• India's Rishabh Pant celebrates scoring his century against England in the fourth Test in Ahmedabad on Friday, Match 5, 2021. Reuters
    India's Rishabh Pant celebrates scoring his century against England in the fourth Test in Ahmedabad on Friday, Match 5, 2021. Reuters
  • Rishabh Pant rescued India with a quickfire 101 in the Ahmedabad Test. Reuters
    Rishabh Pant rescued India with a quickfire 101 in the Ahmedabad Test. Reuters
  • India's Rishabh Pant celebrates scoring a century at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. AP
    India's Rishabh Pant celebrates scoring a century at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. AP
  • India's Washington Sundar remained unbeaten on 60 at stumps on days two of the Ahmedabad Test. AFP
    India's Washington Sundar remained unbeaten on 60 at stumps on days two of the Ahmedabad Test. AFP
  • Rishabh Pant's century handed India a lead on day two. Reuters
    Rishabh Pant's century handed India a lead on day two. Reuters
  • Washington Sundar celebrate reaching his 50. Reuters
    Washington Sundar celebrate reaching his 50. Reuters
  • Rohit Sharma missed his fifty by one run. AFP
    Rohit Sharma missed his fifty by one run. AFP
  • Veteran seamer James Anderson celebrates with Ben Foakes after taking the wicket of Rishabh Pant. Getty
    Veteran seamer James Anderson celebrates with Ben Foakes after taking the wicket of Rishabh Pant. Getty
  • England's Ben Stokes, right, celebrates the dismissal of India's captain Virat Kohli. AP
    England's Ben Stokes, right, celebrates the dismissal of India's captain Virat Kohli. AP
  • Ben Stokes bowled his heart out in testing conditions. AFP
    Ben Stokes bowled his heart out in testing conditions. AFP

Cricket

Rishabh Pant ton puts India in control of fourth Test against England

Wicketkeeper to the rescue as hosts earn valuable 89-run lead with three wickets in hand

The National

March 05, 2021

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Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant launched a spectacular late assault as his 101  put India in charge of the fourth and final Test against England in Ahmedabad on Friday.

Ben Stokes led England's lion-hearted bowling effort in the first two sessions but Pant's century-plus partnership with Washington Sundar tilted the game in favour of the hosts who finished day two on 294-7.

Sundar was batting on 60 at stumps and Axar Patel was on 11 with India 89 ahead after being 121-5 at one stage.

Having posted a below-par 205, England could not afford to let India get off to a flying start and their bowlers responded brilliantly after the hosts resumed the day on 24-1.

James Anderson bowled a tight line while Stokes, who battled an upset stomach on Thursday and still top-scored with 55, was hostile.

Left-arm spinner Jack Leach earned the breakthrough trapping the obdurate Cheteshwar Pujara lbw for 17.

Stokes bent his back to generate awkward bounce and one such delivery fetched him the prize wicket of Virat Kohli.

The India captain could merely nick the rising delivery behind to be dismissed for an eight-ball duck.

Rohit Sharma, who made 49, was smacked on his helmet by another such delivery from Stokes.

The all-rounder returned after the lunch break to deny Rohit his fifty and Leach sent back Ravichandran Ashwin to peg back India.

Pant began cautiously but accelerated later in the day, especially after England took the second new ball.

The left-hander nonchalantly reverse-swept Anderson to race into the 90s and slog-swept Joe Root for a six to bring up his third Test century.

The England duo combined to end his swashbuckling innings as he swatted an Anderson delivery to Root at short mid-wicket.

Pant's 118-ball blitz was studded with 13 boundaries and two sixes.

Sundar hit eight boundaries against a tired-looking England attack.

While you're here

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.”

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