At just 14 years of age, Vaibhav Suryavanshi delivered arguably the greatest performance in the nearly two-decade long history of the Indian Premier League.
The bravery of that 35-ball century for Rajasthan Royals, against the quality and experience of the Gujrat Titans bowlers, combined with the level of competition, make it one of the most remarkable moments in cricket history.
IPL 2025, or any other season for that matter, will struggle to top that.
There have been other inspiring tales in the tournament as well; like Hyderabad's Abhishek Sharma and Punjab opener Priyansh Arya's superlative tons under pressure, an unknown name such as Mumbai spinner Vignesh Puthur making waves on debut, and many youngsters showing that they belong on the big stage.
But away from the attention grabbing exploits of youngsters, the traditionalists and veterans of the game have quietly gone about their business and emerged as the heartbeat of their teams this term.
If you look at the top teams in the points table and pick out their best performers, a pattern emerges – more of technical proficiency and less of explosive intent.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru star batter Virat Kohli is the second highest run-scorer so far while their pace spearhead Josh Hazlewood is the leading wicket-taker.
Gujarat Titans are firmly in the race for the play-offs and their opener Sai Sudharsan, a classic opening batter, is the tournament's top run-getter while their pacer Prasidh Krishna, who is in India's Test plans, is among the IPL's most impactful bowlers, placed second in the wickets charts as of Wednesday.
There are other players of similar ilk who have performed consistently; KL Rahul with the bat and Mitchell Starc and Kuldeep Yadav with the ball for Delhi, Trent Boult with the new ball for Mumbai Indians, Jos Buttler at one down for Gujarat, among others.
Sure, there are T20 specialists who have excelled, such as Suryakumar Yadav, who is the highest run-scorer for the fast rising Mumbai and Nicholas Pooran who is in devastating form for Lucknow.
But overall, the traditionalists are winning. And the reason behind it is simple – conditions.
This season, the Indian cricket board has made an attempt to tackle the issue of balance between bat and ball, succeeding in containing ultra high-scoring matches and resulting in a rise in value of quality bowling attacks.
Firstly, pitches at all venues have seen life injected into them. Variable bounce and grip have kept fast-bowlers and spinners in the game, with even traditional finger spinners such as Delhi captain Axar Patel doing a commendable job; something which was not possible in recent seasons.
Also, teams have been allowed to use saliva on the ball again, giving the faster bowlers better chance to shine the ball appropriately and generate reverse swing wherever possible.
And finally, to a lesser degree, IPL organisers have cracked the whip on illegal oversized bats. On-field umpires have been checking the thickness of the bats of every batter walking in; many have been caught using improper equipment.
This has resulted in a more nuanced battle between bat, ball and conditions, where targets of 180 are not straightforward.
This has allowed a purist like Kohli to build his innings and play the game at a tempo which might not be exhilarating, but gets the job done; Bengaluru are top of the table mainly due to his runs.
Boult is making early inroads with the new ball, while Hazlewood has become devastating with the new and old ball, getting bounce up front and nailing the yorkers at the end with reverse swing.
For Delhi, Rahul has been in sublime form and he has been able to change gears according to the situation.
Almost all consistent performers this IPL are top-tier Test players. Those who know the art of grinding it out and understand the value of incremental progress in a long tournament like the IPL.
For context, Sunrisers' Abhishek and Ishan Kishan scored a stupendous centuries but have failed otherwise.
The moment the pitches become challenging, the game – even in T20s – demands more from players. It was a similar scenario during the Champions Trophy in Dubai where vastly challenging surfaces aided as many as four spinners in the playing XI.
The final was won by India who eschewed flamboyance and worked on absolute basics of run scoring, and dot-ball accumulation while bowling.
Maybe next season, the pitches will become flat again and we will see 250 beats 240 games regularly. But this year is for the 'purists'.
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
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Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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