Pakistan continued to reap rich dividends from their new-found strategy of going all in on spin as they comfortably defeated the West Indies by 127 runs in the first Test in Multan on Sunday.
Off-spinner Sajid Khan wreaked havoc once again as he picked up nine wickets in the match to seal Pakistan's third successive win on home soil, in record quick time.
Sajid followed his four-wicket haul in the first innings with 5-50 as the West Indies were bowled out for 123 runs in the second after being set a target of 251 runs on a pitch that had been tailor-made for extreme spin from the start.
Alick Athanaze made 55 off 68 balls before he became Sajid’s fifth victim with the inexperienced West Indies line-up folding in the second session on day three.
Pakistan had zeroed in on the spin formula during the recent Test encounter against England after changing strategies mid-series, artificially drying up wickets for the last two Tests and crushing England under relentless pressure from experienced spinners Sajid and Noman Ali.
That strategy worked like a charm and continued against the Windies, with mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed also added to the mix. Abrar picked up four wickets in the second innings.
Pakistan completed victory in the shortest recorded time in home matches - in fewer than 180 overs.
Spinners have now taken 100 per cent of the wickets for Pakistan in the past three Tests, and captain Shan Masood is expected to continue the spin strategy when the next Test cycle begins.
“As long as we get 20 wickets and are able to put in a good performance, we will be happy,” Masood said. “We did not know whether in these conditions the ball would spin as it is cold. But our spinners were clinical.”
Sajid replicated his first-innings show with the new ball by removing the top four batsmen as the tourists slumped to 54-5 inside the first session.
Leg-spinner Abrar, who shared the new ball with Sajid, claimed figures of 4-27 as the Caribbean side lost their last four wickets without scoring a run.
“The batters didn’t play as well as they should have,” West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite said. “We just have to be brave. It is important to be positive on these types of pitches. We should still trust our defence. If we can bring it together batting and bowling wise, we can come out on top.”
Earlier, left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican had grabbed a career-best 7-32 as Pakistan batters also struggled on the spin friendly surface. Warrican featured in all but one dismissal in Pakistan’s second innings as the home team were bowled out for 157 runs after resuming on 109-3.
It gave Pakistan an overall lead of 250 runs after West were dismissed for 137 inside one session on day two in reply to Pakistan's score of 230.
“The team is playing together and it is great,” Sajid said. “The wicket had a lot of turn and bounce. The spin bowling coach spoke to me and in the second innings, I bowled a little slower and did not leak too many runs.”
Despite Pakistan’s third successive win at home, the fact remains they are ranked eighth in the world, just above West Indies at ninth.
“It is hard out there (for batters),” Masood said. “In the second innings, we folded cheaply. There are improvements to be made. When you win, you can go on a happy ride and be happy, but we can’t do that.”
The second Test, which will be the last for both teams in this WTC cycle, starts at the same venue on Friday.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last-16, second leg:
Real Madrid 1 (Asensio 70'), Ajax 4 (Ziyech 7', Neres 18', Tadic 62', Schone 72')
Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
More coverage from the Future Forum
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
New Zealand 57-0 South Africa
Tries: Rieko Ioane, Nehe Milner-Skudder (2), Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Ofa Tu'ungfasi, Lima Sopoaga, Codie Taylor. Conversions: Beauden Barrett (7). Penalty: Beauden Barrett
Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
'Shakuntala Devi'
Starring: Vidya Balan, Sanya Malhotra
Director: Anu Menon
Rating: Three out of five stars
