KOLKATA, India // Rahul Dravid cracked a brilliant 119 to put India on course for a big total on the opening day of the second Test against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday.
The 38-year-old batsman hit two sixes and nine fours in his 36th Test hundred, and the fifth of the year, as the hosts reached 346 for five in their first innings at stumps after winning the toss on a good batting pitch.
Only India's Sachin Tendulkar (51), South African Jacques Kallis (40) and Australian Ricky Ponting (39) have scored more Test centuries than Dravid.
India lead 1-0 in the three-Test series following their five-wicket win in the opening match in New Delhi.
Dravid never looked in trouble in his 207-ball knock, impressing with his shot-selection during his long stay at the crease to put India in a strong position with three valuable partnerships.
He added 83 runs for the second wicket with Gautam Gambhir (65), 56 for the next with Tendulkar and 140 for the fourth wicket with VVS Laxman, who was unbeaten with a solid 73 when bad light stopped play.
Dravid completed his hundred when he turned a no-ball from paceman Kemar Roach behind square-leg for a four before inside-edging part-time spinner Kraigg Brathwaite's delivery on to his stumps in the day's penultimate over.
"It feels that I am in some good form. I have hit a good patch and I am in a good space with my game, so I am really trying to make it count," said Dravid.
"Cricket is a funny game and you never know when the tough time is around the corner, but as long as you have the good time going, you have to keep it going.
"[Getting out in closing overs] was a little disappointing. It would have been nice to start fresh tomorrow. It's always better to come back fresh the next day with a hundred behind you."
India lost one more wicket when nightwatchman Ishant Sharma was caught behind off Roach.
Laxman, who made an unbeaten 58 in the last Test, has so far hit five fours in his second successive half-century.
Tendulkar, who needs just one hundred to complete an unprecedented 100th international century, had been batting confidently before falling for 38, pulling leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo to Marlon Samuels at mid-wicket.
Dravid continued to bat comfortably against both pace and spin, lofting Bishoo over long-off and part-time spinner Samuels over long-on for sixes.
Tendulkar, who has also scored 48 hundreds in one-day internationals, looked in excellent form as he turned Fidel Edwards to fine-leg for his first four and then drove Roach through the covers for another boundary.
He survived a confident appeal for leg-before on 25 while attempting to sweep Bishoo before being dismissed by the same bowler in the afternoon session, much to the disappointment of nearly 10,000 spectators.
The West Indies struggled for success on a pitch which had little in it for the bowlers, with seamer Darren Sammy, Edwards, Bishoo, Roach and Brathwaite each taking one wicket.
"It was a tough day for us because there was nothing in the pitch for the bowlers," said West Indies coach Ottis Gibson.
"But India did collapse in the first innings of the last Test and we are hoping something like that happens here too."
Gambhir fell to a loose shot, driving an Edwards delivery straight to Adrian Barath at short cover after adding eight runs to his lunch score of 57. He hit eight fours in his 17th half-century in 43 Tests.
India got off to a solid start as Gambhir and aggressive Virender Sehwag (38) put on 66 in 12.1 overs for the opening wicket.
Sehwag played some handsome shots against the West Indies pace attack, hitting eight fours in his brisk 33-ball knock before driving Sammy straight to Barath at short mid-wicket.
Director: Romany Saad
Starring: Mirfat Amin, Boumi Fouad and Tariq Al Ibyari
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THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
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.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded