Rajasthan Royals' Shane Warne, third from right, took three wickets for 16 runs yesterday.
Rajasthan Royals' Shane Warne, third from right, took three wickets for 16 runs yesterday.

Warne hails Watson as 'best player in the world'



The Rajasthan Royals ended a three-match losing streak in the Indian Premier League after a match-winning innings by "the world's best player".

Their eight-wicket win over the Kochi Tuskers Kerala at Jaipur came thanks to Shane Watson (49) and Rahul Dravid (44) and the victory lifted them to second in the points table.

Shane Warne, their captain, said in a post-match television interview: "Our intensity was very good from ball one, the boys showed a lot of character today, it was a satisfying win.

"Watson is such a super player, arguably the best player in the world at moment. We don't look too much at the table, we are still at the halfway stage. We have four to five days off now, looking forward to that."

Warne led the Royals' revival on home soil with figures of three for 16 to finish off Kochi's top half, and Siddharth Trivedi then helped wrap up the innings for just 109 with his three for 19.

Rajasthan were superb in the outfield, with five catches and two run-outs.

Kochi were always struggling with the run-rate - after openers VVS Laxman (eight) and Mahela Jayawardene (13) departed early - only reaching 32 in six overs before Warne bowled fellow Australian Brad Hodge for eight.

Things improved slightly as Parthiv Patel (32 off 34) led a patient 48-run combination with Ravindra Jadeja (22 off 23) but Warne struck twice in successive deliveries to dispatch the duo and leave Kochi on 90 for five.

No other batsman was able to break into double figures subsequently as Trivedi stepped up to quickly dismiss Raiphi Gomez and Thisara Perera. He later accounted for Kedar Jadhav after Amit Singh had taken care of Vinay Kumar.

Dravid and Watson, the Royals openers, were in imperious form with the bat as they steadily took the total to 70 inside 11 overs.

Dravid played an uncharacteristically quickfire knock that included four boundaries and a six before being run out to give Kochi a glimmer of hope.

But Watson kept Rajasthan in cruise control, striking four boundaries of his own - not to mention two sixes off Muttiah Muralitharan - in a 34-run stand with Johan Botha (14 not out).

Watson was bowled short of his 50 by Jadeja but Botha was on hand to hit the winning boundary and spark the home celebrations.

Mahela Jayawardene, the Kochi captain, said: "It was going to be a tough task with the dew, we needed another 20-30 runs.

"We didn't bat well and they bowled well up front. Rahul and Watto showed their experience, played really well.

"After the start we had, I thought 120-130 was a good score, but we couldn't execute, [there is] plenty to learn from this. It is a close table, we need to keep focus."

* Compiled by The National staff, with agencies

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

What is a calorie?

A food calorie, or kilocalorie, is a measure of nutritional energy generated from what is consumed.

One calorie, is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C.

A kilocalorie represents a 1,000 true calories of energy.

Energy density figures are often quoted as calories per serving, with one gram of fat in food containing nine calories, and a gram of protein or carbohydrate providing about four.

Alcohol contains about seven calories a gram. 

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Cryopreservation: A timeline
  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
  2. Ovarian tissue surgically removed
  3. Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
  4. Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
  5. Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
FIXTURES

Nov 04-05: v Western Australia XI, Perth
Nov 08-11: v Cricket Australia XI, Adelaide
Nov 15-18 v Cricket Australia XI, Townsville (d/n)
Nov 23-27: 1ST TEST v AUSTRALIA, Brisbane
Dec 02-06: 2ND TEST v AUSTRALIA, Adelaide (d/n)
Dec 09-10: v Cricket Australia XI, Perth
Dec 14-18: 3RD TEST v AUSTRALIA, Perth
Dec 26-30 4TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Melbourne
Jan 04-08: 5TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Sydney

Note: d/n = day/night

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MATCH INFO

Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)

Match on BeIN Sports

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
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Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'

Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.

Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.

"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.

"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.

"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888