South African captain Dean Elgar defied a hostile Indian bowling attack on a difficult pitch as his team stayed in the hunt for what would be a memorable victory in the second Test at The Wanderers Stadium.
Set 240 to win, South Africa were 118-2 at stumps on Day 3 — 122 runs shy of victory — with Elgar unbeaten on 46 after facing a three-hour examination of his skills and resolve in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Elgar lived up to his reputation as a dogged, street-fighting batsman as he held the Indian bowling attack at bay, scoring his runs patiently off 121 balls.
He came in for a torrid time, frequently hit on the body by short balls as the tourists searched for a breakthrough.
South Africa made a bright start, with Aiden Markram stroking 31 off 38 balls in an opening stand of 47 with Elgar.
But Markram fell leg before wicket to Shardul Thakur, who won a verdict from umpire Marais Erasmus after two unsuccessful appeals earlier in the same over.
Thakur had taken a superb 7-61 in the first innings to help bowl out South Africa for 229, giving the hosts a lead of 27.
Run-scoring became increasingly difficult, with uneven bounce becoming more of a factor as the sun beat down on a pitch which has given help to the fast bowlers throughout the match.
But it was off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin who made the second breakthrough when he trapped Keegan Petersen in front of his stumps for 28 with the total on 93.
After losing the first Test, South Africa need to win to keep the series alive ahead of next week's third and final Test in Cape Town.
India won the opener in Centurion by 113 runs to raise hopes of a first Test series victory in South Africa.
With only six recognised batsmen in the Proteas line-up, though, a tense finish is in prospect for Thursday.
India's second innings total of 266 owed much to Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, who put on 111 for the third wicket.
Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada brought South Africa back into the match with a burst of three wickets after Pujara and Rahane added 66 runs in 14 overs to the overnight total of 85-2 with the most fluent batting of the match.
The two veterans, criticised recently after a string of low scores and fighting for their place in the team, both went to rapid half-centuries as they took advantage of inconsistent bowling by South Africa on a pitch still offering plenty of help to fast bowlers.
Rabada struck in the first over after the mid-morning drinks break when Rahane was caught behind for 58, scored off 78 balls with eight fours and a six.
In his next over Rabada trapped Pujara leg before wicket for 53. Pujara reached his half-century off 62 balls with 10 fours but only added another three from 24 deliveries before his dismissal.
Rishabh Pant was struck on the shoulder by a Rabada bouncer and then charged at the next ball and edged a catch to wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne to depart for nought.
Hanuma Vihari made 40 not out and there was aggressive batting from Ravichandran Ashwin (16) and Shardul Thakur (28) as India added 99 runs for the loss of their last five wickets.
Thakur connected for five fours and one six in his quickfire innings. It may only have lasted 24 deliveries but the way he attacked South Africa's bowling seemed to swing the momentum back in India's favour.
Rabada (3-77), Lungi Ngidi (3-44) and Marco Jansen (3-67) shared nine wickets between them.
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.”
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures:
Monday, 1st 50-over match
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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