Dele Alli is being backed to make a sensational return to Tottenham despite suffering a "big dip" in his career by former Spurs ace Clive Allen.
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If it’s Hyderabad, it’s biryani first, business later
Amol Karhadkar19-May-2015May 11
The last time I was in Hyderabad was early June 2014. The new state, Telangana, had officially come into existence a day earlier, following a prolonged struggle, and the city was tense. The streets were as empty as they are on an India-Pakistan World Cup match day. This time around, there is no calm. The bustle is back, so is the persistent honking of drivers and riders, and terrible traffic jams. By the time I land at the airport, go down to the hotel, leave my luggage, collect the match ticket and reach the stadium, I am in danger of missing out on the first ball. Since the match isn’t sold out, the queue to get in moves at a rapid pace, and I heave a sigh of relief.May 12
The Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium used to be the home of international cricket in Hyderabad, while the Gymkhana Ground (also known as Parade Ground) was the place to be for all the budding and first-class cricketers. Until the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) constructed a stadium on the outskirts of the city in 2004. Since then – while the HCA administrative office at the gymkhana is still operational – all the office-bearers have moved to huge cabins in the Uppal stadium premises. There to meet some of them, I start laughing after reading a plaque above one of the cabins. “Shivlal Yadav, President BCCI”. It is well over two months since Yadav’s stint as interim president, appointed by the Supreme Court, ended.May 13
Hyderabadis love biryani. Many raised in the city have biryani for breakfast, lunch, dinner and also as an evening snack. Whether you like the dish or not, you cannot leave Hyderabad without paying a visit to Paradise, arguably the most popular biryani joint in the city. Some say it’s delicious, some that it’s overrated. The biryani is good, but the kebabs just blow me away.May 14
John Manoj is the secretary of the HCA. But he relishes the tag of cricket coach more – understandable considering his most famous ward was a certain VVS Laxman. As he narrates how he started coaching at the young age of 27, sitting in the office of St John’s Cricket Academy, which has produced almost 40 first-class cricketers since its inception in 1987, he also takes you through a pictorial history of the academy’s progress over the last three decades, which adorns the walls of his office. While Laxman features in virtually every other picture, three walls proudly display evidence of visits by the who’s who of Indian cricket, including Kapil Dev, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. In a corner of the fourth wall hangs a photograph of Mohammad Azharuddin advising youngsters. Purely unintentional, but Azhar seems to have been sidelined even here.A roof would be welcome, thank you•AFPMay 15
Wet. Wait. Wet. Wait. The match gets off to a start. Many spectators at the Uppal stadium have no roof above their heads and as a result are drenched even when the curtailed match gets over. Fans are forced to seek shelter, either near a loo or on the staircases or anywhere else, during three rain breaks. The rain does not spare even the chief minister. During the first rain break, as his 20-car motorcade drives into Uppal, the man himself is forced to wait in his car for almost five minutes. Such is the deluge that a huge puddle has formed, preventing him from stepping out of his car. He does so only after a last-minute scupper has ensured a makeshift carpet for him. With no start to the game in sight, he leaves in a while.May 16
I meet a couple of players in the team hotel lobby. To relax ahead of Sunday’s big clash against Mumbai Indians, the Sunrisers Hyderabad players have been given time off, barring two who have to attend a sponsor’s event. You cannot help but feel for the players. No doubt they rake in the moolah but they lead hectic lives for two months. If travelling within hours after the end of a match and playing the next game soon after landing in a new city isn’t enough, they have to oblige fans and sponsors alike with wide grins. “It’s not easy but [you’ve got to do it],” says one of them as gets ready to oblige waiting fans for a selfie.May 17
The IPL is a great spectator driver. More importantly, it is a great educator. I have been to four stadiums in three cities and I have heard this conversation at least once during every match. From a corporate employee to her companion in Pune, a toddler to his father at the Wankhede, a granny to her granddaughter at the CCI, and now a woman to her husband in Hyderabad. “Look at that, they are bowling from the other side now. I didn’t know this.” Take that all you IPL haters. Had it not been for the tournament, how would so many people learn about how the game is played?Before leaving the stadium, I go to the cabin of the “President, BCCI” to take a picture of the plaque. Surprise, surprise, the plate has been removed, apparently on the instructions of a high-profile BCCI employee who saw it just before the game started.May 18
Relief. Not because I’m done with yet another gruelling IPL season – or so I think at the time (I am deputed for the next two games even before getting back to Mumbai). Not because of having to not bear with the dry Hyderabad heat anymore. Relieved purely because I have had my last breakfast at the hotel. I have enjoyed every bit of the hotel: the spacious room, decent room service and a well-maintained gym; but I dreaded the breakfast. As much due to the crammed enclosure as for the thin and inefficient staff. Over the last week, I have seen guests standing and eating, like they do in train stations. For three consecutive days, a woman is made to wait for a masala dosa for 45 minutes, only to be told that they have run out of it. She storms out of the enclosure abandoning her already ruined breakfast. If I ever come to Hyderabad with my wife, I won’t be checking in here, for sure.
Team closes in on making a second final in three years after bowling Madhya Pradesh out for 170
ESPNcricinfo staff10-Feb-2023
They were thwarted by Madhya Pradesh in the semi-finals last year, but Bengal are on course for payback this time around, with a final appearance in the 2022-23 Ranji season almost theirs. Having opened up a 268-run lead courtesy a five-wicket haul by fast bowler Akash Deep, Bengal ended day three on 59 for 2 at the Holkar Stadium.MP’s hopes of clawing back hinged on getting as close to Bengal’s first-innings score of 438, but a regular stream of wickets thwarted their progress. Three of their batting pillars – Rajat Patidar, Aditya Shrivastava and the returning Venkatesh Iyer – managed scores of 0, 7 and 7 respectively as MP slumped to 101 for 6.Allrounder Saransh Jain, who was promoted up to No. 3 held fort to carve a fighting half-century, his third in first-class cricket, but lack of support from the rest of the batting group meant MP had conceded too much ground by the time their first innings ended. Shubham Sharma’s unbeaten 44 at No. 8 was merely academic.Akash, who has shouldered the responsibility of leading Bengal’s attack in Mukesh Kumar’s absence, ended up with his third five-for of the season to take his wickets tally to 36 in 15 innings at an average of 20.08. He was complemented by left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed, who finished with 2 for 30.In their second dig, Bengal lost openers Karan Lal ans Abhimanyu Easwaran early, but will have Anustup Majumdar and Sudip Gharami, centurions from the first innings, resume in their quest to bat MP out of the match and seal their second Ranji final appearance in three seasons.
Ajinkya Rahane was part of India’s bench strength for several series before he finally got his opportunity. He’s made it count on the most testing tours
Jarrod Kimber at the MCG28-Dec-20147:06
Rahane – From flashy opener to solid middle-order batsman
The eyes. Wide. Round. Bright. Focused. They stare at the bowler. They stare at the ball. If eyes are the gateway to the soul, then Ajinkya Rahane’s soul is desperate to play the next ball well.They stared like that when he first played international cricket. India had just completed their 0-4 tour of England in 2011. By the end of that trip, they were picking chubby bowlers from Miami’s South Beach. There was much posturing of, “Wait till we get England at home,” but it did little to change the fact they had been hung, drawn and pantsed by England for an entire summer.That the summer had started with India as the No.1 Test team just made it all the more brutal. Their older batsman – Rahul Dravid aside – had not performed. Their bowlers had fallen down, or barely stood up. And their captain played most of his epic innings in monotone press conferences.The limited-overs series started in the bowling-friendly part of the summer, in the bowling-friendly north. This unknown kid with fierce eyes played in the only T20. He opened. He made 61. Off 39 balls.The next game was an ODI at Chester Le Street. It was cloudier than a parody of London. The kid with the eyes was opening with Parthiv Patel. The ball was swinging and seaming. Rahane was swinging and seeing.There were pulls, clips, straight drives, lofted balls over cover and a smack over mid-on. Rahane looked calm, confident and like every bit the sort of player Indian cricket should be going mad for in the present circumstances. He should have been the poster boy for the next generation. A domestic run-scoring machine who can conquer the moving ball in the north, beyond the wall, while playing his shots. It was the sort of score that would have sent Australian fans into Uzmania or Quincitement.Instead India kept Rahan in his most important role, Test benchwarmer. It was as if they hadn’t seen his first-class average, and just saw him as another hitter from the IPL. They certainly didn’t see him.Rahane was there, he was always there. His stats weren’t countered in runs, but in how many times he was out on the field giving a water bottle to a more in-favour team-mate. Even before those England innings in blue clothes he was in a squad. Rahane was in many squads. Seven. While eight players made debuts before he did.When he finally played a Test, he was at home, playing the fourth and un-deciding match against a broken Australia. He made 7 and 1. The second dismissal was to Glenn Maxwell. To this day, Rahane averages 4 at home.Having waited ages for a Test debut, Ajinkya Rahane is fast becoming a fixture in India’s middle order•Getty ImagesVirat Kohli has made four hundreds in Australia, but away he averages nine less than he does at home. M Vijay averages 17 less. Cheteshwar Pujara 46 less. Dhawan 51 less. And Rohit Sharma a monumental 267 less. Some are small sample sizes. Sometimes they mean nothing. But while Test cricket seems to be getting tougher to conquer away from home, Rahane does that.Rahane’s average away from home is 48. That incudes four tours: Dale Steyn’s South Africa, Trent Boult’s New Zealand, James Anderson’s England, and Ryan Harris’ Australia. His top scores in these countries are 96, 118, 103 and 147.The 103 at Lord’s this year gave India one of their greatest ever wins. Ishant Sharma did the glory stuff, but Rahane did the gutsy stuff. India were 145 for 7. The batting guns just disappeared. Dhawan the movie star. Pujara the future. Vijay the spine. Kohli the megastar. Unflinching. Uncompromised. Unflustered. Rahane’s eyes watch carefully, his bat pushes calmly. He falls over. He gets hit. He plays and misses. He fights and scratches. He gets India to 295.India win by fewer than 103 runs.R Ashwin suggested India would make 650 in this Test. Rahane would probably never make a comment like that. When he walked in, that total was more than 500 short. He scores in boundaries. And delicate threes. Drives, dabs and pulls. Lyon drops a sitter. Rahane keeps scoring. He flies past megastar Kohli. It’s not a race, but he does beat Kohli to his hundred.Rahane keeps going. Hazlewood hits him. He hits Hazlewood hard. Johnson tries a full over of short stuff. Rahane beefs him with a pull slog then cashes in on the attempted yorker before smashing another pull shot. It’s only two excitable back-to-back sweeps that eventually get him.The eyes. Wide. Round. Bright. Focused. They stare at the umpire. They stare at the finger.Rahane took seven series to get off the bench. He took four series to go from waterboy to warrior.
“It is very difficult to balance the side at the moment. I am not 100% sure if Shakib would be able to bowl”
Mohammad Isam18-Dec-2022Shakib Al Hasan is likely to play the Dhaka Test as a pure batter after he was unable to bowl post the first day in Chattogram. Head coach Russell Domingo said that they would have difficulty in balancing the side if that was the case, but would be happy having Shakib as batter and captain as they try to level the series.”He could play as a batter [only],” Domingo said after Bangladesh lost the first Test. “Obviously he didn’t bowl enough overs. He is still struggling with his shoulder and [ribcage] bruising. It left us with four bowlers – a big blow for us.”Ebadot [Hossain] broke down [too], so we were stuck with three bowlers. It is very difficult to balance the side at the moment. I am not 100% sure if Shakib would be able to bowl. He is definitely available to play as a batter, which is an issue for us. We need an allrounder.”Related
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Shakib made 84 in the second innings in Chattogram, getting out trying to slog Kuldeep Yadav as he looked for quick runs even as Bangladesh kept losing wickets at the other end on the fifth morning. The hosts eventually lost the match by 188 runs but Shakib’s batting was one of the few bright spots in the game.Domingo said that Shakib has shown that despite his “laidback” demeanour, he is hungry to perform in Tests. The topic came up for discussion after Shakib was not seen on the field for certain periods during India’s first innings, but Domingo believes Shakib wants to continue to play Tests.”It is a tricky question. It is a good question,” he said. “He comes across as very laidback, but when he is in the contest, he has pride in performance. Looking from the outside, you may think, ‘Does he really care?’. But I know that he has a lot of pride in performances. He doesn’t want to be embarrassed out there. He is competing 100%.”Bangladesh have brought on left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed as cover for Shakib, who is unlikely to bowl in the second Test. But Shakib’s fitness aside, they have other worries too – specifically with the bat. They were folded for 150 after India posted 404 in the first innings, before performing much better with the bat on the fourth day. However, late wickets meant survival would be difficult while chasing an improbable 513.Russell on debutant Zakir Hasan: “It was a no-brainer to pick him due to his confidence and form”•AFP/Getty Images
Domingo said that their top order “isn’t confident”, but the inclusion of Zakir Hasan was a timely one, as he brought recent runs from domestic and A cricket.”We wanted to compete. India is a good side, but once again, one bad session with the bat destroyed our chance in the match,” Domingo said. “Four-hundred is a good score, but it is manageable in Chittagong. We shouldn’t have been bowled out for 150 in the first innings. The most disappointing thing is the poor decision making from the batters.”There’s a lack of confidence in the top order. They are not managing to find a way to get out of the slump. There’s a whole host of players in the top five or six that haven’t played well or been as consistent as I had hoped. The young player who hasn’t played Tests with us is confident at the moment. He has shown us how to do it. He played really well.”Domingo was particularly disappointed at the timing of Litton Das’ dismissal on the fourth evening. He had built a nice defensive approach but six minutes before the tea break, dinked one straight to mid-on, playing what seemed like a half-hearted loft of Kuldeep.”I was disappointed with Litton’s dismissal, particularly the timing of it,” he said. “He is such a good player, so I am sure he’d be disappointed with it too. I can’t see Virat, Root, Smith or Marnus giving their wicket away in that sort of mode six minutes before tea. Litton is that good for us.”Domingo also explained that Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Mominul Haque were dropped due to lack of form.”It is based on the fact that domestically and for the A side, [Joy] hasn’t really got a lot of runs off late,” he said. “He hasn’t played international cricket for five to six months. It was a no-brainer to pick Zakir due to his confidence and form. That’s why Joy missed out.”Mominul got 10 of his 11 hundreds at this venue. He’d be the first to admit that in the last year, he hasn’t got the runs. But he is too good a player to not have around. You cannot lose a player of Mominul’s quality. He will definitely be considered for the second Test.”Mominul lacks confidence. He is under constant scrutiny, [and] pressure. He probably is trying too hard, listening to a lot of opinions, [and] trying a lot of things. He needs to go back to find his own to get runs. Some of the best players in the world have gone through slumps.”
Real Madrid and Manchester United legend Cristiano Ronaldo was amused to spot his lookalike in the stands during a pre-match warm up for Al-Nassr.
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Given his success with Sporting CP, which has seen him win 71% of his matches in charge, Ruben Amorim will arrive at Old Trafford with high expectations of being an immediate success with Manchester United.
The 39-year-old has won two league titles during his tenure in Portugal, joining the Red Devils next week as he looks to make his mark following the upcoming international break.
However, he will have a huge task to turn around the early season slump that sees United currently occupy 13th place in the Premier League, 13 points off leaders Liverpool – a huge gap given the near £200m spent by Erik ten Hag during the summer.
It will take a quick transition for the first-team squad if they are to immediately adapt to the new manager’s 3-4-3 system, which is reliant on frequent overlaps from the wing-backs along with rapid transitions into forward areas.
Amorim will be hoping that his ideology will allow players who have been underperforming to flourish, whilst also allowing some to reach the next level, as demonstrated from his time in Portugal.
Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres has caught the eye over the last two months for his goalscoring exploits under Amorim in Liga Portugal, playing a pivotal role in the club’s recent success.
The Swedish international arrived in a £20m deal from Championship side Coventry City during the summer of 2023 after their failure to gain promotion to the Premier League – a bargain fee given his recent form for the club.
During his first campaign in Portugal, Gyokeres registered 43 goals and 14 assists in just 50 appearances as he helped Amorim’s side claim the league title ahead of Porto and Benfica.
However, in the opening months of the 2024/25 season, he’s taken his performances to the next level, already notching 23 goals and four assists in his opening 17 outings – including a hat-trick in the Champions League victory over Manchester City earlier this week.
As a result, there’s no surprise to see such interest in his signature, with many United fans undoubtedly wanting the 26-year-old to follow Amorim’s footsteps and make the move to the Theatre of Dreams in the near future.
Any transfer for Gyokeres would set the Red Devils back around €100m (£83m) given that’s the price tag of his current release clause, but it’s unknown if the club would be willing to match such a figure, potentially allowing one player to star instead.
Big-money striker Rasmus Hojlund is yet to hit the ground running at Old Trafford this campaign, scoring just two times in all competitions – an average of one goal every five games.
His last outing against Chelsea was no different, failing to find the back of the net once more, failing to even register a shot, before being replaced by Joshua Zirkzee – who has scored just once for his new club – in the closing stages.
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Rasmus Hojlund’s Premier League stats for Man Utd (2024/25) |
|
|---|---|
|
Statistics |
Tally |
|
Games played |
6 |
|
Minutes played |
343 |
|
Goals scored |
1 |
|
Shots taken |
4 |
|
Duels won |
38% |
|
Aerial duels won |
26% |
|
Dribbles completed |
40% |
|
Stats via FotMob |
|
The Red Devils have only registered nine league goals in ten matches this season, showcasing their lack of threat, which could hand academy star Chido Obi-Martin an opportunity in the first-team under Amorim before too long.
The 16-year-old joined the Red Devils from Premier League rivals Arsenal during the off-season, originally linking up with the U18 side, but he’s already taking the level by storm despite his tender age.
After notably netting 32 goals in 21 games at U18 level for the Gunners, Obi-Martin registered a hat-trick on his academy debut for his new employers against Nottingham Forest a week ago, before contributing with an assist in the 8-0 rout of Leeds United last weekend.
In The Pipeline
Football FanCast's In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.
Despite being 16, the striker stands at 6 foot 2, having that big presence that Amorim desires in his centre-forwards as seen with Gyokeres at Sporting.
He has the pace to beat the defenders, along with the strength to hold them up, before having a cool head to slot home – leading to former Arsenal academy coach Jack Wilshere dubbing the youngster as “exceptional”.
Given his age, it may take a little bit of time before the new boss utilises the talent within his first team at Old Trafford, but he’s proven he knows where the back of the net is.
The lack of goals will be a concern for the 39-year-old, with Obi-Martin certainly one to watch during Amorim’s tenure in the North West.
Amorim must immediately axe Man Utd flop who earns far more than Mainoo
Manchester United’s deal to sign him has been a complete disaster.
By
Ethan Lamb
Nov 6, 2024
Plays of the day from the fourth ODI between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Nelson
Andrew Fidel Fernando20-Jan-2015The exchange
Umpire Ian Gould was unflustered during a heated run-in with several Sri Lanka players in the Hamilton match, and his deadpan was in fine form in Nelson as well, when Kumar Sangakkara made a remark early in the match. Sangakkara was displeased that a bouncer from Mitchell McClenaghan was not called a wide, despite it seemingly having passed well over Tillakaratne Dilshan’s head, and told Gould that the square-leg umpire had signaled the ball should be a wide. “Did he?” was Gould’s reaction, as he went about his normal business. When Sangakkara replied with “yes,” Gould’s response of “Shit!” was dripping sarcasm. Not once during the exchange did the umpire make eye-contact with the batsman. Not once did he seem remotely interested in changing his decision.The salmon leap
Brendon McCullum had already taken a diving catch to dismiss Thisara Perera, but he outdid himself for agility in the final over when he sought to take a catch off Nuwan Kulasekara. The batsman had drilled the ball high to McCullum’s right, at mid-off, but he was immediately in the air, both heels kicked up, and reaching out horizontally to clasp the ball in two hands. He wasn’t able to hold on, as he fell back to earth, but had quickly got a throw away to the bowler, who still managed to run Kulasekara out.The shave
Pod shaving is said to be a dying art among batmakers in the world, but Rangana Herath did his bit to keep tradition alive when he made Kane Williamson’s bat lighter by a few milligrams using his boot. Grant Elliott pushed one slightly towards mid on in the 32nd over, and in his haste to cut the ball off, Herath stood on the face of Williamson’s blade, as the non-striker grounded it behind the crease. Herath apologised and went to inspect the bat soon after, to find his spikes had carved two lines into it.The stroke
Mahela Jayawardene played several gorgeous strokes during his 94, but the best piece of timing came perhaps from Martin Guptill’s blade in the sixth over of New Zealand’s innings. Angelo Mathews had bowled tightly during his new ball spell, but the moment he pitched it fractionally too full, Guptill took a long stride down the pitch, and with masterful control, lifted the ball high over the long-off rope for six.
Rio Ferdinand was left impressed by one Aston Villa star after their 2-0 win over Bologna in the Champions League on Tuesday night. The Villans continued their excellent start to life back in Europe’s biggest competition, as they made it three wins from three games.
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Aston Villa kept their 100% record in the Champions League going versus Bologna.
By
Kelan Sarson
Oct 23, 2024
Villa came into this third game of the competition having already beaten Young Boys and Bayern Munich, and they continued their impressive start by brushing aside Bologna. Goals from John McGinn and Jhon Duran sent the Midlands side to the top of the Champions League phase, as they are yet to concede a goal in the competition.
After the game, Unai Emery was full of praise for his side, as he believes they are “playing seriously” and his team is now progressing: “We are playing seriously; we are playing focused and responsible, and the team is progressing and mature in everything.
“We tried to break the press, man to man. We conceded some things in the first 15 minutes but then reacted very well. It is always difficult at home in Europe. We have had to try and be consistent in our gameplan for 90 minutes, and I think we did that today.”
Meanwhile, former Premier League defender Matthew Upson says Villa are a team that is “only going forwards,” and it is an “exciting time” for the club: “I just think it’s amazing how Villa have started. They are in a good place.
“Morgan Rogers is another piece of really shrewd recruitment. Where they see a fit for a player, they bring them in, and it doesn’t matter what club they have been at. He is a young player, but there is so much talent around him. It is a squad that can grow, and having experienced players like Tyrone Mings coming back from injury is great. Under Emery, they are only going forwards, so we are all really keen to see where they end up.”
The praise from last night’s performance doesn’t stop there, as TNT Sports pundit Rio Ferdinand was left impressed by one Villa individual who he spoke to after the match.
Speaking on TNT Sports, Rio Ferdinand believes Aston Villa’s Youri Tielemans has gone “to another level” under Emery’s management. The Belgian, who has been dubbed an “outrageous” talent by scout/writer Jacek Kulig in the past, has been a key player for the Villans so far this season.
Tielemans, who is on a weekly wage of £150,000 at Villa Park, has started all eight Premier League games, as well as all three Champions League games, during which he has scored one goal and grabbed four assists combined. The 27-year-old struggled for regular game time last season but is now becoming an important player under Emery, and Ferdinand believes his game has gone to a new level.
Ferdinand told Tielemans in an interview after the match: “You personally seem to have gone to another level now. I think you are playing at a real high standard, your ball retention; when you are pressed, then you are able to resist that and break the lines.”
|
Youri Tielemans’ performance vs Bologna |
|
|---|---|
|
Minutes played |
78 |
|
Expected goals |
0.05 |
|
Expected assists |
0.10 |
|
Touches |
60 |
|
Passes |
39/47 (83%) |
|
Key passes |
1 |
|
Dribbles attempted (succ.) |
1 (1) |
|
Ground duels (won) |
6 (4) |
|
Aerial duels (won) |
2 (2) |
Tielemans will be keen to continue this fine form he is showing as Villa look to continue their push-up the Premier League table when they host Bournemouth this weekend.
Virgil van Dijk provided an update on his future at Anfield as the Liverpool captain nears free agency.
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