Clockwise from top: AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi; actor Aamir Khan and his wife Kiran Rao; and a cricket fan enjoy the match at the PCA stadium . — PTI

GLAM COUPLE: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and his wife Sunanda Pushkar at the PCA stadium in Mohali on Wednesday. — PTI

World Cup semifinal
Celebs descend on Mohali
Pradeep Sharma/TNS

Mohali, March 30
It was VVIPs' day out at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium in Mohali today with several top politicians, Bollywood stars and industry honchos adding loads of glamour to the high-voltage ICC World Cup semifinal match between arch-rivals India and Pakistan.

The atmosphere was electric and the stadium was filled to its capacity with hundreds of Pakistan fans also present to cheer their team in the match dubbed as "mother of all battles."

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi along with her MP son Rahul Gandhi was among the first VVIPs to make it to the venue. Sonia's daughter Priyanka Vadra and her husband Robert Vadra were also present.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reached the PCA stadium around 1.53 pm to watch the match and hold talks with his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani as part of cricket diplomacy.

ICC president Sharad Pawar, Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, BCCI chief Shashank Manohar received the Prime Minister.

Shortly afterwards, the Prime Minister received his Pakistani counterpart and both went in the middle to shake hands with members of the two teams and wish them good luck.

Bollywood was represented by Aamir Khan, Vivek Oberoi and Preity Zinta.

Business tycoons Mukesh Ambani and Vijay Mallya were also there besides scores of Union Ministers, senior bureaucrats and Supreme Court judges.

The VVIP movement around the stadium led to traffic snarls at many places.