Rihanna-Eminem at Wankhede?

Cricket aficionados, ready for the mother of all matches? The Indo-Pak semi-final at Mohali on Wednesday that ended in grief for Captain Courageous Shahid Afridi and his brave men in green, had been described as the most “mouth-watering” match of the ICC World Cup.
Perhaps. But worth salivating over more is tomorrow’s final in Mumbai between M S Dhoni’s Team India and Kumar Sangakkara’s Sri Lankan XI.Not just for the exciting cricket itself and a tense, nail-biting finish that ought to go right upto the wire... but for the lead up to the final, with ICC President Sharad Pawar pulling out all stops to ensure that Mumbai gives the world a show to remember.
Yes, if the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali played host to Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Yousaf Raza Gilani of India and Pakistan respectively, not to mention Sonia and Rahul Gandhi among political types, Bollywood stars, industrialists, cricket greats and officials, and also Page 3 socialities... then Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium is readying itself for guests from the entertainment world of the west tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed, and do not be surprised if pop princess Rihanna and rapper, record producer and actor Eminem open the final with the English version of De Ghuma Ke — the 2011 World Cup anthem! Efforts to bring them down appear to have paid off and, if they can make it, tomorrow’s papers will announce the performance of Rihanna and Eminem at the final.
The popular jiggy anthem that was composed by music director Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy of Bollywood, and recorded in Hindi, Bangla and Sinhalese, artistically captures the violent sense of competition and the aspiration to win of the tournament. While Shankar and Divya Kumar recorded the Hindi version, the Bangla and Sinhalese ones were sung by Raghab Chatterjee and Ranidu Lankage respectively. And now comes the hope that Rihana and Eminem will sing Hit It Hard (which, literally translated means De Ghuma Ke!) for the world to watch live at Wankhede tomorrow.
The duo were recently nominated for Record of The Year at the 2011 Grammy Awards for their song Love The Way You Feel, and buzz is that the ICC is paying a phenomenal price to bring them to Mumbai. But so what? If FIFA — the Federation Internationale de Football Association — could have Latino pop sensation Shakira open the 2010 World Cup in Africa with Waka Waka, why should not the ICC close the World Cup 2011 with Hit It Hard by Rihanna and Eminem tomorrow? Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy were unavailable for comment. But meanwhile, like we said, keep your fingers crossed... also your prayers on Rihana-Eminem and money on Team India!
Ya! Fooled You, Huh?
It’s April 1, dear readers... and we thought we’d kickstart April Fools’ Day for you with this whopper of a story seeing as how the mood this weekend is only cricket! Hope you enjoyed our practical joke and, in this spirit of general foolishness, successfully fool friends, family members and work associates with your own brand of humour and hoaxes! Also, Rihanna and Eminem nothwithstanding, we also hope that Dhoni and his Men in Blue will De Ghuma Ke and bring the World Cup back to India for the first time since Kapil’s Devils did it in 1983.