Cricket fever gripped the nation for the second time this week today as fans glued to TV sets as India and Sri Lanka were battling for the World cup in Mumbai. It was repeat of the scene of near empty roads after the Semi final between India and Pakistan in Mohali.In Kolkata, Firecrackers, Tri-colour balloons, India jerseys and flags were all sold out. In all localities of the city, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men adored the walls with flower garlands with the replica of World Cup.The scene was no different in Delhi, Chennai,Bangalore and other metros and towns and rural areas as well.Sri Lanka have set a challenging victory target of 275 runs for India in the ICC Cricket World Cup final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Electing to bat, they made 274 for six in the stipulated 50 overs.Mahela Jayawardene was the top-scorer with a fine unbeaten 103 off 88 balls. Skipper Kumar Sangakkara made 48. The other notable contributors were Tilakaratne Dilsah – 33, and N. Kulasekara who was run out for 32.For India, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh claimed two wickets each, while Harbhajan Singh accounted for one dismissal.Earlier, Sri Lanka elected to bat after winning the toss. This is the first-ever All-Asian final in the tournament's history.President Pratibha Patil and her Sri Lankan counter-part Mahinda Rajapaksha are among the high-profile personalities who watched the India-Sri Lanka World Cup final match at a fully packed Wankhede stadium in Mumbai today.Union Minister Kapil Sibal, business tycoon Mukesh Ambani and a number of Bollywood film personalities including Actor Aamir Khan and southern superstar Rajnikant were also present to cheer up Dhoni's men in blue.Meanwhile, the entire Uttar Pradesh is in frenzy of Cricket World Cup Final. The people across the state organised Havan and Puja to secure the win especially in Ayodhya and Varanasi. As the afternoon approached, the city roads became deserted and people were seen gathered around the shops where the live transmission of World Cup is being shown on TV.
News On AIR | April 2, 2011 8:53 PM
Cricket fever grips nation; Lanka sets victory target of 275 runs for India