A sparkling century by Chirag Suri set UAE up for victory over table-toppers Oman as the national team returned to World Cup qualifying action in record-breaking fashion.
Suri’s innings of 115 was the bedrock of a captivating run-chase in the World Cup League 2 in Muscat.
The national team made 308-6 as they beat their Gulf neighbours with four wickets and six deliveries in hand.
It was the UAE’s highest score in One-Day International cricket, and just the second time they had breached 300 in the format, after they made 300-6 against Scotland in 2018.
Suri’s innings was the third highest by a UAE batsman in ODI history, and his 180-run alliance with young wicketkeeper batsman Vriitya Aravind for the second wicket was the country’s second highest in the format.
What made the performance even more remarkable was the fact it was the UAE’s first ODI in over a year. They had only played four competitive matches of any sort in the time since then.
They had not played in WCL2 – which is part of the qualifying system for the 2023 50-over World Cup – since the start of 2020, and had played just seven matches in the competition, compared to 20 by league-leaders Oman.
But after the famine, a feast of cricket is set to follow. The game against Oman was the first of 19 international matches the UAE are set to play over the course of a month and a half. The three ODIs against Oman will be followed by a series of T20 matches, then two back-to-back WCL2 series in UAE.
The three-match series in Muscat is a set of rescheduled fixtures which have twice been postponed. First, the two sides had their final WCL2 match in Muscat in 2020 called off because of the death of Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
They were due to meet again in Namibia in December, only for the sides to beat a rapid retreat home because of the discovery of the Omicron variant in southern Africa.
Oman, for their part, have enjoyed plenty of cricket during the time UAE have been in absent. Jatinder Singh was one of a number of Oman players who caught the eye when they hosted first-round matches at the T20 World Cup last year.
The Muscat-raised opener was straight back into the old routine with a fine hundred against UAE. His 106 was the second century of his ODI career – and his second in the space of a little over four months.
It paved the way for what seemed like an imposing total of 307-9 from the home side’s 50 overs.
UAE’s task was all the more daunting once Muhammad Waseem, the debutant opener in whom so many hopes are invested, fell to the first ball he faced in one-day international cricket, from Bilal Khan.
The partnership Suri and Aravind shared for the second wicket, though, was decisive in giving UAE a chance.
When Aravind went, UAE were left needing 126 from just under 17 overs, with eight wickets left.
It meant the players to follow had licence to blaze away, and Basil Hameed - in particular - thrived. He made 61 in 33 balls to hurry UAE to the winning line.
Although he fell with victory within his side’s grasp, it only delayed the inevitable as UAE sealed the win.
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
UAE SQUAD
Ali Khaseif, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Khalid Essa, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Salem Rashid, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Mohammed Al Attas, Walid Abbas, Hassan Al Mahrami, Mahmoud Khamis, Alhassan Saleh, Ali Salmeen, Yahia Nader, Abdullah Ramadan, Majed Hassan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Fabio De Lima, Khalil Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Muhammed Jumah, Yahya Al Ghassani, Caio Canedo, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Rain Management
Year started: 2017
Based: Bahrain
Employees: 100-120
Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
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Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The line up
Friday: Giggs, Sho Madjozi and Masego
Saturday: Nas, Lion Bbae, Roxanne Shante and DaniLeigh
Sole DXB runs from December 6 to 8 at Dubai Design District. Weekend pass is Dh295 while a one day pass is Dh195. Tickets are available from www.soledxb.com
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Sugary teas and iced coffees
The tax authority is yet to release a list of the taxed products, but it appears likely that sugary iced teas and cold coffees will be hit.
For instance, the non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Cold coffee brands are likely to be hit too. Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
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Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
More on animal trafficking
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
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