South Africa dismiss Pakistan for 270 despite fifties from Babar, Shakeel
Chennai (PTI): Skipper Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel struck fifties but Pakistan batters frittered away good starts to be bowled out for a below-par 270 by South Africa during their World Cup match here on Friday.
While Babar managed 50 off 65 deliveries, Shakeel made a run-a-ball 52 but Pakistan couldn't build enough partnerships and also faltered in the back end to be dismissed in 46.4 overs after opting to bat.
Left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who was playing only his second game, shone with figures of four for 60, while Marco Jansen (3/43) was superb with the new ball, and Gerald Coetzee (2/42) also snapped two.
It all began with a maiden over from Jansen, who accounted for both the openers -- Abdullah Shafique (9) and Imam-ul-Haq (12) as Pakistan slipped to 38 for 2 in the seventh over.
It could have been third down for the Pakistan in the same over had Jansen hold on to a caught and bowled chance for Mohammad Rizwan.
Rizwan started on an aggressive note, hitting a six off spinner Keshav Maharaj and constructing a 48-run partnership with Babar (50).
However, the lease of life that Jansen offered him did not last long, as in the 16th over, speedster Coetzee sent him back to the pavilion after being caught behind, with the score reading 86 for three.
While Coetzee continued to suppress Pakistan's scoring rate, they brought up their 100 by the 20th over.
The pair of Babar and Iftikhar Ahmed (21) added 43 for the fourth wicket before the latter became the fourth man to be dismissed, holing out to Heinrich Klaasen off Shamsi in the 26th.
In the meantime, Babar brought up his 31st ODI half-century but right after the landmark, he fell prey to Shamsi in the 28th after an attempted sweep saw the ball take the faintest of nicks before being gloved by Quinton de Kock.
Although initially given not out by the umpire, the Proteas opted for the review at the last moment and the decision went in their favour as Pakistan slumped to 141 for five.
Saud Shakeel (52) and Shadab Khan (43) then joined hands and forged a much-needed partnership of 84 runs, bringing their innings back on track. Soon the team 200 was up by the 37th over but Pakistan couldn't make use of the platform.
While Shadab mainly targeted Maharaj, it was Coetzee who got the better of him in the 40th after an attempted pull to mid-wicket saw him getting caught by Maharaj.
With ten more overs remaining, the Pakistani batters looked to go for shots to cross the 300-run mark.
It was a dream far too fetched for the Green Shirts, as they lost Shakeel at 43rd over, followed by Shaheen Afridi (2) to slip to 259 for 8. Mohammad Nawaz (24) and Mohammad Wasim Jr (7) were the final men to fall.
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Los Angeles county wildfires could be costliest in US history, early estimates say
Los Angeles, Jan 11: The wildfires that erupted this week across Los Angeles County are still raging, but already are projected to be among the costliest natural disasters in US history.
The devastating blazes have killed at least 11 people and incinerated more than 12,000 structures since Tuesday, laying waste to entire neighbourhoods once home to multimillion-dollar properties.
While it's still too early for an accurate tally of the financial toll, the losses so far likely make the wildfires the costliest ever in the US, according to various estimates.
A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses so far between USD 135 billion and USD 150 billion. By comparison, AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic losses caused by Hurricane Helene, which tore across six southeastern states last fall, at USD 225 billion to USD 250 billion.
“This will be the costliest wildfire in California modern history and also very likely the costliest wildfire in US modern history, because of the fires occurring in the densely populated areas around Los Angeles with some of the highest-valued real estate in the country,” said Jonathan Porter, the private firm's chief meteorologist.
AccuWeather factors in a multitude of variables in its estimates, including damage to homes, businesses, infrastructure and vehicles, as well as immediate and long-term health care costs, lost wages and supply chain interruptions.
The insurance broker Aon PLC also said Friday that the LA County wildfires will likely end up being the costliest in US history, although it did not issue an estimate. Aon ranks a wildfire known as the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, in 2018 as the costliest in US history up to now at USD 12.5 billion, adjusted for inflation. The Camp Fire killed 85 people and destroyed about 11,000 homes.
The LA County wildfires, which were fuelled by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds and an extreme drought, remained largely uncontained Saturday. That means the final tally of losses from the blazes is likely to increase, perhaps substantially.
“To put this into perspective, the total damage and economic loss from this wildfire disaster could reach nearly 4 per cent of the annual GDP of the state of California,” AccuWeather's Porter said.
In a report Friday, Moody's also concluded that the wildfires would prove to be the costliest in US history, specifically because they have ripped through densely populated areas with higher-end properties.
While the state is no stranger to major wildfires, they have generally been concentrated in inland areas that are not densely populated. That's led to less destruction per acre, and in damage to less expensive homes, Moody's noted.
That's far from the case this time, with one of the largest conflagrations destroying thousands of properties across the Pacific Palisades and Malibu, home to many Hollywood stars and executives with multimillion-dollar properties. Already, numerous celebrities have lost homes to the fires.
“The scale and intensity of the blazes, combined with their geographic footprint, suggest a staggering price tag, both in terms of the human cost and the economic toll,” Moody's analysts wrote. The report did not include a preliminary cost estimate of the wildfire damage.
It could be several months before a concrete tally of the financial losses from the wildfires will be possible.
“We're in the very early stages of this disaster,” Porter said.
