Islamabad United 165/6 (20 ov)
Quetta Gladiators 164/5 (20ov)
Islamabad United won by 1 run
DUBAI // Mohammed Sami celebrated his birthday in style as he delivered an ice-cool final over to bring Islamabad United a remarkable one-run win over Quetta Gladiators.
The Pakistan fast bowler, who turned 36 on Friday, went for just three off the last six balls, giving the defending champions the points to put them into the play-offs.
For all the veteran bowler’s excellence, though, it was difficult to work out how the table-topping Gladiators managed to throw away a game that had seemed won.
Kevin Pietersen almost took Quetta to the win on his own. His personal HBL Pakistan Super League campaign reached another peak with a sparkling half-century.
In three of his past five innings in the competition, the former England captain has had two golden ducks and was once run out without scoring.
Despite that, Pietersen maintained his form was fine and he was seeing the ball well. He has proved that, firstly with 88 not out in 42 balls in Sharjah, and then with his 63 in 49 balls against.
His pyrotechnic effort was one half of a 133-run stand with Ahmed Shahzad, who made a second half-century in the space of 24 hours.
When they were together, Quetta were cruising, requiring just 16 from three overs with nine wickets left.
They contrived to throw it away, though. Islamabad’s starting XI have an average age of 32.5 between them, despite the presence of 18-year-old prodigy Shadab Khan.
When the pressure was on, though, Islamabad’s Dad’s Army proved to have all the cool heads. Rilee Rossouw hit the last ball to Misbah-ul-Haq for a single, when Quetta needed two to force a super over.
The pressure is now off Islamabad, whose final match against Karachi on Saturday would otherwise have been winner-takes-all.
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Director: Paul Weitz
Stars: Kevin Hart
3/5 stars
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
Ukraine
Capital: Kiev
Population: 44.13 million
Armed conflict in Donbass
Russia-backed fighters control territory
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
The specs
Engine: Turbocharged four-cylinder 2.7-litre
Power: 325hp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh189,700
On sale: now
