Following another evening of wasted chances, Everton have reportedly joined the race to sign Dusan Vlahovic from Juventus, who have set a bargain price for their striker.

David Moyes was once again left frustrated after being held to a 1-1 draw by Sunderland in a game that saw Thierno Barry spurn a clear-cut opportunity to win the game. In the forward’s third start, expectations were high that he could finally kickstart his Everton career.

When the ball arrived at the far post, it looked as though the £27m man was destined to open his account in Merseyside, only for his attempt to find the stands rather than the back of the net. For the umpteenth time this season, the Toffees simply couldn’t find the missing piece to an impressive attacking move.

Moyes didn’t shy away from mentioning the missed chances at full-time either, and will be getting more and more frustrated with his current striker situation.

What really summed up Everton’s striker problem was the performance of Beto when he came from the bench. Whilst Barry was guilty of missing his chance, his replacement simply struggled to get himself into the game.

It’s something that The Friedkin Group must address if they are to push Everton into the top half of the Premier League. Several names have already been mentioned who could solve Moyes’ problem in the January transfer window, but it remains to be seen whether they’ll arrive.

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Among those mentioned includes Ivan Toney, who will likely need a move back into Europe from Al-Ahli if he is to get into Thomas Tuchel’s England World Cup squad. But he’s not the only name on the list, with Vlahovic’s new bargain price suddenly making him an interesting option.

Everton enter race to sign Dusan Vlahovic

According to TEAMtalk, Everton have now entered the race to sign Dusan Vlahovic, who is now available for as little as €20m (£18m) in January if he fails to sign a new contract at Juventus.

The Serbian striker has been linked with a move away from the Italian club for some time, but could now get his chance to move on courtesy of the Premier League in 2026. Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and West Ham United are also in the race to secure his signature in a bargain move.

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If the Toffees want a clinical striker then Vlahovic could be their man. The forward has scored three goals in just 499 minutes of action so far this season – the same as three goals in around 5.5 full games.

Described as “strong” by former Juventus boss Igor Tudor, Vlahovic has also matched his expected goals so far this season, whilst Beto has fallen far behind what he is expected to have scored by this stage. Simply put, Everton would be landing themselves a major upgrade.

Everton also eyeing Nicolas Jackson move

كشفت تقارير صحفية تطورات برشلونة من أجل التعاقد مع الدولي الإنجليزي هاري كين، لاعب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي بايرن ميونخ.

ويريد النادي الإسباني التعاقد مع هاري كين خلال الفترة المقبلة لتدعيم خط هجوم الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بعد رحيل البولندي روبرت ليفاندوفسكي.

وكشفت تقارير صحفية مختلفة في الآونة الأخيرة أن برشلونة لديه رغبة قوية في الحصول على خدمات هاري كين لتدعيم الهجوم، خاصة مع احتمالية رحيل روبرت ليفاندوفسكي مجانًا الصيف القادم.

وكشفت صحيفة “سبورت” الإسبانية أن إدارة برشلونة تعلم بكل التفاصيل المتعلقة بالمهاجم الدولي الإنجليزي مع بايرن ميونخ وسيخوضوا ملف التعاقد معه بدءً من شهر يناير.

اقرأ أيضًا | هاري كين يوجه ضربة قاسية لـ برشلونة

وأفادت أن كين لديه وقت حتى 31 من شهر نوفمبر الجاري لتفعيل بند خروجه في الصيف مقابل 65 مليون يورو، برغم من ثقة إدارة بايرن في استمرار كين إلا أن برشلونة لن يستسلم لأن اللاعب يبحث عن عقد طويل الأمد وحتى الآن لم يقُم بايرن بأي خطوة.

كين الآن يعطي الأولوية لاستمراريته في بايرن لكن وكلاء لاعب توتنهام هوتسبير السابق يبحثون عن عروض مناسبة له في المستقبل تحسبًا لأي تغير في الأمور، ويعبتر برشلونة هو أبرز نادي يلبي طموحات كين من حيث الفوز بالألقاب.

وأكدت الصحيفة الإسبانية أن المفتاح الرئيسي للمسألة كلها يكمن في مدة العقد إذ أن كين يبلغ من العمر 32 عامًا ويبحث عن الاستقرار، لن يرضَ بعقد أقل من عامين أي حتى عام 2029.

إذا لم يفعل كين بند عقده برشلونة سيحذف اسمه من القائمة وسيتم العمل على خيارات أخرى ولعل أبرز تلك الخيارات هو الأرجنتيني جوليان ألفاريز مهاجم أتلتيكو مدريد.

A late-career promotion has provided a fresh challenge for Chandimal, while also giving a boost to new star on the block, Kamindu Mendis

Andrew Fidel Fernando02-Dec-2024Thirteen years and more than 80 Tests into his international career, Dinesh Chandimal is in the throes of something brand new, in the same country he had debuted in.At his best, Chandimal is a free spirit – the kind of batter who goes out looking for run-scoring opportunities, then throws his entire body behind the aggressive shots.The lofted hits down the ground struck so vigorously his helmet shifts on his head, the back arched as he spanks a ball through the covers, the big slog sweeps in which he almost loses his balance – these are all hallmarks of his greatest innings.Related

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But now there is need for him to be a different sort of player entirely. The rocket-fuelled arrival of Kamindu Mendis means someone had to move up the order to No. 3. Chandimal was thriving at No. 5, a position in which he averages 50.29 and from where he had scored seven of his 15 centuries, and a double-century.But Sri Lanka needed Kamindu to move up, and Chandimal made way.”When the selectors and coach asked me to move up to No. 3, it was a new thing for me as well, because I’d only ever batted one innings at No. 3,” Chandimal told ESPNcricinfo. “I told them to give me a day to think about it. So I thought, well, I’m nearing the end of my career, and we need to groom youngsters. No. 3 is a big challenge, and that you face the new ball and fresh bowlers.”Batting No. 3 is notoriously difficult in a place such as South Africa. The first Test of this series was a case in point: Sri Lanka were guilty of playing too many aggressive strokes in their nosedive to 42 all out. “Batting at No. 3, you have to leave a lot of balls, and your forward defence has to be solid. Those are the things to tighten, and those are the biggest challenges for me.”Beyond this, on this particular tour, Sri Lanka are facing an exceptionally tall seam attack. Marco Jansen is a little taller than two metres. Kagiso Rabada stands a shade higher than 1.9 metres. Sri Lanka were perhaps guilty of not leaving as many balls on length as they could have, but they are also dealing with unusual trajectories.

“They gave me a lot of confidence that as long as they’re around, they will back me, whether or not the runs were coming at No. 3. It’s when there’s trust inside the team like that, that we are able to take decisions without being afraid”Dinesh Chandimal on the team management

“In Sri Lanka, we don’t have fast bowlers like that – with this kind of height,” Chandimal said. “So there’s no way to train against those kinds of release points. They get a foot or a foot-and-a-half of extra bounce. That is why it’s tough for us to judge.”It’s on length that you have to leave the ball, often. With a normal bowler, the ball has to pitch a little shorter for us to be able to leave on length. But with these bowlers, even if they pitch a couple of feet fuller than that, you can probably leave it based on length. If we get better at judging that length, we will be able to handle these bowlers much better.”Of Sri Lanka’s batters in Durban, Chandimal was the best at negotiating that bounce. Though he was out for a duck to a spectacular inseaming delivery from Jansen in the first innings, Chandimal was Sri Lanka’s best batter in the second dig. Arriving at the crease in the fifth over, he struck 83 off 174 deliveries.”When you play here, it’s not good to be tentative,” Chandimal said. “If you play a forward defence, you have to commit to it. If you play a shot you have to commit. And if you leave it, it’s the same. It’s that tentativeness that can get you.Dinesh Chandimal, who scored 83, was Sri Lanka’s best batter in the second innings in Durban•Associated Press”In the second innings, I just had it in my mind to be positive with every shot. If you’re in that mindset, you’re in a better place to pounce on the loose balls when they come also.”Part of that commitment will have flowed down from the management. When they asked him to bat No. 3, Sri Lanka coach Sanath Jayasuriya, the selectors, and captain Dhananjaya de Silva had assured him they would not abandon him if the experiment went badly.”They gave me a lot of confidence that as long as they’re around, they will back me, whether or not the runs were coming at No. 3,” Chandimal said. “It’s when there’s trust inside the team like that, that we are able to take decisions without being afraid.”In any case, If there is some spice in the Gqeberha pitch, as there is likely to be, Sri Lanka will be desperate for more such innings from their new No. 3. “There are some things you have to do for the team and for the future of Sri Lankan cricket, rather than thinking of yourself. I think I’ve always thought about Sri Lankan cricket first. I won’t complain about batting at No. 3. I’ll just take it as a challenge.”

Ahead of the start of the second half of the baseball season, the Pittsburgh Pirates are set to trade veteran infielder Adam Frazier to the Kansas City Royals, according to a report from Robert Murray of

In return, the Pirates are receiving 28-year-old middle infielder Cam Devanney, who has been playing for Triple-A Omaha in Kansas City's organization. It's a one-for-one trade.

The 33-year-old Frazier was in his second stint with the Pirates, after beginning his career in Pittsburgh. He is batting .255 this season with three home runs, 21 RBI and seven stolen bases in 235 at-bats. Frazier, of course, played for the Royals a season ago, so it's a reunion between Kansas City and the longtime infielder.

Frazier hit just .202 last season in Kansas City, which was his only season with the team.

Nottinghamshire 282 for 3 (Haynes 124, Hameed 58*) beat Glamorgan 278 for 9 (Byrom 62, Root 56) by seven wicketsJack Haynes starred with a century as Notts Outlaws kept their qualification chances at arm’s length with a comfortable run chase against winless defending champions Glamorgan.The 24-year-old Haynes struck a well-timed 124 with some late acceleration to chase the sub-par 278 for 9 set by the hosts.Ben Slater and Haseeb Hameed played supporting roles in the seven-wicket win, the latter combining with Haynes for a 141-run third-wicket stand.Eddie Byrom notched up back-to-back half-centuries with 62 while Billy Root also passed 50 to hold together the Glamorgan innings. One positive for the winless side was 18-year-old Romano Franco picking up a first professional wicket at the third time of asking.After being inserted, Glamorgan got off to a racing start, as has tended to be their way in this competition. Byrom and Asa Tribe’s 71-run opening stand left Notts’ bowling attack – hit by the absence of players in the Hundred – with cause for concern before Tribe’s fun was ended by 18-year-old debutant Byron Hatton-Lowe.Byrom, the steadier of the two openers in terms of strike rate, continued calmly as he watched on for Henry Hurle, playing a first Glamorgan game of 2025, to be dismissed.Kiran Carlson was unable to kick on, as was Will Smale who suffered a ball-watching run out to leave the hosts with just five wickets in hand with more than 20 overs to bat, a theme too common in their campaign.Root held the fort in a knock of few boundaries for 56 before Dan Douthwaite’s blistering cameo added some impetus, the hosts still left short.Zain Ul Hassan was able to contain in a seven-over new-ball spell while Ned Leonard leaked at the other end, Slater enjoying a rather comfortable start.After Ben Martindale was dismissed, a period of experience was due with Slater and Haynes adding 75 before Hameed struck an unbeaten 58 to ice the run chase.Franco impressed in his 10 overs but poor fielding, including a drop by Andy Gorvin with Haynes on 68 proved costly.Tribe followed as the third player in the game to take a first wicket for his club, after Hatton-Lowe and Franco, although the damage was done.

Long gone are the days when Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, and Mohamed Salah would tear the Premier League to shreds at Liverpool.

Staggeringly, from 197 games together at Anfield, the long-feared trio would combine for a devastating 338 goals, with Virgil Van Dijk once describing them together in action as a “scary” prospect to defend against.

Now, it’s very much a work in progress in attack for Arne Slot’s men, with both Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz remaining goalless in Premier League action since joining.

On top of that, fellow summer recruit Hugo Ekitike has largely blown hot and cold on Merseyside, with no league strikes next to his name from his last five clashes.

Last summer also saw a lot of change in attack in outgoings, with the wasteful Darwin Nunez finally put out of his Anfield misery. But, away from the heavily scapegoated South American, the Reds also waved goodbye to loyal servant Luis Diaz, who is now excelling at Bayern Munich, to Liverpool’s ongoing distaste.

Diaz's electric form at Bayern

Next to the memorable frustrations regularly served up by Nunez, Diaz’s starring role at Liverpool when he was still there could be viewed as slipping under the radar, somewhat.

Yet, Diaz was still labelled as a “very special” talent at Anfield by Jurgen Klopp for good reason, with the one-time Premier League title winner collecting a standout 41 goals and 23 assists from 148 appearances at Anfield.

Before he was moved on to the Bundesliga, he also chipped in with his most fruitful top-flight season in England, tallying up 13 goals.

That same clinical edge has clearly followed him to Bavaria, with Diaz already up to a bumper 11 goals and five assists in his new shade of red from just 17 clashes.

Worryingly, Isak, Wirtz, and Ekitike only have 11 goal contributions between them back in England, with the Colombian winger proving to be a stroke of genius signing for Vincent Kompany’s men at the £65.5m range.

To add insult to injury, all three of those Liverpool underperformers mentioned cost far more to obtain, with the 28-year-old already being hailed as a star who “delivers week in, week out” by his new manager.

Thankfully, Slot and Co could be brewing a homegrown iteration of their former attacker.

Liverpool's homegrown Luis Diaz

One of Diaz’s strong points when still situated at Anfield was his ability to line up all along the forward positions, with the malleable Colombian managing to bag eight strikes from 16 appearances as an out-and-out centre-forward, away from regularly completing his duties as a left winger.

The Reds have plenty of exciting young stars in their academy right now, chiefly fellow winger Rio Ngumoha but he’s not the focus this time around.

Indeed, another teenager by the name of Keyrol Figueroa is now beginning to make a strong impression on the youth staff.

Like Diaz, he has interchanged between wing and striker duties for Liverpool U21s this season effortlessly, with his “instinctive” nature in front of goal – as it was described by Liverpool academy reporter Lewis Bower – also seeing him score goals and pick up assists aplenty.

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While he has predominantly found most of his joy on youth pitches comes from leading the line, with a clinical eight goals powered home from 20 games in that role, Figueroa has also not looked out of place whatsoever on either flank, much like Diaz in his Anfield prime. To put those numbers into perspective, it’s more goals than Ngumoha has bagged at the same level, having beaten the goalkeeper on just two occasions in nine U21 fixtures.

He will also want to give a disappointing Isak a run for his money down the line, with a deadly hat-trick bagged against Everton U21s last month no doubt making him an even more popular figure in youth circles in the red half of Merseyside, away from being an adaptable figure.

It would be wild to throw Figueroa into the first team imminently, considering he is just 19 years of age and is only used to the comforts of youth football.

But, if he continues as he is now, it will surely only be a matter of time before he is unleashed, having also been described as a “ruthless” finisher of chances by his U21 boss in Rob Page.

Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp also hailed Diaz as having a similarly impressive “eye for goal” during his Liverpool playing days, as Slot and Co now hope Figueroa can be as lively in the first team picture as the Colombian down the line.

New Trent: Liverpool star is "one of the most underrated players in England"

Slot could find a shrewd solution to Liverpool’s problems in this talent.

ByAngus Sinclair Nov 17, 2025

Jude Bellingham's generosity has shone through with the Real Madrid star prepared to give a youth player 'his armour' following a cruel injury blow. Bruno Iglesias recently suffered a serious shoulder injury for the second time in his young career. The 22-year-old slipped and fell awkwardly in training as the Castilla star was preparing for an emotional return to Salamanca.

Getty Images SportBellingham prepared to help Iglesias

Iglesias had been set for a start under manager Alvaro Arbeloa but injury struck again in front of family and friends. It's the second time the youngster has endured a shoulder injury leaving the Castilla player with a decision to make.

Iglesias must now decide whether to play with a shoulder brace and endure the pain or undergo surgery that would rule him out until March. However, with less than a year left on his current deal, and the option to extend tied to first-team promotion, the Spaniard is eager to keep playing.

And in a huge show of generosity, Bellingham has offered to lend Iglesias the same shoulder brace he used in order to manage his own shoulder injury. The England international played in excess of 100 games with the brace itself before opting for surgery following the Club World Cup.

The 22-year-old played all six Real Madrid matches at the summer competition in the US before their resounding semi-final exit at the hands of Champions League winners PSG, after which he made the decision to go under the knife. Bellingham missed the opening few weeks of the season but has since slotted back into the Real Madrid starting seamlessly.

"I've been waiting for a while and my patience is running out. I want to feel free now; it's exhausting playing with the sling," Bellingham said about playing in the shoulder brace.

Advertisement'There were a lot of days alone' in Bellingham's recovery

Earlier this month, Bellingham opened up on his shoulder surgery and has confirmed he is now back to full fitness, stating: "It felt quick, but there were a lot of days alone, working hard, and honestly, pretty boring. I'm back earlier than people expected it was never going to be three or four months, I was always confident I’d return sooner.

"Once I was back with the team and doing contact, I flew through the last few weeks. On the pitch, I feel confident. I had to do gym sessions on a mat, learning how to fall and roll again, making sure I wasn’t putting my shoulder in positions where it might pop out.

"The chances are less than 1%, but it was about feeling no pain. It’s boring stuff you’re basically learning to fall again like a kid. It means a lot to hear people say they miss watching you, teammates miss playing with you, staff miss coaching you even the fans being up in the stand, seeing yourself on the big screen, hearing the claps it’s humbling to know so many people are supporting you.

"It’s easy to get dragged into negativity when you’re injured, especially when you can’t remind people what you do. That support was exactly the reminder I needed of how loved I am in Madrid, which is all that really matters."

Getty Images SportReal Madrid seek to return to winning ways at Elche

Bellingham will now hope to help Real Madrid return to winning ways having failed to win their last two competitive games. Xabi Alonso could only watch on as his Real Madrid side fell to a 1-0 loss at Liverpool in the Champions League earlier this month.

Los Blancos then followed up that defeat with a 0-0 draw at Rayo Vallecano and they'll hope to reclaim top spot in La Liga when they take on Elche on Sunday. Real Madrid dropped to second in the table as rivals and defending champions Barcelona secured a 4-0 win over Athletic Club in their first game at Spotify Camp Nou in over 900 days on Saturday afternoon.

Elche are unbeaten at home in La Liga this season, winning three and drawing three of their opening six games in front of their fans as Real Madrid seek to get their season back on track ahead of their Champions League game against Olympiacos next week.

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Real Madrid's no.5 looking to rediscover debut season form

Bellingham, meanwhile, made an impressive return to first team action following his full recovery from surgery, coming in clutch in narrow wins over Juventus and Barcelona in the Champions League and La Liga, respectively.

The Real Madrid no.5 will now hope to put in performances similar to his debut season in Spain, where he inspired the Spanish giants to the league and Champions League double. 

Whether his demotion to No. 7 was down to his own poor form, or an opponent-specific tactic, it has raised more questions than answers

Karthik Krishnaswamy22-Apr-20255:51

Knight on Pant batting at No. 7: It is ‘bizarre’

What were Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) thinking, on Tuesday night against Delhi Capitals (DC), when they pushed Rishabh Pant so far down the order that he batted outside the top six for the first time in the IPL since his debut season in 2016? What was Pant’s role in making this decision, as LSG’s captain?In a short, post-match interview with the broadcaster after LSG had lost the IPL 2025 match by eight wickets in Lucknow, Pant’s explanation was a terse one: “[The] idea was to capitalise. We sent [Abdul] Samad
to capitalise on a wicket like that, but after that [David] Miller came in, and we just really got stuck in the wicket, but eventually these are the things we’ve got to figure out and try to find our best combination going forward.”That statement calls for a little bit of unpacking. First, it was Samad who walked in at No. 4, Pant’s usual position, when LSG lost their second wicket in the 12th over. Perhaps what Pant meant by “capitalise” was that LSG were looking for quick runs, and felt that Samad – who had scored 20 off 11 balls and an unbeaten 30 off 10 in LSG’s last two games – could provide them some of those at that stage.Related

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• Teams face up to home truths in first half of IPL 2025

There were signs already that this was an old-ball pitch, with the extent of reverse swing and grip for slower balls increasing as LSG’s innings progressed. With that in mind, LSG may have been looking to send Samad in when there was still a good chance of the ball coming on to the bat.The move didn’t come off on the day, with Samad caught and bowled by Mukesh Kumar for two off eight balls. Pant didn’t come out at the fall of Samad’s wicket either, or at the fall of the next wicket later in the same over, the 14th of LSG’s innings, when Mukesh bowled Mitchell Marsh with a yorker.David Miller walked in at No. 5, and he was followed to the crease by Ayush Badoni, who came off the substitutes’ bench for the second match running. It was also the second match in a row where LSG had used a batter as their Impact Player even though they batted first. Typically, teams name a batting-heavy starting XI if they bat first and replace one of their batters with a bowler.Badoni had come off the bench to score a crucial 34-ball 50 in LSG’s previous game against Rajasthan Royals (RR). In that game, he batted at No. 5 when LSG lost their third wicket – of Pant – in their eighth over. LSG may have felt then that they needed someone to come in and steady their innings and give their end-overs hitters more favourable entry points.In this match, Badoni came in with just six overs remaining. As it happened, he made a strong contribution, his 21-ball 36 giving LSG a bit of impetus at the death even as Miller – who made an unbeaten 14 off 15 balls – struggled at the other end.With the Miller-Badoni partnership stretching into the final over, Pant finally came to the crease with just two balls remaining. He tried to manufacture boundaries off both balls, but didn’t put bat to ball against either, with Mukesh bowling him as he attempted a reverse-scoop off the final ball.Pant has endured a difficult IPL 2025, and came into Tuesday’s game having scored just 106 runs in 108 balls across seven innings. This, perhaps, may have led him to demote himself – if he took the decision – behind batters in better form.His long-time Test-match team-mate Cheteshwar Pujara, however, was having none of it. “I genuinely don’t know what the thought process was,” he said on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut. “There’s no doubt he should be batting up the order. He’s trying to do what MS Dhoni does, but he’s nowhere near [Dhoni’s age].5:50

‘An under-pressure captain affects the whole team’

“I still feel he’s someone who should be batting in the middle overs, between [overs] six and 15. He’s not a finisher, and he shouldn’t be doing the job of a finisher.”Pujara’s co-panelist Nick Knight, the former England opener, felt he could accept the reasons for the move, but didn’t like the optics.”I’ve not really a problem with Badoni batting at four-five,” Knight said. “I see some rationale in that, because I think he’s playing well, and I think he’s more likely to score runs than Rishabh Pant. There’s the problem. Samad you could probably say the same, he’s more likely to score runs than Rishabh Pant. David Miller, you could say the same.”When you look at the decision-making, perhaps in rationale it makes some sense. Where I don’t like it at all is it just doesn’t look very good. There is your captain, sliding, going backwards in the batting order when you really need him to step up. He’s the one that’s going to be standing up and talking in front of your team, he’s the one who’s leading you out there. He’s your leader, and it just doesn’t look great when the leader is going the other way.”From that perspective that’s my problem, because I would agree – Badoni is probably more likely to score runs, etc etc. It doesn’t look right.”A second-order glance at Pant’s IPL 2025 numbers throws up a more specific reason for his demotion: a tactical retreat against spin. Coming into Tuesday’s game, he had struggled against both styles of bowling, but while he had managed a strike rate of 117.46 against pace, he had gone at just 71.11 against spin.2:29

Why is Rishabh Pant more successful in Tests than T20s?

This pattern had held true even during his one sizeable innings of the season, a 49-ball 63 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). In that innings, he had scored 18 off 23 balls against the spinners and 45 off 26 against the faster bowlers. The bulk of the damage he had done against the quicks had come late in LSG’s innings. Batting on 40 off 39 at the start of the 18th over, Pant had hit three sixes in his next ten balls, off the pace of Matheesha Pathirana and Khaleel Ahmed.And so, like a number of batters have done before him in the IPL – including fellow keeper-batters Dinesh Karthik and Dhoni – Pant on Tuesday may have been looking to hold himself back with match-ups in mind, with DC still having two overs of Kuldeep Yadav left when Badoni joined Miller. That Pant ended up getting to face just two balls wasn’t in his control; the partnership between Miller and Badoni ended up consuming 34 balls.For all that, though, there’s one major difference between the cases of Karthik or Dhoni for a delayed entry point and that of Pant. Karthik and Dhoni have been finishers for most of their T20 careers, and for large parts of those careers were deemed to be pace-hitting specialists. Pant has mostly batted through the middle overs, and for much of his career has been a brilliant, unconventional hitter of spin.Of late, though, his output against spin has dwindled. Pant had strike rates of 147 or more against that style of bowling in each of his first four IPL seasons. Since 2020, he has gone at sub-120 strike rates in four out of five seasons, including the current one.Pant is just 27, though, and may yet have time on his side to reverse this downturn against spin; Karthik and Dhoni were in their mid-to-late 30s by the time they became pigeonholed as pace-hitters. It’s unlikely Pant sees himself in the finisher’s role in the long term anyway, given the damage his style of play – involving manipulation of fields and hitting the ball in unusual areas – can cause through the middle overs.A top-order role, in fact, is perhaps better suited to Pant’s strengths if he’s looking to avoid a confrontation with spin, or to face it on slightly easier terms, with powerplay field restrictions on his side. But with LSG boasting one of the most in-form opening partnerships of IPL 2025 in Marsh and Aiden Markram, and with their No. 3 Nicholas Pooran in exceptional form and sitting second on the Orange Cap standings, there perhaps isn’t a top-order slot for Pant to occupy without causing what he and the team management may feel is unnecessary disruption.Rishabh Pant came in at No. 7, and was bowled second ball•Associated PressSo the move down to a finisher’s role may be an entirely temporary one tailored to the circumstances LSG and Pant are currently in. It may even just be opponent-specific. In this match against DC, Pant may have felt he was likelier to contribute meaningfully if he avoided a showdown with one of the tournament’s best spinners in Kuldeep. It’s instructive that the one other time he demoted himself in this manner – in LSG’s match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on April 8, when he eventually didn’t bat at all – was against another of the IPL’s better spin-bowling teams.There may have been enough reasons, then, for Pant to have held himself back as he did on Tuesday, but one puzzling question still remains: why use Badoni as Impact sub when he could have been part of the starting XI, and allowed LSG to bring in a bowler later in the game? This question has carried a particular sense of urgency in LSG’s last two games, when their bench has included the exciting, 150kph-breaching Mayank Yadav, who is nearing a highly anticipated return from back and toe injuries that have kept him out of action since October 2024.The answer, perhaps, is that LSG don’t feel Mayank is as yet fit to bowl his full four-over quota, and that they have started their last two games with a five-bowler XI with the idea of potentially bringing Mayank on for a one- or two-over burst if they got through the first half of their match without needing to bolster their batting. That, however, didn’t happen either against RR or DC.

Seamers share eight wickets as table-toppers face awkward final day at Grace Road

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay10-Sep-2025

Matt Taylor claimed five wickets to secure a sizeable lead•Getty Images

If Leicestershire’s vision was to clinch promotion to Division One with a resounding victory, it looks unlikely to come to pass this week after a truncated third day of their Rothesay County Championship match left them trailing Gloucestershire by 150 runs.Shan Masood compiled a typically elegant 111 to mark his first-class debut for the county with the 30th hundred of his career but Leicestershire then lost their last six wickets for 22 to trail by 140 on first innings, bowled out for 342 as Gloucestershire seamer Matt Taylor finished with five for 70, backed up by new-ball partner Ajeet Singh Dale’s three for 78.Gloucestershire – who need a victory to keep their outside chance of promotion alive – were eight without loss from four overs in their second innings before a three-hour interruption due to rain, adding just two runs before a resumption at 5.30pm was curtailed after just 13 deliveries due to bad light. With earlier rain having delayed the start by 70 minutes, just 30 overs and one ball were bowled in all.Even if a win eludes them, Leicestershire’s lead in the division is so large that a top-two finish can still be confirmed this week if this match ends in a draw and the clash between third-placed Derbyshire and fourth-placed Middlesex at Lord’s is also drawn.Masood faced 176 balls and hit 13 fours on the way to his eighth first-class hundred in county cricket, having previously made them for Derbyshire and Yorkshire. The left-hander will be 36 next month but retains the capacity to produce moments of sublime skill at the crease, which he underlined with some beautiful strokeplay in this innings.After his 152-run partnership with Lewis Hill on Tuesday had seemed to set up Leicestershire for a substantial reply, there seemed little to suggest that would not happen as a second batting bonus point was secured in a morning session reduced to 50 minutes with Masood and Steve Eskinazi, also making his Championship debut for a new county, having added 82.But that all changed with the last delivery of the session, which resulted in Masood being given out leg before, the former Pakistan Test captain’s body language leaving no doubt that the decision did not meet with his approval.Masood’s dismissal was the catalyst for an unseemly collapse from 320 for four to 342 all out, with the follow-on only just avoided.Having put off taking the second new ball until after lunch, Gloucestershire took it immediately after the break and needed only 10 overs’ use of it to claim the remaining five Leicestershire wickets.Taylor, who had three wickets overnight, beat Ben Cox for pace and had Ben Mike nicking behind to complete his first five-wicket haul in two years.New-ball partner Singh Dale, bound for Lancashire at the end of the season, gained deserved rewards as ex-Middlesex batter Eskinazi’s county debut innings ended on 34 with a catch at second slip. Logan van Beek and Chris Wright became the fourth and fifth batters in the innings to fall leg before, Wright having at least hung around long enough to ensure that the visitors would bat again after the ninth wicket had gone with still one run needed.

Toss Rashid Khan says in T20s the toss doesn’t matter as much as giving yourself the best chance. By his own logic, he thinks batting first in Abu Dhabi is the way to go because that’s what he’s done when the coin fell in his favour. Afghanistan are in a run where they are playing six T20Is in 13 days and that’s resulted in a slight reshuffling of personnel. Rashid confirmed one change from the team that stumbled badly in the tri-series final against Pakistan just two days ago, with batter Darwish Rasooli stepping out for allrounder Gulbadin Naib.The pitch, reports suggest, has 3.5mm of grass on it, which is unusual on this ground. Hong Kong might have taken that into considering during their pre-match plans because their captain Yasim Murtaza wanted to bowl first. He also invited the world to keep an eye on 22-year-old batter Kalhan Challu, whose power-hitting has rescued the team from difficult situations as recently as July against Samoa.Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan (capt), Noor Ahmad, AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi.Hong Kong: Anshuman Rath, Zeeshan Ali (wk), Babar Hayat, Kalhan Challu, Nizakat Khan, Aizaz Khan, KD Shah, Yasim Murtaza (capt), A Shukla, Ateeq Iqbal, Ehsan Khan.