After India lost the three-match Test series against New Zealand in Pune, India captain Rohit Sharma said "one collapse is allowed in 12 years".
He was referring to the end of India's proud record of not losing a Test series at home for 12 years. It was that incredible run that saw them climb to the top of the Test rankings and remain there for a large part of those years, and which also helped qualify for the first two World Test Championship finals.
India looked good to make it to their third WTC final. They only needed to win against an out-of-form New Zealand at home and perform decently in the five-Test series in Australia to book their spot in the title match at Lord's next year as one of the top-two ranked Test teams.
But after three excruciating Tests, every bulwark of the Indian Test team that made it formidable over the years turned to dust.
India's frontline batsmen – captain Rohit and Virat Kohli – flopped so spectacularly and collectively, it wiped off 12 years of hard work inside three weeks.
Over the past three years, both Rohit and Kohli average less than 35 in Test matches. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant average more than 50 in the same period. Even all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja averages more than the two stars with the bat.
Rohit has decided to attack as an opener, even in Test matches, and also on dicey surfaces, of which there have been plenty recently. Kohli, on the other hand, has a seemingly insurmountable weakness against spin.
As a result, both failed more often than not. But the team kept winning as other players kept putting their hand up – be it Axar Patel with the bat against Australia, Yashasvi Jaiswal every other match, or all-rounders like Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, like against Bangladesh where they rescued the team from 144-6 in Chennai.
But against New Zealand, on very difficult surfaces, all failed collectively with the bat – India crossed 250 just twice in six innings.
To make matters worse, India's main bowling weapons – Ashwin and Jadeja – were below par in the first two matches, outbowled by their Kiwi counterparts and even by teammate Washington Sundar, who was not even part of the original plans.
New Zealand's bowlers collectively showed more discipline; batsmen Will Young, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra played with far more confidence against the turning ball and in the end that was what clinched a historic 3-0 series sweep for the visitors – the first time India has been whitewashed by that margin at home.
Road ahead for seniors
While one series defeat in 12 years might be "allowed", a series whitewash at home against a team that had just been blanked in Sri Lanka and missing key players like Kane Williamson and Mitchell Santner for various parts of the series is unlikely to be acceptable for Indian fans and board.
There was already a realisation that India's Test heroes Kohli, Ashwin, Jadeja and Rohit were playing together at home for possibly the last time. Now with the embarrassing whitewash and the fear of more ignominy in the upcoming series in Australia, it is highly likely that many, if not all, will be phased out from the team.
The Indian team management would have hoped for a gradual transition after the WTC final but with qualification for the title match next to impossible, the decision makers are reportedly looking to move on from the seniors who have served Indian cricket so well for many years but are clearly struggling. And especially since there are a number of candidates to take their place.
The transition phase is upon Indian cricket. Rohit, Kohli and Jadeja have retired from T20 cricket and ODIs are now few and far between. They have one last chance to pull off a miracle in five-Test series in Australia, somehow qualify for the WTC final and script an exit on their own terms. If not, decisions will most likely be made for them.
In all fairness, the writing has been on the wall for some time. It's just that reality has hit home only now. The stars were accorded fairytale endings after the T20 World Cup win earlier this year. They can't expect miracles every time.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
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15 years, 181 days old
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15 years, 235 days old
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15 years, 271 days old
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16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE%20SWIMMERS
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Votes
Total votes: 1.8 million
Ashraf Ghani: 923,592 votes
Abdullah Abdullah: 720,841 votes
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
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Available: Now
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
LIGUE 1 FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Nice v Angers (9pm)
Lille v Monaco (10.45pm)
Saturday
Montpellier v Paris Saint-Germain (7pm)
Bordeaux v Guingamp (10pm)
Caen v Amiens (10pm)
Lyon v Dijon (10pm)
Metz v Troyes (10pm)
Sunday
Saint-Etienne v Rennes (5pm)
Strasbourg v Nantes (7pm)
Marseille v Toulouse (11pm)
Recipe
Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo
Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
▶ Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.
▶ Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.
▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
Napoleon
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RESULTS
Manchester United 2
Anthony Martial 30'
Scott McTominay 90 6'
Manchester City 0
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
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Maestro
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We Weren’t Supposed to Survive But We Did
We weren’t supposed to survive but we did.
We weren’t supposed to remember but we did.
We weren’t supposed to write but we did.
We weren’t supposed to fight but we did.
We weren’t supposed to organise but we did.
We weren’t supposed to rap but we did.
We weren’t supposed to find allies but we did.
We weren’t supposed to grow communities but we did.
We weren’t supposed to return but WE ARE.
Amira Sakalla
Christopher Robin
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Haley Atwell, Jim Cummings, Peter Capaldi
Three stars
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Manchester United v Club America
When: Thursday, 9pm Arizona time (Friday UAE, 8am)
Squads
Australia: Finch (c), Agar, Behrendorff, Carey, Coulter-Nile, Lynn, McDermott, Maxwell, Short, Stanlake, Stoinis, Tye, Zampa
India: Kohli (c), Khaleel, Bumrah, Chahal, Dhawan, Shreyas, Karthik, Kuldeep, Bhuvneshwar, Pandey, Krunal, Pant, Rahul, Sundar, Umesh
Asia Cup Qualifier
Final
UAE v Hong Kong
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am
Terminator: Dark Fate
Director: Tim Miller
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Mackenzie Davis
Rating: 3/5
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
2019 ASIA CUP POTS
Pot 1
UAE, Iran, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia
Pot 2
China, Syria, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Qatar, Thailand
Pot 3
Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Palestine, Oman, India, Vietnam
Pot 4
North Korea, Philippines, Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen, Turkmenistan
India cancels school-leaving examinations
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
MATCH INFO
Chelsea 0
Liverpool 2 (Mane 50', 54')
Red card: Andreas Christensen (Chelsea)
Man of the match: Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
