It was Cricketainment. But not as we know it.
Yes, it was lively. The ambient noise on the television broadcast was racier than the soundtrack that had been used in the previous lockdown cricket, that being the English summer, that’s for sure.
Not that it was an exact match for the raucousness of 33,000 crammed into the Wankhede Stadium.
Even the cheerleaders showed up every so often. Albeit as pre-recorded images on the 14ft LED screens that ran the length of the midwicket boundaries.
The stadium, decked out in IPL bunting, looked a picture. Few grounds can lend themselves to still looking good when there is nobody there as the futuristic Zayed Cricket Stadium does.
Whatever it looked like on the TV, after a seven-month delay, IPL’s supporters were ready for this.
Even then, they were made to wait just a little longer. The start was delayed briefly because of a fault with the sightscreen, with the sponsors’ logo refusing to vanish.
It felt apt that the sponsors – late comers to this season’s party – should get a little extra airtime. It would not be the IPL without a large concession to commerce.
Then finally we got some cricket. And how classical it seemed, Rohit Sharma essaying a sweet cover drive for four off the first ball of the season, a swinging half volley from Deepak Chahar.
Judged in isolation, it looked as though the Hitman had never been away. There were a few clues that he had, though.
The side-profile camera angle did not do him too many favours. It was just the 212 days since he last played cricket – many others have had far longer out of the game.
Lockdown has left him with a slight paunch, and – again – he was far from the only one.
At the other end, maybe it was appropriate Chahar sent down the opening delivery of this year’s IPL.
The first player to get his hands on the ball was the one who had been the highest-profile figure to report a positive test in the lead up to this competition.
When he did so, a week after Chennai’s arrival in Dubai on a private charter flight, he was one of 13 positive tests in their tour party.
Their highest ever run-scorer, Suresh Raina, left. Their spin bowling talisman Harbhajan Singh, opted out of flying over altogether.
It felt as though the whole tournament might be in jeopardy back then. But even a pandemic cannot keep the IPL down.
Or Chennai Super Kings. No side suffered more in the build up to this event. And even during the course of the first game, they were down, more than once.
Quinton de Kock (33) and Saurabh Tiwary (42) set Mumbai Indians off to a strong start. The defending champions were 92 for two before Tiwary was out in the 11th over.
Chennai did well to keep them to 169-9 from that position, but they were struggling at the start of their reply.
Trent Boult and James Pattinson removed Shane Watson and Murali Vijay cheaply at the top of the order, and Mumbai were all over them at that stage.
It took a rare blemish by Jasprit Bumrah to get Chennai moving. His last ball of the powerplay went for four, and was a no ball, too.
Ambati Rayudu hit the reload for a huge six. He rarely looked back – his 71 was the top score in the match – and neither did his team.
After just completing a half century of his own, Faf du Plessis hit the winning runs in the final over, to give CSK a five-wicket win.
It arrested a run of five consecutive losses for last year’s beaten finalists against this specific opposition.
The tournament now moves to Dubai, where Delhi Capitals face Kings XI Punjab on Sunday night.
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULTS
5pm: Watha Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
Winner: Dalil De Carrere, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Mohamed Daggash (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 70,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Miracle Maker, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Pharitz Al Denari, Bernardo Pinheiro, Mahmood Hussain
6.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Oss, Jesus Rosales, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: ES Nahawand, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: AF Almajhaz, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi
8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: AF Lewaa, Bernardo Pinheiro, Qaiss Aboud.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
The biog
Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic
PSA DUBAI WORLD SERIES FINALS LINE-UP
Men’s:
Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY)
Ali Farag (EGY)
Simon Rosner (GER)
Tarek Momen (EGY)
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Nick Matthew (ENG)
Women's:
Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
Laura Massaro (ENG)
Joelle King (NZE)
Camille Serme (FRA)
Nouran Gohar (EGY)
Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
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
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
