Gautam Gambhir, captain of the Delhi Daredevils, says his team must improve  to beat Mumbai today.
Gautam Gambhir, captain of the Delhi Daredevils, says his team must improve to beat Mumbai today.

Daredevils desperate for a win



The Mumbai Indians are through to the semi-finals of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the King's XI Punjab are through, period, and half a dozen teams are left to fight it out for one of the three places still up for grabs in the final four. Two matches tonight will shed considerable light on the situation. The Delhi Daredevils visit Mumbai in the opener, followed by the Chennai Super Kings versus the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Chepauk Stadium.

"This is the most important game for us because we don't want to get into a desperate situation of having to win two out of two," Gautam Ghambir, the Delhi captain, said in a television interview after Sunday's defeat by Punjab, who are still having fun spoiling the chances of other teams. "We need to pull our socks up and play as a team, not only in one department but all three. So it is important to give everything to win this game and get the momentum back as we come to the business end of the tournament."

Sachin Tendulkar, the Mumbai captain, has no such problems - but he still wants his team keep maintain their performances in front of the Indians' home crowd. His classy 89 not out against the Rajasthan Royals on Sunday sealed Mumbai's place in the last four, but Tendulkar has no intention of stepping off the gas. "We are happy to become the first team to reach the semis but we want to continue and win as many games as possible," he said in a television interview. "Obviously there is no pressure on us but we would like to win as many games as possible. It is a good habit."

Tonight's second game has the makings of an epic battle, with Chennai and Kolkata going into the match on 10 points each. The Knight Riders have had a roller-coaster ride and Sourav Ganguly, their captain, was fuming after their defeat by the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He dubbed his team's effort on the field as "absolute rubbish" and even went to the extent of saying they did not deserve a place in the last four if they continued to play ordinary cricket.

His tirade may have shaken up his players as they prepare to take on another team trying to get their game right. "This is the critical part of the tournament and we need to be at our best," said Ganguly in a television interview. "Our performances have been in patches with one good game followed by an ordinary effort. We just need to go out there and win the remaining matches, possibly go all the way from now on. We need little contributions in all three departments and from all the players. All these add up at the end." MS Dhoni, the Chennai captain, had similar thoughts. "We would like to win all three games from here," he said in a television interview. "We have a superior run rate but it's still better to win all three games. It's already tight for the six teams but should get a little clear after this game." * Compiled by Amith Passela, with agencies

Watch Mumbai Indians v Delhi Daredevils, 2.30pm, and Chennai Super Kings v Kolkata Knight Riders, 6.30pm, both on Cricone IPL statistics

Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
Profile box

Founders: Michele Ferrario, Nino Ulsamer and Freddy Lim
Started: established in 2016 and launched in July 2017
Based: Singapore, with offices in the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand
Sector: FinTech, wealth management
Initial investment: $500,000 in seed round 1 in 2016; $2.2m in seed round 2 in 2017; $5m in series A round in 2018; $12m in series B round in 2019; $16m in series C round in 2020 and $25m in series D round in 2021
Current staff: more than 160 employees
Stage: series D 
Investors: EightRoads Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sequoia Capital India

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.”

Sun jukebox

Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)

This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.

Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)

The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.

Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)

Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.

Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)

Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.

Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)

An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.

Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)

Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.

MATCH INFO

Chelsea 3 (Abraham 11', 17', 74')

Luton Town 1 (Clark 30')

Man of the match Abraham (Chelsea)

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THE SPECS

Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder

Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)

Power: 141bhp 

Torque: 250Nm 

Price: Dh64,500

On sale: Now

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
Thank You for Banking with Us

Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

Rating: 4/5


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