The pointy end
Our correspondent catches some tennis, comes to grips with oversize parathas, and watches a "milkshake challenge"

New Zealand U-19 team manager Kaushik Patel: spot the resemblance • Kanishkaa Balachandran/ESPNcricinfo Ltd
The teams are back to training after taking the first gap day off between the group stages and the knockouts. Head down to the ICC Academy ovals where India and New Zealand are training. As the Indians pack up and leave, the sounds of Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" disturb the peace. The DJ? Sarfaraz Khan. It plays off his mobile phone in his pocket with the volume cranked right up.
The knockouts begin. The defending champions India are shown the door by England in a nail-biter. The mouthy send-offs to two England players spark comments on Twitter and in the media box about the behaviour of the Indian players when under pressure. Ben Duckett, the star of the day, says England didn't expect to make it to the semis. There's hardly anyone from the British media to cover it. Perhaps they didn't expect it either.
Nicolas Pooran plays a blinder, 143 against Australia. His mentor Daren Ganga times his arrival in Dubai perfectly to witness the innings of the tournament.
England have a habit of producing thrillers. If they are not getting abuse thrown at them, they're dishing it out, as is the case in the second semi-final against Pakistan, but the camaraderie between the two sides after the game makes up for it. Catch up with Imam-ul-Haq, the tournament's leading run scorer at that point, and nephew of Inzamam-ul-Haq. Over a 15-minute conversation - rather monologue - it's clear the excitement of the win hasn't sunk in for him. The floodlights are dimmed by the end of it and the ground is empty. Fear the team has already left for the hotel without him.
The South Africans are having fun at a fielding session at the Academy Oval. Coach Ray Jennings splits them into two groups, batsmen v bowlers, for a "milkshake" challenge: the team with the most direct hits wins. The batsmen come out on top. The captain, Aiden Markram, is the best fielder of the evening. The bowlers have to shell out cash for milkshakes for the winners.
It's the second semi-final, with Australia taking on South Africa. The game gets over earlier than expected. As usual, a few of us head down to the seats to get a feel of the action. We head back up to the media room after a while but one of the journalists wants to stay on for a few more overs. He ends up staying for longer because he gets locked in. A security guard has bolted the exit door to keep fans from entering the commentary enclosure. A few phone calls and an argument with the guard later, he's released from captivity.
The first of two gap days before the final. I head to Sharjah for a change. Unlike Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the location of the stadium here is more central - if anachronistic. The press and VIP enclosures are open-air and the commentary box, when in use, can get really cramped. That was open air too in the days when Henry "Blowers" Blofeld graced the chair. Also surprised at the size of the outfield. Maybe it was Tony Greig who made it seem like Sachin hit those sixes into the ocean. Watch India gain a consolation win for fifth place before they catch the flight back home.
It's the eve of the final and a captains' press conference is arranged at ICC headquarters. Head to the Academy Oval to watch a bit of the third-place playoff between England and Australia. It's a good place to watch cricket so long as the weather is good. Dave Richardson makes an appearance. Dave Collier too drops by for the game. A couple of England players fill their plates and sit down for lunch next to us. After the press conference, Sami-ul-Hasan, the ICC's media and communications manager, gives us a guided tour of the ICC office. It's empty since it's a holiday.
The final day of the tournament. The stands start filling up as Pakistan keep losing wickets. Plenty of green jerseys around during the interval. We watch the first 15 overs from the seats, and at 28 for 2 the expectations are high. They recede as Markram and Greg Oldfield build on. The celebrations after the win aren't quite the same as India's tribute to Usain Bolt in Townsville in 2012.
Kanishkaa Balachandran is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo