England captain Joe Root held the innings together with a sublime century as the hosts fought back in the second Test at Lord's against India on Saturday.
Root remained unbeaten on a majestic 180 as the hosts were bowled out for 391 off the final ball of the day, taking a crucial first innings lead of 27 in the second of a five-match series.
England were in complete control of the match after the opening two sessions, with 57 from Jonny Bairstow and sizeable contributions from Jos Buttler (23) and Moeen Ali (27) giving the home team hopes of a lead of over 100 runs.
At one stage, England were 341-5 in reply to India's 364, but a burst of wickets later in the day from Ishant Sharma (3-69) and Mohammad Siraj (4-94) brought Virat Kohli's team back into the match.
But the day belonged to Root. He hit his second century of the series to hold the innings together on Day 3.
Root became the second English batsman after Alastair Cook to score 9,000 Test runs after completing his 22nd ton. He hit 18 boundaries in a 321-ball knock.
Root's 22nd Test century equalled the tallies of Walter Hammond, Colin Cowdrey, Geoffrey Boycott and Ian Bell. Only Kevin Pietersen (23) and Alastair Cook (33) have scored more hundreds at this level for England.
It was a significant turnaround for the home team who were struggling on 23-2 when Root walked out to bat on Friday.
After adding 85 runs with Rory Burns to arrest the slide, Root forged a century stand with Jonny Bairstow to consolidate England's position.
They batted throughout the morning session, much to the frustration of the Indian bowlers who tried all they could but just could not separate them.
While Root, who scored 64 and 109 in the drawn series opener in Nottingham, maintained his form, Bairstow regained his with a fighting 57- his first Test fifty in 20 innings.
Siraj broke the stand when he had Bairstow caught in the slip after cramping him for room as the batsman tried to pull a short-pitched delivery from round the wicket, right before the new ball became available.
Root, at the other end, brought up his hundred with a tight single off Jasprit Bumrah.
It was then the turn of veteran quick Ishant to force his way through the middle order. The right-arm pacer first castled Buttler through the gate. Next man Moeen had retreated almost entirely after his bright start and he was beaten by Ishant on a handful of occasions before finally nicking one in defence.
It was a tough, low chance but Kohli got his fingers underneath it to seal the all-rounder's dismissal for 27. Ishant made it two in two as he welcomed Sam Curran with ball that demanded attention and did just enough to take the edge and sail at a more comfortable height to Rohit.
But Root continued to play nearly chanceless innings. As he approached a deserved double century, he began to run out of partners. Ollie Robinson survived three tight lbw shouts in a single over from Siraj, before the seamer finally persuaded umpire Michael Gough to raise the finger. And after Mark Wood was run out, No 11 James Anderson was tasked with taking his team to stumps, with the lead already acquired.
Anderson battled valiantly, taking a hit to the head from a Jasprit Bumrah bouncer. He showed great courage in the third-last over of the day from Bumrah, which was a 10-ball over full of short balls. But his defences failed him on the last delivery of the day, Mohammed Shami hitting his off-stump.
It was a particularly poor day with the ball for Bumrah, who sent down 13 no-balls — the most by an Indian in an innings in nearly 20 years.
Brief scores:
Everton 2
Walcott 21', Sigurdsson 51'
Tottenham 6
Son 27', 61', Alli 35', Kane 42', 74', Eriksen 48'
Man of the Match: Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Sri Lanka squad
Dinesh Chandimal, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Niroshan Dickwella, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Rangana Herath, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Lakshan Sandakan, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Jeffrey Vandersay, Milinda Siriwardana, Roshen Silva, Akila Dananjaya, Charith Asalanka, Shaminda Eranga and Dhammika Prasad.
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.”
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wes%20Ball%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Owen%20Teague%2C%20Freya%20Allen%2C%20Kevin%20Durand%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More on Quran memorisation:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Name: Tharb
Started: December 2016
Founder: Eisa Alsubousi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Luxury leather goods
Initial investment: Dh150,000 from personal savings
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
