Bollywood mega superstar Amitabh Bachchan, sang the Indian national anthem at the Eden Gardens, in Kolkata, on Saturday, before the start of the high-profile ICC World T20 match between arch rivals India and Pakistan. Amitabh, 72, who is a self confessed cricket fan like millions will be rooting for in India.
The famous Pakistani singer Shafqat Amanat Ali, who has made a huge impression over the years with his melodies in Bollywood, sang the Pakistani national anthem prior to the India-Pakistan clash.
Amanat Ali had earlier said that it's a huge honour for him to sing the anthem alongside Amitabh Bachchan.
Bachchan Sr arrived in Kolkata with his son Abhishek to watch the pulsating match whereas the talented singer, Ali, arrived in Kolkata on Friday and posted a photo on Twitter saying he will see everybody at the stadium on Saturday.
The scheduled start was 7:30 but there has been a delay as the groundsmen started taking the covers off after the rain stopped around 6:45 pm.
Rain in the morning was followed by a thundershower around 4:30pm, three hours before the highly-anticipated encounter between the two traditional rivals.
Groundsmen were busy with mopping up operations overseen by Cricket Association of Bengal President Sourav Ganguly, a former India captain. Legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan was also seen at the ground with Ganguly. The iconic Eden Gardens has a new drainage system now and has also brought high-quality covers from the UK to ensure that rain disruptions don't damage the outfield.
As per ICC regulations, the curtailment of overs will start only if 45 minutes are lost to rains and umpires will wait till at least 10:15pm before calling off the game. If the match is washed out completely, both teams will get a point each.
Bachchan had made his commentary debut in the India-Pakistan cricket World Cup game in Adelaide as part of a promotional activity for his upcoming film Shamitabh.
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