Karthik Lakshmanan
Karthik Lakshmanan, a writer for Wisden India, provides a review from the last few days of the Indian Premier League.
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No end to Pune’s injury woes
Rising Pune Supergiants’ first IPL season continued to go nowhere as they suffered setbacks on and off the field. Australia captain Steven Smith, who scored his maiden Twenty20 century against Gujarat Lions and was expected to shoulder the batting responsibility in the business end of the tournament, picked up a wrist injury during their eight-wicket loss against Mumbai Indians, and joined an all-star casualty list of Faf du Plessis, Mitchell Marsh and Kevin Pietersen. Du Plessis was ruled out for six weeks after breaking his finger, Marsh had a side strain and Pietersen had earlier torn his calf muscle. Why, MS Dhoni said before their game against Mumbai that even Stephen Fleming, their coach, was down with illness! Pune, sixth in the table with six defeats in eight matches, signed up Usman Khawaja as a replacement for Du Plessis, and will now have to look for more alternatives.
Change in captaincy, change in fortunes?
In a significant step to revive their fortunes, Kings XI Punjab, languishing at the bottom of the points table, replaced David Miller, who had only been appointed as captain in February, with M Vijay at the after five losses in six games. “We felt that David Miller’s batting was suffering because of the extra responsibility of captaincy,” Punjab coach Sanjay Bangar said. “The decision was taken to just free him up from additional responsibility. He took it in the right spirit. It is all in the team’s interest.” Vijay, who had led Tamil Nadu in 13 games seven years ago, started with a 23-run win over Gujarat Lions, the table toppers. His 55 held the batting together even as Shivil Kaushik took three wickets. Defending 154, he was proactive and helped by Axar Patel’s four-wicket haul, including the season’s first hat-trick.
New home for Mumbai and Pune
The Maharashtra derby between Rising Pune Supergiants and Mumbai Indians in Pune on May 1 ended the state’s quota of IPL matches this season after the Supreme Court dismissed the petitions filed by the Maharashtra and Mumbai cricket associations to set aside Bombay High Court’s order to shift IPL matches outside the drought-hit region. Visakhapatnam will now be the neutral home for both franchises, and three of Kings XI Punjab’s home matches originally slotted for Nagpur were shifted to Mohali. As per the rejigged schedule, Bangalore will now host the Qualifier 1 and final while the Qualifier 2 and Eliminator will be played in New Delhi. It is the latest development in the water crisis. Disappointed with IPL being made a ‘soft target’ for every issue, Anurag Thakur’s, BCCI’s secretary, said that the governing council would not hesitate to take the league abroad next season if such hassles persist.
Star performance
Punjab’s win over table-toppers Gujarat was made possible by a stunning spell of 4-0-21-4 by Axar Patel that included the first hat-trick of the season, spread across two overs. With Gujarat chasing 155, the match seemed to be in the balance at one stage before Axar turned it Punjab’s way in a spell that included four wickets from five balls. The hat-trick included the wickets of Dinesh Karthik, Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja.
Worst display
With injuries galore and lack of specialist death bowlers, Rising Pune Supergiants struggled to defend totals twice in a row at home. Their batsmen did their bit by posting 195 against Gujarat Lions last week, but the bowlers failed to rise to the situation, conceding a three-wicket win. In their next game on Sunday, Mumbai made light work of a 160-run chase and cantered to an eight-wicket win with nine balls to spare.
Best catch
Mumbai’s Jos Buttler smashed Kolkata Knight Riders’s Sunil Narine to long-off at the Wankhede Stadium, and just when it seemed like the ball would sail over the ropes, Chris Lynn jumped to perfection and caught the ball. Realising the momentum would take him over; he parried it over and then jumped into play again to complete the show.
Best quote
“I was looking at Virat Kohli and I don’t think he was too impressed until he (Shamsi) got a bit closer. I think it’s a bit hard for a captain to stand there and not go (through) the motions. In my team, if someone does that at 150 off 15 overs, I wouldn’t accept that at all. I think it’s a bit fancy, to be honest.” – David Warner of Sunrisers Hyderabad on Bangalore’s Tabraiz Shami’s ‘bus driver’ celebratory dance after getting him out.
Key game
Gujarat Lions and Delhi Daredevils produced a thriller through the heroics of Chris Morris, Imran Tahir, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, Praveen Kumar and Dwayne Bravo recently, and their return game in Rajkot on Tuesday could be equally exciting. Gujarat sit pretty at the top of the table, while Delhi have claimed four wins in six matches. Whoever tops this clash would take a step closer to the first aim of a play-offs berth.
Key statistic - 2
Axar Patel became only the second Kings XI Punjab player to take a hat-trick, after Yuvraj Singh who has two. With the season’s first hat-trick, Axar took the overall tally to 14 in nine stagings of the tournament.
Euro 2020
Group A: Italy, Switzerland, Wales, Turkey
Group B: Belgium, Russia, Denmark, Finland
Group C: Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria,
Georgia/Kosovo/Belarus/North Macedonia
Group D: England, Croatia, Czech Republic,
Scotland/Israel/Norway/Serbia
Group E: Spain, Poland, Sweden,
N.Ireland/Bosnia/Slovakia/Ireland
Group F: Germany, France, Portugal,
Iceland/Romania/Bulgaria/Hungary
Sreesanth's India bowling career
Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40
ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55
T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')
Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The bio
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite travel destination: Maldives and south of France
Favourite pastime: Family and friends, meditation, discovering new cuisines
Favourite Movie: Joker (2019). I didn’t like it while I was watching it but then afterwards I loved it. I loved the psychology behind it.
Favourite Author: My father for sure
Favourite Artist: Damien Hurst
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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
UAE%20ILT20
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Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Kerb weight: 1580kg
Price: From Dh750k
On sale: via special order
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
