IPL 2022: Liam Livingstone stars with bat and ball to sink Chennai Super Kings

Liam Livingstone's belligerence and a devastating new ball spell by Punjab Kings bowlers handed defending champions Chennai Super Kings their third straight defeat of IPL 2022 in Mumbai on Sunday.

Punjab have banked heavily on power hitters this season and that strategy paid off handsomely at the Brabourne Stadium as Livingstone smashed 60 from just 32 balls with five fours and as many sixes to help his team post 180-8.

Chennai bowlers hit back at the death to restrict their opponents to under 200, with Dwaine Pretorius (2-30) and Chris Jordan (2-23) bowling particularly well.

But the Punjab bowlers ended the contest in the powerplay of the chase. With hardly any dew to restrict the bowlers, Punjab seamers ran through the top order. Young seamer Vaibhav Arora (2-21) swung the ball around as Chennai were reduced to 23-4 in the sixth over, and the match as good as over.

All-rounder Shivam Dube (57 off 30) tried to take the contest deep into the innings but only managed to reduce the margin of defeat. Dube continued his good form with the bat, smashing a 26-ball fifty but the task proved beyond him.

It was Livingstone who extinguished Chennai’s hopes, this time with the ball, as he dismissed Dube in his second over, caught at short third man with his leg spin. The England star then had the dangerous Dwayne Bravo caught and bowled next ball to put the game beyond the Super Kings.

From there on, the innings wrapped up quickly. Leg-spinner Rahul Chahar finished with 3-25, to go with Livingstone's fine spell of 2-25.

Chennai could only manage 126 in 18 overs as they succumbed to a 54-run defeat, with serious questions about their bowling line-up and team balance.

Earlier, Livingstone took seamer Mukesh Choudhary apart, cracking three fours and two sixes in the fifth over of the match to kickstart the innings. Shikhar Dhawan (33 off 24 balls) and Jitesh Sharma (26 off 17) kept things lively but the rest of Punjab batsmen failed to kick on towards the end.

Chennai are lodged at the bottom of the table with three defeats from three games, while Punjab moved into the top four with a commanding win that also boosted their net run rate.

After the defeat, Chennai captain Ravindra Jadeja said there is no need to panic yet. He also put his weight behind last season's star batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has failed in all three outing so far with scores of 0, 1 and 1.

"We lost too many wickets in the powerplay and didn't find momentum from ball one. We need to find a way to come back stronger," Jadeja said.

"We need to give him [Gaikwad] confidence; we all know he is a very good player. I'm sure he will come good. Dube has been batting well and I think keeping him in a good frame of mind is the key. We will try our best to work hard and come back stronger."

Cinco in numbers

Dh3.7 million

The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown

46

The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.

1,000

The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]

50

How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday

3,000

The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

1.1 million

The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.

Tonight's Chat on The National

Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.

Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.

Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

'The Lost Daughter'

Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal

Starring: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson

Rating: 4/5

Previous men's records

2:01:39: Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) on 16/9/19 in Berlin
2:02:57: Dennis Kimetto (KEN) on 28/09/2014 in Berlin
2:03:23: Wilson Kipsang (KEN) on 29/09/2013 in Berlin
2:03:38: Patrick Makau (KEN) on 25/09/2011 in Berlin
2:03:59: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 28/09/2008 in Berlin
2:04:26: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 30/09/2007 in Berlin
2:04:55: Paul Tergat (KEN) on 28/09/2003 in Berlin
2:05:38: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 14/04/2002 in London
2:05:42: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 24/10/1999 in Chicago
2:06:05: Ronaldo da Costa (BRA) 20/09/1998 in Berlin

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.

8. Pillar 2 implementation

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

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.”