Dhoni calls Yuvraj 'backbone' of India's batting

Mahendra Singh Dhoni was a happy man once again after India clinched their fifth consecutive ODI series when rain forced the abandonment of the final match against West Indies in St Lucia on Sunday. Dhoni, who came under media scrutiny following India's poor performance in the World Twenty20 last month, paid tribute to Yuvraj Singh whose batting has contributed to his team's success in one-day cricket.

"He [Yuvraj] is the backbone of our batting line-up. Coming in at No 4, he always takes up the responsibility and sets up the platform for the batsmen down the order to contribute," Dhoni said after India won the series 2-1. "When he sets himself up, rest assured he is in for a big score," Dhoni said, before adding that: "I think we really have a very good side. It's a pleasure to win series out of the country."

West Indies, who were sent in to bat, scored 27 for one in 7.3 overs by which time it started to rain. Play was called off thereafter. Man of the series Dhoni also reserved praise for Ishant Sharma for slugging it out in the absence of pace spearhead Zaheer Khan. "The bowlers took the initiative, and the youngsters who came in and got a chance have proved themselves," he said. Ishant had struggled during the series - particularly at the hands of Chris Gayle in the third ODI - but bounced back to get Gayle for a second-ball duck on Sunday.

The captain credited discipline as key to Ishant's rejuvenated spell. "He [Ishant] was concentrating more on what he needs to do rather than looking at the batsman," he said. "He was bowling in the right areas." sports@thenational.ae

Price, base / as tested From Dh173,775 (base model)
Engine 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo, AWD
Power 249hp at 5,500rpm
Torque 365Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Gearbox Nine-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined 7.9L/100km

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013

Specs

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The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

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.