Musharraf, Mallika and moollah -- the DLF Cup will provide a heady mix of these three as the first of the two-match cricket extravaganza between arch-rivals India and Pakistan kicks off on Tuesday.

General Pervez Musharraf's presence in the VVIP stands will give Zayed Stadim the official seal of approval as the desert kingdom will shake off its image of being a safe haven for match-fixers and underworld dons.

Sex siren Mallika Sherawat will add glamour and oomph to the show, reminding one of the day when Bollywood stars made a beeline to Sharjah to cheer their favourite cricketers.

Earings are also expected to make a return to the TV screen. These hanging delicate nothings were made famous by TV commentators in the 80s and 90s during cricket macthes in Sharjah.

The organisers are expecting to rake in a whopping 30 milion dirhams (Rs 36.88 crore) from the matches which will launch Abu Dhabi as the newest international cricketing venue in the world.

With the BCCI having decided to play at least 25 per cent of matches at neutral venues, Abu Dhabi is set to become one of the hot spots for Indo-Pak contests.

Considering the fact that the expatrite population is huge here and the following for the game is immense, the day-night matches are expected to witness a full house of 16,000.

The game's administrators, sitting not too far away in Dubai, will also be keeping a close watch on the matches being played between the two Asian titans.