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MOHALI, India (Reuters) – India beat Pakistan by 29 runs in the second World Cup semi-final Wednesday and will take on Sri Lanka in Saturday’s final in Mumbai.

The 1983 champions posted 260-9 and then returned to bowl out their neighbours for 231 in 49.5 overs to spark jubilant celebrations at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium.

Opting to bat first, India got off to a rollicking start and Sachin Tendulkar (85) got a series of let-offs as well but Wahab Riaz’s (5-46) five-wicket haul restricted the co-hosts to a rather modest total.

Pakistan got off to a decent start too but losing wickets at regular intervals denied them any significant partnerships and batsmen such as Mohammad Hafeez (43) and Asad Shafiq (30) were guilty of throwing away their wickets at the most inopportune time.

Misbah-ul-Haq (56) offered some late resistance but it was not enough in the end.

For India, Yuvraj Singh (2-57) made amends for his batting failure, while Harbhajan Singh (2-43), Ashish Nehra (2-33), Zaheer Khan (2-58) and Munaf Patel (2-40) also shone with the ball.

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India won the Semifinal World cup match 2011 against Pakistan by 29 runs.
Harbhajan Singh tightened the Indian stranglehold on Pakistan by having Shahid Afridi caught by Virender Sehwag in the covers off a full toss in their World Cup semifinal clash at the PCA stadium in Mohali on Wednesday.

Angelina Jolie immortalised in comic book, Angelina Jolie in comic book

Actress Angelina Jolie has been immortalised in a comic book that talks about her rise to fame and life with actor and partner Brad Pitt.

The book, which is a part of the "Female Force" comic series, is written by Brent Sprecher and has illustrations by Nuno Nobre.

It will talk about Jolie's diverse range of movie roles, including her roles in "Gia" and "Girl, Interrupted", and her charity work.

"I learned a great deal about her struggles and triumphs as an actress, mother and humanitarian. Often painted as an edgy, slightly dangerous movie star, what is often not revealed about Ms. Jolie is her tireless commitment to charity work and her dedication to the plight of refugees around the world as a Goodwill Ambassador with the United Nations," aceshowbiz.com quoted Brent as saying.

The "Female Force" series was first published in 2008 to showcase strong and influential women who are shaping modern history and culture.

Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Thatcher, J.K. Rowling and Sarah Palin were among those who have been featured in previous issues.

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MOHALI: Pakistan left-arm pace bowler Wahab Riaz took four wickets, including two off successive balls, to put his side on top in the World Cup semi-final against India on Wednesday.

Riaz, who had earlier dismissed Virender Sehwag lbw after the opener had struck a frenetic 38 with nine boundaries, had Virat Kohli caught for nine then bowled India's form player Yuvraj Singh for a duck with a magnificent inswinging yorker.

He won another lbw appeal against captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (25).

India would have been in more trouble if Pakistan had not dropped Sachin Tendulkar four times, three of them off captain Shahid Afridi. Tendulkar also had an lbw decision reversed on review while a stumping appeal off the next ball was referred to the third umpire.

He was finally out for 85, caught by Afridi, 15 short of becoming the first man to score 100 international centuries.

* Sehwag received a deafening ovation when he drove the third ball of the match to the cover boundary.

He helped himself to a further three fours through an unprotected leg-side and two through the off in Umar Gul's next over followed by a further brace in the hapless paceman's third.

Riaz replaced Abdul Razzaq at the other end and was immediately successful when Sehwag played across his fifth ball and was given out lbw. 49/1 off six overs

* Tendulkar, one short of an unprecedented 100 international centuries, played two exquisite shots off Riaz, turning his wrists late to steer the ball through the leg-side for four then dipping low to carve another boundary through the covers.

With left-hander Gautam Gambhir at the crease, off-spinner Saeed Ajmal was introduced to the attack in the ninth over. 73/1 off 10 overs

* Tendulkar survived appeals off consecutive balls from Ajmal which temporarily silenced the crowd. He was given out lbw for 23 by Ian Gould but appealed against the decision and won a reprieve when the television replay showed the ball would have missed the leg-stump.

Pakistan appealed for a stumping off the next ball and Tendulkar was again reprieved when the replay showed his back foot was grounded. Tendulkar's charmed life continued when he was dropped on 27 off Afridi by Misbah-ul-Haq at mid-wicket mistiming a pull. 99/1 off 15 overs

* Pakistan's luck appeared to turn when off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez lured Gautam Gambhir (27) out of his crease and Kamran Akmal completed the stumping. He added had 68 runs from 66 balls with Tendulkar. But Tendulkar was then dropped on 45 by Pakistan's safest catcher Younus Khan in the covers off the unfortunate Afridi. Tendulkar added to the Pakistan captain's chagrin by driving Afridi over cover to bring up his half-century from 67 balls. 141/2 off 25 overs

* Riaz, brought back into the attack, immediately began to reverse swing the old ball and was rewarded with the wickets of Koli, who lobbed a catch into the covers, and Yuvraj who had averaged 113.66 previously in the tournament. 168/4 off 30 overs

* Afridi recalled Gul, whose first four overs had cost 41 runs, to see if he could emulate Riaz and reverse the ball. Tendulkar received two further lives when he was dropped by Kamran Akmal on 70, a difficult chance behind the stumps, again off Afridi. Akram's brother Umal then dropped Tendulkar on 81 off Hafeez at wide mid-wicket. Tendulkar's luck finally ran out when Afridi held a fierce drive at short-cover off Ajmal. 200/5 off 40 overs

* Dhoni struggled to get bat to ball as the Indian run rate slipped further. He tried to clip Riaz off his legs but missed a ball which was heading straight for the stumps. 221/6 off 45 overs

* Dhoni won an important toss on a hot muggy morning and had no hesitation announcing he would bat in a match which has captured the imagination of the sub-continent.

India selected pace bowler Ashish Nehra instead of off-spinner Ravichandran Aswhin while Pakistan named an unchanged team, again omitting fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar who will retire after the tournament.

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With all eyes set on the ICC World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan — being termed as “final of finals” — the PCA stadium has been turned into a fortress. As part of the three-tier multi-layered security, stadium has been put under a 2.5-km-radius of extensive barricading.

Early on Tuesday morning, endless streams of Punjab Police personnel — requisitioned from across the state — were deployed for duty in and around the stadium. With the stadium’s outer wall surrounded by metal containment barricades, channels fixed on every entry gate, movable barricades in place to regulate traffic around the venue and view cutters installed to visually segregate one area from another, the stadium seemed to be the best protected place in the city. However, no shuttle buses will be in service to ferry spectators to and fro parking lots and stadium on Wednesday.

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New Delhi: A dust-storm, thunder and lightning lashed Chandigarh, followed by mild rains on Tuesday evening just a day ahead of the crucial India-Pakistan semi-final match on Wednesday.
The rain gods can dampen the spirits of tens of thousands of cricket fans and play spoilsport in the eagerly awaited World Cup semifinal at Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium on Wednesday.
The weatherman has predicted clouds to prevail in this region with a possibility of light rain.

"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 said on 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.
A hailstorm coupled with lightning and thunder lashed Shimla and its surrounding areas this evening disrupting normal life.
The local MeT office has predicted more rains and thunderstorm at many places during next 24 hours.
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Lahore: Pakistan's Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has announced that each member of the national cricket team will be given 25 acres of fertile land if they beat India in the high-profile World Cup semi-final match.

"My government will give 25 acres of fertile land to each member of the team as a prize if they beat India," Sharif said during a news conference on Monday.

"The Pakistani cricket team deserves appreciation from the nation for displaying outstanding performance in different matches of the World Cup. We are praying for its success," he said.

Sharif advised the Pakistani players not to come under pressure for the crucial game against arch-rival India. Pakistan will play against India tomorrow in high-voltage semi-final match of the World Cup in Indian Punjab, not far from the Pakistani Punjab.

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An edge-of-the-seat contest is in the offing as arch rivals India and Pakistan take on each other in the semi-final of the World Cup at Punjab Cricket Association (PCB) here tomorrow.

The hype and hysteria surrounding the contest has further raised the stakes and despite the repeated assertions by the team managements, players are feeling the heat.

Adding to the pressure on the teams will be the fact that the Prime Ministers of both the countries are specially arriving here to watch the match.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Shahid Afridi have asserted that their sides will give their best and have urged fans to treat it like any other game but the two captains know that it is easier said than done as the passions are running high and the stakes are sky-high.

Both teams are former champions and the desire to regain that status has created unbelievable pressure.

For the record, India has beaten Pakistan four times in World Cup matches and the visitors from across the border have a happy memory of the PCA ground having beaten the hosts twice on this ground.

With the teams in good form, both captains face a similar problem: which set of fast bowlers to play. India have a choice between the misfiring Ashish Nehra and the unimpressive Munaf Patel to partner

Zaheer Khan, while Pakistan are yet to take a call on fielding Shoaib Akhtar alongside Umar Gul.

No team likes to fiddle with a winning combination, but local conditions cannot be ignored either. It means that conditions in Ahmedabad or Colombo may not necessarily be the ideal for Mohali.

For Shoaib, who will almost certainly pull the curtain down on a roller-coaster career after this tournament, it will be one last chance to play his favourite role, that of glory boy. He was a minor part in Pakistan's early run but has been on the bench for their last three games and it is unlikely that he will play tomorrow.

For India, Patel should have walked into the playing XI given his nagging accuracy and wicket-to-wicket line but he has not been very incisive. However the problem is that Nehra and Shantakumaran Sreesanth are not good alternatives.

This semi-final thus boils down to a battle between India's batting and Pakistan's bowling. There are several Indian batsmen in the ICC's top 20 ranking list while there isn't a single name from Shahid Afridi's line-up.

India's progress so far has been due to their batsmen, while Pakistan have found their men of the moment on virtually a match by match basis.

Yet, the two teams are all set to play for a place in the finals.

The deciding factor here, as is the case in all such do-or-die occasions, is nerve, and the ability to tough out a situation. Pakistan look a happy unit.

India's top three - Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir - have to give their side a solid start. Pakistanis realise that this trio is dangerous so they will do everything to get rid of these three as quickly as possible.

The bowlers Zaheer, Harbhajan, part timer Yuvraj Singh will have to bowl well and the side will have to raise the level of their fielding.

As Dhoni admitted that Pakistan has a very good bowling attack, Afridi feels that his side has some good and experienced batsmen.

"We are a compact side," said Afridi adding that his bowlers are well aware of India's batting strength.

India cannot afford middle order batting collapses like the ones which they suffered against South Africa and the West Indies.

Pakistanis are not going to give them any quarters. Pakistan has a good bowling attack but the strong Indian batting line-up has the wherewithal to negotiate it.

But the hosts will have to be weary of their rivals batting. Underestimating them in this department can prove costly.

Teams (from):

India: MS Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Piyush Chawla, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, S Sreesanth.

Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (capt), Misbah-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Ahmed Shehzad, Asad Shafiq, Junaid Khan, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Younis Khan.

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Ragini MMS Scenes To Be Re-shot, Kainaz Motivala Ragini MMS to Reshoot, Kainaz Motivala Photos

Ekta Kapoor wants scenes in her movie Ragini MMS re-shot.

The not-easy-to-please Ekta Kapoor saw the first cut of the movie and asked for certain scenes to be re-shot.

A source said, "Ekta loved the rushes but felt the scare factor needed to be upped."

Director Pawan Kripalani said, "It's a work in progress. Ekta has no issues with the film. The first cut is very long and we are trying to cut it down to 90 minutes."

He added, "What Ekta saw was just a rough cut devoid of sound design and visual effects. Take any great film and remove the sound and visual effects it will lose its impact."

The TV czarina plays it down as well. "Two scene effects are being re-done. It is half a day's work. Someone is spreading rumours about the film. Also, the release date remains the same, Friday, May 13."

Several scenes of Ekta's other production Shor In The City, starring her brother Tusshar Kapoor and Preeti Desai were also re-shot.

Blake Lively to receive Breakthrough Performer of the Year award, Gossip Girl Blake to receive Year Award

'Gossip Girl' star Blake Lively is set to be honoured with the Breakthrough Performer of the Year award at an upcoming Las Vegas film convention.

Lively, 23, will be recognised as Hollywood's top emerging talent at the annual CinemaCon convention, hosted by the National Association of Theatre Owners.

"Blake recently captivated audiences and critics around the world with her stunning turn in The Town, and Green Lantern is one of the most anticipated films of the year," the Daily star quoted CinemaCon managing director Mitch Neuhauser as saying.

"We are thrilled to honour such a wonderful young talent," he added.

Her 'Green Lantern' co-star Ryan Reynolds will be handed CinemaCon's Male Star of the Year award at the gala in Caesars Palace on March 31, and Cameron Diaz is due to receive the Female Star of the Year prize.

Ash NOT the Most Beautiful Woman?, Ash not the most beautiful woman: Hugh Jackman, Hugh Jackman says Aishwarya is not the most beautiful woman

Hollywood hottie and superhero of X-Men series Hugh Jackman's remark at the closing day of FICCI Frames 2011 left everyone stumped. When the Wolverine hunk got to know that he will be meeting Bollywood's most beautiful woman, he remarked, "When I came to know that I will be meeting the most beautiful woman on earth, I actually thought it was my wife," he smiled and naughtily added, "Ash is very beautiful actress but not the most beautiful actress in the world".

Yes, this stumping statement and many more such interesting stuff summed up the final day of the FICCI Frames 2011. Bollywood Baadshah Shah Rukh Khan met the Wolverine hunk, sang, danced, and discussed movies.... all in one evening. Hugh Jackman along with wife Deborra- Lee Furness was on a 4 day visit to Mumbai.

Final day of FICCI sparked off with sheer revelry as both the super heroes' matched their wits with Karan Johar moderating the chat. As an honour to Jackman, FICCI put up a small AV on both the stars and the `Australia' actor enjoyed every bit of his stay there. He enjoyed SRK's company too. So much so that he offered himself to star in a sequel to SRK's My Name is Khan which he self-titled as `My name is Jackman', and I am not a tourist. "He also offered me to star in his movie X-men," said SRK to the cheering crowd but a smiling Jackman cleverly excused from the responsibility saying he only asked SRK to finance the film and not act in it.

Hugh Jackman and SRK also shared their views on the studio system and the marriage between Bollywood and Hollywood movies. Citing an example that they are already at it, Hugh Jackman informed that while shooting for `Australia', a scene required him to kiss Nicole Kidman. "And out of nowhere came the instruction that we were to kiss in the rain! I was like `Why can't it be the sun'? And then someone told me about Bollywood movies and the natural props they use to dramatise a scene," laughed the sexist man on earth.

In one of the biggest compliment, SRK attributed `Wolverine' as his inspiration for his super hero film `Ra.One. "Must confess my movie is inspired by Wolverine. My entire family is your huge fan, including me. And my son introduced me to all your work related to X-Men series, including the video game and the comic books". Jackman complimented back crediting stars like SRK for exposing Bollywood to the outside world.

In another big confession SRK publicly expressed his fears and inability to make it to Hollywood due to his Indianised accent. "So it's better that I make films for my people here, and make them and myself happy," he said. However Jackman didn't buy that logic and encouraged him to get a ticket to Hollywood. "I do not subscribe to your opinion. You are a big and popular star and I am sure you can make it in Hollywood".

The lovely evening came to an end with SRK teaching The Prestige star how to gyrate to a Bollywood numbers, with Madhuri Dixit's `Dhak Dhak karne laga, mora jiyara darne laga' as the song. And mind you, the sexy Hugh Jackman scored over SRK and how!

Aishwarya Rai More Photos at FICCI Frames 2011

Adult World roles Emma Robert, Emma Roberts bags role in 'Adult World', Emma Robert in Adult World

Actress Emma Roberts is set to take the lead role in coming-of-age drama "Adult World".

Emma, who is Julia Roberts' niece, beat off strong competition from contemporaries Carey Mulligan, Rooney Mara, Emily Browning, Juno Temple and Brie Larson to get the role of a Stanford University graduate with aspirations of becoming a poet who ends up working in a bookstore.

Contactmusic.com reports that Scott Coffey will direct the movie which is scripted by Andrew Cochran. Michael Ohoven and Kevin Turrin will produce it.

Actors Zach Galifianakis and Shiloh Fernandez have reportedly been approached for the male leads.

Emma's next release will be "Homework" with Freddie Highmore and "Scream 4" opposite original "Scream" stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox Arquette and David Arquette and she revealed she is "honoured" to be a part of the movie.

"I was so honoured to work with veterans like Wes and Neve. And of course, the new generation - we called ourselves the 'new blood'. I basically spent two months screaming, covered in blood and laughing my head off in between each take - of course I'd do it again," she said.