ABU DHABI // The renaissance of Brendon McCullum as a one day international cricketer to be feared around the world was completed yesterday in front of an appreciative crowd made up predominantly of followers of opponents Pakistan at Abu Dhabi's impressive Zayed Stadium.
The New Zealand opener was the stand-out batsmen in a low-scoring deciding match in the Cool & Cool series and his well-paced innings of 76 was the key to his team's unexpected seven-run run victory over their stunned "hosts".
McCullum, who had exploded out of his career-threatening crisis with a match-winning century in the second of the three-match series against the UAE's adopted subcontinental sons, looked like heaping another ton of trouble on Younus Khan's men in the deciding rubber until he succumbed 24 runs short of the milestone.
The way McCullum ripped into a world class Pakistani bowling attack for the second time in four days indicated that he, too, would relish making the Emirates his second home.
Three towering sixes and half a dozen booming fours kept the Kiwi wicketkeeper going along at a run a ball until Shoaib Malik fooled him into offering a comfortable return catch.
But for the 200-plus runs in the last two matches there would be serious question marks now over McCullum's international future, bearing in mind the unceremonious stripping of the vice-captaincy that came his way in the wake of Andy Moles' departure as head coach due to an apparent breakdown of relationships with the players.
McCullum's recent failures to make the most of promising starts to his innings put his selection in jeopardy and he was aware that Abu Dhabi -- venue for the 50-over series in advance of the Twenty20 shoot-outs in Dubai -- had become a career crossroads. Having to walk to the crease out under that level of pressure has made his performances with the bat all the more impressive.
With 162 ODIs already under his belt inside eight years since his 2002 debut against Australia, it is surprising to see that McCullum celebrated is barely six weeks into his 29th year. His self-belief restored after his exhilarating Emirates experience, he can now expect to continue to be a mainstay of what has on this trip been a fraught squad led by the statesmanlike Daniel Vettori.
McCullum, who scored only eight runs off the first 21 balls he faced, eventually came roaring out of his shell and hit all three of his sixes in the first 10-over power play.
It was just as well his adventurous approach to restricted fielding conditions reaped handsome rewards because those who followed the swashbuckling opener to the crease failed to capitalise on the solid base that had been created for them and it appeared initially as though they had fallen well short of setting a decent target.
Only Ross Taylor offered McCullum worthwhile support, the aggressive No 4 hitting his team's fourth and last six during a bright and breezy innings of 44 before succumbing leg before to Saaed Ajmal and precipitating an alarming collapse from 187 for four with 12 overs remaining to 211 all out with 21 deliveries of their allocated 50 overs unused.
It was a desperately disappointing capitulation by a batting line-up who had, thanks to what was only the second ODI century plundered by McCullum, comfortably broken through the 300-run barrier to level the series so stylishly last Friday.
Their batting in this deciding rubber was the spin introduced early in their innings by opposing captain Younus who deployed Saeed Ajmal on a mission to put a brake on the Kiwi juggernaut.
That ploy proved so successful that Younus relied on spin for all but two overs in the key period of the match between the 18th and 45th overs.
Ajmal, assisted by three lbw shouts being upheld, led the way with a splendid return of four for 33 from his doosra-laden spell, but he received tremendous support from the equally economical Shahid Afridi and Malik.
The "home" Pakistani crowd which grew steadily as the concluding match of another series drew to a conclusion marvelled at the exhibition of subtle differences in style between Ajmal's doosras, Afridi's sliders and googlies and the conventional off spin of Malik.
Those euphoric fans were silenced by their own batsmen falling like nine pins in the face of a mainly seam New Zealand attack and high hopes of a morale-boosting series victory rapidly turned to despair.
An exhilarating last-wicket century partnership between MohammadAamer and Ajmal kept the outcome in doubt until the bitter end over but it snatching a remarkable victory from the jaws of defeat always looked beyond the plucky Pakistani rearguard.
Pakistan's reasons for coming to the UAE to host West Indies, Australia and now New Zealand are unfortunately poitical but there can be no doubting the suitability of their choice of alternative venue.
High class international cricket in the Emirates appears to be here to stay and long may it continue.
The specs
Engine: 2.3-litre, turbo four-cylinder
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Power: 300hp
Torque: 420Nm
Price: Dh189,900
On sale: now
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
Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
The specs: 2018 Maxus T60
Price, base / as tested: Dh48,000
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder
Power: 136hp @ 1,600rpm
Torque: 360Nm @ 1,600 rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.1L / 100km
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champioons League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
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"
Kill%20
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UFC Fight Night 2
1am – Early prelims
2am – Prelims
4am-7am – Main card
7:30am-9am – press cons
The%20specs
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
THE DRAFT
The final phase of player recruitment for the T10 League has taken place, with UAE and Indian players being drafted to each of the eight teams.
Bengal Tigers
UAE players: Chirag Suri, Mohammed Usman
Indian: Zaheer Khan
Karachians
UAE players: Ahmed Raza, Ghulam Shabber
Indian: Pravin Tambe
Kerala Kings
UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Abdul Shakoor
Indian: RS Sodhi
Maratha Arabians
UAE players: Zahoor Khan, Amir Hayat
Indian: S Badrinath
Northern Warriors
UAE players: Imran Haider, Rahul Bhatia
Indian: Amitoze Singh
Pakhtoons
UAE players: Hafiz Kaleem, Sheer Walli
Indian: RP Singh
Punjabi Legends
UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Sandy Singh
Indian: Praveen Kumar
Rajputs
UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed
Indian: Munaf Patel
Vikram%20Vedha
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Gayatri%2C%20Pushkar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hrithik%20Roshan%2C%20Saif%20Ali%20Khan%2C%20Radhika%20Apte%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dubai World Cup draw
1. Gunnevera
2. Capezzano
3. North America
4. Audible
5. Seeking The Soul
6. Pavel
7. Gronkowski
8. Axelrod
9. New Trails
10. Yoshida
11. K T Brave
12. Thunder Snow
13. Dolkong
360Vuz PROFILE
Date started: January 2017
Founder: Khaled Zaatarah
Based: Dubai and Los Angeles
Sector: Technology
Size: 21 employees
Funding: $7 million
Investors: Shorooq Partners, KBW Ventures, Vision Ventures, Hala Ventures, 500Startups, Plug and Play, Magnus Olsson, Samih Toukan, Jonathan Labin
MANDOOB
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Ali%20Kalthami%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Mohammed%20Dokhei%2C%20Sarah%20Taibah%2C%20Hajar%20Alshammari%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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
The biog
Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents
Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University
As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families
Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.