Australia’s supremacy
Australia won the Men’s Cricket World Cup for the sixth time with victory over India in front of a 92,453 crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. It was their fifth World Cup title in the last seven editions going back to 1999 when their golden era started.
Australia's men’s team have won seven World Cups (six in ODI format and one in T20), three more than the next best team, West Indies, who have four titles (two each in ODI and T20) but failed to qualify for the World Cup in India.
It capped a memorable year for Australia's men, following their victorious tour of India, winning the 2023 World Test Championship, and retaining the Ashes in England. They also won the T20 World Cup, held in the UAE, in 2021.
It's not just the men who have dominated over the past few years. Their women’s team won this year's T20 World Cup 2023 and the 50-over World Cup in 2022.
There have been 41 World Cups in ODI and T20 formats across men’s and women’s editions and Australia have won 20 of them, 12 more than the next best (eight titles).
India once again lack killer instinct
Between 2007 and 2013, India's men’s team won three major ICC tournaments: the T20 World Cup in 2007, the 2011 ODI World Cup and Champions Trophy 2013. Since winning the last of those, they have failed to win 10 tournaments in 10 years. In nine, they reached the knockout stage but couldn’t cross the finish line.
India have lost just four out of 28 matches in the last three men’s ODI World Cups (2015, 2019 and 2023) but three of those defeats have come in either semi-finals or finals.
Earlier this year, India also lost the World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval. They fell to eventual champions England in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup last year, too.
India have the highest win percentage at major tournaments over the past 10 years (69.15%) and have won zero titles. By comparison, Australia, with a 64.77 win percentage, have won four titles (two World Cups, one T20 World Cup and World Test Championship).
Head wins World Cup for Australia
Australia played half of the tournament with just 14 players as they were waiting for Travis Head to recover from a fracture on his left hand. Head showed why that risk was worth taking with his match-winning performance in the final. He scored 137, the fourth-highest score in a World Cup final.
It wasn’t just his runs that helped Australia win. Head took an extraordinary catch to dismiss the dangerous-looking Rohit Sharma (41 off 31) after which India’s innings derailed.
Head played just six matches at the 2023 tournament and earned three player-of-the-match awards, including in the semi-final and final.
Head has been Australia’s talisman this year. Just six months ago, he scored a match-winning 163 in the World Test Championship final, also against India.
India’s boundary drought in the final
Australia are not usually a team that chooses to field, especially in the knockout stages. Sunday's match was the first since the 1975 final that Australia chose to bowl in a knockout match at the Cricket World Cup. In the previous eight knockout matches, they opted to bat first after winning the toss.
Pat Cummins’ decision turned out to be right when India, following 80 runs in the opening powerplay, could hit just four boundaries in overs 11-50, the lowest for them since they hit just seven against Sri Lanka in Sharjah in 2000.
After the end of the first powerplay, India went 97 consecutive balls without a boundary. KL Rahul stayed on the wicket for 107 balls but hit just one four.
In the 21st century, there have been just five instances of teams hitting four boundaries or less in overs 11-50 in a completed innings in ODIs.
The India stalwarts couldn’t score big
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were the driving force behind India’s 10-match winning streak in the World Cup. Kohli was named player of the tournament for scoring 765 runs, the most by any player in one edition, including a century in the semi-final.
While both made contributions in the final, they couldn’t put together a big innings for which they are known. Rohit was out after scoring a brisk 47 whereas Kohli scored 54 off 63 balls.
Kohli (50) and Rohit (31) have 81 centuries in ODIs between them but neither have scored tons in finals.
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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
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Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
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