Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev will be among the greats of the game celebrating India’s 500th Test in Kanpur this week as Virat Kohli’s team begin their quest to regain the top spot in the world rankings against New Zealand.
The match marks both the start of a three-Test series against New Zealand and a packed programme of international cricket for India, who will also host England, Bangladesh and Australia later this season.
India are strong favourites after their recent 2-0 victory over the West Indies in a four-match away series, which saw Kohli lead from the front by scoring his first Test double century in Antigua.
But their success was tinged with disappointment as they managed to topple Australia at the top of the rankings, only to be leapfrogged by their arch-rivals Pakistan when rain wrecked their hopes of a clean sweep in the Caribbean.
India start the series just one point behind Pakistan, and they will be hopeful of returning to No 1 before Pakistan play three Tests against the West Indies in the UAE in October and November.
Inspired by Kohli, India’s top order has been in fine form of late, with the newcomer Lokesh Rahul scoring three centuries in the last eight Tests.
But they can’t afford to be complacent after their stunning defeat by New Zealand at the start of the World Twenty20 in March.
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Their last Test series with New Zealand ended in a 1-0 away defeat in 2014, a contest which saw the then captain Brendon McCullum score a triple century.
Although McCullum has since retired, his successor Kane Williamson is now established as one of the game’s finest batsmen and he has already found form in India, hitting a belligerent half-century in a warm-up last week.
Other former captains such as Sunil Gavaskar and Mohammad Azharuddin are expected to join Tendulkar and Dev at Kanpur’s Green Park as part of the festivities organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Dev, who captained India to victory in the 1983 World Cup, warned that a New Zealand side packed with veterans of the Indian Premier League (IPL) should not be underestimated.
“India will have the home advantage but times have changed, teams and players are no longer alien to foreign conditions,” he told the NDTV network.
The legendary all-rounder, still the only player to have scored 4,000 runs and taken 400 wickets, said Test cricket had changed radically in the two decades since he retired, praising Kohli for his attacking batsmanship.
“The mindset of the young cricketer is different,” Dev said. “Aggression wasn’t part of Indian team in the 80s, but today these boys have changed.”
The series also marks Anil Kumble’s first home assignment as coach and he is expected to pack the Indian bowling line-up with three spinners, including Ravichandran Ashwin who took 17 wickets in the Caribbean.
The hosts will also be bolstered by the return on home soil of medium-pacer Mohammed Shami, who took 11 wickets in the West Indies after a long layoff.
Williamson, who has captained New Zealand in just four Tests, said he was excited by taking on such a tough assignment in the early days of his captaincy.
“We have a great bunch of guys and we are enjoying our cricket. We have to keep improving and that’s my focus as a captain,” he said.
On the bowling front, all eyes will be on Indian-born New Zealand leg-spinner Ish Sodhi.
Fast bowler Trent Boult can expect a heavy workload after the visitors lost Tim Southee to an ankle injury just before the start of the series.
New Zealand, who have never won a series in India, were whitewashed by the hosts in the two-match Test series in 2012.
SQUADS
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Mark Craig, Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, BJ Watling (wicketkeeper), Henry Nicholls, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The Book of Collateral Damage
Sinan Antoon
(Yale University Press)
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
RoboCop%3A%20Rogue%20City
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The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.8-litre%204-cyl%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E190hp%20at%205%2C200rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20320Nm%20from%201%2C800-5%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%206.7L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh111%2C195%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Voy!%20Voy!%20Voy!
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The Bio
Amal likes watching Japanese animation movies and Manga - her favourite is The Ancient Magus Bride
She is the eldest of 11 children, and has four brothers and six sisters.
Her dream is to meet with all of her friends online from around the world who supported her work throughout the years
Her favourite meal is pizza and stuffed vine leaves
She ams to improve her English and learn Japanese, which many animated programmes originate in
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
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- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
FIXTURES
Saturday
5.30pm: Shabab Al Ahli v Al Wahda
5.30pm: Khorfakkan v Baniyas
8.15pm: Hatta v Ajman
8.15pm: Sharjah v Al Ain
Sunday
5.30pm: Kalba v Al Jazira
5.30pm: Fujairah v Al Dhafra
8.15pm: Al Nasr v Al Wasl
MATCH INFO
FA Cup final
Chelsea 1
Hazard (22' pen)
Manchester United 0
Man of the match: Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Book%20Details
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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
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
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.
The%20specs
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The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
