2011 Cricket World Cup Semifinal: India v Pakistan

The 2nd semifinal of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 was played between the arch-rivals India and Pakistan at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali on 30 March 2011. India won the match by 29 runs and qualified for the 2011 Cricket World Cup Final. India won the Toss and elected to bat first and made 260 runs in 50 overs for 9 wickets. Pakistan though with a good start failed to make up to the score with just 231 allout in 49.5 overs resulting in the victory of India over Pakistan[2] and leading their way towards the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 against Sri Lanka where they beat Sri Lanka and won the World Cup. The match holds utmost historical significance because of the hype created around the match since both the teams made their way towards the semifinal. The match was even equated to war[3] and it experienced the presence of celebrities, diplomats and Prime Ministers from both of the nations alongside the huge crowd at the stadium. For more than a billion people across India and Pakistan, life came to a standstill during the semi-final match.[4][5][6] Three people including a Pakistani actor all belonging to Pakistan died out of shock after Pakistan lost the match.[7][8] This match has been perceived by Pakistani former cricketers and fans as a great let down from Pakistan due to their weak fielding and batting despite good talent shown previously from the Pakistani captain and players in the 2011 ICC cup.[5] The match drew 67.3 million viewers in India alone, and an estimated 150 million viewers worldwide.[9]