Real Madrid are reportedly keen to add Real Sociedad midfielder and Arsenal target Martin Zubimendi to their squad in the summer transfer window.

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• Zubimendi on Madrid's radar for the summer
• Arsenal deal was said to be 'virtually complete'
• Spaniard has €60m release clause in Sociedad contract

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  According to a report from Diario AS, highly-coveted Spanish midfielder Martin Zubimendi is attracting interest from Real Madrid. This comes after reports from England suggested that Arsenal were on the verge of triggering the Real Sociedad star's €60 million (£51m) release clause, with the deal described as "virtually completed."

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• (C)Getty Images
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Madrid interest in Zubimendi comes from the club's desire to sign a ball-playing midfielder who's also good in defensive situations. While Los Blancos aren't sure about splashing €60m on the midfielder, the club's board are reportedly adamant they want to see a "Spanishisation" of the team, having lost key personnel such as Marco Asensio, Joselu, and Nacho – all Spaniards – in recent years. That is also partly the reason why the reigning Champions League winners are monitoring Bournemouth centre-back Dean Huijsen.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Arsenal are sure to enter the market for new signings in the summer, with two of their midfielders, Jorginho and Thomas Partey, out of contract at the end of the current campaign. As a result, the Gunners have not given up on their hopes of signing long-term target Zubimendi and will not shy away from triggering his €60m release clause. Newcastle forward Alexander Isak is another who has been strongly linked.

• Getty
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  It's not just Madrid and Arsenal who have been linked with the 26-year-old midfielder from the Basque country. Premier League giants Liverpool and Manchester City have also been reported to be interested in the Spanish international.

  While it remains to be seen where Zubimendi's future lies ahead of the 2025-26 season, he will be representing Spain during the international break. La Roja face Netherlands in a Nations League quarter-final, with the first leg scheduled for March 20.

Ollie Pope’s diving catch down the leg-side to dismiss Pakistan batter Saud Shakeel cost Pakistan and shouldn’t have been given out, according to Pakistan captain Babar Azam. Speaking after Pakistan succumbed to a 26-run defeat in Multan that confirmed a series loss to England, Babar said it appeared as if the ball had touched the ground”The Shakeel dismissal cost us,” he said. “It looked to us as if the ball had touched the ground. As a professional, you have to respect the umpire’s decision, but we felt the ball had been grounded.”Related

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Shakeel’s dismissal came at a vital juncture in the match, with lunch approaching and Pakistan reasonably positioned to pull off their second-highest fourth-innings run-chase. Pakistan required another 64 runs to win when Shakeel – six runs away from a hundred – pulled at a short ball outside leg stump, getting a tickle on it. Pope dived to his right to snare it low off the ground, although the replays suggested significant uncertainty as to whether the catch was clean.Part of the frustration of Shakeel’s dismissal was down to the manner in which the decision was reached, with Aleem Dar sending a soft signal of “out” to third umpire Joel Wilson. Wilson ended up sticking with it to confirm the dismissal.Despite discussions among the ICC Full Members around the protocols surrounding the on-field soft-signal, there has been no change to the playing conditions itself (the IPL has scrapped the soft-signal). The regulations continue to state that in the event of “inconclusive replay evidence, the on-field decision communicated at the start of the consultation process shall stand”.The TV umpire does review the footage and has complete authority to make his/her decision independent of the soft signal. Increasingly the trend among match officials has been to offer clarity to any decision and one way they have agreed to do that is to avoid using language that reflects that – so words such as ‘conclusive’ or ‘inconclusive’ referring to evidence have been removed from the radio communication between the TV and on-field umpires and instead, the former simply conveys his own decision as either out or not out.The issue is likely to be on the agenda of the ICC’s cricket committee when it next meets in March.”I think it’s for the umpires to decide [if the soft signal should be done away with],” Babar said. “Like I said, we felt the ball was grounded.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The Pakistan dressing-room’s reaction was one of disbelief after Shakeel’s dismissal was upheld, revealing both surprise and a sense of the importance of the moment. Control of the match switched hands once and for all, with England taking the final three wickets with Pakistan still well away from the target.England captain Ben Stokes was more equivocal in his view. Immediately after the match, he said he felt there weren’t any doubts about the ball carrying, but also pointed out those sorts of decisions could end up going either way.”I don’t think [there were any doubts about the catch], personally,” he said. “The only thing where you start worrying is when it gets looked at for a long period of time because that’s when you start having doubt in your own head. I’ve been part of games before where I’ve been on the team who’s been on the receiving end of those decisions and you’re always like, ‘that’s not carried’.”You see a lot of lot of those decisions and those type of catches in cricket. You could say the similar thing was when Rooty got caught at short leg – you could say that might have touched the floor. But you’ve just got to go with what the umpire’s decision is. It went our way but I’ve been involved in a few decisions where stuff like that has gone against us. But you can’t change that.”The man at the centre of the controversy was certain the ball had reached him on the full but admitted that, after that, it was hard to be sure.”I knew it had carried,” Pope said. “I didn’t think it had bounced before. As a keeper when you’ve got the gloves on you honestly can’t tell. I didn’t think it had touched the ground after. When you have gloves on you feel it go in but that’s it.”

ESPNcricinfo staff31-May-2015Stuart Broad finally found some form with the bat during a lusty 46, which helped England add 83 runs for the last two wickets and finish on 350, level on first innings•Getty ImagesBroad picked up where he left off with the ball and took two wickets in his opening spell•Getty ImagesRoss Taylor decided attack was the best form of defence, hitting 48 from 48 balls during a 99-run stand for the third wicket•Getty ImagesMartin Guptill was also in attacking mood and went past 50…•Getty Images…but became Mark Wood’s second wicket shortly before tea. At that stage, New Zealand’s lead was 141 with six wickets standing•Getty ImagesBrendon McCullum was a little more watchful than usual, ensuring England would not find a way back into the match•Getty ImagesBJ Watling and McCullum both recorded fifties during a stand worth 121•Getty ImagesWood picked up his third wicket when he trapped McCullum lbw, despite a review•PA PhotosEngland also removed Luke Ronchi but Watling reached his hundred in the penultimate over and remained unbeaten at the close, with New Zealand’s lead 338 – a higher target than England have ever successfully chased•Getty Images

Tim Southee to take up captaincy duties; Mark Chapman called up as replacement

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Nov-2022New Zealand captain Kane Williamson will miss the third T20I against India in Napier because of a pre-arranged medical appointment. He is expected to rejoin the team ahead of the three-ODI series that begins on Friday.Head coach Gary Stead said Tim Southee would lead New Zealand in the third T20I in Williamson’s absence, while Mark Chapman had been called into the squad as cover.Related

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“Kane’s been trying to get this booked in for a while now, but unfortunately it hasn’t been able to fit into our schedule.” Stead said. “The health and well-being of our players and staff is paramount, and we look forward to seeing him in Auckland.”Stead said Williamson’s medical appointment had nothing to do with his elbow, a pre-existing injury the New Zealand captain has been coping with over the last year. He had missed games for New Zealand and in the IPL because of it.Williamson’s form in the T20 format has come under some scrutiny in recent times. While New Zealand made the semi-finals of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, Williamson scored only 178 runs at a strike rate of 116.33. Last week, he was released by his IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad after he scored only 216 runs at a strike rate of 93.51 in their eighth-place finish in the 2022 season.After the first T20I in Wellington was washed out, India won the second match in Mount Maunganui by 65 runs, on the back of Suryakumar Yadav century. Though Williamson top-scored for New Zealand in the chase with 61 off 52 balls, he was unable to challenge the target of 192The third and final T20I will take place on Tuesday in Napier, before the teams head to Auckland for the first ODI on November 25. The second and third ODIs are in Hamilton and Christchurch on November 27 and 30.

At the start of the season, Arne Slot faced a few questions regarding his true tactical integrity and how much of Liverpool’s rip-roaring start was a product of Jurgen Klopp’s legacy.

For sure, some claimed the Dutchman was riding on his predecessor’s coattails, but such arguments have been reduced to flaking, brittle deadwood as Liverpool enter the new year confidently atop the Premier League and Champions League tables.

Klopp’s residual ferocity, his counter-pressing snap, can be found in this current Liverpool team. It’s like one of those lenticular paintings that shift when moving to different perspectives.

Optical illusions on the pitch can give the appearance of Klopp’s system, but make no mistake, Slot is very much his own man. He has willed and shaped the Anfield side into his own design despite the weight of the task and the bereftness of activity during the summer transfer window.

Goals scored

2.11

2.50

Goals conceded

1.08

0.94

Possession

61.3

56.9

Progressive passes

55.5

47.7

Progressive carries

24.3

21.4

Ball recoveries

53.5

44.3

Tackles won

11.0

11.7

Duels won

48.9%

51.2%

Sidenote: See the table above; Liverpool are more relaxed in their build-up, less frenetic and energetic. However, they are scoring more and conceding less. This is the marker of Slot’s genius, calming things down through phases while ensuring that his side retain the ability to ramp it up to the nth degree when the situation demands.

Federico Chiesa was snapped up for an eye-catching £12.5m but has only featured four times as he battles injuries. With Darwin Nunez’s future somewhat unclear too, FSG could authorise a statement signing this year – and perhaps even this month.

Liverpool eyeing new forward

As per Sky Sports, Liverpool have shortlisted Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo and may move to sign him this year. While the door is not closed on January spending, resolving Anfield’s contractual concerns is the pressing issue.

Mbeumo’s a prized signature after his prolific performances in the Premier League this term, with reliable reports suggesting that Newcastle United are also in the race and willing to pay £50m this month, though they are wary of PSR restrictions.

Liverpool boast the world’s best right winger in Mohamed Salah but with Chiesa homesick, peripheral and looking for a way out, this could be the perfect move to bolster Slot’s thriving frontline.

Bryan Mbeumo's season in numbers

Mbeumo has been a part of Brentford’s remarkable journey under Thomas Frank’s management, notching 105 goal contributions over 222 appearances.

Joining from Troyes in French Ligue 2 in 2019, Mbeumo has achieved modern-legend status in west London and, still only 24 years old, will feel that his best days lie ahead.

And rightly so. Regarded as one of the Premier League’s most exciting forwards, his goal against Arsenal on New Year’s Day was his 45th since the start of the 2022/23 campaign, placing him seventh in the division since that timeframe, directly behind Alexander Isak.

1.

Mohamed Salah

18

17

2.

Erling Haaland

19

14

3.

Alexander Isak

17

12

3.

Cole Palmer

19

12

5.

Bryan Mbeumo

19

11

5.

Chris Wood

19

11

He’s always there, hunting down goals, but he’s not just a marksman. As per FBref, Mbeumo actually ranks among the top 9% of positional peers in the Premier League this season for shot-creating actions and progressive passes, the top 12% for progressive carries and successful take-ons and the top 14% for tackles per 90. He’s the complete package.

In fact, such metrics have seen him compared to players such as Isak and Nunez, among forwards in his position across Europe’s top five leagues. The Liverpool striker has his faults, to be sure, but he’s still imbued with a kind of electricity and chaoticness that convinced Liverpool to pay for his services.

And Isak. Well. Wouldn’t Liverpool like to sign the kind of forward who could replicate some of the Newcastle man’s quality?

A Darwin Nunez & Alexander Isak hybrid

Imagine a player carrying properties distinctive to both Nunez and Isak. Imagine the kind of player you’d get. Mbeumo could be that type of striker for Liverpool, one who can shift between number nine and the flank.

It could be an irresistible recipe for success. After all, Slot has demonstrated through Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz that he is willing to field wide players in central striking roles to great effect.

For example, Mbeumo has scored 20 Premier League goals since the summer of 2023, missing only 14 big chances in that timeframe, as per Sofascore.

Isak, one of the deadliest finishers on the continent, has missed 30 big chances since 2023/24, albeit scoring 33 goals since. Nunez represents the converse, having scored just 13 Premier League goals in the discussed timeframe, missing, however, 30 big chances, embarrassingly matching Isak.

It’s grim reading for Nunez acolytes, albeit they can take solace in the fact that Liverpool’s agent of chaos is a thorny customer, using his athletic style and dynamism to help his team toward their goal.

He ranks among the top 14% of forwards across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for progressive carries and the top 3% for tackles per 90, which is impressive, but we can see that Mbeumo would implement a tactical strategy that could negate Nunez’s role, his expertise while bringing a whole new cutting edge to complement the likes of Salah and Cody Gakpo.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

While Mbeumo wouldn’t provide Liverpool with the ball-striking ability of Isak, they could mimic it in their own form. This is enough. More than enough. Liverpool perhaps boast the finest frontline in the country under Slot, and Mbeumo, described as an “output machine” by producer Michael Johnston, would make it even better. It’s as simple as that.

Worth more than Trent: Liverpool have hit gold on £115m star in the making

Arne Slot has turned this Liverpool talent into a superstar.

ByAngus Sinclair Jan 2, 2025

Heung-Min Son says Dele Alli was one of his "best mates" at Tottenham and revealed their friendship is still going strong following his Como move.

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Son & Dele good friends at TottenhamLatter now playing at Como in Serie ASpurs man reveals Alli's Italian storyFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Son and Alli played together at Tottenham between 2015-22 and despite no longer being team-mates, the South Korean star says they still keep in touch. The 32-year-old also revealed that the ex-Everton man joked he is now Italian following his Como transfer.

AdvertisementWHAT HEUNG-MIN SON SAID

When looking at an old photo of them together at Tottenham, he told Sky Sports: "The picture was taken in 2016. [Dele was] One of my best mates, I would say. When I first came to Spurs he was very kind, he tried to help me settle in well. We still have contact. He's doing okay. He's just moved to Italy, so he was making some jokes with me. He was talking to Italians, so he said, 'By the way, I'm Italian now'. I just wish him the best."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Alli was seen as one of the best young players in the world in his early twenties and Son earned a reputation of being a top Premier League forward. In recent years, however, the 28-year-old's career has gone on a downward spiral while the veteran is still proving his worth in English football. Despite their contrasting situations, their friendship has not wavered.

GettyWHAT NEXT?

While Son is likely to feature heavily for Spurs in the remainder of the season, Alli will hope to get some game time at Como following his red card suspension.

Gary O’Neil looks set to remain in the Wolverhampton Wanderers hot seat for the time being, despite his side’s recent set of dreadful results in the Premier League.

The 44-year-old has been given the dreaded vote of confidence by the Molineux hierarchy, but no doubt a defeat this coming weekend to Ipswich Town would again ramp up speculation that the former AFC Bournemouth boss is soon to be a goner.

Emotions abruptly change in football after all, with a number of rumoured faces being linked to the Old Gold job post whilst O’Neil is yet to be axed.

Rumoured names to replace O'Neil

The name with the most weight behind it at this moment in time does seem to be Graham Potter, who is also being heavily linked with a move to West Ham United who have just beaten Wolves 2-1 funnily enough.

Talks had even allegedly taken place between the ex-Chelsea man and the relegation candidates, but nothing has obviously yet materialised with O’Neil still in the dug-out.

Moreover, other left-field shouts have included Carlos Corberan and David Moyes when looking at the ongoing rumour mill, with Corberan a potentially controversial appointment, considering his current side West Bromwich Albion are fierce rivals with O’Neil’s men.

But, away from those named so far, there is another spectacular option reportedly available to the Premier League strugglers who could become the club’s next Nuno Espirito Santo if he is handed the reins shortly.

Wolves chasing the next Nuno

Wolves fans would love to have Santo back in an alternate reality, as the former Old Gold favourite has Nottingham Forest in an unbelievable fifth spot in the top-flight rankings currently.

Whilst he is obviously out of reach, Fenerbahce boss Jose Mourinho isn’t, who could love a return to English shores after once honing his craft as the ‘Special One’ in the Premier League before going on to succeed all across Europe.

Reports from Turkey seem to suggest that Wolves have bid £5m to try and get Mourinho out of his current contract at the Super Lig giants, with the 61-year-old more than well-equipped to turn around the Old Gold’s stuttering fortunes.

Of course, Mourinho didn’t win that much-talked-about nickname by chance, with a stunning three Premier League titles collected whilst at Stamford Bridge, but it will be the defensive stability he could bring to proceedings at Molineux that will catch the eye more considering Wolves’ lowly predicament.

Stat

Mourinho

Santo

Potter

Games managed

363

158

141

Wins

217

59

41

Draws

84

40

50

Losses

62

59

50

Goals scored

625

190

152

Goals conceded

305

209

169

Looking at the table above, Mourinho – whilst at the helm of the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United alongside the Blues – had only seen his teams leak 305 goals from 365 Premier League games, helped of course by the fact he once had the likes of John Terry at his prime to call upon when at Chelsea.

But, he would be more likely to get a tune out of the downtrodden Wolves camp than Potter, who only has 41 top-flight victories next to his name from 141 career clashes, with just seven of those coming when in charge of the West London club.

The Portuguese icon is also unlikely to put up with any poor performances based on his past outbursts in the Premier League, with a number of Wolves underperformers perhaps raising their game if such an esteemed appointment was made.

As his compatriot Nuno – who Jamie Carragher dubbed “Jose Mourinho lite” in the past – has shown this season for Forest, a defence-first approach can work in guiding your team up the league, with his side conceding fewer goals than Manchester City at 18 from 15 games, whilst the Old Gold have shipped a disastrous 38.

The “outstanding” manager – as he was once labelled by Joe Cole – has only overseen 13 goals being leaked in league action back in Turkey, with this managerial coup having the potential to turn Wolves’ dire season around, away from simply sticking with what they have.

After notably securing promotion and qualifying for Europe during Nuno’s time at Molineux with a defensive-minded set-up – having been dubbed a “pragmatic coach” by Carragher – the appointment of another former Porto man in Mourinho could help to get this struggling side back to those previous heights.

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Plays of the day from the Super 10s match between Sri Lanka and West Indies in Bangalore

Alagappan Muthu20-Mar-20164:04

Chappell: Evidence confirms Chandimal catch was clean

Pulling the plugA six off the first ball. A four to follow that. Tillakaratne Dilshan was batting like his numbers against West Indies suggested he would. Coming into the game, he averaged 55.56 in eight matches. But like a party that was shut down before it could get raucous, Dilshan’s innings came to a grinding halt when umpire Johan Cloete gave the nod to a vociferous lbw appeal from Carlos Brathwaite. The ball was angled into the pads and it appeared to be missing leg stump comfortably and the cool kids were none too happy with that. A brand new redhead, Dilshan left shaking his head and his old team-mate Mahela Jayawardene tweeted, “Come on, umps! it’s a WC and u have to be better than this.”The slow motion sucker punch
The Dwayne Bravo slower ball has had a grand old run at the IPL, and it keeps embarrassing class batsmen. Today it was Angelo Mathews’ turn. Premeditating a lap sweep, the Sri Lanka captain went down on one knee and was face to face with a big old full toss. Mathews, having given up the option of a stable base, could only flail at the ball. The outside edge looped up and fell straight into wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin’s gloves. At no point in this sequence did the ball touch the ground.The anti-climax
Bangalore made no bones about who it was supporting. Their local boy Chris Gayle was in town and every Sri Lankan wicket was cheered with gusto. So it was surprising when a dropped catch that benefited the West Indian team brought out a chorus of boos. Johnson Charles went aerial and Chamara Kapugedera hunted it down from midwicket. It should have been a dolly, but the ball popped in and popped straight out. A crowd that had been screaming “We want Gayle! We want Gayle!” when the chase began without him thought the wicket would bring their hero out. Guess they weren’t informed that Gayle had twinged his hamstring and spent too much of the first innings off the field to take strike straight away.Too much tech
It seemed it was finally time. Andre Fletcher had played a blinder in his stead, but Dushmantha Chameera claimed his outside edge in the 16th over and it seemed like Dinesh Chandimal had pulled off a fine catch. Umpire Cloete gave it out straight away, but his partner at square leg Aleem Dar wanted a second look. Third umpire Simon Fry was in the hot seat and as is the case with catches that die into the fielder’s hand, the more camera angles that were used, the more doubts crept in. The replays showed the ball bouncing, a sizeable contingent thought it did so only after settling cleanly into the wicketkeeper’s gloves, Fry wasn’t among them and ruled not out.The hometown boy deniedChris Gayle had called Bangalore his “hometown” after blitzing a century against England and his fans had thronged to the M Chinnaswamy stadium by the hordes to see him and they went back home without getting to watch Gayle bat. The man tried his best though. He was by the boundary, padded up, helmeted and armed with his big bat itching to get on the field and entertain the crowd. He had to be jovially dragged off inside by umpire Ian Gould and feeling a touch guilty, perhaps, Gayle came out sans his gear to wave to salute the crowd and indulge in a few selfies

MatériaMais Notícias

da dobrowin： A pressão feita pela torcida nas redes sociais deu resultado e o São Paulo agendou para o Morumbi o duelo de volta da semifinal do Campeonato Brasileiro feminino contra o Internacional.

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da bet nacional：
O duelo entre paulistas e gaúchos, que definirá um dos finalistas da competição acontece no próximo dia 12 de setembro (uma segunda-feira), às 17h30 (de Brasília).

O Tricolor prometeu divulgar em breve informações sobre ingressos para o jogo.

Inicialmente, a diretoria tricolor havia agendado o duelo para a Arena Barueri, na idade de mesmo nome da Grande São Paulo.

Mas a reação nas redes sociais foi a pior possível. Centenas de torcedores interessados em ir ao jogo criticaram a escolha pela dificuldade de locomoção, além de oferecer às meninas são-paulinas a chance de atuar no palco principal do clube.

– Vocês fizeram a diferença e agora o nosso jogo será no nosso Morumbi. Esperamos vocês nas arquibancadas para fazer uma festa linda e empurrar nós para fazermos história juntos – destacou em suas redes sociais a goleira tricolor Carlinha.

São Paulo e Internacional empataram o primeiro jogo em 1 a 1. O gol tricolor foi marcado pela atacante Rafa Travalão. se houver uma nova igualdade no placar, a decisão da vaga irá para os pênaltis.

Their 232-run stand helped Saurashtra recover from 92 for 3 and go into day four trailing by just 43 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Feb-2023

Sheldon Jackson celebrates his century•PTI

A fourth-wicket partnership of 232 between centurions Sheldon Jackson (160) and captain Arpit Vasavada (112*) spearheaded Saurashtra’s charge in their Ranji Trophy semi-final against Karnataka in Bengaluru.After scoring 407, achieved mainly due to Mayank Agarwal’s marathon 248, Karnataka had Saurashtra wobbling at 92 for 3 half hour into play on the third day. Then, they ran into Jackson and Vasavada, who battled for a better part of the day to run them ragged. Saurashtra ended day three on 364 for 4, trailing by just 43 runs.Vasavada has Chirag Jani (19*) for company in their quest to take the lead. With just two days remaining, Saurashtra will fancy their chances of entering their second final in three seasons given they bat till No. 10. The pitch hasn’t deteriorated as much as Karnataka’s bowlers would’ve liked, and the swing and seam movement that was on offer for much of the first day has given way to easier batting conditions since.Harvik Desai fell in the fifth over of play when he was struck plumb in front by V Koushik for 33. That was the only bit of joy for Karnataka in the first two sessions as Jackson counterattacked at every available opportunity. At the other end, Vasavada, who was hit on the helmet on nought and then had to be cleared for concussion, took his time to get his eye in before opening up to play some wonderful shots, especially against spin.Particularly impressive was his ability to step out and hit against the turn off Gowtham. Jackson fell for 160 with an hour to go for stumps when he played back to a sharp-turner from Gowtham that kept low to strike him in front of middle.By then, he’d defied Karnataka’s attack, scoreboard pressure, serious sledging, a bump-catch appeal that the hosts celebrated and some cramps on a moderately hot day to put Saurashtra in a commanding position.