Royal Challengers Bangalore kept their opponent down to 84 for 8 and cruised the chase

Alagappan Muthu21-Oct-20201:21

What can this kind of a loss do to Kolkata Knight Riders?

A devastating spell of new-ball bowling from Mohammed Siraj (4-2-3-8) left Kolkata Knight Riders so far down on the mat it was all they could do to last the 20 overs.They did so playing out four maidens – an IPL record – two of them to Siraj alone – another IPL record. They suffered 72 dots in a 120-ball innings – only three shy of another IPL record and put up only 84 on the board – the lowest IPL total for a team batting first and not losing all their wickets.Royal Challengers Bangalore had little trouble with the chase, completing it with eight wickets and 39 balls to spare and moving to second place on the table.Super SirajAll they needed was a hint. Royal Challengers have been very good with the way they’ve handled their bowlers this season. And in this game as well, as soon as they saw there was some swing on offer, they immediately went to Siraj with the new ball. Even though he was the new man in the XI.Siraj is a natural inswinger. But it was moving the ball the other way that brought him most of his success. He snagged the outside edge of Rahul Tripathi in the second over. One ball later, he burst through Nitish Rana’s defences. That over ended up as a double-wicket maiden.He also had Tom Banton caught behind before he gave up a single run off his bowling as the Royal Challengers earned the upper hand from start to finish.Recovering from a powerplay score of 17 for 4 was never going to be easy and though Eoin Morgan tried, the opposition just had too many resources to mount a counter attack. Yuzvendra Chahal, for so long the only consistent wicket-taking threat for the Royal Challengers, might even have felt weird playing back up as he picked up 2 for 15 and limited Knight Riders to 84 for 8.The easiest chase in the IPL?Well not for Aaron Finch and Devdutt Padikkal. They fell for 16 and 25 but with such a tiny target before them, Royal Challengers could always regroup. They did the sensible thing with the batting too and gave one of their less experienced players time in the middle – Gurkeerat Singh making 21 as they sealed victory.

قلّص توتنهام الفارق خلال مباراته الجارية حاليًا ضد نظيره ليفربول، في إطار منافسات بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، 2024/25.

ويستضيف ملعب “توتنهام الجديد” مباراة الفريقين في خضم منافسات الجولة السابعة عشر من البريميرليج (لمتابعة المباراة من هنا).

وتمكن توتنهام من تسجيل الهدف الأول في شباك ليفربول، في الدقيقة 41 من عمر الشوط الأول عن طريق النجم جيمس ماديسون.

الهدف جاء بعدما فقد أليكسيس ماك أليستر الكرة، ليستغلها ديان كولوسيفسكي ويمررها ناحية جيمس ماديسون، الذي استغلها على الفور وسددها في الشباك. هدف جيمس ماديسون أمام ليفربول

وتشير النتيجة في الوقت الحالي إلى تقدم ليفربول بهدفين مقابل هدف، حيث سجل هدفي الريدز كل من لويس دياز وماك أليستر.

The death overs battle between the top two teams is likely to be especially exciting

Alagappan Muthu10-Oct-20207:30

Should Mumbai promote Pollard to counter Capitals’ spin threat?

Big pictureThis is the game everyone’s been waiting for. The two best teams in the tournament square off and there are match-winners right down the line-ups.Come for Prithvi Shaw’s rasping back foot shots. Stay for Rohit Sharma’s languid sixes. Scream for Jasprit Bumrah’s searing yorkers. Gasp at Kagiso Rabada’s endless skill. Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals. Two of the most talented and tactical teams take to the field in Abu Dhabi on Sunday night and it is going to be glorious.Likely XIsMumbai Indians: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Rohit Sharma (capt), 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Ishan Kishan, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 James Pattinson, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Jasprit BumrahDelhi Capitals: 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Anrich NortjeStrategy punts There is always a case for Kieron Pollard to be promoted up the Mumbai order and it is extra strong here. He has been obliterating spin this season; 10 of his 12 sixes and 90 of his 160 runs have come against them. Strike rate of 250. Capitals have been the strongest spin attack in IPL 2020 (13 wickets at an economy rate of 6) but even they are likely to have trouble. If things go bad, they will have to turn to Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje and that could mean their two express pacers have fewer overs to bowl at the death. Rohit Sharma is having an excellent tournament. He’s already hit two fifties – which is all he managed over the entire course of each of the 2018 and 2019 IPLs – and he looks set for more, especially since he returns to a ground where he’s been 49 and striking at 150. But the Capitals have several favourable match-ups against the Mumbai captain. Rabada: 34 balls, 39 runs, one dismissal, Axar Patel: 28 balls, 21 runs, one dismissal and Harshal Patel: 19 balls, 24 runs, two dismissals. Stats that matter Mumbai have been the best hitters between overs 16 and 20 (strike rate 235). And yet Capitals won’t be fazed because they have a set of bowlers who have completely taken control of the back end of every single game. (economy rate 9.5) Rabada, for example, has taken more death-overs wickets (11) than the entire Rajasthan Royals team (8). Capitals aren’t short of power either. They have Marcus Stoinis, who has a balls per boundary rate of 3.8 this season. Only Pollard has gone better. Away from the spotlight, Rahul Chahar is rapidly becoming one of Mumbai’s most dependable performers. So good has he been that he needs only two wickets – currently on seven from six games – to go past Rashid Khan and become IPL 2020’s most successful spinner. Axar Patel has an economy rate of 4.5 after five matches played. It is the best by anyone who has bowled a minimum of 12 deliveries in the tournament. He is yet to concede a six.

Paul Pogba has confirmed that he did reject Pep Guardiola and Manchester City when leaving their arch-rivals United as a free agent in 2022.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Ran down his contract at Old Trafford
• Premier League giants expressed interest
• Decision taken to head back to Turin

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Having reached the end of his contract at Old Trafford, Pogba faced a huge call on his future. He had spent another six years with the Red Devils by that point, with his performances on the back of a record-breaking £89 million ($116m) transfer dividing opinion.

Advertisement

• Getty Images
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The Frenchman was given the chance to link up with Premier League champions at the Etihad Stadium – keeping him in Manchester – but the decision was taken to retrace his steps to Juventus. That move has not worked out as planned, with a doping ban currently being served, but Pogba has no regrets.

• WHAT POGBA SAID

  Pogba said “yes” to when asked if he had snubbed interest from Guardiola in order to rejoin Juve in the summer of 2022. The 31-year-old midfielder has made just 12 appearances for the Bianconeri since heading back to Turin.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty
  

  DID YOU KNOW?

  Questions are being asked of whether Pogba has a future with Juve, as his reduced ban will end in March 2025, and he has been linked with teams from Ligue 1 to MLS. Quizzed on whether he could join close friend and former United team-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic at AC Milan, Pogba said: “Ibra will always be Ibra, a legend of the club: with his experience he can give a lot to the Rossoneri. Calling me to bring me to Milan? Zlatan knows that I am under contract with Juve. I don't see myself wearing another shirt. My focus now is to get back to wearing the Juve one.”

FMF exec Ivar Sisniega says federation using the next two years to prepare stadiums, fans and cities for the global event

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Ivar Sisniega speaks on run to 2026 World CupSays El Tri are planningHopes tournament will help with game's growthWHAT HAPPENED?

Ahead of Mexico's 2-0 victory over the U.S. men's national team in an international friendly earlier this week, Mexican Football Federation executive president Ivar Sisniega told reporters that the FMF is doing "detailed planning" to prepare for the 2026 World Cup.

Mexico are hosting the tournament along with the United States and Canada, with the international windows serving as important tests for the teams – but also the federations. The FMF is using the next two years to prepare their stadiums, fans and cities for the global event.

One important piece of that is scheduling matches against opponents outside CONCACAF – and they're going about it in a unique way, too.

"We're doing detailed planning with each of the FIFA dates, and some dates are certainly getting complicated," Sisniega said. "We've even talked with the U.S. to do the double-headers we sometimes do, where we will both play the same two teams, and that means it's more attractive for those teams to come and play for us, because they're playing against both of our teams.

"We're going to continue looking at clubs. Some people maybe didn't believe in the Valencia option, in the end, it turned out to be a very solid team that is playing in La Liga, and they play together. So there's different conditions. We're looking at and going to South America, possibly in January. We're looking at that option, you just have to find the best option possible."

And the hope is that the efforts will benefit all of North America.

"We think a lot of teams will want to come and play here before the World Cup," he said. "And I think that's maybe a good thing for Canada, USA and Mexico."

Advertisement@GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

As a host country, Mexico has three stadiums that will hold matches – Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, Estadio Akron in Guadalajara and Estadio BBVA in Monterrey.

Preparations at all three grounds are already underway, including different transportation and safety safeguards, with FIFA-appointed groups handling all the specifics in each three cities.

"We're proud, " Sisniega said. "We're happy with the three stadiums…. FIFA is working on it, but there are local organizing committees in each of these cities to make sure that everything runs smoothly. All three cities have hosted major events, perhaps events with much larger attendance than the World Cup game, so we're confident that they have the capacity and the people with sufficient experience and knowledge to do a great job. We're sure of that."

WHAT'S MORE?

In addition to scheduling matches and preparing their venues for the forthcoming tournament, the FMF is hoping that the World Cup will bring more to the country off the pitch, too.

Improvement of the domestic game in LIGA MX and further extending their reach to the youth levels and the women's game is a priority, as well.

"Perhaps differently in the U.S., football is very popular in Mexico.," he said. "I don't think we need to promote this sport more, but we are using the World Cup as a way to, one, revitalize the LIGA MX and do some improvements with the LIGA MX. And more importantly, something we haven't done before is we're going to be focusing on some grassroots efforts to get more kids to play football in the schools, to get the youth leagues more developed, and even use it to grow the women's game or women's participation.

"So really, we want to use these events as a platform so that more children, more young people want to play in the very beautiful sport of football."

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

GettyWHAT NEXT FOR MEXICO?

El Tri are back in action this November in the Nations League quarterfinals, where they will take on Honduras in a two-legged affair. They will travel to Honduras on Nov. 15 and then return home on Nov. 19. The matches will be their final of the calendar year.

MatériaMais Notícias

Em meio à uma gangorra desde o início da Série B, o Vasco tinha a chance de emplacar duas vitórias seguidas e encostar no G4, mas apenas empatou por 1 a 1. Dentro de campo, o time foi superior ao Brasil de Pelotas e apesar da falta de profundidade em determinados momentos, perdeu a chance de garantir os três pontos. Mais uma vez, os erros individuais custaram caro, e os problemas técnicos do VAR voltaram a aparecer na saga do Cruz-Maltino para voltar à elite.

+ Confira e simule a tabela da Série B do Campeonato Brasileiro

RelacionadasVascoDaniel Amorim expõe frustração com novo tropeço do Vasco e garante luta pelo acesso à elite até o fimVasco03/09/2021VascoLinhas do VAR não funcionam em gol anulado do Vasco em São JanuárioVasco03/09/2021VascoLisca lamenta falhas do Vasco e critica arbitragem: ‘Não tem como dar aquele impedimento’Vasco03/09/2021

Para dar sequência ao estilo de jogo adotado, Lisca optou por repetir a escalação. No primeiro tempo, o time teve algumas boas chances de abrir o placar, porém abusava das jogadas aéreas sem um centroavante especialista no assunto. Cano não conseguia receber a bola em condição e literalmente estava incomodado com o longo jejum sem balançar a rede que convive.

+ATUAÇÕES: Daniel Amorim marca e empata para o Vasco; Vanderlei falha feio e Cano perde pênalti

Com Zeca construindo por dentro, Andrey novamente pisou mais na área e Marquinhos Gabriel fez bons passes no primeiro tempo. O meia deixou Gabriel Pec em condições de finalizar duas vezes, mas o goleiro Matheus Nogueira evitou os gols. Em outra jogada, Léo Jabá também acertou a meta gaúcha, mas o arqueiro do Xavante estava em noite inspirada.

No primeiro lance polêmico do jogo, Léo Matos recebeu na área e foi derrubado. O árbitro Alisson Sidnei Furtado assinalou o pênalti, mas foi chamado para consultar o VAR. Ao analisar a jogada, o representante do estado de Tocantins decidiu anular a decisão e dar sequência à partida. À medida que o time não conseguia abrir o placar, os erros começaram a aparecer tanto nos passes, quanto no poder de criação.

+Pássaro afirma que direção do Vasco irá se reunir com comissão de arbitragem: ‘Qual será a desculpa?’

Ao perceber que faltava mais profundidade, Lisca colocou Morato em campo na volta do intervalo. O camisa 10 foi mais incisivo, tentou lances individuais, e ao tirar o defensor da jogada sofreu o pênalti. Cano foi para a bola, mas o arqueiro do Xavante acertou o canto evitou o gol do argentino. O atacante igualou o seu maior jejum sem gols com a camisa do Vasco: 9 partidas.

Apesar do vacilo de seu artilheiro, o time persistia, mas não contava que erros individuais voltassem a aparecer. Em uma bola tranquila, Vanderlei saiu jogando com os pés, mas praticamente deu a bola para o adversário, que tirou Castan da jogada e chutou. O goleiro cruz-maltino espalmou e Miranda não evitou a finalização de Erison – que colocou o Xavante na frente. Mesmo com a falha, a zaga estava desatenta e não conseguiu desarmar

Erros como esses custam caro e, infelizmente, marcam a campanha do Vasco nesta Série B. Com Galarza, Daniel Amorim e Figueiredo em campo, o time foi para cima e conseguiu empatar. Em jogada ensaiada, Andrey bateu falta rasteira e a bola tocou no poste esquerdo. No rebote, o camisa 17 colocou para dentro. O árbitro decidiu então anular o gol alegando impedimento, mas não consultou o VAR.

Mais tarde, a CBF alegou “questões técnicas” para identificar as linhas, prevalecendo assim, a decisão do árbitro de campo. Na temporada passada, algo semelhante aconteceu em São Januário contra o Internacional, no jogo que praticamente selou o quarto rebaixamento da história do Vasco. Pássaro disse que a direção irá à CBF na segunda para se reunir com a comissão e ouvir os lances.

Por fim, Daniel Amorim, no seu melhor estilo, acertou a cabeça e colocou a bola no fundo da rede salvando o time da derrota. Apesar de tudo, foram pontos cruciais que a equipe deixou pelo caminho – a quarta derrota em casa, mesmo sendo o segundo melhor mandante. Agora, serão confrontos diretos longe de seus domínios: Avaí e CRB. Lisca sabe que o time não pode mais errar e que passou da hora da arrancada. Para isso, é preciso ter atenção redobrada para não deixar o pelotão de frente abrir uma distância ainda maior.

Says selectors had to leave him out of T20I squad because of packed schedule for New Zealand tour

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Nov-2020

Phil Simmons, the West Indies coach, has said that Test captain Jason Holder “always in consideration” for the shortest format despite not being part of the T20I squad for the tour of New Zealand.Before Kieron Pollard took over the white-ball captaincy last September, Holder was West Indies’ captain in all formats. But since December 2019, Holder hasn’t featured in a T20I, despite impressive performances in the CPL and the ongoing IPL, strengthening his case for a comeback to the national side.Although the Barbados Tridents finished second from last under Holder in the CPL, he was their best player last season with 192 runs at an average of 21.33, a strike rate of 140.14 and ten wickets at an economy of 6.63. In the IPL, he has been instrumental in giving the Sunrisers Hyderabad a shot at the final. Coming in as a replacement for the injured Mitchell Marsh, Holder has picked up 13 wickets from just six games at an economy of 7.62. With the bat, too, he has played a couple of crucial knocks.According to Simmons, though, the decision to not include him in the T20I side was taken keeping in mind the packed tour. West Indies are scheduled to play three T20Is in four days followed by two Tests, with a gap of just two days between the two series.”Jason always has a chance to play T20 cricket,” Simmons said. “Let me just clear it up here. This is an odd tour here. The T20 series finishes a day or two days before the first Test match and [Holder] being captain of the Test team, a decision was taken by us as a selection panel that Jason will not be considered for that part. Seeing that he is coming from IPL, he will have one chance to play in the four-day game before the Test match.”But Jason is always in consideration for T20s. He had two good years at the CPL and now he is having a good tournament at the IPL.”West Indies will also be without Dwayne Bravo for the T20I series. The allrounder sustained a groin injury while playing for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL and was subsequently replaced by Romario Shepherd. Simmons was a bit concerned due to Bravo’s injury, but given the next T20 World Cup is still a year away, he felt there was enough time for him to prove his fitness.”It’s a concern because he was injured in the CPL and he is injured in the IPL,” he said. “But there is a break now. He is going to go back home and do what is necessary for him to be fit enough to play. There are a few series, there is another IPL I think before the World Cup, so there are a lot of chances for him to go and get himself fit and we will see what his fitness is like leading up to the tournament.

In recent years, Arsenal have seemingly taken Liverpool's place as the Premier League's nearly team as they finished just behind Manchester City for the second season running this year.

However, while the end result was the same, Mikel Arteta's men did improve in 2023/24, and it now feels more like when, rather than if, the North Londoners finally get their hands on the title.

In fact, that could happen next season, as one of the latest players touted for a move to the Emirates could be the perfect Kai Havertz upgrade – he even scored more league goals than Erling Haaland.

Arsenal's striker search

According to a report from German publication BILD late last week, Arsenal are among several clubs interested in signing VfB Stuttgart's star striker, Serhou Guirassy, this summer.

Alongside the Gunners, the report named Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan as the other sides keen on securing the 28-year-old's services.

Interestingly, he would be available for a fee in the region of €18m to €20m, which is just £15m to £17m.

Dortmund, Chelsea, and Milan may make this transfer complicated to get over the line, but for the bargain price Guirassy is said to be available for, this looks like a deal too good to be missed for Edu Gaspar and Co.

How Guirassy compares to Havertz and Haaland

Before looking at how Guirassy compares to Havertz, let's compare his league record to Erling Haaland's this year – it might surprise you. In just 28 Bundesliga games last season, the Stuttgart ace scored 28 goals and provided two assists, meaning he averaged a goal involvement once every 0.93 games.

In comparison, the City superstar scored 27 goals and provided five assists in 31 games, meaning he not only scored fewer goals in more games than the Guinean but also had an ever-so-slightly worse average of a goal involvement every 0.96 games.

With that said, how does the 28-year-old stack up to the Gunners' current first-choice striker, Havertz? Well, considering he just enjoyed a more prolific league campaign than City's Norwegian goal machine, he also comfortably outscored the German, who managed a haul of 13 goals and seven assists in 37 league games – an average of a goal involvement every 1.85 games.

Moreover, it's not just raw output where the "outrageous" Bundesliga star shines, as dubbed by journalist Seb Stafford-Bloor, as his striker-relevant underlying numbers are also more impressive than the German's.

For example, he produced a higher non-penalty expected goal and assists figure, scored more non-penalty goals, took more shots and shots on target and scored more goals from his shots and shots on target, all per 90.

Ultimately, the "insane" Guirassy, as dubbed by U23 scout Antonio Mango, has shown himself to be a genuinely elite goalscorer this season, and his underlying numbers suggest it wasn't a fluke.

Therefore, Edu and Co must do what they can to bring the incredible forward to North London this summer – he could be the bargain of the decade.

He's at Euro 2024: Arsenal make contact to sign Ozil 2.0

The incredible talent could be transformational at Arsenal.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Jun 17, 2024