ABU DHABI // Nasir Aziz must be experiencing some pretty strange emotions right now. He was reported for a suspect action after the UAE’s very first game in the World T20 Qualifier last Friday.
Yet he remains at the centre of an impressive start to the group stages by the hosts; he was again instrumental in helping the UAE beat hitherto unbeaten Hong Kong comfortably by seven wickets on Tuesday.
That win leaves the UAE briefly in second place in Group A and in strong hold of a top-three berth that could eventually see them head to Bangladesh next March with a shot at playing in the World Twenty20.
Aziz’s second spell was the vital one, stifling Hong Kong’s aspirations of a biggish total. At 93 for two after 12 overs, with captain Jamie Atkinson in buoyant form, a total of 170 was not outlandish.
Aziz had already picked up one, but when he came back on, he strangled the rate and took two wickets in the 18th over to puncture those hopes. Manjula Guruge picked up two more in the next and suddenly the total was well within range. “Those two are our main bowlers,” Khurram Khan, the UAE captain, said after the win. “Whenever we need wickets, or to break a partnership or to put a brake on the runs, we call on them.
“They’ve been performing throughout and it’s routine now that they come back in their second spells and put the brakes on.”
Aziz has seven wickets for the tournament now, but also one lingering question mark. He has been reported once before, in 2011, though he was then cleared. He now faces an anxious wait to see how much further he will be allowed to participate.
The Emirates Cricket Board has to send in a report on his action to the ICC within seven days of the original call; the UAE’s next game is against Canada on Friday, a week from when Aziz was called. Only on the basis of that report will the UAE know of Aziz’s future involvement.
Not that it is worrying him, as Khurram conceded, or the team, particularly.
“It’s not affected him at all,” Khurram said. “He’s been bowling superbly throughout it all and it’s kind of cleared his mind. He just wants to go and bowl out there, whatever happened has happened. It doesn’t affect us so much. We have good bench strength, three other bowlers sitting in wait. We’re going to take it one game at a time.”
It is a batsmen’s game so the final word — and match award — went to Khurram himself. He has become a bit of an Atlas for the UAE’s batting and it was his composed 67, unbeaten, that led them home.
They were struggling when he walked in, at 22 for two. He took a few balls to settle down, but once he had stepped out and caressed a boundary over extra cover, he was away.
The real burst came from the ninth over onwards, two fours and a flurry of sixes — four from Khurram alone — effectively settling the chase. Two wickets as well meant the award was deserved.
“When I was coming into bat, I was just thinking today is my day,” he said. “I have to go out there and bat. The wicket was very good if you play normal, proper cricket.
“We have to keep winning because with three, four games left, it’s going to move around. We’ll take it one game at a time and try to keep winning. That’s the best way to qualify.”
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
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Global institutions: BlackRock and KKR
US-based BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with $5.98 trillion of assets under management as of the end of last year. The New York firm run by Larry Fink provides investment management services to institutional clients and retail investors including governments, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, banks and charitable foundations around the world, through a variety of investment vehicles.
KKR & Co, or Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is a global private equity and investment firm with around $195 billion of assets as of the end of last year. The New York-based firm, founded by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, invests in multiple alternative asset classes through direct or fund-to-fund investments with a particular focus on infrastructure, technology, healthcare, real estate and energy.
Section 375
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Director: Ajay Bahl
Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak & SCIPL
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Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
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Rating: 4/5
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
Price: Dh306,495
On sale: now
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.
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In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
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Norway 1 Spain 1
Norway: King (90 4')
Spain: Niguez (47')
My Cat Yugoslavia by Pajtim Statovci
Pushkin Press
The bio
Academics: Phd in strategic management in University of Wales
Number one caps: His best-seller caps are in shades of grey, blue, black and yellow
Reading: Is immersed in books on colours to understand more about the usage of different shades
Sport: Started playing polo two years ago. Helps him relax, plus he enjoys the speed and focus
Cars: Loves exotic cars and currently drives a Bentley Bentayga
Holiday: Favourite travel destinations are London and St Tropez
MATCH INFO
Red Star Belgrade v Tottenham Hotspur, midnight (Thursday), UAE
Nick's journey in numbers
Countries so far: 85
Flights: 149
Steps: 3.78 million
Calories: 220,000
Floors climbed: 2,000
Donations: GPB37,300
Prostate checks: 5
Blisters: 15
Bumps on the head: 2
Dog bites: 1
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.
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
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Price, base / as tested: Dh259,000
Engine: 6.4-litre V8
Power: 475hp @ 6,000rpm
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Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.7L / 100km
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SQUADS
UAE
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice-captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan
Nepal
Paras Khadka (captain), Gyanendra Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Pradeep Airee, Binod Bhandari, Avinash Bohara, Sundeep Jora, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Rohit Paudel, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Basant Regmi, Pawan Sarraf, Bhim Sharki, Aarif Sheikh
Stage 3 results
1 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 4:42:33
2 Tadej Pocagar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:03
3 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana 0:01:30
4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ
5 Rafal Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe
6 Diego Ulissi (ITA) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:56
General Classification after Stage 3:
1 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 12:30:02
2 Tadej Pocagar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:07
3 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana 0:01:35
4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:40
5 Rafal Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe
6 Wilco Kelderman (NED) Team Sunweb) 0:02:06