DHAKA // Umar Akmal smashed 94 off 54 balls as Pakistan bounced back after a morale-sapping loss against India to defeat Australia by 16 runs in the World Twenty20 in Dhaka on Sunday.
Elder brother Kamran Akmal scored a run-a-ball 31 and Shahid Afridi returned unbeaten on 20 off 11 balls to lift Pakistan to 191 for five after they were sent in to bat.
Australia were bowled out for 175 in reply off the final ball of the match despite a spectacular third-wicket partnership of 118 from 64 balls between Glenn Maxwell and Aaron Finch.
Maxwell hit 74 off 33 balls with six sixes and seven fours, while Finch chipped in with 65 that included two sixes and seven fours.
The pair came together after the left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar, 35, who opened the bowling, dismissed David Warner and Shane Watson in the first over to make it eight for two.
Maxwell and Finch launched a brilliant counter-attack to raise Australia’s 100 by the eighth over, with Maxwell contributing 58 off 20 balls.
Seamer Bilawal Bhatti conceded 30 runs in the eighth over, giving away two sixes and three fours, besides bowling a waist-high full toss that fetched five extra runs.
A relieved Pakistan finally saw Maxwell off in the 12th over when he attempted to sweep Shahid Afridi and holed out to Ahmed Shehzad on the square-leg fence.
Afridi also bowled George Bailey for four as Australia lost their last seven wickets for 29 runs.
It was Australia’s first Group 2 match in the Super-10 stage, while Pakistan had lost to India by seven wickets on Friday.
Mohammad Hafeez, the Pakistan captain, said the plan to attack from the start paid off.
“I think we were a bit defensive against India, but today the boys went out and expressed themselves,” Hafeez said. “Umar Akmal showed his real talent today.
“We wanted him to attack and that’s what he did. It is really nice to have a win under our belts. It will give us the confidence for the matches to come.”
Bailey, the Australia captain, said poor catching let his team down.
“Batting and bowling can go either way, but fielding was in our hands,” he said. “We’ve set high standards and we didn’t do well today. Pakistan bowled really well and did not allow us to build the momentum that Maxwell and Finch created.”
The Akmal brothers put on 96 for the third wicket after Pakistan were reduced to 25 for two by the fifth over, losing the key wickets of Shehzad and Hafeez.
Umar Akmal hit four sixes and nine boundaries before he fell in the final over, caught on the fence attempting another big hit off Mitchell Starc.
Australia’s 43-year-old spinner Brad Hogg, the oldest player ever in the World Twenty20 competitions, had a forgettable outing.
Hogg dropped Umar Akmal on the mid-wicket fence when the batsman was on 22 and then conceded 29 runs in three wicketless overs after being called on to bowl in the ninth over.
Kamran Akmal, who was also dropped early in the innings, was finally dismissed in the 13th over when Warner held a running catch on the point fence off the bowling of Nathan Coulter-Nile.
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RESULTS
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4.05pm: Dubai City Of Gold – Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (Turf) 2,410m
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4.40pm: Burj Nahaar – Group 3 (TB) $250,000 (D) 1,600m
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5.50pm: Al Bastakiya – Listed (TB) $170,000 (D) 1,900m
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6.25pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 – Group 1 (TB) $450,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
7.10pm: Ras Al Khor – Conditions (TB) $300,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Al Suhail, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
7.45pm: Jebel Hatta – Group 1 (TB) $350,000 (T) 1,800m
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8.20pm: Mahab Al Shimaal – Group 3 (TB) $250,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Sound Money, Mickael Barzalona, Bhupat Seemar
The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
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Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
The specs
Engine: Single front-axle electric motor
Power: 218hp
Torque: 330Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 402km (claimed)
Price: From Dh215,000 (estimate)
On sale: September
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Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura, Nick Offerman
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Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: January 2019
Number of employees: 10
Sector: Technology/Social media
Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support
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Founders: Aahan Bhojani and Ashmin Varma
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Property technology
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Investors: Nuwa Capital, VentureSouq, Nordstar, Global Founders Capital, Yuj Ventures and Whiteboard Capital
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Producer: RSVP Movies, Azure Entertainment
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Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
Quarter-final: Beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2
Semi-final: Beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4
Final: Beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2
One-off T20 International: UAE v Australia
When: Monday, October 22, 2pm start
Where: Abu Dhabi Cricket, Oval 1
Tickets: Admission is free
Australia squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Darcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, Peter Siddle
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Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
EMIRATES'S REVISED A350 DEPLOYMENT SCHEDULE
Edinburgh: November 4 (unchanged)
Bahrain: November 15 (from September 15); second daily service from January 1
Kuwait: November 15 (from September 16)
Mumbai: January 1 (from October 27)
Ahmedabad: January 1 (from October 27)
Colombo: January 2 (from January 1)
Muscat: March 1 (from December 1)
Lyon: March 1 (from December 1)
Bologna: March 1 (from December 1)
Source: Emirates
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Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
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COMPANY PROFILE
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Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
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Director Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Denzel Washington, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo, Ashton Sanders
Three stars