Latest news with #GulfGiants
Bloomberg
22-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
How Middle East Oil Giants Are Building Soft Power
For decades, the oil-rich nations of the Middle East have amassed tremendous amounts of money—more than anyone could possibly spend. Much of it was funneled into sovereign wealth funds, strategic repositories of state-owned cash just waiting to be deployed. Now they are coming into play in a very public way as the world inexorably pivots away from fossil fuels. The very countries who have benefitted most from its sale are increasingly seeking to pivot. Over the last decade or so, nations across the Persian Gulf and elsewhere have turned their attention to new areas of investment—to diversify away from oil and gas and to increase so-called soft power. One particular arena of interest has been sports. In the Bloomberg Originals mini-documentary How Gulf Giants Are Gathering Soft Power, we explain the growing number of areas in which sovereign wealth funds are investing, and what it may mean for the rest of the world.
Khaleej Times
13-02-2025
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
UAE: David White credits fantastic pitches for good cricket in ILT20
Following the success of ILT20 Season 3 which concluded on February 9 with Dubai Capitals crowned the new champions, league CEO David White expressed delight over the quality of matches, edge-of-the-seat thrillers to the showdown. The final, with a packed stadium, was a testimony to world-class competition as Dubai Capitals chased down the target of 190 runs set by Desert Vipers with just four balls to spare, leaving fans enthralled till the very end. 'I think what summarises the success of season 3 is the excitement, world class players, and some of the matches going down to the wire. No doubt, this season has been a big step up in the quality of cricket, the scores have reflected that,' White said. For the first time in ILT20, over 400 (430) sixes were scored and a total of 10,352 runs amassed by the batters in season 3 underscoring the high-octane matches in the league. 'More than 10,000 runs were scored this season, and we saw some standout individual performances too. The quality of cricket is also largely due to the quality of the pitches we had at our three tournament venues in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah,' White said. The season witnessed individual brilliance with in-form Shai Hope of Dubai Capitals winning the Green Belt for best batter, MI Emirates Fazalhaq Farooqi claiming the White Belt for best bowler and Sam Curran taking home the Red Belt as MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the season. Among some of the standout moments this season was home-grown prodigy Aayan Afzal Khan of Gulf Giants picking up four for 16 runs against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders – making it the best figures for a UAE player in the ILT20. The previous record was held by Zuhaib Zuhair with 4 for 22 for Gulf Giants against Sharjah Warriors in the previous season. UAE's Farhan Khan, Dhruv Parashar, Muhammad Rohid Khan and the experienced Muhammad Waseem too hogged the limelight this season with impressive performances that promises to aide their career with the national squad. Elaborating on the impact DP World ILT20 has on developing cricket in UAE, White said, 'ILT20 plays a number of roles, from a community standpoint. It's a great way to connect with the community, we do that with the children playing before the game, the children's performance to the anthem, and we have a vibrant fan zone for families to come and enjoy together. Using the ILT20 brand to connect with the communities has been very good this season."
Arab News
31-01-2025
- Sport
- Arab News
Pooran's brilliance guides MI Emirates to victory over Gulf Giants in ILT20
DUBAI: MI Emirates secured a five-wicket victory over the Gulf Giants in the DP World ILT20 at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday, with skipper Nicholas Pooran leading from the front with a match-winning unbeaten 58 off 37 balls, earning him the Player of the Match award as his side claimed their first win of the season. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport Batting first, the Gulf Giants made a strong start, with openers Gerhard Erasmus and James Vince regularly finding the boundary. However, their momentum was dented in the third over when Akeal Hosein dismissed Erasmus for 12. Vince, undeterred, found an able partner in Jordan Cox, and together they pushed the score to 52 for one at the end of the powerplay. Cox and Vince put together a solid 51-run stand before Alzarri Joseph dismissed Cox in the 10th over. Tom Curran chipped in with 13, while Vince continued to anchor the innings, reaching his half-century in style. With the Giants poised for a strong finish, Vince was joined by Shimron Hetmyer, and the duo accelerated in the 16th over, hitting 19 runs. However, MI Emirates fought back, removing Hetmyer (15) and Vince (86 off 50 balls) in quick succession. Late contributions from Tim David and Chris Jordan (both 10 not out) took the Gulf Giants to 173 for six in 20 overs. Chasing 174, MI Emirates got off to a flying start as openers Andre Fletcher and Muhammad Waseem took the attack to the bowlers. Waseem smashed a rapid 26 off 10 balls before departing, while Tom Banton added 11 before falling to Aayan Khan. Despite a run-out setback that saw Kusal Perera dismissed for just one, Fletcher continued to hold the innings together, scoring 31 before being castled by Blessing Muzarabani, who impressed with figures of one for 17 in four overs. At 102 for four, MI Emirates faced an uphill task, needing 72 runs off the last five overs. Pooran, however, took control of the chase alongside Bevon Jacobs, forging a crucial 53-run stand off 33 balls. Jacobs' departure for 18 brought Romario Shepherd to the crease, but Pooran remained composed under pressure. Reaching his half-century in the 18th over, Pooran shifted gears as Shepherd's late blows further eased the equation. With six runs needed off the final over, the MI Emirates skipper finished the job in style, smashing a six over cow corner to seal the victory. Reflecting on his match-winning knock, Pooran said: 'I knew I had to get the job done and be there until the end. I am more experienced now and know what's required. The key is to trust yourself to absorb the pressure.' Vince, captain of Gulf Giants, admitted that missed opportunities cost his side. 'We didn't feel it was that straightforward out there. There was some turn for the slower bowlers, but we dropped a catch and it ultimately cost us tonight,' he said.
BBC News
31-01-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Pooran hits MI Emirates to win over Giants
Captain Nicholas Pooran hit an unbeaten 58 off 37 balls as he drove MI Emirates to a five-wicket victory over Gulf Giants in the International League already hit six fours and two sixes, the West Indies wicketkeeper cleared the ropes once more from the first ball of Chris Jordan's final over to seal the 174, Pooran came in at number five with his side 61-3 in the eighth started his innings slowly, scoring just 10 from his first 22 balls, but struck his first boundaries with back-to-back fours at the end of the 15th over to leave his team needing 71 from that point he powered on, accompanied by compatriot Romario Shepherd (23 not out from nine) who hit a six of his own from the final ball of the 19th to ensure MI Emirates needed just six from the final batter James Vince hit 86 off 50 balls from the top of the order for the Giants as they posted 173-6, but no other batter passed a tight table, MI Emirates move up to second in the table with eight points from eight matches, while Giants are bottom with six from the same number of fixtures & table
Khaleej Times
29-01-2025
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
ILT20: Hasaranga, Holden help Desert Vipers beat Gulf Giants
Wanindu Hasaranga (4-0-10-3) delivered a magical spell of spin bowling and Max Holden scored a fantastic half-century to help Desert Vipers beat Gulf Giants by five wickets in the ILT20 at Dubai International Stadium on Wednesday. Hasaranga was well supported by Sam Curran (4-0-28-3) as the Vipers, who have already qualified for the playoffs, restricted the Giants to 129/8 in 20 overs. If not for Tom Curran's magnificent 64 not out off 34 balls, the Giants, who had lost eight wickets for just 61 runs, would have been bowled out for less than 100. But Curran shared a 68-run partnership for the ninth wicket with UAE all-rounder Aayan Afzal Khan (6 not out) to give some respectability to the Giants total. In reply, Desert Vipers reached home in 19 overs losing five wickets. It was a tricky chase but Holden (70 not out off 54 balls) held his nerve to drag the Vipers over the line for their seventh win in nine matches. Blessing Muzarabani (4-0-25-3) took three wickets for the Giants. With the impressive win, the Vipers cemented a top-two finish which means they will get two chances to qualify for the final. Hasaranga, who was named player of the match, was delighted with his performance. 'I tried to stick to my basics and the wrong ones, that's my plan for success. I love to bowl here, even in the Asia Cup as well I took wickets," said the Sri Lankan spinner who dismissed Gulf Giants' Tom Alsop, Jordan Cox and Chris Jordan on Wednesday. "The fast bowlers did a great job, and the batters did their jobs, so as a team we have done our things well.' Meanwhile, Gulf Giants captain James Vince rued the team's poor batting performance. 'It wasn't a great performance with the bat. 130 was always tough to defend," he said. "The first 10 overs of the batting innings put us on the back foot. At one stage we were looking at less than 100, until Tom Curran and Aayan's partnership gave us some relief. We fought well with the ball and took it as far as we could but a little short with the bat.' Brief Scores: Desert Vipers beat Gulf Giants by five wickets Gulf Giants 129/8 in 20 overs (Tom Curran 64 not out, Tom Alsop 17, James Vince 15, Wanindu Hasaranga 3 for 10, Sam Curran 3 for 28, Khuzaima Tanveer 1 for 12) Desert Vipers 130/5 in 19 overs (Max Holden 70 not out, Sam Curran 16, Fakhar Zaman 14, Blessing Muzarabani 3 for 35)
