Sri Lankan opener Dimuth Karunaratne hit a career best 196 which left Pakistan fighting to avoid defeat in the second day-night Test in Dubai on Saturday (07).
Karunaratne missed a double hundred by four runs but lifted Sri Lanka to an imposing 482 in their first innings before Pakistan finished the second day at 51-0, still trailing by 431 runs.
Openers Sami Aslam (30 not out) and Shan Masood (15 not out) negotiated the 18 overs under light without any major trouble but Pakistan still need 231 to avoid the follow on.
That leaves Pakistan in a spot of bother to square the series after losing the first Test by 21 runs in Abu Dhabi and, more importantly, save their seven-year unbeaten series record in the United Arab Emirates.
It was another brilliant display by the Sri Lankan batsmen led by left-hander Karunaratne.
Karunaratne deserved a double hundred during a marathon nine hour stay at the crease but he was unluckily dismissed, playing onto leg-spinner Yasir Shah just before dinner.
Karunaratne hit 19 boundaries and a six, improving on his previous best Test score of 186 made against the West Indies at Galle two years ago.
When on 143 he brought up his 3,000th run in his 44th Test, the 12th Sri Lankan to reach that milestone.
Shah took 6-184 in a marathon 55.5 overs of hard work and toil on a flat Dubai stadium pitch. His haul makes him the only spinner ever to take five or more wickets in five consecutive Tests.
England's Sydney Barnes holds the record for most consecutive five wicket hauls with seven in as many Tests. Australia's Charlie Turner and Englishman Alec Bedser had six consecutive five-fours -- but all three were fast bowlers.
Shah said he tried his best to take wickets.
"It's always my priority to take wickets but the pitch was not assisting on the first day," said Shah.
"We have to fight to our best abilities to win this Test and level the series. Karunaratne played a brilliant knock."
Karunaratne added 146 with skipper Dinesh Chandimal (62) for the fourth wicket before another 88 were put on for the fifth between him and Niroshan Dickwella, who made a rapid 52.
As if that was not enough, Karunaratne put on 59 for the sixth wicket with Dilruwan Perera, who scored a polished 58.
Resuming at 254-3, Sri Lanka lost Chandimal to a leg before decision off Shah.
Chandimal knocked six boundaries in another enterprising knock which followed his unbeaten 155 in the first Test.
Dickwella's assured knock had five boundaries before he edged pacer Mohammad Abbas to wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed while Perera smashed seven boundaries before becoming Shah's fifth wicket - his 13th five wicket haul in 28 Tests.
Abbas then had Suranga Lakmal for eight to finish with 2-100 while Shah ended the innings by dismissing Nuwan Pradeep for nought.
Pakistan's miseries were compounded in the morning when pace spearhead Mohammad Amir walked off the field after a recurring shin injury sustained late on Friday (06). He managed to bowl just three overs in the day.
Mohanlal kept it timeless in a crisp mundu and shirt
Prithviraj & Supriya Menon looked like the perfect festive album shot
Malavika Mohanan brought in a twist with her kasavu saree with traditional jewellery
Malaika Arora embraced Kerala’s spirit with a kasavu saree, temple jewellery, and a warm Sadhya
R. Madhavan & Sarita Birje showed coordinated elegance in mundu and saree
Festivals tell their own stories. Sometimes it’s not in the captions, not even in the feasts, but in the clothes, the smiles, and the way people carry tradition without trying too hard. Onam this year gave us just that: celebrities, often dripping in designer labels, strip it back to something pure, elegant, and powerfully rooted.
Here’s who absolutely nailed the Onam vibe.
Mohanlal: The godfather in white
The man does not need to try. In a simple, crisp white mundu. Simple shirt. A straight camera greeting. That is it. No frills, no staged glamour. Just the veteran looking like the festival itself: timeless.
Prithviraj in a mundu with a printed shirt. Supriya in a kasavu saree with a gold border, her jewellery adding the final shine. The picture looked less like a posed post, more like a family album moment you would want to keep.
While others went classic, Malavika played. She wore a cream-white kasavu saree with a golden border, the drape beautifully, turning the attire into almost a contemporary painted canvas. Paired with ethnic gold jewellery, parted loose hair, her styling was classy, traditional and on point.
Bollywood meets Kerala elegance. Malaika in a kasavu saree, gold border flowing, finished with temple jewellery. Add to that a banana leaf sadhya moment with her mother Joyce also in kasavu. Warm, rooted, real. She got the spirit, not just the outfit.
R. Madhavan & Sarita Birje: The coordinated class act
The couple matched steps in traditional wear, smiling in sync. Madhavan in mundu, Sarita in saree, it felt celebratory without being curated. Just a family, a festival, and a frame that spoke togetherness.
Onam does not need long stories. A mundu tucked neatly, a kasavu saree draped with care, a smile that feels familiar, that is enough. That simple, handwoven kasavu cloth does something interesting. It momentarily strips away the movie star, the influencer, the Bollywood diva. For a second, they all just look… Malayali. Connected. Because no matter how famous you get, some looks just feel like coming home.
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Armani began as a window dresser in Milan before sketching suits for Nino Cerruti.
In 1975, he launched his own label by selling his car, sparking a quiet fashion revolution.
His unstructured suits redefined power dressing for men and women in the 1980s.
From American Gigolo to the Oscars, Armani became Hollywood’s style signature.
He built a global empire yet stayed hands-on, shaping fashion until his final days at 91.
It’s strange to think Armani once stood behind a shop window, fixing mannequins instead of red carpets. He wasn’t born into Milan’s glittering salons or stitched into privilege. His journey started with burns from a war shell, with a mother who made scraps look elegant, with a young man who quit medical school because he couldn’t quite see his future in blood and bandages.
From there, he picked up fabrics, cuts, and the quiet dream of building something lasting. And against all odds, he did. You know his clothes. You’ve seen that look, the effortless drape of a jacket, the quiet confidence of a suit that doesn’t scream but whispers luxury. Giorgio Armani, who left us last year at 91, wasn’t just a designer, he rewrote how the world dresses. These ten chapters show how he carved that throne.
Giorgio Armani’s journey from window dresser to fashion emperor Getty Images
1. Milan shop windows to Nino Cerruti
After leaving the army, Armani took a sales job at La Rinascente, Milan’s posh department store. He was a clerk, then a window dresser, learning which fabrics customers touched twice and which ones they ignored. By the mid-60s, he was sketching suits for Nino Cerruti. Those years taught him discipline, proportion, and that style was more about how clothes moved than how much they glittered.
How Giorgio Armani redefined elegance in ten chaptersGetty Images
2. Founding Giorgio Armani
In 1975, with his partner Sergio Galeotti urging him forward, Armani sold his car to raise money and launched his own label. It was a risk. He wasn’t a household name yet. But those first collections, sharp but fluid, men and women both, hit Milan like a quiet revolution. Armani had arrived, and he carried his own name on the masthead.
The life and legacy of Giorgio Armani in ten actsGetty Images
3. The unstructured suit
He ripped the stuffing out of the traditional jacket, peeled off the padding, and let fabric drape. Men’s shoulders softened. Women walked into boardrooms in suits that carried authority without pretending to be men’s uniforms. It was tailoring that breathed. Armani gave the world a whole new vocabulary: power without stiffness, elegance without excess.
Giorgio Armani’s quiet revolution that changed fashion foreverGetty Images
4. American Gigolo and Hollywood
Richard Gere opening that closet full of Armani shirts was pure cinema, a cultural turning point. Overnight, Armani became shorthand for sleek modernity. From American Gigolo to Julia Roberts in a men’s suit at the Golden Globes, it’s safe to say Armani rewired Hollywood’s image of glamour. That’s why critics joked the Oscars red carpet could have been renamed the “Armani Awards.”
Ten defining moments in the life of Giorgio ArmaniGetty Images
5. The empire expands
Perfumes, jeans, children’s clothes, Armani Exchange. He turned his minimalist philosophy into a whole lifestyle. While rivals chased conglomerates, Armani kept control and built his own ladder, one rung for luxury, one for youth, one for home, even one for hotels. By the late ’90s, his eagle logo was everywhere from sunglasses to sofas.
The timeless legacy of Giorgio Armani in ten chaptersGetty Images
6. Sports and spectacle
He dressed Chelsea footballers and Olympic athletes. He opened a hotel in Dubai, restaurants in Milan, Armani Casa for homes. Armani understood something crucial: his vision wasn’t just clothes. It was a way of living. Walking into an Armani space felt the same as wearing his jacket: quiet, precise, disciplined and elegant.
How Giorgio Armani built a global style empireGetty Images
7. Ethics before trend
Long before wellness talk filled magazines, Armani banned dangerously underweight models from his shows. The same year, he livestreamed a couture collection, back when fashion still thought the internet was beneath it. Armani was old-school in silhouette but sharp-eyed about culture.
Remembering Giorgio Armani through his most iconic momentsGetty Images
8. Grief and resilience
The loss of Sergio Galeotti to AIDS could have shattered him. Instead, Armani carried their dream forward, with family by his side. His empire became not just a company but a shield, one he built in memory of the man who first believed in him.
Armani’s empire: fashion, lifestyle, and legacy in ten stepsGetty Images
9. Awards, honours, billions
Armani wasn’t just respected; he was decorated. From the Legion of Honour to Italy’s highest civilian award, the world recognised his contribution. Forbes estimated his net worth at £9.2 billion (₹978 billion). Yet ask anyone in Milan: he still turned up at the office daily, fussing over lapels and fabrics like an apprentice.
He died on 4 September 2025, in Milan, aged 91, still at work, still in control. Italy’s prime minister called him “the best of Italy.” Critics called him a giant. The truth is simpler: Armani changed how people move through the world. His clothes taught us that confidence whispers, it doesn’t shout.
Giorgio Armani’s timeless influence on global styleGetty Images
Not an ending, but a silhouette
We often say legends “fade away.” Armani doesn’t get that cliché. He didn’t fade. The light just changed, and what’s left is his silhouette. You can’t talk about modern style without tripping over his influence. He’s in the DNA of every brand that prizes minimalist elegance. He’s in the posture of a woman walking into a meeting, feeling powerful in a soft-shouldered blazer. He’s in the ease of a man in a suit that finally feels like his own skin.
When we say “there will be an Armani after Armani,” it’s not just in the company he built, but in everyone who has ever worn his clothes and discovered the quiet power of looking like their truest, most confident self.
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Works are painted on bark cloth from Lake Victoria
Artist Shafina Jaffer presents a new chapter of her Global Conference of the Birds series.
The exhibition runs from 7–12 October 2025 at Mall Galleries, London.
Works are painted on bark cloth from Lake Victoria, combining spiritual themes with ecological concerns.
Exhibition details
Artist Shafina Jaffer will open her latest exhibition, Whispers Under Wings (Global Conference of the Birds), at the Mall Galleries in London on 7 October 2025. The show will run until 12 October 2025.
This practice-led series reinterprets Farid ud-Din Attar’s 12th-century Sufi allegory, Conference of the Birds, reflecting on themes of unity, self-realisation and the idea that the Divine resides within.
Material and meaning
Each work is painted on sustainably sourced bark cloth from the Lake Victoria region, using natural pigments, minerals and dyes. Large panels are formed from the bark of single trees, aligning material ecology with the spiritual narrative.
The series weaves together sacred geometry, Qur’anic verses and depictions of endangered bird species, underscoring the connection between ecological fragility and spiritual awakening.
Previous recognition
Whispers Under Wings follows earlier presentations in London and Dubai, extending the project’s message of peace, unity and environmental care.
A central work from the series — the Simurgh, conceived as a symbol of light (Noor) — was recently acquired by Prince Amyn Aga Khan for the new Ismaili Centre in Houston. A feature on the exhibition also appears in the September edition of Twiga, Air Tanzania’s inflight magazine.
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The build consists of 270 pieces and features the franchise’s red racing hero
LEGO confirms first Speed Champions set for 2026: Lightning McQueen.
Release coincides with the 20th anniversary of Pixar’s Cars.
Unusual for the theme: no minifigure included.
The first 2026 reveal
LEGO has confirmed its first Speed Champions set for 2026, taking the theme in an unexpected direction. Set 77255 Lightning McQueen celebrates the 20th anniversary of Disney and Pixar’s Cars (released 28 July 2006) and marks the first time the theme has focused on a fictional, animated vehicle.
The build consists of 270 pieces and features the franchise’s red racing hero, complete with printed details and stickers, as well as an anniversary logo on the box.
A shift for Speed Champions
The release follows a year of Formula 1–focused sets but breaks new ground by presenting a character car without any accompanying minifigure. Aside from small polybag builds, it is the first Speed Champions set to omit a minifigure entirely.
McQueen’s signature smile and sponsor decals are recreated using a mix of stickers and possible printed elements, such as tyres and wheel arches — though LEGO has not yet confirmed which are printed.
Price and release date
Set 77255 Lightning McQueen is available to pre-order worldwide at £22.99 / $27.99 / €27.99, with a release date of 1 January 2026. The price point suggests that Speed Champions sets in the US will continue the price increases seen in 2025.
What’s next for 2026?
At present, Lightning McQueen is the only Speed Champions set officially confirmed for 2026. However, several others are listed for release early next year, including a Bugatti Vision GT, a Ferrari SF90 XX Stradale, a McLaren W1, and a Back to the Future Time Machine. At least one more film-inspired vehicle is also rumoured, hinting that Speed Champions may be steering towards more cinematic tie-ins alongside its traditional supercar line-up.