Captain Andrew Balbirnie guided Ireland to their first ever Test-match victory when they defeated Afghanistan by six wickets in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
Set a victory target of just 111, after Afghanistan were bowled out for 218 in their second innings, the Irish made a disastrous start to the chase when they fell to 13-3 at the Tolerance Oval.
Naveed Zadran bowled both Peter Moor and Curtis Campher for ducks in successive balls in the second over, while Harry Tector feathered one from Nijat Masood to the keeper as he was out for nine.
Afghanistan's hopes of pulling off a highly unlikely victory were given a further boost when Paul Stirling was out for 19, after steadying the ship in a 36-run partnership with Balbirnie, to spinner Zia ur Rehman leaving Ireland wobbling again on 39-4.
But that was to be as close as Afghanistan were going to get to a win as unbeaten pair Balbirnie (58) and Lorcan Tucker (27) guided their team to a first red-ball victory in eight attempts.
“To win our first Test match – we are absolutely ecstatic,” said Balbirnie, whose knock came off 96 balls and contained five fours.
“We started the Test match really well having lost the toss and the bowling was really disciplined – we showed again in the second innings the way we bowled our lengths when it got a bit flatter for the batters against our seamers.
“To take 20 wickets in any Test match is a big achievement and it's only the second time we've done it so it's pretty special.
“With a score like 13-3 you're one partnership away. When Lorcan came in, the more time we spent out there the easier it got although there's obviously a bit of nerves when you're chasing a first Test win. Bit I knew if I stayed in there for long I could see us home.
“It's right up there [in the history of Irish cricket] – for me I've played a lot of cricket for Ireland but certainly that's as big a moment for me.
“A lot of players before us didn't get a chance to play Test cricket so fortunately we're part of that history now. We got to play and got to win.”
It was a chastening match for the Afghans who were grateful to captain Hashmatullah Shahidi (55) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (46) for helping them pass the 200 mark in their second innings, after being bowled out for 155 in the first.
Mark Adair followed up his 5-39 on Day 1 with 3-56 in the second innings, which also saw Barry McCarthy and Craig Young claim three scalps each as Afghanistan folded miserably after starting out on 134-3.
“We let ourselves down,” said Shahidi. “Ireland’s seamers were very good but our batters didn’t handle the pressure. We threw away our wickets.
“The condition for batting wasn’t so good. The ball was seaming from day one and their bowling was also very disciplined. We can still take some positives from this defeat.
"Gurbaz was very positive on debut. Naveed had had a good Test against Sri Lanka, and in this match also he did very well.
“My congratulations to Ireland’s first Test win. For us, we must learn from this loss. We have to work harder and move forward in Test cricket.”
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
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Company%20profile
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In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
The bio
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite travel destination: Maldives and south of France
Favourite pastime: Family and friends, meditation, discovering new cuisines
Favourite Movie: Joker (2019). I didn’t like it while I was watching it but then afterwards I loved it. I loved the psychology behind it.
Favourite Author: My father for sure
Favourite Artist: Damien Hurst
COMPANY%20PROFILE%3A
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Envision%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKarthik%20Mahadevan%20and%20Karthik%20Kannan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20The%20Netherlands%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Technology%2FAssistive%20Technology%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%241.5%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204impact%2C%20ABN%20Amro%2C%20Impact%20Ventures%20and%20group%20of%20angels%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Roll%20of%20Honour%2C%20men%E2%80%99s%20domestic%20rugby%20season
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MOST%20POLLUTED%20COUNTRIES%20IN%20THE%20WORLD
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LA LIGA FIXTURES
Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)
Valencia v Atletico Madrid (midnight)
Mallorca v Alaves (4pm)
Barcelona v Getafe (7pm)
Villarreal v Levante (9.30pm)
Sunday
Granada v Real Volladolid (midnight)
Sevilla v Espanyol (3pm)
Leganes v Real Betis (5pm)
Eibar v Real Sociedad (7pm)
Athletic Bilbao v Osasuna (9.30pm)
Monday
Real Madrid v Celta Vigo (midnight)
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
