Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews could only tip his cap to Brendon McCullum after New Zealand wrapped up a massive eight-wicket victory over the visitors on Monday.
Mathews said the game was as good as over on the first day when McCullum cut loose.
“You can’t do much when a guy walks in and gets almost a double hundred in a couple of sessions,” he said.
“It was an unbelievable innings by Brendon. It was one of the best I’ve seen. He was playing like a Twenty20. It was just going all over the park. He was just smashing it, and whoever came his way went for a lot of runs.”
New Zealand's win capped their most successful year in Test cricket.
Set a meagre 105-run target on the fourth day of the first Test in Christchurch, they took 30.4 overs to complete the victory with Ross Taylor not out 39 and Kane Williamson on 31.
It means New Zealand have won five Tests in a calendar year for the first time after enjoying 2014 series wins at home against India (1-0) and away in the West Indies (2-1). They also drew a series with Pakistan (1-1) in the UAE earlier this month.
New Zealand skipper McCullum said the platform for victory had been set by scoring 441 in the first innings after losing the toss and being put into bat on a green, bowler-friendly wicket
“We desperately wanted to bowl but we found a way with the bat to make a score that was going to be competitive,” he said.
“Then, when you’ve got the seamers that we do have, who are swinging the ball in the air and getting bounce off the wicket, you’re always going to be in with a chance.”
Although Williamson and Taylor steered New Zealand home, the victory was built on McCullum’s swashbuckling 195 first innings knock and the lethal swing and seam bowling of Trent Boult and Tim Southee.
After Sri Lanka were forced to follow on 303 runs in arrears of New Zealand’s 441, they ground out a gritty 407 but the size of the first innings deficit meant New Zealand were never under any serious threat.
Sri Lanka resumed their second innings on Monday at 293 for five and cautiously picked off the 10 runs they needed to make New Zealand bat again before Southee struck in a high-class spell with an ageing ball that produced three wickets for 19.
Sri Lanka slumped to 325 for 8 and when off-spinner Mark Craig dismissed Prasanna Jayawardene (23) it became 348 for 9.
Only lusty hitting by Shaminda Eranga and Suranga Lakmal, who added 59 for the last wicket, took New Zealand’s target past 100.
Nightwatchman Tharindu Kaushal was Southee’s first victim when he edged a seaming delivery to Craig at second slip.
Angelo Mathews reached 66 before he pulled at a Southee bouncer and was caught down the leg side by wicketkeeper BJ Watling.
Southee claimed his third wicket of the session when Dhammika Prasad nicked to Taylor at first slip.
Southee featured in the remaining two dismissals, catching Jayawardene (23) off Craig and Lakmal (16) from the bowling of Trent Boult leaving Eranga undefeated on a career-high 45.
Southee finished with 4 for 91 and Boult, who removed the top order on Sunday, returned figures of 4 for 100.
New Zealand lost both openers in their brief run chase with Tom Latham out for 17 and Hamish Rutherford for 10.
New Zealand had previously won four Tests in a year five times, most recently in 2008.
They are in an unbeatable position in the series with the second and final Test starting in Wellington on Saturday.
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Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
THE BIO
Ms Al Ameri likes the variety of her job, and the daily environmental challenges she is presented with.
Regular contact with wildlife is the most appealing part of her role at the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.
She loves to explore new destinations and lives by her motto of being a voice in the world, and not an echo.
She is the youngest of three children, and has a brother and sister.
Her favourite book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville helped inspire her towards a career exploring the natural world.
RESULT
Manchester United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Man United: Sanchez (24' ), Herrera (62')
Spurs: Alli (11')
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dual%20synchronous%20electric%20motors%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E660hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2C100Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20automatic%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETouring%20range%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E488km-560km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh850%2C000%20(estimate)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOctober%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
AIR
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Turning%20waste%20into%20fuel
%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
BACK%20TO%20ALEXANDRIA
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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
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
