ireland and a pirate attack by South Africa before giving a nervous send-off to the defending champions Australia in the quarterfinal.

At the end of 46 matches and 37 days of competition, the tussle is now down to four teams, two semifinals and at the end of it, two finalists.

But before going that far, the most awaited stopover is the Mohali semifinal, where India is an expected visitor and Pakistan a popular ICC guest who refuses to leave the World Cup party.