Bollywood star Aamir Khan, who was present in Mohali to watch the pulsating India-Pakistan semifinal, gives his first-hand account of the match:
"Watching this great India-Pakistan match live, that too in such an electrifying atmosphere at Mohali, has been the most exciting experience. India played wonderfully and deserved this win. Sehwag gave us a solid, flying start, which made a lot of difference and Sachin played a fabulous knock with some great luck by his side.
"Sachin's innings proved to be an important anchor to our batting. It was quite a grim scene for the team when we lost a few wickets in quick succession. As we kept losing wickets, Kiran and I were very tense like everyone else in the stadium. But despite the fall of wickets, I thought our batsmen batted sensibly.
"By and large, they kept their heads cool because of which we could stack up a fighting total of 260. In the second half, the bowlers did a fantastic job and consistently got wickets. I think the turning point for India was when Pakistan was at 103 and lost their fourth wicket Younis Khan to Yuvraj.
"Sachin played another terrific innings. God was on his side but kismat had it that he would not make his muchawaited century. But I am quite certain that he will bring in his grand century in the finals. Sachin ki kismat main uski 100th century World Cup final main hi likhi hai.
"I will now meet Sachin, Sehwag and the rest of the boys at the hotel, congratulate them for this excellent victory and wish them luck for the final.
"After that, I will have to immediately fly back to Mumbai and begin my shoot early morning. This was definitely a very memorable match", writes Aamir.
