In the wee hours of Saturday morning jay walkers and stray lovers were stunned out of their reverie to see two brawny, shirtless men running at full tilt down Bandra Bandstand. And...and...wasn't there something rather familiar about them...But before the stupefied bystanders could adjust their vision the two men had whizzed past in a blur.

Clearly, Bandra boy Salman Khan, ever ready to push the envelope when it comes to things bit unconventional, has found a new comrade-in-arms: wannabe Bandraite, Pakistani paceman Shoaib Akhtar.

Shoaib who harbours Bollywood aspirations and recently expressed a wish to live in the starry suburb, was a dinner guest at Salman?s house on Friday night. Warmed by sprit and camaraderie, the two men started ribbing each other about their respective physiques. As things got heated, Salman who is known to cycle to Karjat, challenged Shoaib to a race to see who was the fitter of the two. The two men then slipped out and quietly walked to the head of the promenade where in a Sallu-esque gesture Shoaib took off his shirt and flung it on the ground to use as a starting block. Salman followed suit, and, as our source says, ?before you could blink, the two men were off.? Past the sleepy autowallahs, past the genteel homes of various other stars and past the bungalow of Shoaib?s new

employer Shah Rukh Khan, till Taj land?s end and then back to Salman?s house at Galaxy apartments, all in a matter of 15 minutes. "Neither of them raised any sweat because they both are very strong and muscular, and have very strong legs," says our source who did not wish to be identified.

?There were very few people at Bandstand at that hour, so Salman and Shoaib were not conscious at all and in any case both men are quite bindaas and would have run bare-chested had they thought of the idea even at six in the evening.?

So who won?

It was close, say eyewitnesses, with the pace bowler beating the 42-year-old actor by seconds. As soon as the race ended, Katrina Kaif was seen cajoling the two men to get home and join her for dinner.



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