The Asia Cup’s most anticipated fixture again descended into controversy on Sunday as India defeated Pakistan by six wickets in Dubai, with both teams once more refusing to shake hands at the end of play.
It was the second such incident in a week after the group-stage meeting between the two sides ended in similar acrimony, underlining the simmering political tensions that continue to frame the rivalry. The South Asian neighbours have not played a bilateral series since 2012, restricting their encounters to multi-team tournaments.
Pakistan seemed to have the upper hand halfway through the first innings, scoring close to 10 an over and with nine wickets in hand. However, a stunning fightback by India saw them score no boundaries for six overs, taking momentum out of their innings.
Pakistan stuttered their way to 171-5, which was well short of the target they had in mind after 10 overs. India openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill decimated Pakistan's bowling in a whirlwind century stand to set up a comfortable win.
Suryakumar Yadav, India’s captain, played down the significance of the stand-off, insisting that the cricket itself told the story. “You guys should stop asking questions about the rivalry between India-Pakistan,” he said. “According to me, if two teams play 15-20 matches, and if it is even, then it is a rivalry. 13-0, 10-1 … I don’t know what the stat is, but this is not a rivalry anymore.”
His comments came after India registered a 12th win in 15 T20 Internationals against Pakistan, chasing down a target of 172 with seven balls to spare. Opener Abhishek blazed 74 off 39 deliveries, striking six fours and five sixes in a ferocious innings that set the tone. He and Shubman Gill (47) put on 105 for the first wicket in under 10 overs.
Abhishek admitted afterwards that words had been exchanged with Pakistan’s Haris Rauf during the chase. “The way they were coming at us for no reason, I didn’t like it at all and this is the only way I could give medicine to them,” he said.
Pakistan’s innings had promised much after Sahibzada Farhan’s half-century took them to 91-1 after 10 overs, but a middle-overs collapse restricted them to 171-5.
Salman Agha, their captain, conceded his team were 15–20 runs short. “We have yet to play a perfect game in this event,” he said. “After being 91 in 10 overs we lost our way, but still felt 171 was a challenging total.”
India briefly wobbled when Gill, Suryakumar and Abhishek fell in quick succession, but Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 30 saw them home, finishing the match with a six and a four off Shaheen Afridi.
It was a far from perfect outing for India though. The world champions dropped four catches during the match and Suryakumar said they would address the issue ahead of their next Super Four fixture against Bangladesh on Wednesday in Dubai.
"The fielding coach has sent an email to the boys, who had butter fingers, to appear before him at his office," he added.
"But this happens, it is a part of the game. I am okay with it because it happened in the first game itself, and we have more crucial games to go."
Pakistan next face Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. The top two teams from the Super Four will contest the final on September 28 – though the fallout from the continuing handshake row looks likely to dominate.
The biog
Year of birth: 1988
Place of birth: Baghdad
Education: PhD student and co-researcher at Greifswald University, Germany
Hobbies: Ping Pong, swimming, reading
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.”
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
the pledge
I pledge to uphold the duty of tolerance
I pledge to take a first stand against hate and injustice
I pledge to respect and accept people whose abilities, beliefs and culture are different from my own
I pledge to wish for others what I wish for myself
I pledge to live in harmony with my community
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I pledge to do my part to create peace for all
I pledge to exercise benevolence and choose kindness in all my dealings with my community
I pledge to always stand up for these values: Zayed's values for tolerance and human fraternity
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
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