ALSO: India unlikely to play two spinners to remain unpredictable
Pakistan are World Cup contenders with in-form Shahid Afridi
BANGALORE // Andrew Strauss said he would love nothing more than to "spoil an Indian party here in Bangalore", while MS Dhoni reckoned that the pressure on the home team was no different heading into this game.
The World Cup clash today between England and India has been the most eagerly anticipated of the first-round games. The build-up has been intense, including highly publicised clashes between police and fans who were frustrated by the scarcity of tickets available to the public.
Javagal Srinath, a former Indian player who is now an administrator, said that even if the 40,000 capacity at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore had been tripled it would not have been enough to accommodate the demand for India's first home game.
"It's going to be a huge atmosphere," said Strauss, the England captain. "It's one of those games that everyone dreams of playing, against India at the World Cup on their home turf."
Dhoni, the India captain, said his squad has prepared for the match as they would for any encounter.
"For us, each and every game is important," he said. "We prepare likewise for every game - Bangladesh, England, Australia, Ireland. It's an important game, but the preparation remains the same."
He also said that India's players would not be distracted by the attention given to the game. "One thing about the Indian cricket team, I have never played a series when we're not under pressure, whether it is the pressure of winning the game or of playing against a strong opponent," he said.
"Most of the guys are used to it, especially since the IPL when you're playing for the franchise and under pressure to win games and qualify for the next stage."
A defeat for either side will not end their World Cup hopes, but there is a strong incentive to finish at the top of Group B. Given a choice between a possible quarter-final against New Zealand or a tougher test against Australia, Sri Lanka or Pakistan, it is clear what these two teams would prefer.
Though they have won three matches apiece in World Cup encounters, India have dominated against England when playing at home.
England's past two one-day series in India resulted in 1-5 and 0-5 defeats, and their last win of any consequence on Indian soil came nearly a decade ago, when the now-retired Andrew Flintoff had his shirtless celebration at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
It is hard to predict how the Bangalore pitch will play today. The torrential rains that lashed the city on Friday morning stayed away yesterday, but neither team were prepared to finalise an XI with more cloudy weather expected.
When South Africa defeated Australia in a World Cup warm-up, it was low and slow. But a few days earlier, there had been dramatic turn as India defended a low score against Australia, with Piyush Chawla taking four wickets.
After Sreesanth's wayward bowling in the opening match against Bangladesh, Chawla will certainly be in contention for a place. And after playing just the one spinner, Graeme Swann, against the Netherlands, England too could strengthen their slow-bowling component with Michael Yardy coming in.
James Anderson went wicketless in Nagpur, but if conditions are overcast, he remains England's trump card against a top order that has no equal in the game. Unlike the red ball that he has mastered, though, Anderson is noticeably less proficient with the white one, especially once it gets scuffed up on abrasive Indian pitches.
England have no option but to start well.
Virender Sehwag is a more patient man these days, and the manner in which he and Virat Kohli savaged Bangladesh showed just how slim the margin for error is. In Sehwag's case, even the good balls can go for four.
sports@thenational.ae
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
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
'Nope'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jordan%20Peele%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Daniel%20Kaluuya%2C%20Keke%20Palmer%2C%20Brandon%20Perea%2C%20Steven%20Yeun%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Avatar%20(2009)
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJames%20Cameron%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESam%20Worthington%2C%20Zoe%20Saldana%2C%20Sigourney%20Weaver%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
EA%20Sports%20FC%2024
%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20EA%20Vancouver%2C%20EA%20Romania%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20EA%20Sports%3Cbr%3EConsoles%3A%20Nintendo%20Switch%2C%20PlayStation%204%26amp%3B5%2C%20PC%20and%20Xbox%20One%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
