Dwayne Smith, MS Dhoni, Brendon McCullum and Suresh Raina in yellow. Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Yuvraj Singh in red. On the face of it at least, there is not a more explosive match-up in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
It all points to a high-voltage clash between the Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi on Sunday.
What appeared to be a flagging campaign for Bangalore was brought to life by Yuvraj Singh’s unbeaten 29-ball 68 that earned them a 16-run win against the Delhi Daredevils last Tuesday.
While that gave Kohli's men their fourth win and kept them afloat in sixth place, they will be the first to admit that their batting has been nowhere near its best.
While Parthiv Patel has looked in good touch, Kohli and Gayle have had an unusual slump. That has often restricted De Villiers, one of the most ruthless finishers in IPL, to a damage-limitation role, coming in earlier than expected.
Between the four batsmen, however, there is a wealth of experience to bank on and they will need to click against Chennai with time running out to make the play-offs
On the other hand, with eight wins in 10 matches, Chennai have a top-two finish in their sights.
Traditionally slow starters, the team has blazed through the group stages, with Smith and McCullum, their latest acquisitions, setting the tone at the top of the order and Dhoni finishing games off.
In between, Raina, Faf du Plessis and Ravindra Jadeja have all played their roles to perfection. If the team needs an all-round option, they can have a look at David Hussey, who has been signed on as a late replacement for the injured Dwayne Bravo.
However, while the batting unit picks itself, no amount of praise can be enough for the relatively inexperienced Indian bowlers – Mohit Sharma and Ishwar Pandey – who, along with R Ashwin, have lent Chennai a balance that has allowed them to play with three foreign batsmen.
The playing surface in the previous game between Chennai and Rajasthan Royals offered slow turn, which means Samuel Badree, who conceded just 19 off his four overs while picking up a wicket in that game, could be retained in the playing XI. If Gayle’s record against spin – as compared to his exploits against the faster men – is taken into account, there is more reason for Chennai to stick to a predominantly spin-based attack.
Unlike Chennai, who have a balanced team, Bangalore have plenty of issues to grapple with. Mitchell Starc and Yuzvendra Chahal have been outstanding so far, but beyond them, the bowling cupboard has looked bare. Ashok Dinda and Varun Aaron have proved expensive and Albie Morkel’s role has not been defined as clearly as it was when he was with Chennai. Bangalore have tested out the likes of Abu Nechim Ahmed and Harshal Patel instead of Dinda and Aaron, but whether they continue to show faith in the less experienced bowlers remains to be seen. Against a team that plays spinners as well as anyone, they could contemplate bringing Ravi Rampaul in for Muttiah Muralitharan, even though the Sri Lankan legend can still turn the ball a mile like he did in his glory days.
A four-day break in the middle of the summer allowed both sides the luxury of rejuvenating themselves. The much-awaited verdict of India’s general elections put cricket and the IPL on the backburner, even if just for a short while.
But on Sunday, fans can rest assured that cricket will be back in focus and the fans could not ask for a juicier clash to kick off the business end of the competition.
Shashank Kishore is a sub-editor at Wisden India. Follow them on Twitter at @WisdenIndia or visit wisdenindia.com for more on the IPL.
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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.”
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