ADELAIDE, Australia // Emotionally charged from the start following the death of Phillip Hughes, the first Test between Australia and India did not disappoint at the finish on Saturday.
Adding drama to the day, Australia captain Michael Clarke said yet another hamstring injury might bring his career to an end. Spinner Nathan Lyon took seven second-innings wickets and 12 for the match as Australia pulled off a stunning 48-run win at the Adelaide Oval.
India looked set to achieve a record fourth-innings run chase after stand-in captain Virat Kohli (141) and opener Murali Vijay (99) led India through a second session without loss.
Thousands of Indian fans were on their feet over the final two hours of the match as the side pushed for victory.
But Australia took eight wickets in the final session and the match was ended by Lyon on a stumping, prompting emotional celebrations by an Australia team playing their first match since the death of teammate Hughes two weeks ago.
Needing 364 runs for victory from 98 overs on the final day, India was 105-2 at lunch and 205-2 at tea. The 159 more runs required in the final session was a temptingly achievable target for India’s batsmen, who kept playing their shots in pursuing a record run chase rather than trying to grind out a draw.
The highest victorious fourth-innings Test total at the Adelaide Oval remains Australia’s 315-6 against England in 1902, while Australia-India Tests continue to go in favour of home teams, having now won 12 in a row.
“The boys deserve a lot of credit to keep trying to win the game,” Clarke said. “They were willing to lose to win. I thought if India were good enough to make 360, credit to them. But credit to our boys, and our bowlers.”
Clarke wasn’t being optimistic about his most recent injury.
“The scans are not great, they have certainly showed a tear there,” Clarke said. “The experts are looking at them and I can pretty confidently say that I won’t take part in this Test series.
“There’s a chance I may never play again. I hope that’s not the case and I’ll be doing everything in my power to get back out on the park, but I have to be realistic as well.”
Kohli produced a superb performance to score his second century of the match, and his departure proved the decisive blow for Australia, which quickly dismissed the remaining batsmen.
“I told the guys last night that whatever target it was, we were going to chase it. I believed in my ability,” Kohli said.
“If me and Vijay added about 40 runs there, the game would have been different. You see one opening and the team capitalises, and that’s what Australia did.”
The match began Tuesday with tributes to Hughes. The Australian players wore “408” on their shirts – Hughes’s Test cap number – and a 63-second standing ovation and applause was held in honour of the 63 runs Hughes scored on November 25 before taking the fatal blow on a ball that hit him in the head.
The first Test was not even supposed to be in Adelaide – the Gabba Test at Brisbane was shifted from its original date last week, the day after the Hughes funeral – and will now begin Wednesday.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
FIXTURES
December 28
Stan Wawrinka v Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Milos Raonic v Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 29 - semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Stan Wawrinka / Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Milos Raonic / Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 30
3rd/4th place play-off, 5pm
Final, 7pm
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
