A fabulous century by Travis Head helped to guide Australia to a six-wicket win over hosts India in the World Cup final at Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.
Chasing a victory target of 241 after an impressive bowling performance, Australia looked in a spot of bother after losing three early wickets with David Warner (seven), Mitchell Marsh (15) and Steve Smith (four) all falling cheaply.
But that brought Marnus Labuschagne to the crease and his partnership with Head would prove to be the game-changing one that would leave the 100,000-plus crowd of predominantly Indian fans sitting in stunned silence.
The pair put together a stand of 192 with Head out for 137 and Labuschagne finishing unbeaten on 58 as Glenn Maxwell hit the winning runs that secured Australia a record-extending sixth one-day world title with 42 balls to spare.
The 29-year-old was not even in the country when the campaign began, joining up late due to a fractured left hand that sidelined him for Australia's first four matches, but the selectors' faith paid off lavishly after he followed up his player-of-the-match effort in the semi-final against South Africa with something even better.
It capped an impressive year for Australia and Head, who also scored a ton in Australia's World Test Championship final win over India, when he scored a first-innings 163 to put his side on the way to 209-run victory at The Oval.
“Not in a million years did I think that would happen,” said Head of his efforts. “What an amazing day. I'm just thrilled to be a part of it.
“It is a lot better than being sat on the couch at home! I'm very lucky that everything went well and I was able to get back and repay the support that the boys showed, I didn't think this would happen.
“I was nervous in the first 20 balls but Marnus [Labuschagne] batted brilliantly and it is great to bat with him. It was an amazing partnership.”
Earlier, Australia captain Pat Cummins made the brave, and what turned out to be inspired, decision to bowl first in Ahmedabad.
The initial skirmishes were suitably thrilling, India hammering 80 off the first 10 overs while also losing both openers – Shubman Gill for four while captain Rohit Sharma hit three sixes in his rapid 47.
Shreyas Iyer was LBW to Cummins for four before a painstaking stand of 67 between Virat Kohli and KL Rahul. Their time together was tough going, with a solitary boundary in 109 deliveries as Australia exerted admirable control of foreign conditions.
Both batters made gritty half-centuries – tournament top-scorer Kohli doing so for the ninth time in 11 knocks at the World Cup – but neither could kick-on to three figures.
Kohli dragged Cummins back into his stumps searching for width on 54 – as he finished the tournament with a mighty 765 runs, at an average of 95.62 – and Rahul nicked Mitchell Starc behind for 66 as the ball began to reverse.
That was the first of five wickets for 37 in the closing stages, India all out courtesy of a run out from the last ball of the innings. Cummins took a vital haul of 2-34, while Mitchell Starc claimed 3-55 in what was an excellent bowling effort from the Australians.
“Pat Cummins was phenomenal, I think he’s been phenomenal all tournament with his decision making,” said Starc. “At times he’s had to step up with the ball and when it’s been a bit flat, he’s been phenomenal.”
India, though, looked like they were not going to go down without a fight, with Warner nicking the first ball of the chase off Jasprit Bumrah between first and second slip for four.
Warner nicked Mohammed Shami behind chasing a ball he had no business playing, Mitch Marsh departed with similar carelessness against Bumrah and linchpin Steve Smith accepted an LBW decision that would have been overturned by DRS.
But that brought together Head and Labuschagne, with the latter content to play the supporting role, it was the former took charge with his knock coming off 120 balls, containing 15 fours and four sixes.
Head was denied the tournament-winning moment when he picked out Gill on the ropes, but was rightly mobbed by his teammates as they basked in the moment.
As for India, their dreams of winning in front of their home fans were over in brutal fashion.
“I mean the result hasn't gone our way and we know that we were not good enough on the day,” said Rohit. “But I'm proud of the team.”
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Fines for littering
In Dubai:
Dh200 for littering or spitting in the Dubai Metro
Dh500 for throwing cigarette butts or chewing gum on the floor, or littering from a vehicle.
Dh1,000 for littering on a beach, spitting in public places, throwing a cigarette butt from a vehicle
In Sharjah and other emirates
Dh500 for littering - including cigarette butts and chewing gum - in public places and beaches in Sharjah
Dh2,000 for littering in Sharjah deserts
Dh500 for littering from a vehicle in Ras Al Khaimah
Dh1,000 for littering from a car in Abu Dhabi
Dh1,000 to Dh100,000 for dumping waste in residential or public areas in Al Ain
Dh10,000 for littering at Ajman's beaches
MATCH INFO
Sheffield United 2 Bournemouth 1
United: Sharp (45 2'), Lundstram (84')
Bournemouth: C Wilson (13')
Man of the Match: Jack O’Connell (Sheffield United)
Indika
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The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFirst%20match%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2020%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%2016%20round%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%203%20to%206%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EQuarter-finals%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%209%20and%2010%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESemi-finals%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%2013%20and%2014%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%2018%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
Frida%20
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The view from The National
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Blah
Started: 2018
Founder: Aliyah Al Abbar and Hend Al Marri
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and talent management
Initial investment: Dh20,000
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 40
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
