KARACHI // India's in-form batsmen will get their first glimpse of the player touted as "the future of spin bowling" in today's Asia Cup final at the National Stadium in Karachi.
Sri Lanka's Ajantha Mendis, who has so many different variations that his bowling style does not fit one specific category, is the leading wicket-taker in the Asia Cup.
Having played just three international matches before arriving in Pakistan, that is quite a feat. Furthermore, he has not played in every game: intriguingly, the Sri Lankans withheld the 23-year-old Mendis from their Super Four match against the Indians.
The skipper Mahela Jayawardene denied it was part of a masterplan. "We rested them [Mendis and Chaminda Vaas, the veteran seamer who was also absent] because we wanted to rest them," he said plainly, after India beat his side by six wickets on Thursday.
We have heard that one somewhere before. Jayawardene, who has arguably one of the best tactical minds in the international game today, is well-skilled in the art of subterfuge.
He and the then-coach Tom Moody rested their star off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, as well as Vaas, for a match against Australia in the latter stages of the Super Eights at the World Cup last year.
The thinking was they did not want to afford the Australian batsman batting practice against their best bowlers ahead of a potential final.
It did not work, however. The two teams did meet in the Barbados final, but Ricky Ponting's side picked off Sri Lanka's main bowlers with just as much ease as they had their second string.
Yet Australia had seen much of the long-serving Muralitharan over the years. Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side will barely have any video footage of Mendis, let alone seen him in the flesh.
Jayawardene is keen to play down expectations on Mendis. "We are not going to put pressure on the guy," added Jaywardene.
"He has shown what he is capable of doing, and we are going to give him the freedom to go out there and enjoy his first final, playing for his country."
Sri Lanka are the defending Asia Cup champions, and they are unlikely to give up their title easily. Jayawardene said: "This is a big day for us. We said before the tournament if we want to win it we will have to beat the best.
"We had no preference for who we play in the final. Overall, we have been playing good consistent cricket. That is what we are going to take into the final.
"I knew when we came into this tournament that Pakistan and India were two good sides. We knew anyone could beat anyone on their day.
"Going by that and the way we have played in the tournament, we are pretty happy with our preparation.
"We set ourselves a goal to get into the final. We need to refocus ourselves, and we have an idea of how we want to play in the final."
Sri Lanka have won the tournament twice while the Indians have won a maximum four times.
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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
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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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"
ENGLAND TEAM
Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Joe Root (captain), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Craig Overton, Stuart Broad, James Anderson
