DUBAI // Last week, at an International Cricket Council’s Under 19 World Cup event, Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad had talked about his disappointment at being dropped from the U19 team for a series against India.
As he made the journey back to his hometown, Shehzad revealed he spent most of it in tears. Soon though, that pain was replaced by a resolve to win back his place in the side and, it seems, those embers are still burning inside and continue to determine the youngster’s journey on the international stage.
Shehzad has been able to avoid extended lean spells with the bat in his 37-match one-day International career till now, thanks to that determination and, after a duck and an 11 in his past two innings, the 22-year-old batsman scripted his second three-figure score in four matches and the fourth century of his ODI career.
Anchored by the opener’s 124, Shehzad’s highest score in international cricket till now, Pakistan posted 284 for four after being asked to bat, but Sri Lanka, who came agonisingly close to winning the first game, prevailed by three wickets in a wildly-swinging finish to level the five-match ODI series.
Kumar Sangakkara (58), who became only the fourth batsmen to cross 12,000 runs in ODIs when he reached 29 on Friday night, was the architect of their win, yanking the spotlight from Shehzad with a masterclass in controlled aggression. There were a few hiccups after his dismissal, though.
Sri Lanka seemed to be cruising with Sangakkara at the crease, reaching 153 for two from 30 overs and needing a further 132 from the remaining 20 overs. The 2013 ODI Cricketer of the Year was, however, bowled off a bottom-edge by Saeed Ajmal following a 93-run partnership for the third-wicket with Dinesh Chandimal (44) in the 32nd over.
Junaid Khan then castled Chandimal and Thisara Perera (5) in successive overs and the Lankans slipped from 159 for two to 173 for five. They needed 85 runs from the last 10 overs, but the 19-run 42nd over by Sohail Tanvir turned the game back in Lanka’s favour.
Nuwan Kulasekara’s (32) dismissal in the 43rd over raised the hopes of the Pakistan fans once again, even though Sri Lanka needed only 49 from 42 balls at the end of the over with captain Angelo Mathews still at the crease.
Junaid brought them further cheer, uprooting Seekkuge Prasanna’s stumps, but Mathews (47) and Dimuth Karunaratne (15) kept their calm to take Sri Lanka across the line with two balls to spare.
arizvi@thenational.ae
Tentative schedule of 2017/18 Ashes series
1st Test November 23-27, The Gabba, Brisbane
2nd Test December 2-6, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
3rd Test Dcember 14-18, Waca, Perth
4th Test December 26-30, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
5th Test January 4-8, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Monster Hunter: World
Capcom
PlayStation 4, Xbox One
'The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up a Generation for Failure'
Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, Penguin Randomhouse
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Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017
Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free
Day 1 fixtures (Saturday)
Men 1.45pm, Malaysia v Australia (Court 1); Singapore v India (Court 2); UAE v New Zealand (Court 3); South Africa v Sri Lanka (Court 4)
Women Noon, New Zealand v South Africa (Court 3); England v UAE (Court 4); 5.15pm, Australia v UAE (Court 3); England v New Zealand (Court 4)
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.
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Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
