KOLKATA // Kevin Pietersen smashed 53 off 39 balls as England finally found success on their Indian tour with a six-wicket victory in the one-off Twenty20 international in Kolkata on Saturday.
The tourists enhanced their reputation as the reigning world Twenty20 champions by keeping the hosts down to 120 for nine before surpassing the modest target with eight balls to spare.
England silenced some 40,000 fans at the Eden Gardens by ending the tour on a high after being blanked 5-0 by MS Dhoni's India in the preceding one-day series.
Fast bowler Steven Finn grabbed three for 22, and Tim Bresnan and Ravi Bopara picked up two wickets each, to set up the emphatic win after India elected to take first strike on a slow pitch.
Pietersen, who was dropped on one by Suresh Raina, led England's charge with three sixes and four boundaries.
Samit Patel helped Pietersen add 60 for the third wicket after two wickets had fallen by the seventh over with the score at 40.
Graeme Swann, who led England in the absence of injured Twenty20 captain Stuart Broad, said he was relieved by the win.
"It's been a very tough month for us," said Swann.
"We played some abjectly horrible cricket on the tour, but it came together today. However, one swallow does not make a summer. We need to improve."
Pietersen, who was named the man of the match, conceded the dropped catch helped his cause.
"It was a tricky wicket," he said. "It was one of those wickets where you had to take a risk in the first six overs. Luckily I was dropped."
Speaking about the tour, Pietersen said: "India is a good place to come and play as a batsman, but a lot of us under-performed. But believe me, we tried our hardest.
"We've got a lot of work to do technique-wise here in the sub-continent. We've tried really hard on this trip, although we came unstuck in the one-dayers."
Dhoni, who will get a few days off before the Test series against the West Indies starts on November 6, said his team had only fallen 15 runs short of a decent total.
"It was the sort of wicket where you would aim for around 150 runs," he said. "It was very difficult to score runs. It will be good to take the next few days off before we go to the Tests."
Earlier, Raina top-scored in India's innings with 39 off 29 balls, including two sixes and four boundaries, while Dhoni made 21 before being run out off the final delivery.
The ninth-wicket pair of Dhoni and Ravichandran Ashwin (17 not out) boosted the total by taking 25 runs from the last two overs.
The tourists made a flying start by removing both openers, Ajinkya Rahane and Robin Uthappa, in the first eight deliveries to catches by wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter.
It soon became 26 for three as Alex Hales took a brilliant running catch on the deep mid-wicket fence to remove Virat Kohli for 15 off Bresnan.
Manoj Tiwary settled in with Raina to help India reach 65 for three in 10 overs, before he was bowled by Patel for 15.
Finn struck twice in two balls, having Raina caught at point before bowling Ravindra Jadeja first ball, to reduce India to 74 for six in 12 overs.
Bopara then claimed two wickets in one over as be bowled Yusuf Pathan and Praveen Kumar in the space of three deliveries.
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
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.
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
The specs: 2018 Audi R8 V10 RWS
Price: base / as tested: From Dh632,225
Engine: 5.2-litre V10
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 540hp @ 8,250rpm
Torque: 540Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.4L / 100km
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 0 Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 55')
Man of the Match Allan (Everton)
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Walls
Louis Tomlinson
3 out of 5 stars
(Syco Music/Arista Records)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5