Message for Mohali - straight from the web

NEW DELHI, INDIA: If it's the talk of the town, could social networking sites be far behind? Celebrities and commoners alike posted last minute online messages of excitement, tension and good luck on the India-Pakistan semifinal in Mohali Wednesday.

An excited Sania Mirza, Indian tennis player, tweeted early Wednesday: "Okkkk...here we gooo...good luck Team India..more than a billion wishes are with you...give it ur all..(sic)".

Film personality Pritish Nandy similarly tweeted: "Pakistan's bowlers vs India's batsmen: that's the real battle today".

Actor Rahul Bose tweeted that he was on his way to Mohali to watch the match. Kunal Kapoor, another Bollywood actor, tweeted that the tension was "unbearable".

The hype over the match reached a crescendo Wednesday as a lot of cricket buffs took leave from work to watch the match. They did not forget to post their online updates, of course.

Abhinav Singh, an advertising professional, said: "This is one match I just couldn't have missed. So I applied for casual leave and thankfully my boss was understanding enough to grant me the day off! I have called over a few friends to my place so that we can watch the match together and root for India."

Sara Mishra, a student, posted on Facebook: "The big day is here! Good luck Team India! I am sure you will bowl them over".

Author Chetan Bhagat also rooted for the home team on Twitter, saying: "Alright men in blue, d-day today! Cream pak, so they finally realise why partition was a bad idea (sic)."

To all the maddening hype around, Bhagat said: "I know the match is getting overhyped, but it's ok. We get few such moments of national unity. We are one today."