Every ticket was sold. Every seat that had been made available was filled.
Ahead of the start, fans raced up the up-ramp that leads to Dubai International Stadium wearing the vivid yellow of Chennai Super Kings, with “7 Dhoni” inscribed on their backs.
They were matched in noise and number by those clad in the blue of Mumbai Indians.
One young fan had even had “MI” shaved into his hair, with the lettering picked out in blue, especially for the occasion.
And the vast majority made it to their seats before the first ball was bowled. Which is more or less unprecedented at times when Indian cricket fan culture meets with rush hour on Hessa Street.
An excitable, reactive, manmade din bounced off the roof, rather than the canned crowd noise which had prevailed previously.
Even Ruturaj Gaikwad scored runs.
It is tempting on nights like this to make glib statements to the effect that nature is healing.
This is, after all, just a cricket match, being played in a tournament transposed to UAE solely because of the effects a deadly virus was having back in India.
There are more important things in life than the Indian Premier League.
But, on the night of its resumption in Dubai, it felt like this was a most welcome distraction from the serious stuff.
Those spectators who had won the mad rush for one of the 6,000 or so tickets online were give upper-tier seats at the old Emirates Road End of the ground. Spaces were set aside between allocated seats to try to enable social distancing.
This being the IPL, downstairs was given over to commerce. As in 2020, when the entire season was played behind closed doors in UAE, vast black fabric was stretched over all the lower-tier seats.
In front of that, 9ft high LED display screens showing team slogans and sponsor logos stretched halfway round both sides of the boundary.
The official car of the competition had a premium view, right in the hitting zone of right-handed batsmen.
Even the 22 yards of turf in the middle of the ground had some spice to it.
So much for arriving in the desert expecting arid conditions. The playing strip had more than a tinge of green to it, and the quick bowlers thrived as a result.
The fact it was Gaikwad who repaired the early damage inflicted on Chennai by Trent Boult and Adam Milne felt appropriate.
The last time the IPL was exiled to these shores, the young opener from Pune suffered the most among a number of Chennai tourists who contracted Covid.
He took 20 days to recover his health. By the time he did, his season was essentially ruined.
He took that knockback pluckily, suggesting the experience would make him tougher. Judged on the first day of his return to Dubai, he really is back stronger.
Facing the champion attack from last season, Chennai were in all sorts of bother, lurching to three for seven.
To all intents and purposes that was four for seven because Ambati Rayudu had retired hurt after being hit by Adam Milne. And not long after, MS Dhoni followed Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina and Rayudu to the dressing room
Gaikwad, though, stuck it out, finding ever more resourceful ways to score, including a remarkable sweep off Jasprit Bumrah for four.
His 88 not out, including a six off the last ball of the innings, gave Chennai something to compete with - a total of 156-6.
As it turned out, it was far better than that. The defending champions - who, it would appear, are slow restarters as much as they are slow starters - never got going in their chase.
As it had been for Mumbai, it was the seamers who did the work for Chennai, with Dwayne Bravo taking three wickets, Deepak Chahar two, and Josh Hazlewood and Shardul Thakur one apiece.
The resultant 20-run win was not exactly the thrilling climax the sides of the IPL provided so often last season. But there will be plenty of time for that - and this time there will be people there to see it.
How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Thanksgiving meals to try
World Cut Steakhouse, Habtoor Palace Hotel, Dubai. On Thursday evening, head chef Diego Solis will be serving a high-end sounding four-course meal that features chestnut veloute with smoked duck breast, turkey roulade accompanied by winter vegetables and foie gras and pecan pie, cranberry compote and popcorn ice cream.
Jones the Grocer, various locations across the UAE. Jones’s take-home holiday menu delivers on the favourites: whole roast turkeys, an array of accompaniments (duck fat roast potatoes, sausages wrapped in beef bacon, honey-glazed parsnips and carrots) and more, as well as festive food platters, canapes and both apple and pumpkin pies.
Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, The Address Hotel, Dubai. This New Orleans-style restaurant is keen to take the stress out of entertaining, so until December 25 you can order a full seasonal meal from its Takeaway Turkey Feast menu, which features turkey, homemade gravy and a selection of sides – think green beans with almond flakes, roasted Brussels sprouts, sweet potato casserole and bread stuffing – to pick up and eat at home.
The Mattar Farm Kitchen, Dubai. From now until Christmas, Hattem Mattar and his team will be producing game- changing smoked turkeys that you can enjoy at home over the festive period.
Nolu’s, The Galleria Mall, Maryah Island Abu Dhabi. With much of the menu focused on a California inspired “farm to table” approach (with Afghani influence), it only seems right that Nolu’s will be serving their take on the Thanksgiving spread, with a brunch at the Downtown location from 12pm to 4pm on Friday.
England's lowest Test innings
- 45 v Australia in Sydney, January 28, 1887
- 46 v West Indies in Port of Spain, March 25, 1994
- 51 v West Indies in Kingston, February 4, 2009
- 52 v Australia at The Oval, August 14, 1948
- 53 v Australia at Lord's, July 16, 1888
- 58 v New Zealand in Auckland, March 22, 2018
Scores
New Zealand 266 for 9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 219 all out in 47.2 overs
New Zealand win by 47 runs
Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
The Orwell Prize for Political Writing
Twelve books were longlisted for The Orwell Prize for Political Writing. The non-fiction works cover various themes from education, gender bias, and the environment to surveillance and political power. Some of the books that made it to the non-fiction longlist include:
- Appeasing Hitler: Chamberlain, Churchill and the Road to War by Tim Bouverie
- Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me by Kate Clanchy
- Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
- Follow Me, Akhi: The Online World of British Muslims by Hussein Kesvani
- Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS by Azadeh Moaveni
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