After six days of South African domination, this much-hyped clash of cricket’s best sides exploded into life on a dramatic day at Kingsmead that saw 18 wickets fall in 77.2 overs. By the time poor light took the players off at 5:17pm, India were 166 ahead with six second-innings wickets standing.
There was little hint of what was to come as much of the morning session went according to South Africa’s plans. MS Dhoni’s straight six off Dale Steyn was the lone note of defiance as the hosts wrapped up the last four Indian wickets for 15.
Steyn finished with 6 for 50 and though Zaheer Khan took out both openers – Graeme Smith nicking one behind and Alviro Petersen slightly unfortunate to be bowled off the pad – Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis were looking as resolute as they had been at Centurion where they added 230.
The game turned with the ball brushing Ishant Sharma’s fingertips as Amla drove one back down the ground. Kallis thought he had made his ground, but replays found him inches short. Soon after, Sreesanth, who had been dire in his opening spell, produced a peach that lifted and left AB de Villiers to send South Africa in to lunch at 74 for four.
After the interval, it was spin rather than pace that broke the back of the innings. Harbhajan Singh was enjoying the extra bounce and when Amla was trapped in front trying to sweep, it exposed a tail that hasn’t had much batting in recent times.
Zaheer returned to bowl Ashwell Prince off the inside edge, while Harbhajan got both Steyn and Paul Harris courtesy magnificent close-in grabs.
Dravid dived to his left at slip to take Steyn, his 200th catch and the 50th off Harbhajan, while Cheteshwar Pujara flung himself to the right at short leg to leave South Africa 103 for eight. Morne Morkel helped Mark Boucher add 24, but when Harbhajan took his fourth to end the innings, South Africa had faced eight fewer balls than India had in their first innings at Centurion.
“They’re the No 1 team in the world, and we expected them to bounce back,” said de Villiers afterwards. “Obviously, Zaheer’s return made a difference. He put us under pressure from the start. We batted extremely poorly.”
Harbhajan was full of praise for Zaheer, whose performance mocked local predictions that India were incapable of bowling South Africa out. “He’s been outstanding for us,” he said. “He doesn’t just take wickets, but also helps the others to bowl better.”
With a crowd of just over 10,000 in attendance, Virender Sehwag started the second innings intent on inflicting further punishment. Every error in line or length was punished and India were 116 to the good when his disdain for Lonwabo Tsotsobe’s left-arm medium-pace changed the complexion of the game.
An awful flail outside off stump went off the edge to Boucher, and it was double trouble when Murali Vijay could only glove a brute of a delivery from Morkel to the man at short leg. Worse was to follow as the two most experienced campaigners managed just eight between them. Dravid gifted Tsotsobe another wicket chasing a wide one, while Sachin Tendulkar steered the first ball of Steyn’s second spell to third slip.
At 56 for four, India were sinking, but Pujara and Laxman added 36 in 76 tense minutes to redress the balance somewhat. Laxman has a reputation for second-innings heroics, but day three could be the making of Pujara, whose ability to adapt after playing most of his cricket on a slow, low Rajkot pitch was especially impressive.
With more sunshine expected on Tuesday, the pitch could play easier and there was no hint of complacency in the Indian dressing room. “Tomorrow is D Day for us,” said Harbhajan. “We need to bat well the first session and set them more than 300.”
If they can manage anything in excess of 275, this slow-burning series could yet go to the wire.
sports@thenational.ae
SCOREBOARD
India, 1st innings (Overnight 183-6):
Virender Sehwag c Kallis b Steyn 25
Murali Vijay c Boucher b Steyn 19
Rahul Dravid c Boucher b Steyn 25
Sachin Tendulkar c Kallis b Tsotsobe 13
VVS Laxman c Tsotsobe b Steyn 38
Cheteshwar Pujara c Boucher b Tsotsobe 19
Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Petersen b Steyn 35
Harbhajan Singh c de Villiers b Steyn 21
Zaheer Khan c Boucher b Morkel 0
Ishant Sharma not out 1
Shanthakumaran Sreesanth c Boucher b Morkel 0
Extras: (1b, 2lb, 4w, 2nb) 9
TOTAL: (all out, 65.1 overs) 205.
Fall of wickets: 1-43, 2-48, 3-79, 4-117, 5-130, 6-156, 7-190, 8-193, 9-205, 10-205.
Bowling: Dale Steyn 19-6-50-6, Morne Morkel 19.1-3-68-2 (2nb), Lonwabo Tsotsobe 11-3-40-2 (1w), Jacques Kallis 8-2-18-0 (1w), Paul Harris 8-1-26-0.
South Africa 1st Innings:
Alviro Petersen b Khan 24
Graeme Smith c Dhoni b Khan 9
Hashim Amla lbw Harbhajan Singh 33
Jacques Kallis run out (Sharma) 10
AB de Villiers c Dhoni b Sreesanth 0
Ashwell Prince b Khan 13
Mark Boucher not out 16
Dale Steyn c Dravid b Harbhajan 1
Paul Harris c Pujara b Harbhajan 0
Morne Morkel c Harbhajan b Sharma 10
Lonwabo Tsotsobe c Vijay b Harbhajan 0.
Extras: (2lb, 1w, 12nb) 15
TOTAL: (all out, 37.2 overs) 131
Fall of wickets: 1-23, 2-46, 3-67, 4-74, 5-96, 6-100, 7-103, 8-103, 9-127, 10-131
Bowling: Zaheer Khan 13-2-36-3, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth 8-0-41-1 (5nb, 1w), Ishant Sharma 9-2-42-1 (7nb), Harbhajan Singh 7.2-2-10-4.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Kill%20
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Cry Macho
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam
Rating:**
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Squad for first two ODIs
Kohli (c), Rohit, Dhawan, Rayudu, Pandey, Dhoni (wk), Pant, Jadeja, Chahal, Kuldeep, Khaleel, Shami, Thakur, Rahul.
The permutations for UAE going to the 2018 World Cup finals
To qualify automatically
UAE must beat Iraq.
Australia must lose in Japan and at home to Thailand, with their losing margins and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.
Saudi Arabia must lose to Japan, with their losing margin and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.
To finish third and go into a play-off with the other third-placed AFC side for a chance to reach the inter-confederation play-off match
UAE must beat Iraq.
Saudi Arabia must lose to Japan, with their losing margin and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.
The Dictionary of Animal Languages
Heidi Sopinka
Scribe
RESULTS
Bantamweight title:
Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) bt Xavier Alaoui (MAR)
(KO round 2)
Catchweight 68kg:
Sean Soriano (USA) bt Noad Lahat (ISR)
(TKO round 1)
Middleweight:
Denis Tiuliulin (RUS) bt Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
(TKO round 1)
Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR) bt Joachim Tollefsen (DEN)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 68kg:
Austin Arnett (USA) bt Daniel Vega (MEX)
(TKO round 3)
Lightweight:
Carrington Banks (USA) bt Marcio Andrade (BRA)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 58kg:
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) bt Malin Hermansson (SWE)
(Submission round 2)
Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (CAN) bt Juares Dea (CMR)
(Split decision)
Middleweight:
Mohamad Osseili (LEB) bt Ivan Slynko (UKR)
(TKO round 1)
Featherweight:
Tarun Grigoryan (ARM) bt Islam Makhamadjanov (UZB)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 54kg:
Mariagiovanna Vai (ITA) bt Daniella Shutov (ISR)
(Submission round 1)
Middleweight:
Joan Arastey (ESP) bt Omran Chaaban (LEB)
(Unanimous decision)
Welterweight:
Bruno Carvalho (POR) bt Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
(TKO)
Director: Shady Ali
Cast: Boumi Fouad , Mohamed Tharout and Hisham Ismael
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Astra%20Tech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdallah%20Abu%20Sheikh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20technology%20investment%20and%20development%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Three ways to get a gratitude glow
By committing to at least one of these daily, you can bring more gratitude into your life, says Ong.
- During your morning skincare routine, name five things you are thankful for about yourself.
- As you finish your skincare routine, look yourself in the eye and speak an affirmation, such as: “I am grateful for every part of me, including my ability to take care of my skin.”
- In the evening, take some deep breaths, notice how your skin feels, and listen for what your skin is grateful for.
Results:
Men's 100m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 15 sec; 2. Rheed McCracken (AUS) 15.40; 3. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 15.75. Men's 400m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 50.56; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 50.94; 3. Henry Manni (FIN) 52.24.
Results
2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m; Winner: AF Al Baher, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,600m; Winner: Talento Puma, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,950m; Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3.30pm: Jebel Ali Stakes Listed (TB) Dh500,000 1,950m; Winner: Mark Of Approval, Patrick Cosgrave, Mahmood Hussain.
4pm: Conditions (TB) Dh125,000 1,400m; Winner: Dead-heat Raakez, Jim Crowley, Nicholas Bachalard/Attribution, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
4.30pm: Jebel Ali Sprint (TB) Dh500,000 1,000m; Winner: AlKaraama, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,200m; Winner: Wafy, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,400m; Winner: Cachao, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
Company%20profile
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