LONDON // If Twenty20 cricket's boom, which was originally fuelled by India winning the inaugural world title, is about to be followed by the bust, then the signs were not immediately apparent yesterday.
Lord's is a surreal place on non-match days. Hours after the London contingent of the Blue Billion - India's legion of fans - had vacated cricket's headquarters broken hearted, the now silent stands were being swept, while on the field, three groundsmen quietly tended the square.
Two lanes of the ground's indoor school were occupied, one by a female member of the MCC Young Cricketers programme, the other by an Indian boy wearing a replica shirt of the Mumbai Indians.
The stocky youth, batting left-handed and wielding a Sachin Tendulkar autograph MRF bat, was bashing balls fed from a bowling machine around with abandon. Like a young Yuvraj Singh, perhaps.
Or, more accurately, a young Tendulkar. The Little Maestro himself was the one feeding the machine for his son, Arjun, to hit. He has a house in the near vicinity, and has been an impassioned observer of their plight at the World Twenty20.
Tendulkar has no qualms about his son having a shirt of his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, even if it does not have his name on the back. Twenty20 is still the in-thing in India.
They were the last side to agree to play in the 2007 World Twenty20, and even had to be coaxed to join in by the ICC. Now this version of the game, with the financial influence wielded by the IPL, is virtually their sole possession.
The small matter of an early exit from the second running of the world showpiece is unlikely to alter that, according to the Team India captain, Mahendra Dhoni.
"Frankly speaking, I don't think it will have any impact at all," he said, after his side's crucial three-run defeat to the host nation, England. "It is not about a couple of series or the World Cup, or any other tournaments. We lost in the 50-over version in 2007, but it never had an impact on the team.
"If you do well over a period of time, you do tend to relax a bit," he added. "Games like this, when you go out of tournaments, really encourage you to do well and perform in future. We have the opportunity to bounce back.
"In cricket, once you get bogged down and are desperate to win, you are not really at your best. This is a good learning experience. It is a good shock for the team."
Dhoni, the golden boy turned embattled captain, now has a new slant on the maxim that "sport doesn't build character, it reveals it". His stewardship - which is under even more intense scrutiny in the wake of this early exit - was delivered a severe jolt when he was implicated in a row over the fitness of Virender Sehwag, the influential opening batsman.
The accusations that it was Dhoni who leaked the information about Sehwag's fitness problems to the press - which he refuted - sullied his previously sound relationship with India's voracious press corps. But he chose to focus his attention on the cricket, when he said: "The dressing room atmosphere was great, even though we lost quite a few games when it comes to the format."
Dhoni's side will have no more than pride to play for when they meet the in-form South Africans at Trent Bridge today.
The Proteas are to rest all-rounder Jacques Kallis as a precaution. Kallis has a problem with a strain in his upper back, and his captain Graeme Smith explained there is no reason to risk him in a match South Africa do not need to win.
pradley@thenational.ae
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Essentials
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Malaysia Airlines all fly direct from the UAE to Kuala Lumpur and on to Penang from about Dh2,300 return, including taxes.
Where to stay
In Kuala Lumpur, Element is a recently opened, futuristic hotel high up in a Norman Foster-designed skyscraper. Rooms cost from Dh400 per night, including taxes. Hotel Stripes, also in KL, is a great value design hotel, with an infinity rooftop pool. Rooms cost from Dh310, including taxes.
In Penang, Ren i Tang is a boutique b&b in what was once an ancient Chinese Medicine Hall in the centre of Little India. Rooms cost from Dh220, including taxes.
23 Love Lane in Penang is a luxury boutique heritage hotel in a converted mansion, with private tropical gardens. Rooms cost from Dh400, including taxes.
In Langkawi, Temple Tree is a unique architectural villa hotel consisting of antique houses from all across Malaysia. Rooms cost from Dh350, including taxes.
Juliot Vinolia’s checklist for adopting alternate-day fasting
- Don’t do it more than once in three days
- Don’t go under 700 calories on fasting days
- Ensure there is sufficient water intake, as the body can go in dehydration mode
- Ensure there is enough roughage (fibre) in the food on fasting days as well
- Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days
- Complement fasting with plant-based foods, fruits, vegetables, seafood. Cut out processed meats and processed carbohydrates
- Manage your sleep
- People with existing gastric or mental health issues should avoid fasting
- Do not fast for prolonged periods without supervision by a qualified expert
US PGA Championship in numbers
1 Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.
2 To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.
3 Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.
4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.
5 In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.
6 For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.
7 Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.
8 Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.
9 Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.
10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.
11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.
12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.
13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.
14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.
15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.
16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.
17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.
18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).
Frida%20
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Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
MO
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Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Crime%20Wave
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
