The large number of Indian cricket fans who have a penchant being fashionably late might feasibly have missed their side’s opening game of the 2025 Asia Cup.
Such was the mismatch between the defending champions and their hapless hosts, the UAE, the game was over and done in rapid time.
The Dubai International Stadium was scarcely even half full – which is a rare occurrence given the popularity of India’s cricket team.
It is possible many were still battling the traffic trying to get to the game when Shubman Gill hit the winning runs at 8.24pm, less than two hours after the start.
India had 93 balls still remaining to them, which made it the second heaviest win by a full member nation in a T20 international in terms of deliveries to spare. Less than 18 of the 40 scheduled overs in the match were played.
When India meted out a similarly double-quick beating to the UAE in the 2015 50-over World Cup in Perth, they spent the rest of the afternoon playing football, just to get some exercise.
Given the prevailing weather conditions at the start of this tournament, they were likely happy to have extra time sat down in the air-conditioning this time around.
How much either side gained from the game is questionable. India got the points they came for, but were not remotely tested in doing so. The UAE, by contrast, were shown up with the limelight at its brightest.
It goes without saying India have an enviable bowling stock. Jasprit Bumrah could make a fair claim for being considered the best T20 fast bowler in history, and the rest of the attack is loaded with skill and IPL experience.
But the way the UAE batters wilted was alarming. It is not like they have been without practice against high-quality bowling.
Afghanistan and Pakistan, who they faced in a tri-series in Sharjah to get ready for this tournament, are not short of fine bowlers. Yet the home batters looked entirely spooked by the occasion when faced with the megastars of India.
It had all started promisingly, too. Alishan Sharafu, the Kerala-born opener, appeared intent on getting himself noticed.
He took the first over, bowled by Hardik Pandya, for 10, and punched a six over extra cover off Axar Patel.
He was not remotely culpable when he was bowled by a yorker by Bumrah. It was the sort of unplayable delivery that the great fast-bowler specialises in.
But it did set in motion a miserable collapse. From 26 for no loss, they crumbled to 57 all out in 13.1 overs. Their last eight wickets fell for a mere 10 runs. Kuldeep Yadav, the left-arm wrist-spinner, profited most, taking four for seven.
It is tempting to say India were merciless, but that is not accurate, either. They had Junaid Siddique, the UAE tail-ender, stumped off the bowling of Shivam Dube.
He had been out of his crease while arguing he had been put off by the bowling dropping his towel while running in to bowl. As the decision of out flashed up on the big screen, India showed mercy, and withdrew the appeal.
And yet Siddique proceeded to chip up an easy catch off the next legal delivery he faced anyway, further speeding up the UAE demise.
To compound the misery, Abishek Sharma launched the first ball of the chase, from left-arm spinner Haider Ali, way back into the stands for six.
His was the only wicket that did fall in the chase, as he was caught by Haider Ali off Siddique having made 30 in 16 balls.
It hardly held India up, though, as they reached the target halfway through the fifth over.
MATCH INFO
Alaves 1 (Perez 65' pen)
Real Madrid 2 (Ramos 52', Carvajal 69')
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
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