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Keywords: Kolkata Knight Riders, Indian Premier League

Islamabad: Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is in a sombre mood as Kolkata Knight Riders - his favourite team for which Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar plays - has little chance of making it to the semi-finals of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament.

"The team I was rooting for has been knocked out," said the Oxford-educated Qureshi in one of the lighter moments at a joint press conference with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee after their talks Wednesday.

Knight Riders, owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, lost to Rajasthan Royals in a match Tuesday that virtually sealed the fate of the team in the tournament that blends cricket, glamour and big money in a stirring entertainment show.

The team, however, has a slim statistical chance of making it to the finals.

"India has revolutionized cricket through IPL. It's being keenly watched in Pakistan," Qureshi said, confirming stories of the IPL fever in Pakistan.

The IPL has fired the imagination of cricket-loving Pakistanis, too.

And it's not just when five Pakistani cricketers are playing in IPL matches that Pakistanis turn on their TV sets. They are equally enamoured of Indian cricketing legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.