SYDNEY // In a stunning run chase India won their third and final Twenty20 match against Australia off the last ball on Sunday to take the series 3-0.
Australia made a formidable 197 for five but India replied with 200 for three against an inexperienced attack. They needed 17 to win off the last over and Suresh Raina hit a boundary off the final ball for victory.
Stand-in Australia captain Shane Watson, who had scored an unbeaten century and also claimed the vital wicket of Shikhar Dhawan, appeared to have won his side the match when he conceded just five runs from the 19th over. But rookie bowler Andrew Tye (0-51) could not handle the pressure in the 20th. The first two balls went for a four and six from Yuvraj Singh (15 not out), paving the way for Raina’s last-ball heroics.
Read more: Guptill and Williamson power New Zealand as Pakistan attack loses steam in third ODI
Raina should have been stumped by debutant Cameron Bancroft off the first ball he faced from young spinner Cameron Boyce (2-28), and made the most of his good fortune to score 49 off 25 balls.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli again led the Indian batting, both posting half-centuries.
For much of the chase India looked to have the target under control after taking full advantage of some wayward bowling by paceman Shaun Tait (0-46). But Sharma (52) and Kohli (50) both fell to Boyce as the match tightened up.
Kohli, named Man of the Series, was thrilled to have completed a clean sweep of the T20s after India lost the one-day series. “We wanted to finish off well and get a clean sweep and we’ve done it,” he said.
The much-maligned Watson led from the front for Australia in a masterful solo performance. He probably played himself into Australia’s squad for the World Twenty20 with his unbeaten 124 from 71 balls, the second-highest score in the format in internationals.
Watson, 34, was promoted to the captaincy due to the injury-enforced absence of Aaron Finch and opened the batting.
Dropped on 56 by Kohli, he hit six sixes and posted the biggest T20 international score by an Australian.
Meanwhile, Australia coach Darren Lehmann said he was hopeful of being given medical clearance to join his team’s Test tour of New Zealand as he recovers from deep vein thrombosis.
Lehmann was replaced by batting coach Michael di Venuto for the Twenty20 series, as well as their ODI tour of New Zealand, with matches taking place on February 3, 6 and 8. The Tests will be played in New Zealand on February 12 and 20.
“Obviously [I’m] still recovering from the DVT, but for me it’s just about hopefully getting medical clearance later on in the week and see where we go from there and join the New Zealand group,” Lehmann said.
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The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
The five pillars of Islam
Coffee: black death or elixir of life?
It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?
Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.
The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.
The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.
Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver.
The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.
But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.
Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.
It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.
So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.
Rory Reynolds
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Teachers' pay - what you need to know
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
