Jos Buttler was philosophical despite starting his reign as England white-ball captain with a heavy defeat, admitting his side were “outplayed” by India in the first Twenty20 international.
In his first match since taking on the role full-time following Eoin Morgan’s international retirement, Buttler was castled for a golden duck as England were all out for 148 in 19.3 overs to lose by 50 runs.
After Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s devilish inswinger beat the inside edge, clipped Buttler’s pad and lit up the zing bails, Hardik Pandya took four for 33, leaving India 1-0 ahead in the three-match series.
Buttler was taken aback by the lavish swing on offer for India’s bowlers, admitting England might have done more to disrupt their rhythm, but he remains upbeat heading into the second T20 on Saturday.
“To keep taking the game on,” Buttler said, when asked what his message is in defeat. “You try and play conditions where you’re looking for ways to put pressure back on the opposition.
“Whether that be running between the wickets or taking risks to try and get them off a length, we haven’t seen a ball consistently swing that much in the T20 game for a while.
“We probably needed to get one in the stands or something to get it to stop swinging!
“The messaging is always going to be the same, we’re always going to look to play positively, we got outplayed here but that’s fine. There’s a great opportunity in two days’ time to have another go.
“It’s quite easy to come back from, to be honest. Nothing much changes for us just because we lost the game. We’ll turn up to Edgbaston full of confidence and look forward to playing our brand of cricket.”
Hardik top-scored with 51 from 33 balls but there were also brisk cameos from Rohit Sharma (24 off 14), Deepak Hooda (33 off 17) and Suryakumar Yadav (39 off 19) as India racked up 198 for eight.
Several England bowlers were expensive but Chris Jordan was particularly impressive with figures of two for 23 while Moeen Ali, on his 50th T20 international appearance, also took a couple of wickets.
While Jordan put a disappointing winter behind him, in which his death bowling came under scrutiny, and added an unbeaten 26 down the order, Moeen struck a couple of lusty blows in his 36 from 20 balls.
“CJ was absolutely brilliant,” Buttler added. “It was great to see a guy with a lot of experience and someone I have full faith in throwing the ball to come away with such brilliant figures in a high-scoring game.
“And Moeen’s an incredibly selfless cricketer, he’s played a lot of different roles for us in the team, he’s always willing to bowl any time and bat anywhere in the order so he’s a great guy to have in the group.
“They are experienced guys who are real leaders in the team and you’re always going to lean on them.”
England’s attempt to chase down the total under the Southampton lights would have been challenging enough but their bid was dealt a hammer blow by the early loss of Buttler, this year’s Indian Premier League most valuable player and top run-scorer.
Kumar had troubled Jason Roy with deliveries zipping past the outside edge but then showed his immense skill to bring one back in through Buttler’s gate, to the delight of Hardik, who capitalised by removing Dawid Malan and Liam Livingstone in the same over and also accounted for Roy and Sam Curran.
Hardik said: “It was a very big wicket. Everyone knows what Jos can do and he’s been someone who’s a match-winner on any given day that he decides.
“It took a special ball to get him because the field was set for an outswinger – there was no midwicket – and Bhuvi did what he does best, bluffing the batter, setting him up then delivering the ball which he did was fantastic.”
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
If you go
The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at.
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
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
Sukuk explained
Sukuk are Sharia-compliant financial certificates issued by governments, corporates and other entities. While as an asset class they resemble conventional bonds, there are some significant differences. As interest is prohibited under Sharia, sukuk must contain an underlying transaction, for example a leaseback agreement, and the income that is paid to investors is generated by the underlying asset. Investors must also be prepared to share in both the profits and losses of an enterprise. Nevertheless, sukuk are similar to conventional bonds in that they provide regular payments, and are considered less risky than equities. Most investors would not buy sukuk directly due to high minimum subscriptions, but invest via funds.
Teri%20Baaton%20Mein%20Aisa%20Uljha%20Jiya
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amit%20Joshi%20and%20Aradhana%20Sah%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECast%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shahid%20Kapoor%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%2C%20Dharmendra%2C%20Dimple%20Kapadia%2C%20Rakesh%20Bedi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
