Ahead of the start of the 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL), Paul Radley picks the 10 batsmen he expects to excel at this year’s tournament.
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1. Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Was it really going to be anyone else? Joe Root is unavailable to play in the Indian Premier League because of his England commitments, so Kohli really has no batting rival. The World T20 player of the tournament, even though his side did not make it to the final, has an average of 125 from the 13 20 over matches he has played in 2016. Decent enough form, then.
2. MS Dhoni (Rising Pune Supergiants)
Way down the official rankings for international Twenty20 batsmen, but that may be due in part to his lack of opportunities to score big. Dhoni is seventh on the list of leading runscorers in IPL history, which is quite a feat. Despite the quantity of matches he has played (129) he does tend to come in later in the innings than most of the other leading batsmen. The ultimate finisher.
3. Lendl Simmons (Mumbai Indians)
It probably pays to be a lucky batsman rather than a good one. Simmons proved in the World T20 semi-final — in his IPL home stadium at the Wankhede in Mumbai — that it is possible to be both. Playing the defining knock for West Indies against India, he was helped by three huge slices of good fortune. Not bad for someone who had initially withdrawn from the competition due to injury. He was the third highest scorer in last year’s IPL.
4. Chris Gayle (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
The third highest scorer in the IPL’s history, the leader amongst overseas players, and the owner of the highest score, in the form of that extraordinary 175 not out. He will enter the competition in high spirits, too, as part of the brilliant West Indies world champions, and having struck a century against England in the pool stage of the World T20.
5. Brendon McCullum (Gujarat Lions)
Newly retired from international cricket, and it will be interesting to see what effect that has on McCullum’s batting. At his best, he is unstoppable. His 158 not out for Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening match of the first IPL in 2008 is still the second highest score to date in the competition. Explosive, but he is inconsistent.
6. Glenn Maxwell (Kings XI Punjab)
The Australian allrounder’s strike-rate of 166.44 is second only to Andre Russell, the big-hitting West Indian, among leading batsmen in the IPL. UAE supporters enjoyed his finest run in the competition. Maxwell owned the IPL when the tournament was exiled here in 2014.
7. Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians)
Unique amongst the leading captains in that his win percentage in the competition of 61.36 is actually better than MS Dhoni’s (60.93) — even if the India captain has won more matches than anyone else.
Sharma’s form at the top of the order for India of late has been indifferent, but class is permanent. He has scored more IPL runs than anyone other than Suresh Raina.
8. Jos Buttler (Mumbai Indians)
A new entry into this particular chart, seeing as he will be making his debut in the world’s leading domestic T20 competition. The England wicketkeeper is the sort of rare talent Indian crowds will adore, though. Buttler should have a decent grasp of what to expect by now, too. He played two competition matches, and two warm up ones, with England in his IPL home city of Mumbai during the World T20.
9. Suresh Raina (Gujarat Lions)
Entrusted with the captaincy of the new Gujarat franchise, IPL cricket’s most productive ever run-scorer will be looking to lead by example with his own performances. Even though he has scored over 300 runs more than the next heaviest IPL run-getter (Rohit Sharma) he enters this competition with question marks over his place for India. He only managed a total of 41 runs in four trips to the wicket at the World T20.
10. AB de Villiers (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Will be happy to escape the international game — a pair in a Test match, knocked out of the World T20 with a match to go, an inquiry into South Africa cricket back at home — for the sanctuary of the IPL. It is, after all, a tournament that has served him well in the past. Last season he was the fourth leading run-scorers, and posted the third highest score in the competition’s history.
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
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The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
