Kolkata Knight Riders cemented their place at the top of the Indian Premier League table after Gautam Gambhir led his side to a comfortable win over Delhi Daredevils on Friday.
Set 161 to win, Kolkata responded to the early dismissal of Sunil Narine (4) with a 108-run second wicket partnership between Gambhir and Robin Uthappa.
Gambhir batted through the entire innings, his unbeaten 71 coming from 52 balls, while Uthappa contributed with a 33-ball 59 before getting run out in the 12th over.
Manish Pandey (5) quickly came and went, before Sheldon Jackson (12) and Gambhir closed out the victory with 22 balls to spare.
Batting first after losing the toss, Delhi’s innings was anchored by opener Sanju Samson, who struck 60 off 38 deliveries. The Indian batsman was supported first by fellow opener Karun Nair (15) and Shreyas Iyer (47).
However, Delhi’s total proved far too easy to chase down for Kolkata, who extend their impressive record at Eden Gardens when batting second. It is now 13 wins in a row, stretching back to 2012, for Kolkata at their home ground when chasing.
“We still have a long way to go, most boxes ticked but we can’t be complacent,” Gambhir said. “Very professional performance today, to restrict them to 160 after the start they got.
“At one stage I was tempted to bat first but we have been chasing really well so stuck to that. Every player we pick we pick with a lot of trust, and if you show trust they repay it.”
Dehli captain Zaheer Khan has called on his team to bounce back from the defeat with time running out to salvage their season.
“We have to regroup, quickly,” he said. “We need that spark, that winning momentum, someone to have that kind of day that changes things for us.
“So far it hasn’t happened but that does not mean it will not happen.”
In Friday’s later game, Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Kings XI Punjab by 26 runs to stay third in the table.
Hyderabad had their top-order to thank for victory, with all three batsmen claiming half-centuries. Captain David Warner struck 51 off just 27 balls to play his part in a 107-run first wicket stand with Shikhar Dhawan, who top-scored for Hyderabad with a 48-ball 77.
After Warner was bowled by Australia teammate Glenn Maxwell midway through the innings, Kane Williamson kept up the Hyderabad run rate with an unbeaten 54 from 27 deliveries.
Set 208 to win, Punjab failed to get any significant partnerships going to threaten the Hyderabad total. Shaun Marsh top-scored for Punjab with a 50-ball 84.
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
RESULTS
5pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Purebred Arabian Cup Conditions (PA) Dh 200,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Cup Conditions (PA) Dh 200,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Winked, Connor Beasley, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Cup Listed (TB) Dh 380,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Boerhan, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard
6.30pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Group 3 (PA) Dh 500,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: AF Alwajel, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Jewel Crown Group 1 (PA) Dh 5,000,000 (T) 2,200m
Winner: Messi, Pat Dobbs, Timo Keersmaekers
7.30pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Handicap (PA) Dh 150,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Harrab, Ryan Curatolo, Jean de Roualle
8pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: AF Alareeq, Connor Beasley, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
'The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up a Generation for Failure'
Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, Penguin Randomhouse
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Company%C2%A0profile
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PFA Team of the Year: David de Gea, Kyle Walker, Jan Vertonghen, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Alonso, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah, Sergio Aguero
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
