The National's Sport cover for the Thursday, February 12 issue, featuring the India cricket team as they prepare to try and defend their world champions title at the Cricket World Cup.
The 2011 winners of the tournament enter the competition, starting on Saturday, with some problems to address though, writes Dileep Premachandran:
“For the moment, his side hold both the World Cup and the Champions Trophy. Last April, he led them to the final of the World Twenty20, as well, a competition that India won in 2007.
“Past glories do not win you tournaments in the here and now, however. And for the moment, with Pakistan looming as first opponents on Sunday, India have quite a few problems.
“They start at the top of the order with Shikhar Dhawan.
“A swashbuckling tone-setter when the Champions Trophy was won in 2013, he has looked out of sorts in recent months. Bowlers have slanted the ball across him, and his lack of decisive footwork has kept wicketkeeper and slip cordon more than interested.
“The other worry is Virat Kohli, who illuminated the Test series with four hundreds against a high-quality attack.
“In his last eight ODI games abroad, four apiece in England and Australia, he has managed 78 runs.
“This, mind you, is one of the format’s all-time greats, who has 21 centuries from just 142 innings.”
RELATED
– Cricket World Cup schedule in UAE time
– Osman Samiuddin’s Group A preview
– Paul Radley’s Group B preview
Follow us at our new home on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
Indian construction workers stranded in Ajman with unpaid dues
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The biog
Born November 11, 1948
Education: BA, English Language and Literature, Cairo University
Family: Four brothers, seven sisters, two daughters, 42 and 39, two sons, 43 and 35, and 15 grandchildren
Hobbies: Reading and traveling
