Eden Gardens Felicitates Imran Khan, Sachin Tendulkar; Big B Sings Jana-Gana-Mana
Eden Gardens felicitated cricketing greats Imran Khan, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag ahead of Saturday's India vs Pakistan World T20 match. Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan also sang the national anthem.
Eden Gardens felicitated cricketing greats Imran Khan, Wasim AKram, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag ahead of Saturday's India vs Pakistan World T20 match. Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan was also feted by the Cricket Association of Bengal.
One for the collectors - @sachin_rt, Sunil Gavaskar, @virendersehwag and @SrBachchan at Eden Gardens #??????? #WT20 pic.twitter.com/GRX3UVRztH
- BCCI (@BCCI) March 19, 2016
Former Pakistan Captains - @ImranKhanPTI and @wasimakramlive felicitated at Eden Gardens by West Bengal CM pic.twitter.com/50KsuCKOij
- BCCI (@BCCI) March 19, 2016
Imran wished Pakistan 'good luck' and wanted The Green Shirts to maintain their winning streak at the Eden Gardens. Tendulkar, like a true diplomat, welcomed Shahid Afridi's team in India.
Big B and Pakistan singer Shafqat Ali got the India vs Pakistan clash off to a patriotic start by singing the national anthems of the two teams after the toss in Kolkata.
Bachchan sang the 'Jana Gana Mana' in his famous baritone voice backed by a boisterous 66,000-capacity Eden Gardens crowd while Shafqat Ali wowed the fans with 'Qaumi Taranah'.
Earlier, rain in Kolkata threatened to play spoilsport in the blockbuster clash but relented just before the start of the match. The groundstaff worked overtime to ensure the match started on time.
India are unbeaten against Pakistan in ICC events and have a 4-0 head to head record in World T20s but go in to the match on Saturday in a must-win situation after their shock loss to New Zealand in the first match of the Super 10s.
Meanwhile, Pakistan are coming on the back of a comprehensive win over Bangladesh in their opening match and will be buoyed by the sterling performance - with both the bat and ball - of captain Shahid Afridi.
Speaking to NDTV before his performance at the Eden Gardens, Shafqat Ali said, "Very big event for me because I have come to sing the national anthem. Very excited to perform with Mr Bachchan."