India are through to the Asia Cup final, as was expected from the world champions and winners of three of the past four editions of the tournament.
Their 41-run victory over Bangladesh in the Super Four stage on Wednesday not only confirmed their entry into Sunday’s title match but also highlighted the huge gap between them and the rest of the pack.
Not even five dropped chances in Dubai could stop India from dominating Bangladesh in a format where one half opportunity can change the course of a match. The team in blue are too well-tuned, too experienced, and frankly too talented not to end up on the winning side.
India have largely been left to their own devices. Over the past two years, India have won a staggering 38 and lost just five matches in the fickle format of T20 cricket. They were bound to make it to the Asia Cup final. Or any white-ball final for that matter.
However, this tournament has thrown up some concerns that can’t be easily brushed under the carpet and could yet cost India dearly in the remainder of the tournament.
After Abhishek Sharma, who?
It would be fair to say that the main reason for India’s march into the final is the destructive form of opening batter Abhishek Sharma. On surfaces where almost every other batter has struggled to play at a high tempo, the left-handed batter has amassed the most runs (248) at a strike rate of over 200.
His opening partner Shubman Gill has done his bit, scoring 111 runs at a strike rate of above 150. But after them, India’s batting has nosedived.
Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube and Tilak Varma have done OK without totally convincing.
One reason is that the pitches have become slower in the second half of the innings. But even after accounting for that, Suryakumar Yadav's loss of form seems staggering.
Once the top-ranked T20 batter, Suryakumar has not been the same for more than a season. The Mumbai Indians batter averaged above 45 in 2022 and 2023, ultimately earning him the team’s captaincy after Rohit Sharma vacated the position. But last year, his average dipped below 30. In T20s this year, it is scraping the bottom of the barrel at 12 and just above run a ball.
In the Asia Cup, Suryakumar has managed just 59 runs in four innings, which is less than Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi’s tally.
There is a school of thought that Suryakumar’s overwhelming dependence on leg side shots is getting easily plugged and pacers only need to bowl one side of the wicket to get him out.
On Wednesday, not only did the captain see Abhishek run out, he got caught behind soon after attempting a wild swing.
India have exceptional depth in batting, which is why the form of their captain at the top of the order is not hurting them in the Asia Cup. But the World Cup is around the corner, and that will be played at home. When margins get tighter against stronger teams, Suryakumar will have nowhere to hide.
Fielding woes continue
While India have done enough with the bat and been superb with the ball - Jasprit Bumrah finally hit good form against Bangladesh – their fielding has been atrocious.
The world champions have dropped a dozen chances so far in the tournament, which is the worst fielding efficiency of any team at the Asia Cup.
Things got so bad that even their wicketkeeper Sanju Samson, normally a safe pair of hands, dropped a top edge off spinner Varun Chakravarthy against Bangladesh. India are lucky that the wickets in the UAE are so helpful; bowlers are generating multiple wicket-taking opportunities. On flat surfaces, such fielding will lose matches and tournaments.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh359,000
On sale: now
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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
SUZUME
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Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
RESULT
Argentina 0 Croatia 3
Croatia: Rebic (53'), Modric (80'), Rakitic (90' 1)
Celta Vigo 2
Castro (45'), Aspas (82')
Barcelona 2
Dembele (36'), Alcacer (64')
Red card: Sergi Roberto (Barcelona)
Saturday's results
Women's third round
- 14-Garbine Muguruza Blanco (Spain) beat Sorana Cirstea (Romania) 6-2, 6-2
- Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) beat Lesia Tsurenko (Ukraine) 6-2, 6-1
- 7-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat Polona Hercog (Slovenia) 6-4. 6-0
- Coco Vandeweghe (USA) beat Alison Riske (USA) 6-2, 6-4
- 9-Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) beat 19-Timea Bacsinszky (Switzerland) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
- Petra Martic (Croatia) beat Zarina Diyas (Kazakhstan) 7-6, 6-1
- Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) beat Lesia Tsurenko (Ukraine) 6-2, 6-1
- 7-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat Polona Hercog (Slovenia) 6-4, 6-0
Men's third round
- 13-Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) beat Dudi Sela (Israel) 6-1, 6-1 -- retired
- Sam Queery (United States) beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) 6-2, 3-6, 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
- 6-Milos Raonic (Canada) beat 25-Albert Ramos (Spain) 7-6, 6-4, 7-5
- 10-Alexander Zverev (Germany) beat Sebastian Ofner (Austria) 6-4, 6-4, 6-2
- 11-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) beat David Ferrer (Spain) 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
- Adrian Mannarino (France) beat 15-Gael Monfils (France) 7-6, 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
Awar Qalb
Director: Jamal Salem
Starring: Abdulla Zaid, Joma Ali, Neven Madi and Khadija Sleiman
Two stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
McLaren GT specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh875,000
On sale: now
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
The package
Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20profile
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