‘Simba’ and the magician give ‘fearless’ UAE a shot at place in Qualifier semi-finals


Paul Radley
  • English
  • Arabic

Esha Oza has urged the UAE to play “fearless” cricket as they chase a place in the last four of the Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier.

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The two finalists at the 10-team event in Abu Dhabi will book their place at September’s main event in Bangladesh.

The national team remain in with a shot at qualification. With one game left in Group B, they sit third, two points behind the Netherlands.

The two sides vying for a semi-final berth will both be in action on Friday. The Netherlands have the advantage of playing second, against table-topping Ireland, after the UAE’s game against Vanuatu.

For the national team to overhaul the Dutch, they have to beat Vanuatu convincingly and hope the Irish win the later game.

In the process, the UAE have to attempt to improve a net run-rate that is currently +1.117 inferior to the Dutch, to leapfrog them in the table.

Although much has to go their way for them to stand a chance, the national team are in fine spirits, following their thrashing of the Dutch last time out.

Their 10-wicket win at Zayed Cricket Stadium on Monday night was the most complete performance yet by a UAE team that is appearing for just the second time at a global qualifier.

It was a fine comeback from a sluggish start to the competition in which they had suffered defeats to Ireland and Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwe loss was particularly disappointing for the team, given the UAE had beaten them the last time the sides met, and the African team had suffered a shock loss to Vanuatu in their opening game.

But Oza, the UAE captain, said Zimbabwe had taught her side a valuable lesson.

“We were quite disappointed after the [Zimbabwe] game,” said Oza, who was player of the match against the Netherlands for her rapid half-century in the run chase.

“We expected a better result, but Zimbabwe showed us that anything is possible. Given the loss they were coming off, the way they fought back against us helped us understand that anything is possible.

“It is all about being fearless. Anything can happen if you are fearless, so hopefully that can work our way, too.”

Happily, the UAE side is infused with the fearlessness of youth. Amid the fine collective display against the Dutch, two of the outstanding performers are aged just 17.

Samaira Dharnidharka set the platform for victory with her excellence with the new ball, before a bewitching spell of leg-spin from Vaishnave Mahesh consolidated their advantage.

“They are our young guns,” Oza said. “We call Samaira ‘Simba’ [after the character from the Lion King movie] because she is our baby lion and she shows it out on the field.

“And Vaishnave is a magician with the way she spins the ball both ways. They are both just 17 but they play as though they are way older than they are.”

Dharnidharka finished the Netherlands innings with figures of three for 11, and that included a boundary off the penultimate ball of her four overs.

She listed it as her favourite day in cricket – other than when she took four for five in a match against Nepal that clinched UAE qualification for the last global qualifier.

Captain Esha Oza, left, has called on the UAE to be 'fearless' in their remaining T20 World Cup qualifier match. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Captain Esha Oza, left, has called on the UAE to be 'fearless' in their remaining T20 World Cup qualifier match. Chris Whiteoak / The National

“I think it is the best day yet – after Nepal,” she said. “I just kept bowling to my strengths, hitting the deck and trying to do what I do best, and hope they make the mistake. We can still make it to the semis and we are hoping to win the next game, too.”

Whoever does eventually advance in second place from Group B will almost certainly be pitted against mighty Sri Lanka.

Chamari Athapaththu’s side have won all three of their matches in the competition so far, with Scotland in second place in that group going into the final round of matches.

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How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers

Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.

It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.

The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.

Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.

Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.

He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.

AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”

A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.

Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.

Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.

Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.

By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.

Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.

In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”

Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.

She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.

Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.

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Founders: Tamara Hachem and Yazid Erman
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Nicki Minaj

(Young Money/Cash Money)

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Updated: May 02, 2024, 6:27 AM`