Banton, Pooran steer MI Emirates to emphatic 26-run triumph over Dubai Capitals

Tom Banton of MI Emirates plays a shot during the match 4 of the DP World ILT20 against Dubai Capitals at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Mnday night (Deepak Malik/ILT20)
Short Url
Updated 14 January 2025
Follow

Banton, Pooran steer MI Emirates to emphatic 26-run triumph over Dubai Capitals

  • Victory at Zayed Cricket Stadium was MI Emirates’ first win of the DP World ILT20 season

ABU DHABI: The MI Emirates cruised to their first win of the DP World ILT20 season against the Dubai Capitals at Zayed Cricket Stadium on Monday evening.

With half-centuries from Tom Banton and Nicholas Pooran, the MI Emirates clinched a 26-run win.

Shai Hope was the star of the match with a magnificent 101 runs in 59 balls, but it was in vain as the Dubai Capitals lost to the MI Emirates for the first time in the tournament’s history.

The course of the game turned in favor of the MI Emirates with Fazalhaq Farooqi’s over, where he picked up two wickets and conceded just three runs.

With the Capitals chasing a daunting target of 188, the MI Emirates opened their bowling with spin. Akeal Hosein was handed the new ball and the move nearly paid off in the third over.

This was when Ben Dunk skied a quicker one, but Waqar Salamkheil dropped the sitter. Hope, at the other end, did the bulk of the scoring and anchored the Capitals’ innings.

Alzarri Joseph gave the MI Emirates the breakthrough as he bowled Dunk in the sixth over, but Hope motored on at the other end and brought up his 50 in 32 deliveries.

Hope and McMullen put up 61 for the second wicket before the latter was stumped by Pooran. It was a redemption tale for Salamkheil as he finally got his man.

Hope remained unscathed and hit AM Ghazanfar for a four and six as he brought up his T20 career’s second century. This was the first century scored by a Dubai Capitals player and also the third 100 in the history of the DP World ILT20. Hope fell with the next ball.

The momentum swung the MI Emirates’ way thereafter as Farooqi dismissed Sikandar Raza with a toe-crushing yorker. Farooqi made it two in two as he crafted another brilliant yorker to get rid of Dasun Shanaka’s off-stump.

The Dubai Capitals were left to rue their chances as Zahoor Khan bowled a fantastic 19th over, giving away just one run. The Dubai Capitals needed 36 in the final over, but it proved to be too steep a hill to climb.

Earlier in the evening, the MI Emirates stuttered as Dushmantha Chameera was on the money in his very first delivery. He outfoxed Kusala Perera and dislodged his leg stump to give the Dubai Capitals an early footing in the game.

Banton joined Muhammed Waseem in the middle and the duo offered the MI Emirates much-needed stability with a key partnership of 38 runs that was littered with boundaries.

However, Raza made amends for a missed catch earlier as he found the stumps with a stunning throw from mid-off and Waseem returned to the pavilion for 18. The powerplay ended with the MI Emirates putting up 50 for two, with both teams having plenty of positive takeaways.

Banton continued to thrive on one end, bringing up his half-century in style as he swept Zahir Khan for a huge six on the leg side to wrap up the 11th over.

Coming in at number four, Pooran joined the party as he clobbered two fours and six sixes in a 29-ball endeavor that yielded 59 runs. Pooran took Olly Stone for three successive sixes in the 15th over.

The skipper began his onslaught with a perfectly timed scoop, the next was a fortunate edge that sailed over the ropes, and the third was a repeat of the first. In pursuit of a fourth consecutive maximum, he holed out to Shanaka at deep midwicket.

Stone struck again in the 18th over as he got rid of Banton, the architect of MI Emirates’ innings, for a top score of 74 runs in 52 balls.

Romario Shepherd, Kieron Pollard and Joseph made up Gulbadin Naib’s second consecutive three-wicket haul in the final over as the Capitals restricted the MI Emirates to 187 for seven.

Expressing his regret on not bringing the Capitals home, centurion Hope said: “A 100 always feels a lot sweeter when you end up on the winning side.

“Just unfortunate I could not get the team there, but we just fell short with the bat. It was a pretty good pitch, and I thought we did well to restrict them to under 200.”

Meanwhile, Player of the Match, Banton remarked: “It was tricky to begin with. We spoke pre-game that someone’s got to bat through the innings. I looked to put pressure back on the bowlers when the ball was in my area.

“I’ve played a lot of cricket here and the wickets are always good. It’s my first year here, I was with MI Cape Town last year. Someone has to put his hand up every game, and today it was me.”

Brief scores:

MI Emirates beat Dubai Capitals by 26 runs.

MI Emirates 187-7 in 20 overs (Tom Banton 74, Nicholas Pooran 59, Kieron Pollard 22, Gulbadin Naib 3 for 27).

Dubai Capitals 161-6 in 20 overs (Shai Hope 101, Brandon McMullen 16, Fazalhaq Farooqi 2 for 22).


Horsfield leads, Reed hits hole-in-one at LIV Golf Adelaide

Updated 39 sec ago
Follow

Horsfield leads, Reed hits hole-in-one at LIV Golf Adelaide

  • Torque top the team competition leaderboard after first round at Grange Golf Club

ADELAIDE: Patrick Reed started the celebrations early in Friday’s opening round at LIV Golf Adelaide, while Majesticks GC’s Sam Horsfield and a couple of Torque GC teammates followed with the lowest scores on what proved to be a challenging day at The Grange.

Horsfield moved atop the individual leaderboard with a 6-under 66, while Torque took the team lead at 8 under thanks to a pair of 67s by captain Joaquin Niemann and Carlos Ortiz.

Defending champions Ripper GC received massive support from the Australian fans but struggled to generate many fireworks. They will play catch-up this weekend, starting Saturday’s second round 11 shots behind.

But it was Reed who produced the biggest shot of the day, with a hole-in-one at the Watering Hole less than 20 minutes after the shotgun start. His 8-iron at the 151-yard par 3 set off scenes reminiscent of two years ago, when Chase Koepka delivered LIV Golf’s first ace at the famous party hole. Reed’s ace is the ninth in league history.

“It’s awesome to give the fans what they want,” said Reed on his fifth competitive ace — and sixth overall — of his career. “That’s why we want to be out here: Golf, but louder.”

The hole-in-one was one of the few highlights of his 1-over 73, however, with the rest of the day belonging to several other competitors.

Among them were multiple major winners Dustin Johnson (68), Bryson DeChambeau (68) and Brooks Koepka (69), each inside the top 10 on the leaderboard.

But it was Horsfield who emerged with the solo lead, thanks to shooting the only bogey-free round of the day. In fact, he has made just one bogey in his last 60 holes going back to last week’s LIV Golf Riyadh, when he tied for 12th. He’ll enter this weekend in search of his first LIV Golf title.

“I feel like I’m playing really, really good,” said the Englishman. “Played solid last week. It's just nice to see that momentum from last week carry over and be able to put a low one out there today and try to do more of the same this weekend.”

Ortiz held the solo lead until a couple of late bogeys, and his captain Niemann also shared it temporarily until suffering his only bogey of the day on his next-to-last hole. Still, it was a productive afternoon for both players, who combined to win three individual titles a year ago.

“It’s unbelievable,” Ortiz said of the atmosphere in Adelaide. “The people here are great. The music is even better. This is probably my favorite tournament I’ve ever played in.”

Niemann tied for third in Adelaide a year ago and won the Australian Open in 2023. He said the enthusiastic Australian golf fans were definitely a factor in his performance Down Under.

“The Australian crowd is really good. They kind of like me a little bit, I think, and you can feel the energy,” he said. “There (are) a few guys following around, really energized, enjoying my shots, enjoying when I was making a putt. So that gets me going.”

DeChambeau was 4-under through his first nine holes but two poor swings resulted in a double-bogey 7 at the par-5 ninth. Thanks to a hot putter, though, he battled back down the stretch to stay close to the leaders and give himself a shot at his first individual LIV Golf title since 2023.

“Certainly, this is one of the best LIV events, if not the best LIV event, on our schedule, and it’s a joy coming back here with the fans and the people and the atmosphere,” he said. “This is what LIV Golf is about.”

 

Team Scores

LIV Golf’s new scoring format made its debut in last week’s season opener in Riyadh, with all four scores now counting in every round in the team competition.

Here are the results and scores for each team after Friday’s 1 of LIV Golf Adelaide.

1. TORQUE GC -8 (Niemann 67, Ortiz 67, Pereira 72, Munoz 74)

T2. FIREBALLS GC -6 (Ancer 68, Puig 70, Garcia 71, Masaveu 73)

T2. LEGION XIII -6 (Hatton 70, McKibbin 70, Rahm 70, Surratt 72)

T2. 4ACES GC -6 (Johnson 68, Varner III 70, Pieters 71, Reed 73)

T5. STINGER GC -5 (Schwartzel 69, Burmester 70, Grace 72, Oosthuizen 72)

T5. CRUSHERS GC -5 (DeChambeau 68, Lahiri 71, Casey 72, Howell III 72)

7. MAJESTICKS GC -2 (Horsfield 66, Stenson 69, Poulter 74, Westwood 77)

8. HYFLYERS GC E (Ogletree 70, Tringale 71, Mickelson 72, Steele 75)

T9. SMASH GC +3 (Koepka 69, Kokrak 73, McDowell 73, Gooch 76)

T9. IRON HEADS GC +3 (Lee 70, Jang 71, Na 71, Ormsby 79)

T9. RIPPER GC +3 (Herbert 71, Smith 72, Leishman 73, Jones 75)

12. CLEEKS GC +4 (Bland 69, Meronk 71, Kaymer 73, Kjettrup 79)

13. RANGEGOATS GC +5 (Watson 70, Campbell 73, Uihlein 73, Wolff 77)

Wild Cards: Lee 72, Kim 73


Liverpool’s Slot admits ‘emotions got the better of me’, explaining derby red card

Updated 5 min 20 sec ago
Follow

Liverpool’s Slot admits ‘emotions got the better of me’, explaining derby red card

  • Arne Slot admitted “emotions got the better of me” after he was shown a red card following Liverpool’s fiery 2-2 Premier League draw against neighbors Everton in midweek
LIVERPOOL: Arne Slot admitted “emotions got the better of me” after he was shown a red card following Liverpool’s fiery 2-2 Premier League draw against neighbors Everton in midweek.
Liverpool were on course to extend their lead at the top of the table to nine points at Goodison Park on Wednesday but James Tarkowski struck a stunning volley to level in the eighth minute of stoppage time.
Abdoulaye Doucoure’s wild celebrations in front of the away fans sparked a furious reaction, with Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones confronting Doucoure, leading to the dismissal of both men.
With some supporters on the pitch, stewards and police became involved before Liverpool boss Slot and assistant Sipke Hulshoff were also sent off by referee Michael Oliver.
Slot, whose team host struggling Wolves on Sunday, is now waiting for the Football Association to review Oliver’s match report before he finds out what, if any, sanction he will face.
He could face no further action, be reminded of his responsibilities, or be charged, which would likely result in a touchline ban.
The Dutchman told reporters on Friday there were “many things in extra (stoppage) time that led to me being quite emotional” but was unwilling to go into details about the incident.
“I think what happened was that the extra time, the intentional five minutes that ended up being eight... and the emotions got the better of me,” said.
“And if I could do that differently, if I look back at it, I would love to do it differently. I’m hoping to do it differently next time as well, but what has exactly been said or what has happened, there’s an ongoing process and I don’t want to disturb that.”
Slot, in his first season at Anfield, praised his team’s mental strength in the highly charged atmosphere at Everton, who are much improved in recent weeks under David Moyes, back at Goodison Park for a second spell.
“We’ve been praised so many times this season about how well these players can play, but they showed a different side of themselves on Wednesday, in my opinion also much better than the year before (a 2-0 defeat),” he said.
“They were mentally so, so, so strong during a game that was played maybe in the most difficult circumstances for them as well, and to stay strong together, to fight so hard, to be mentally so strong, that gives me a lot of confidence for the upcoming 14 games.
“I already knew how well they can play, but the togetherness they showed during the 98 minutes shows me that we are a very, very difficult team to beat.”
Moyes, speaking at his own press conference on Friday, expressed his sympathy for the Liverpool manager.
“I feel a bit for Arne Slot because this is the thing when I was a younger manager, I was always getting involved in heated things,” he said.
“It shows he cares about his club and he’s fighting for his players.”

Raducanu set for Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships debut

Updated 16 min 20 sec ago
Follow

Raducanu set for Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships debut

  • Grand Slam winner and British No. 2 is awarded wildcard for WTA 1000 event taking place at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium from Feb. 16-23

DUBAI: Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu is poised to make her first appearance at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after the Grand Slam winner was awarded a wildcard for the landmark 25th anniversary of the WTA Tour event.

At the 2021 US Open, aged 18 years and 302 days, Raducanu became the youngest player to win a Grand Slam singles tournament since Maria Sharapova triumphed at Wimbledon in 2004. The victory in New York four years ago also saw Raducanu become the first qualifier in the Open Era to win a major championship and the first British female winner at the tournament since Virginia Wade in 1968.

Raducanu, currently ranked No. 60 in the world, recently competed in both the Qatar Open and Abu Dhabi Open while she reached the last 32 of the Australian Open where she was beaten in straight sets by five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek.

On Raducanu’s inclusion, Ramesh Cidambi, managing director of Dubai Duty Free and chairman of the tournament’s Organising Committee, said: “We are delighted to welcome Emma to the emirate for the first time as she competes in a landmark WTA edition of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. With one Grand Slam title to her name, Emma has underlined the talent she has and is a welcome addition to what is already a world-class field.”

Salah Tahlak, tournament director and deputy managing director of Dubai Duty Free, added: “It’s fantastic to see Emma participating in the WTA Tour event in Dubai for the first time. It’s clear for all to see that Emma possesses an enormous amount of talent and we look forward to watching her on court at this year’s Championships.”

This year’s women’s event is particularly poignant, as it marks the 25th anniversary of the WTA tournament in Dubai, a major milestone in the region’s tennis evolution. Italian Jasmine Paolini returns to defend her title but will face stiff competition from a star-studded field that includes nine of the top 10, including World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. With 36 of the world’s top 40 competing in the WTA 1000 event, this year’s edition will be the most competitive draw in its history.

The Championships’ on-court action begins on Sunday, Feb. 16 with the 25th anniversary of Dubai’s week-long WTA 1000 tournament, followed by the ATP 500 event starting Feb. 24.


‘Inside Ittihad’: From regional powerhouse to global household name

Updated 14 February 2025
Follow

‘Inside Ittihad’: From regional powerhouse to global household name

  • In the second of a three-part series, Arab News looks at how the Jeddah club are growing and developing their brand, both locally and internationally

AUSTRALIA: The name Al-Ittihad is now known around the world as much as it is regionally, thanks largely to the arrival of Karim Benzema,.

The Ballon d’Or winner turbocharged recognition of the club’s name among football aficionados around the world; these days, the team’s kit can be found on the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Rome or Rabat.

It has given the club an incredible platform on which to grow its international profile. However, perhaps conscious of how some European clubs have chased international support at the expense of domestic, Al-Ittihad insist their primary focus is the local fan base, especially within the immediate Middle East and North Africa region.

“What we’re trying to do, as of today, is to really focus on the local market,” explained Turki Khorsheed, the club’s senior branding manager.

“We are local first. We are trying to really enhance the local experience here from every touch point we’ve got in the digital ecosystem. We’re working on a very exciting project, digital transformation, to really expand the brand and how you can interact with it for the local market.

“The fans really want more. They really want more events, opportunities, touch points. Everyone is proud of the business. They want to see a store at every corner. So we’re working on that infrastructure, and then also using the stars as vehicles to talk to the global market.”

That’s not to say the club is uninterested in expanding the global fanbase — it has a large following in Brazil, France, Indonesia, India and China — but doing so is more a by-product of the work the league is doing than a central focus.

“As of today, the global stage, or the global arena, is kind of a secondary goal for us as it’s happening,” Khorsheed told Arab News.

“The SPL obviously has invested a lot in the league where it becomes more enjoyable for the global audience. Players are coming in from all the global teams, and kind of adding that global feel to the league and to the games. So we are kind of getting that halo effect from all of these initiatives that are happening.”

One of those, announced by the Saudi Pro League this week, is larger strategic investment in Brazil, with dedicated content tailored for the Brazilian market and a greater collaboration between leagues.

While the league does a lot of the heavy lifting, it does not mean Al-Ittihad are ignoring their global audience completely.

As the club, officially regarded as the oldest in the Kingdom, approaches its centennial celebrations in 2027, the focus is on preserving its heritage and working on ways to tell its story in a way that resonates with fans around the world.

Clubs everywhere are built on their history, and Al-Ittihad are determined to ensure theirs sits at the heart of everything they do; the word “heritage” was mentioned 12 times in the interview with Khorsheed.

“The heritage is a key aspect of this brand,” he explained. “It really brings all the culture. It brings everything behind the brand, as it’s something you can’t buy. It needs time, it needs care to really nurture, to have such a heritage filled history.

“We’re proud that we date back to 1927 and want to preserve that heritage whilst also improving and enhancing operations all across the business.”

He added: “What we’re doing today is we’re trying to preserve the heritage and to create this unique experience with the fans. By creating ‘Itti TV’ we’re working on something very exciting for the club, to preserve that heritage and to educate further the global audience on the history.

“We’re creating mini documentaries, some episodes, webisodes, podcasts to talk about the heritage. We’re working on a few projects, such as a museum, to really preserve the heritage.”

Other initiatives include pre-season tours, which last year took the team to Spain, Portugal and Italy for matches against clubs such as Sevilla, Real Betis and Inter Milan and tapped into new audiences.

Like every other aspect of the Al-Ittihad business, explored in Part One of Inside Ittihad, fan engagement strategies, marketing and branding are also undergoing a transformation.

Five new brand values spelling out the word “SUPER” — sportsmanship, unity, pioneering, excellence and resilience — have been developed to underpin everything Al-Ittihad does as a club.

Those values are borne out in projects like the new flagship retail store at Jeddah Park, which “merges tradition with innovation” through features such as a holographic portal and the “Itti Lab,” where fans can customize their merchandise.

Then there’s this year’s third kit, the club’s first-ever jersey designed using artificial intelligence which produced a striking design that was an instant hit with fans.

Further, as the club looks to enhance the value of the Al-Ittihad brand, there is the possibility of a new logo to coincide with the 2027 centennial celebrations.

“We are due a refresh of the brand and logo,” Khorsheed explained. “Obviously, there is a lot of chatter about brand lifecycles and when is the best time to move to a (new) brand. However, we are nearing the centennial. So with (that) comes an opportunity to kind of re-present the brand.”

Eagle-eyed fans will have already noticed the club has incorporated a new logo of sorts on its training apparel, as well as on this season’s away and third kits; the shield component stands alone, removed from the ‘1’ silhouette.

This, Khorsheed said, was a deliberate strategy to test the appetite for a new and improved brand moving forward.

“Obviously, the ‘1’ brings a lot of heritage to the brand and the business,” he said. “It’s very iconic, just to have that ‘1’ there, but having the (shield) inside it caused a few limitations when it (came) to scalability of the business.

“So this was more or less a test to see how well it is received, and to see how far we can take the logo. We just separated it as an activity, just to see how well it sits with audiences, (and) get a taste and a feel. And we’re getting all that data back. We’re doing qualitative and quantitative studies just to see what we want to do when it comes to the centennial (celebrations).”

Whether Benzema will be there for those celebrations remains to be seen. Certainly on current form, the Frenc legend easily has a few years left. But every player has an expiry date, and there will come a time when he moves on.

So while the club naturally leans into its Ballon d’Or-winning superstar, it is cautious not to tailor its entire identity and marketing around one player; a trap other clubs have fallen into on signing household names, only to struggle to define their identity when those players leave or retire.

“It’s just an opportunity for us to leverage a Ballon d’Or winner, to really bring that global audience,” Khorsheed said.

“Obviously, Karim is doing really well in the league, and he’s doing great from a brand level also, and from a PR communication level, he’s a pleasure to work with. The size of Karim and his presence at the club is rather large, so we really like to spearhead comms with him. He brings a kind of weight whenever we (use) him. So there are benefits.

“However, we’re not necessarily leaning towards him so hard where we’re kind of pushing the brand. The brand in itself is historic and very big.”


Timberwolves stun Thunder, Warriors hold off Rockets

Updated 14 February 2025
Follow

Timberwolves stun Thunder, Warriors hold off Rockets

  • In Dallas, the Mavericks backed up their gritty win over Golden State with a 118-113 victory the Miami Heat
  • In New Orleans, the Pelicans snapped their 10-game skid with a 140-133 overtime victory over the Sacramento Kings

LOS ANGELES: The short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves halted Oklahoma City’s seven-game NBA winning streak, beating the Western Conference-leading Thunder 116-101 on Thursday on the eve of the All-Star break.

The Thunder’s defeat — the first all season in which they trailed all the way — sends Oklahoma City into the break tied with Eastern Conference leaders Cleveland for best record in the league at 44-10.

With Rudy Gobert sidelined by back spasms, center Naz Reid scored 27 points with 13 rebounds, seven assists and a blocked shot to lead the Timberwolves.

Anthony Edwards added 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and Jaden McDaniels scored 21 for Minnesota, who bounced back from a narrow loss to the Milwaukee Bucks the night before.

“We were down a couple of guys,” Reid said. “We had big Rudy out today, so everybody had to step up big, and we all did.”

Oklahoma City’s MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points, ending his streak of 25-point games at 22.

He added nine assists and the Thunder had six players score in double figures, but they never recovered after surrendering 37 points in the first quarter.

Golden State star Stephen Curry scored 27 points to lead the Warriors in a 105-98 victory over the Rockets in Houston.

Curry, who will be making his 10th All-Star start when the mid-season festivities are held this weekend at the Warriors’ Chase Center arena in San Francisco, made just seven of his 17 attempts from the field, but that included five of the Warriors’ 11 three-pointers.

All five Golden State starters scored in double figures, with newly acquired Jimmy Butler contributing 19 with eight rebounds.

Aaron Holiday scored 25 points to lead the injury-depleted Rockets, who trailed by 24 late in the third quarter but twice pulled within two points in the fourth before the Warriors pulled away again.

“We just wanted to go into the break with a win,” Curry said of a Warriors team coming off a tough loss in Dallas on Wednesday.

“It’s kind of like a mental battle to get ready for this game, quick turnaround, a tough game last night that we felt like we should have won.

“Obviously Houston came back and played amazing, but we played with focus down the stretch and executed on both ends.”

In Dallas, the Mavericks backed up their gritty win over Golden State with a 118-113 victory the Miami Heat.

Dante Exum scored 27 points and Max Christie added 19 for the Mavs, who won despite seeing Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson join an extensive injury list that already featured Anthony Davis.

The superstar big man suffered an adductor strain in his first game since he arrived in the sensational trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Mavs withstood a 40-point night from Miami’s Tyler Herro to come out on top in a back-and-forth battle that featured 32 lead changes.

In New Orleans, the Pelicans snapped their 10-game skid with a 140-133 overtime victory over the Sacramento Kings.

CJ McCollum scored 27 of his 43 points in the second half and overtime — including 11 of the Pelicans’ 13 points in the extra session.

Zach LaVine scored 32 points and handed out 10 assists for the Kings, who had 22 points and 28 rebounds from Domantas Sabonis.

The Los Angeles Clippers erased a 20-point deficit to beat the Utah Jazz 120-116 in overtime.

Norman Powell scored nine of his 41 points in overtime and James Harden added 32 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for the Clippers.

Lauri Markkanen and Kyle Filipowski scored 20 points each to lead the Jazz, who connected on 62.9 percent of their shots in the first half but couldn’t maintain that pace.