When CP Rizwan reached a century for the first time in his international cricket career on Friday afternoon, his respective cheer squads in Sharjah and Kerala responded in contrasting fashion.
In Tellicherry, it meant his mother, Nazreen Rauf, was able to breathe again, after she had been asphyxiated with nerves as he battled through the 90s.
Meanwhile, in Sharjah, his wife Fathima thought to herself: that’s the first job done – now go and win the match for your team.
As it turned out, he fell before the mission was fully complete. But his innings of 109, and contribution to a seminal alliance worth 184 with Mohammed Usman, had done the trick.
Usman made a century, too, and hit the winning runs as the UAE sealed a six-wicket win over Ireland in the first one-day international in Abu Dhabi.
The partnership was the highest ever in the UAE’s ODI history, and the win just their second against a Test nation in the format.
Rizwan termed it the proudest moment of his career in cricket to date, and he immediately phoned his nearest and dearest to celebrate.
“First I called my wife – she was very happy – then my mother,” Rizwan, 32, said.
“They are the main two people in my life. My mother is in Kerala. She was watching the match live on the telecast.
“She could not watch when I got into the 90s. She was asking my cousins to update her as she was very nervous.
“When I got to 100, she was very happy. She already started getting messages from all our relatives.”
It was the first competitive action for the UAE in nearly 11 months because of the pandemic.
Rizwan’s day job is as an electrical engineer for a construction company, and he had to go to his office even during lockdown.
When time permitted back then, he honed his cricket skills in the front room of his apartment in Sharjah, with his wife giving him throw-downs.
Fathima had not been a fan of cricket till she met her husband. Now she is a canny student of the game.
“She watched till I got to 50, then by God’s grace I got to 100, and she said I should have finished the match,” Rizwan said.
Dual blow
“I said, ‘We won, it’s fine!’ It was a good catch that got me out.
"I got out with around 25 needed, but we knew we had the power at the back end to finish it off, and that’s exactly what happened.”
The victory said much about UAE’s character. Paul Stirling had scored a fine hundred as Ireland posted 269 for five from their 50 overs for a side who had beaten world champions England the last time they had played.
The UAE were then struggling at 51 for three, before the Rizwan-Usman resistance.
Even before that, the national team had been hit by a dual blow. It was announced on the morning of the game that Chirag Suri and Aryan Lakra had tested positive for Covid 19.
Neither is displaying symptoms, but it meant Lakra was deprived a shot at a debut, while the team were denied the services of their vice-captain, Suri.
“We were sad about the news, and we really missed him, given the calibre which he has,” Rizwan said of the loss of opener Suri.
“But we can’t do much it. We were shocked to hear the news, but we gelled together.
"We said, whatever is gone is gone, now we need to play. That is what we did, and luckily everything went our way.”
The win was a pick-me-up for Ahmed Raza, the UAE captain, who was playing his first match since returning from his father’s funeral in Pakistan.
“I asked the boys to do it for me,” Raza said. “I lost my father recently. This is the first international game since that.
“This is for him, and I’m sure he was blessing me from the heavens.”
The sides will play the second of their four ODIs at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Sunday, with Andy Balbirnie, the Ireland captain, confident his side can bounce back.
“We can certainly learn from that,” Balbirnie said of the opening day loss.
“We haven’t played cricket in a long time, but the games are coming thick and fast.
"We have had a better look at their batsmen, and we have to sit down and come up with some different plans.
“It is a big challenge for us to turn this around, 1-0 down with three to go. As long as we are getting better with every game, I can’t really ask for much more.”
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
WORLD'S%2010%20HIGHEST%20MOUNTAINS
%3Cp%3E1.%09Everest%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%09K2%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%09Kangchenjunga%0D%3Cbr%3E4.%09Lhotse%0D%3Cbr%3E5.%09Makalu%0D%3Cbr%3E6.%09Cho%20Oyu%0D%3Cbr%3E7.%09Dhaulagiri%0D%3Cbr%3E8.%09Manaslu%0D%3Cbr%3E9.%09Nanga%20Parbat%0D%3Cbr%3E10.%09Annapurna%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 258hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,550-4,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.1L/100km
Price: from Dh362,500
On sale: now
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPurpl%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKarl%20Naim%2C%20Wissam%20Ghorra%2C%20Jean-Marie%20Khoueir%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHub71%20in%20Abu%20Dhabi%20and%20Beirut%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2021%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E12%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%242%20million%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Haemoglobin disorders explained
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,600hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.4seconds
0-200kph in 5.8 seconds
0-300kph in 12.1 seconds
Top speed: 440kph
Price: Dh13,200,000
Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,500hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.3 seconds
0-200kph in 5.5 seconds
0-300kph in 11.8 seconds
Top speed: 350kph
Price: Dh13,600,000
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
%3Cp%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%201.9km%20King%20Salman%20Boulevard%2C%20a%20Parisian%20Champs-Elysees-inspired%20avenue%2C%20is%20scheduled%20for%20completion%20in%202028%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20Royal%20Diriyah%20Opera%20House%20is%20expected%20to%20be%20completed%20in%20four%20years%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%20first%20of%2042%20hotels%2C%20the%20Bab%20Samhan%20hotel%2C%20will%20open%20in%20the%20first%20quarter%20of%202024%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20On%20completion%20in%202030%2C%20the%20Diriyah%20project%20is%20forecast%20to%20accommodate%20more%20than%20100%2C000%20people%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20%2463.2%20billion%20Diriyah%20project%20will%20contribute%20%247.2%20billion%20to%20the%20kingdom%E2%80%99s%20GDP%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20It%20will%20create%20more%20than%20178%2C000%20jobs%20and%20aims%20to%20attract%20more%20than%2050%20million%20visits%20a%20year%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20About%202%2C000%20people%20work%20for%20the%20Diriyah%20Company%2C%20with%20more%20than%2086%20per%20cent%20being%20Saudi%20citizens%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
