Season 12 of the Indian Premier League is not even a week old, but those looking for trends may already be seeing the makings of one.
Kings XI Punjab have become the fourth team in the competition this year to lose a match after winning the toss. Captain Ravichandran Ashwin called right last night and sent Kolkata Knight Riders, the home team, in to bat.
Ashwin must have arrived at his decision after taking a look at the green-tinged pitch at Eden Gardens, imagining the possibility of early breakthroughs.
Well, those early breakthroughs did materialise as Chris Lynn (10) and Sunil Narine (24) were both back in the pavilion before the end of the fourth over. But they gave Kolkata the flying start they needed, putting together 34 runs.
But the visitors lost the plot thereafter as Robin Uthappa (67 not out) and Nithish Rana (63) struck a 110-run partnership in just 11 overs, with the latter blasting seven sixes and two fours before holing out to Mayank Agarwal off the bowling of leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy.
The tempo was set by this time, and Andre Russell hammered five sixes and three fours to score 48 off just 17 balls to follow his unbeaten 19 from 19 deliveries in their six-wicket win against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday.
Punjab were left with 219 to get from 20 overs, and they went about their business with a positive manner attitude despite the dismissal of Lokesh Rahul for one.
But it was Russell’s night as he took two wickets, including that of Chris Gayle, his West Indian teammate, for 20.
Mayank Agarwal (58) and David Miller (59 not out), back in the side after missing Punjab’s controversial win over Rajasthan Royals, will have worried the Kolkata bowlers with their 84-run stand. But in the end the valiant effort proved not enough as they finished 28 runs short of the target.
Ashwin later claimed he expected 200 to be a “par score” but attributed defeat to “not being attentive to small things”.
Russell was pleased to get bragging rights against the man commonly known these days as the "Universe Boss".
"Gayle is like a brother to me, the bigger legend," the 30-year-old all-rounder said. "To get him out early was great. The plan was to bowl tight to him and restrict him. I am happy that I could get the job done."
Next, Kolkata play Delhi Capitals and Punjab face Mumbai Indians on Saturday.
Barbie
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Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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MATCH INFO
Day 1 at Mount Maunganui
England 241-4
Denly 74, Stokes 67 not out, De Grandhomme 2-28
New Zealand
Yet to bat
Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
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PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
Fanney Khan
Producer: T-Series, Anil Kapoor Productions, ROMP, Prerna Arora
Director: Atul Manjrekar
Cast: Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, Rajkummar Rao, Pihu Sand
Rating: 2/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
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Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
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