DUBAI // It has been more than 25 years since Kapil Dev held aloft the World Cup trophy on June 25, 1983, at Lord's. A 24-year-old then, with just four years of international cricket behind him, he became an instant legend. His wide toothy smile warmed the hearts of a generation. The "Haryana Hurricane", a son of agrarian India, still carries the same rustic charm. Ask him about his most memorable moment aside from that unforgettable evening at Lord's, Kapil replies without a pause: "Being born."
The quick quip leaves his team-mates of 1983, media and guests in fits of laughter. Kapil is grinning from ear to ear, lighting up the ballroom at the magnificent Atlantis with his smile. The "Legends of Lord's" were having a ball again together last night in Dubai to celebrate the silver jubilee of that incredible win. While the captain is modest about his feat, his predecessor is effusive in his praise of India's "Cricketer of the Century".
"Kapil's leadership was phenomenal," said Sunil Gavaskar. "His innings of 175 against Zimbabwe brought us back into the reckoning for a place in the knock-out stage of the tournament. It made us believe that we could do it. That's probably the best one-day innings that I have seen." "I was just the opening batsman who went there and marked my presence," added the batting legend about his own performance in the World Cup.
Just before Gavaskar spoke, Ravi Shastri, the youngest member of that side, rose from where he was seated with Kapil, Gavaskar and the organisers and announced: "This place belongs to Mohinder Amarnath." "That sums up the kind of team spirit we had in 1983," added Gavaskar. "You will find some outstanding individual performances. But, as we all know, if you flick someone with your fingers, it is not as affective or as painful when you close our fingers together and then punch.
"And that's what happened. There were guys who might not have taken heaps of wickets; there were guys who didn't score too many runs; but everybody combined together, not just on the field, but off the field as well in terms of strategising and making sure that the morale of guys not doing well was up. "Generally, it was one of the most memorable of tours. Of course, when we won, it was the crowning glory. But the whole trip was entirely memorable because of the camaraderie that was there in the team.
"I would like to thank [organisers] Ajay [Sethi] and Imran [Khan] for making this event possible, simply because it has given us another opportunity to get together and to relive those moments and go on a nostalgia trip. "Actually, we don't go too much on the nostalgia trip; we are actually exchanging notes as to what happened. The reunion is the most important thing as far as I am concerned." Talking of that moment of triumph, Kapil admits he doesn't remember much of the final moments. "When Amarnath trapped Michael Holding lbw, we went blank in our heads," he said. "We didn't know what hit us. You do lose your mind at such moments."
As Kapil and his Devils went blank at the Lord's, they became a part of India's collective consciousness. arizvi@thenational.ae
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.
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
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Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
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Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
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The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
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Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
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