Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza

Hyderabad, March 29: An Indo-Pak war on an Indo-Pak wedding milestone! Someone’s gotta be kidding.

Well, not quite. Or well, to some extent.

From faraway Miami, India’s tennis star Sania Mirza has declared a war of willows on Pakistani husband Shoaib Malik as the couple prepare for their first wedding anniversary on April 12.

However, if a hawk-eyed sports statistician takes strike, a red-letter coincidence can indeed be divined. March 30 is the first “anniversary” of the announcement of the cross-border sports marriage.

“I support India and Shoaib will support Pakistan, as usual! The war is on… LOL… hahaha,” Sania tweeted in the run-up to the World Cup semi-final at Mohali.

“Yes pls be ready baby, it’s on… LOL… hahaha,” tweeted Shoaib in turn.

“Well well, India vs Pakistan… last time they played in Mohali, i watched the match live. what a semifinal on the line. wish i could be there!”

The couple had made it clear soon after their wedding that each would play for his/her own country and not mix professional loyalties with personal life.

Back in Hyderabad, Sania’s parents Imran and Naseem Mirza got set to celebrate their daughter’s first wedding anniversary in absentia.

“We don’t know if they will be able to come but we plan to offer prayers and host a feast for family and friends to celebrate their anniversary,” a member of Sania’s family said.

The Mirzas’ Jubilee Hills residence wore a forlorn look minus the star power. “But we will dress it up with lights and festoons to commemorate their wedding,” another relative said.

The rest of Hyderabad seemed all charged up. Some appeared to be smacking their lips. “If there is no maarpeet (fight), what’s the point of such a game?” asked Abdul H.A. Shafi, a paan seller near the Charminar.