PMs will shake hands with cricketers

This will be done after the customary rendition of national anthems by players of the two Asian cricketing giants.

After shaking hands with the players during their introduction, the two prime ministers will be escorted to the exclusive box from where they will watch the match. After the match, the two PMs will be on the field again, this time to jointly give away the ‘man of the match’ award. This is the tentative schedule drawn up for the day.

Before leaving for dinner, the two prime ministers will hold informal talks on a range of topics of bilateral importance.  Singh will host a dinner for  Gilani and his team of ministers, including Interior Minister Rehman Malik Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi may join the two PMs for dinner.

Gilani’s wife may not accompany him as she is likely to travel to London where their son Ali Haider is undergoing a surgery.  Gilani was supposed to go to London, but dropped the plan following Singh’s invitation to watch the match.

ICC lifts ban on news channels

The ICC on Tuesday agreed to allow Indian TV channels to attend the high-voltage World Cup semifinals between India and Pakistan on Wednesday following a request from Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni.

Soni stepped in to resolve the ongoing tussle between the ICC and the electronic media, which was barred by ICC from covering Wednesday’s semi-final clash. She proposed a 24-hour ‘truce’ in a dispute created by Indian non-rights holders breaching the terms and conditions they had agreed to follow when they were awarded accreditation for the WC.