Given the region's history of militant attacks, police said they were "leaving nothing to chance" with a security blanket involving 2,000 police and paramilitary personnel around the venue in Mohali. Speculation has reached a crescendo about the outcome of the epic clash and whether it will help relations between the nuclear-armed nations, which have fought three wars since independence in 1947.
India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has invited his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani to watch the day-night game with him and they are expected to shake hands with both teams before the match. The "cricket diplomacy" comes at a time when the countries are tentatively getting their peace process back on track after it was derailed by the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which India blamed on Pakistani militants.
"This is a match that one gets to see once in a lifetime. The excitement is almost too much to bear," Harkirat Pratap, a 33-year-old who runs a gymnasium in Mohali, told AFP. "I have already told all our customers that the gym will be closed in the evening. I can't imagine missing this one."
Many offices in both countries are expected to shut for the afternoon amid predictions of record absenteeism as workers call in sick to stay at home to watch the game on television. All tickets for the 30,000-capacity stadium have been sold. A man trying to sell 200-rupee tickets for 30,000 rupees ($670) on auction website eBay was arrested on Monday. "If I don't get a ticket I will protest outside the gates," Bashir Khan, a desperate Pakistani who had travelled from Chicago, told AFP outside the stadium on Tuesday.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has said it will throw open Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium - named after the beleaguered Libyan leader - for fans to watch the match for free on giant screens. Thousands of Pakistanis are also set to take part in mass prayer session on Wednesday, while the chief minister of Pakistan's largest province has promised each team member 25 acres of land if they beat India.
In another reflection of the interest, a Facebook poll on "Who Will Win The Semi-final" has drawn 750,000 votes, with two-thirds opting for India - indicating the country's role as favourites and its superior population. As part of security checks, late-night raids were conducted at various hotels around the venue in Mohali and nearby Chandigarh on Monday night to weed out suspicious visitors. Guests were asked to open their doors at midnight to allow security personnel to scan their luggage.
In the hotel where the players are staying, two policemen working as official food tasters have been eating three lavish meals a day to check for poisoning or other hygiene problems. "We are leaving nothing to chance. The security will be multi-layered," local police chief G.P.S. Bhullar told reporters. Aside from the many police on duty, the security deployment will reportedly involve anti-aircraft guns and missiles.
The match will be a contest between Pakistan's well-balanced bowling attack and India's star-studded batsmen, including opener Sachin Tendulkar who needs just one more century for 100 international hundreds. Pakistan, World Cup champions in 1992, have lost all four of their encounters with India in the competition. For India, who last won the World Cup in 1983, a victory on home turf would lead to euphoria in the cricket-crazy country of 1.2 billion people.
"It's an honour to lead the side," Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said on Tuesday. "If you take a pressure job, you will find yourself in a pressure cooker." Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said his side had taken on board warnings against match-fixing following the suspension of three players in a betting scandal last year. "We've been going through a very tough time for the last seven, eight months but we are playing as a unit," he told reporters on Tuesday, adding that cricket "always brings these two countries together." The final of the competition takes place on Saturday in Mumbai.