Judged by his vibrancy in the UAE’s T20 World Cup qualifying campaign so far, it would be difficult to tell Nilansh Keswani is a Manchester United fan.
After their abject defeat in the Manchester derby against City at the weekend, he might have been forgiven for glumly traipsing around the Upper Mulpani Cricket Ground in Kathmandu.
Not a bit of it. The 20-year-old spin bowler played his first match in a major tournament for the national team against Kuwait on Tuesday.
Immediately he was the pulse of the side in the field. Marshalling backward point, he was spectacularly athletic as the UAE stemmed an early onslaught from their Gulf neighbours.
When he subsequently came on to bowl, he was then so difficult to beat as the batters beat drives back towards him that maybe Andre Onana, the United goalkeeper, should have been taking notes.
Keswani accepts it is possible his agility could stem from the fact he plays lots of other sports, too. He is a right back in football, and also plays badminton and table tennis regularly. Mainly, though, he thinks fielding is dependent on attitude.
“I just like to throw my body around because I know there will be times when I don’t do well with the bat or don’t do well with the ball,” Keswani said.
“In the field, you have to give 100 per cent all the time. If you can save at least five runs for the team, that makes a big difference.”
The UAE have not historically been known as a strong fielding side, but Keswani has supplemented a core of players who are trying to alter that view. Alongside Alishan Sharafu, Aayan Khan and Basil Hameed, they are trying to raise standards.
Despite being so new to the team, Keswani appears to feel comfortable in his surroundings, cheering on each of his teammates.
He already has a celebration routine, too – albeit one he has burgled from his teammate Ali Naseer, who in turn has borrowed it from Ihsanullah, the Pakistan fast bowler.
After each of his two wickets against Kuwait, Keswani gestured to fire an arrow with a bow.
“Everyone in this team has been very welcoming, and that has made it very easy for me,” Keswani said.
“Whenever we are down, I like to get the energy up for the team. That works for me, because I feel like I do well when I am cheering on my teammates as well.”
The game against Kuwait, which ended in a comfortable five-wicket win for the UAE, was Keswani’s sixth appearance for the senior national team.
The Dubai-born spinner debuted in a low-key preparatory series in Qatar in September. His elevation to the senior set up will please many.
Keswani is well regarded in domestic cricket. Back when he first started to cause a stir in men’s domestic cricket three years ago, when he was 17, he received a text message from Ahmed Raza congratulating him.
Raza was the national team captain at the time, and a fellow left-arm spinner, and wanted to encourage the promising teen cricketer to stay focused of improvement.
Now Raza is the assistant coach of the national team into which Keswani has graduated.
“It was a really proud moment for me to play for the country,” Keswani said of debuting for the full side.
“It is something I was dreaming of since I was a kid, so to make my debut in Qatar and do well over there gave me a lot of confidence coming here for this series.
“On the morning of the game, Mudassar-sir [Nazar, the UAE head coach] told me I was going to be making my debut. He told me to be ready to be involved in the game. I told no one about it. I wanted to be 100 per cent sure I was going to play.
“Then after the game I spoke to my mum. She said, ‘Congratulations, this is a proud moment for us, but just keep doing well whenever you get a chance to play for your country’.”
The win against Kuwait means the UAE are almost assured a place in the semi-final of the Qualifier in Kathmandu.
The two finalists in the competition will progress to the T20 World Cup in the United States and the Caribbean in June 2024.
“We are focusing on one game at a time,” Keswani said.
“We know we have to face Hong Kong and that we are not qualified yet. We are focused on that game and then we know we could be one more win away from the World Cup next year in the West Indies.
“All of us in the group know how much it means. UAE played at the last World Cup. Hopefully we can do well in the next game and the semi-finals.”
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The biog
Age: 23
Occupation: Founder of the Studio, formerly an analyst at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
Education: Bachelor of science in industrial engineering
Favourite hobby: playing the piano
Favourite quote: "There is a key to every door and a dawn to every dark night"
Family: Married and with a daughter
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The Bio
Favourite place in UAE: Al Rams pearling village
What one book should everyone read: Any book written before electricity was invented. When a writer willingly worked under candlelight, you know he/she had a real passion for their craft
Your favourite type of pearl: All of them. No pearl looks the same and each carries its own unique characteristics, like humans
Best time to swim in the sea: When there is enough light to see beneath the surface
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
RESULTS
6.30pm Handicap (TB) US$65,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Golden Goal, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)
7.05pm Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner: Walton Street, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
7.40pm Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Switzerland, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
8.15pm Singspiel Stakes Group 3 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner Lord Giltters, Adrie de Vries, David O’Meara
8.50pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Military Law, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
9.25pm Al Fahidi Fort Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Land Of Legends, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
10pm Dubai Dash Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,000m
Winner Equilateral, Frankie Dettori, Charles Hills.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 2
Keita 5', Firmino 26'
Porto 0
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Scoreline
Swansea 2
Grimes 20' (pen), Celina, 29'
Man City 3
Silva 69', Nordfeldt 78' (og), Aguero 88'
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
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Torque: 730Nm
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The biog
Name: Fareed Lafta
Age: 40
From: Baghdad, Iraq
Mission: Promote world peace
Favourite poet: Al Mutanabbi
Role models: His parents
Read more about the coronavirus
'Project Power'
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dominique Fishback
Director: Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman
Rating: 3.5/5
'Unrivaled: Why America Will Remain the World’s Sole Superpower'
Michael Beckley, Cornell Press
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
