Ravi Rampaul, centre, the West Indies paceman, bowled well towards the end of the game.
Ravi Rampaul, centre, the West Indies paceman, bowled well towards the end of the game.

Sammy pats Windies for self-belief after holding India to thrilling draw



Indian spinners Pragyan Ojha and Ravichandran Ashwin plotted a sensational West Indies collapse before the third and final Test ended in a thrilling draw with scores level on the last day on Saturday.

Left-arm spinner Ojha finished with six for 47 and off-spinner Ashwin with four for 34 as the West Indies were dismissed for 134 in their second innings in the morning after losing their last eight wickets for 43 runs.

India finished at 242 for nine chasing a 243-run target, with young middle-order batsman Virat Kohli scoring an impressive 63 and explosive opener Virender Sehwag riding his luck to smash a 65-ball 60.

It was only the second time that a Test had been drawn with scores level, the other match being between England and Zimbabwe at Bulawayo in 1996.

The hosts needed three runs to win in the last over with two wickets in hand, but fast bowler Fidel Edwards conceded only two to prevent India from making a clean sweep.

India won the first Test in New Delhi by five wickets and the second match in Kolkata by an innings and 15 runs.

"Some of the shots we played were not called for and we paid the price for it. I know the coach will definitely talk about it and, like I said, we have to bat well in both innings of a Test," said West Indies captain Darren Sammy.

"All sorts of things were going through my mind in the end. The tied Test came to the mind. I was speaking to Kirk Edwards – 'win or draw' – we can't lose this. Once you have belief, there is a possibility of achieving that."

A pair of below-par batting performances marked the 17-wicket day, with the West Indies collapsing in their second innings in the morning and then the famed Indian batting line-up struggling to achieve the target.

India were 189 for six at one stage after losing Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir (12), Rahul Dravid (33), Sachin Tendulkar (3), VVS Laxman (31) and skipper MS Dhoni (13) before Kohli raised his team's victory hopes.

"Most of our dismissals came at the wrong time. Some kind of partnerships were going on and then we lost a wicket. The pressure was back on us, but it was a good game of cricket," said Dhoni.

"It [the pitch] started to turn in the morning. Till yesterday, everything was fine but something happened in the morning and it started to turn. It turned out to be a close game."

Sehwag, who was dropped thrice, added 82 for the second wicket with Dravid before being caught by Sammy at short fine-leg while attempting a reverse-paddle sweep off leg-spinner Devender Bishoo.

Tendulkar, who needs just one more hundred to complete an unprecedented 100 international centuries, was caught by Kirk Edwards at mid-wicket off part-time spinner Marlon Samuels.

The West Indies started the day with an overall lead of 189 runs with eight wickets in hand before faltering against the Indian spin duo.

The West Indies, leading by 108 runs on the first innings, batted just 23.2 overs in the morning before they were all out after being 91 for two at one stage, with Darren Bravo top-scoring with 48.

The tourists had only their poor shot-selection to blame for their dismal performance, with none of their batsmen applying himself on a fifth-day track offering turn and bounce.

The Indian spin duo maintained their supremacy over the West Indies batsmen, with Ashwin grabbing 22 wickets in his debut Test series and Ojha 20 in three matches.

Other must-tries

Tomato and walnut salad

A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.

Badrijani nigvzit

A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.

Pkhali

This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

Ruwais timeline

1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established

1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants

1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed

1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.  

1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex

2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea

2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd

2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens

2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies

2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export

2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.

2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery 

2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital

2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13

Source: The National

Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

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.

THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 502hp at 7,600rpm

Torque: 637Nm at 5,150rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto

Price: from Dh317,671

On sale: now

Profile

Company: Justmop.com

Date started: December 2015

Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan

Sector: Technology and home services

Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai

Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month

Funding:  The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups. 

The specs: 2018 Kia Picanto

Price: From Dh39,500

Engine: 1.2L inline four-cylinder

Transmission: Four-speed auto

Power: 86hp @ 6,000rpm

Torque: 122Nm @ 4,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 6.0L / 100km

Cinco in numbers

Dh3.7 million

The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown

46

The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.

1,000

The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]

50

How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday

3,000

The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

1.1 million

The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.

UAE%20Warriors%2033%20Results
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