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O Palmeiras venceu o Tombense, de virada, por 4 a 2, e abriu vantagem na disputa por uma vaga nas oitavas de final da Copa do Brasil. Além do resultado importante, Abel Ferreira teve a certeza de que pode contar com peças do elenco para o restante da temporada, quando vai precisar suprir as ausências de seus titulares. O técnico pediu para que a torcida confie nas avaliações dele.

> Veja tabela da Copa do Brasil-2023 clicando aqui

Em entrevista coletiva após a partida desta quarta-feira, no Allianz Parque, o comandante português não poupou elogios para o que viu em campo de jogadores que tiveram oportunidade de serem titulares ou de entrarem em campo, principalmente aqueles que têm menos espaço na equipe. Entre esses nomes está o de Rafael Navarro, que foi o autor do quarto gol e ainda sofreu um pênalti.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasPalmeirasAbel Ferreira nega interesse do Palmeiras em jogador do São Paulo: ‘Não vai pular o muro’Palmeiras12/04/2023PalmeirasPalmeiras aciona ‘modo time da virada’ e bate o Tombense pela Copa do BrasilPalmeiras12/04/2023PalmeirasATUAÇÕES: Vanderlan tem noite de garçom e é destaque na vitória do Palmeiras na Copa do BrasilPalmeiras12/04/2023

-Este é um elenco de trabalho, é uma equipe que trabalha muito para que os torcedores reconheçam o que eles fazem. Sempre falo para eles se prepararem para jogar. Sei que em um campeonato como Brasileiro, vai jogar todo mundo, é difícil manter a mesma equipe, vai quebrar, ninguém é de ferro. Fico contente. Se os nosso torcedores confiam em mim, posso dizer, que quando o Navarro fizer metade do que faz nos treinos, ele vai mostrar valor e vai ser abraçado pela torcida. É um garoto, vai falhar, mas lá fora querem resultados imediatos.Quero que ele s acreditem neles, como eu acredito – declarou o ídolo palmeirense antes de completar:

>Abel Ferreira nega interesse do Palmeiras em jogador do São Paulo: ‘Não vai pular o muro’

– É um sentimento de pertencimento, de família, de que estamos uns pelos outros, de sabermos o quanto cada um se dedica. Não fui eu que pedi para o Weverton dar um pique para abraçar o Navarro. Eu digo para ele “só preciso que faça 50% do que treina, que os torcedores vão abraçar”. Enquanto correr, vai ter um treinador que ajuda em todos os momentos. Quando sinto que não dá, eu troco. Eu sinto que tem potencial, são jogadores com muita margem, eu consigo ver à frente.

O Palmeiras agora volta suas atenções para o Campeonato Brasileiro, no qual estreia neste sábado, às 16h, diante do Cuiabá, no Allianz Parque. Contra o Tombense, o jogo de volta será apenas no dia 26 de abril, fora de casa, às 20h, quando eles decidem vaga nas oitavas de final da Copa do Brasil.

Amid a boisterous bunch in the India Under-19 team, he is reaping benefits of training hard and shifting bases after he was rejected by Delhi at the Under-16 level

Shashank Kishore25-Jan-2018The Indian team is a boisterous bunch. Prithvi Shaw is the face of it, the Instagrammer. Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma, the rockstars. Riyan Parag is the dancer. Kamlesh Nagarkoti, the joker. Himanshu Rana, the leader of the bearded gang. It’s hard to find a description that fits Shivam Mavi, though. Probably, focused and unassuming. He laughs when you tell him this, he’s modest, but doesn’t contest it.That isn’t to say Mavi doesn’t like his share of fun. It’s probably just fair to assume he’s the quieter one. On the field, though, he is a bit different. He is a fast bowler, a “mean one” according to his mates. Much like his idol Dale Steyn, he hates being hit even in the nets. He is from a place near Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, touted the swing bowlers’ nursery of India till not too long ago, at least since Praveen Kumar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar came along. Mavi has proved to be an exception.”Aggressive (I’m aggressive anyway). When I used to play in Delhi, a number of batsmen used to keep ducking at my bouncers, few even got hit. (I used to see fear in their eyes, they used to run away from me. I used to be amused watching them). Before the injury, I was a bit faster. My pace has reduced a bit after the injury, but I’m picking up again.”The injury he is referring to is a knee injury he picked up as a 16-year-old, but more on that later. It’s the “picking up pace” that has impressed many at the ongoing Under-19 World Cup, where he has six wickets in three matches. The speedgun’s record of 146kph, in the match against Australia, surprised many, including Sourav Ganguly, the former India captain, and Ian Bishop, the former West Indies fast bowler, part of the commentary team in New Zealand.Even as the social media buzz about his speeds took a while to die down, he was immediately spoken to by Rahul Dravid. “He asked me not to get carried away, not to lose my focus in a big tournament.” Paras Mhambrey, the bowling coach and a man with a shrewd tactical mind and understanding of fast bowling, is often by his side at the nets, as he is with the bowling group in general.One of the aspects he has paid special attention to, especially with the older ball, is to bowl yorkers. He trains separately at the nets to achieve this, with just a set of stumps and line markers. “Paras sir always says the more you practice, the better it will come,” he says. “We plan by watching videos of batsmen in the opposition and plan accordingly.”This solid understanding of his bowling stems from dealing with that old knee injury. He lost out on a year after doing damage to the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in his left leg and was advised to focus on accuracy upon return, a suggestion he didn’t heed. But he modified his action and bowls open-chested now, allowing him to bring the ball back in. “I used to be an outswing specialist, but then I became an inswing bowler because of the injury,” Mavi says. “My body started falling a bit towards one side, so I started working on that and worked on inswing.”Mavi picked up much of his basics in Delhi, the place he used to travel to and stay as a 12-year-old. He was soon part of Delhi Under-14s, but rejection at the Under-16 level “even though I played well and performed” left him disheartened. “When I started my cricket coaching, I just played for the love for it,” he says. “Then I realised there may be other things that happen in cricket too. There is politics involved too, but I didn’t pay much attention to it.”Branded an “outsider” despite being in the very system for two years, he shifted base to Greater Noida with his family, where he currently lives and trains at the Delhi Wanderers Cricket Academy. His family moved from Sena, on the outskirts of Meerut, to allow Mavi the luxury of training and pursuing cricket without feeling home sick in a big city.His father had to re-establish his business, but didn’t mind doing so for Mavi’s cricket. In some ways for Mavi, moving to Greater Noida was like returning to his home state, but proximity to Delhi meant he was sometimes among the same bunch of players who were picked above him in the Under-16 side. But being in the company of Railways’ Anureet Singh and Delhi’s Parvinder Awana, more than a decade older to him and trainees at the same academy, allowed him to flourish.At 17, he was bowling at the Afghanistan nets in Greater Noida, Afghanistan’s adopted home ground. He was training at the nets when Afghanistan’s then coach Lalchand Rajput liked his rhythm and invited him to bowl at his batsmen. He particularly enjoyed bowling to Mohammad Shahzad and Mohammad Nabi. This experience of bowling to an international team even before he broke into India’s Under-19 side he regards as valuable but not intimidating.”Delhi has a lot of good players, and the wickets there are pretty flat,” Mavi explains. “I have played there enough to not be too worried about bowling at strong batsmen. I found bowling to certain batsmen from Delhi harder than bowling to the Afghanistan batsmen. Bowling in Delhi prepares you very well, so when I bowled against the Afghans, even though I initially felt that these were international players, later on I really didn’t feel too different. I also played a match against them.”Back to the present and the Under-19 World Cup, Mavi has his sights fixed on Bangladesh, a side that beat India at the Under-19 Asia Cup in November. “I was injured and watching from home.” On Friday, he will have an opportunity to bowl at the same batsmen in the World Cup quarter-final. “There is no pressure. The days off have helped us train well. I can’t wait to play.”

Chasing an improbable 391, West Indies folded for 106 after lunch on the fourth day

Firdose Moonda11-Mar-2023

South Africa completed their home summer and World Test Championship (WTC) cycle with a massive win over West Indies that saw them move to third on the points table. Whether they will remain there will depend on the outcome of the Sri Lanka- New Zealand series. For now, it’s four spots higher than where they finished in their first WTC.Asked to chase a record target of 391 at Wanderers, West Indies were blown away by the lunch break. They were 34 for 6 inside 19 overs and were eventually dismissed for 106. Kagiso Rabada, who recovered from a third-day back spasm to lead the attack, made the early inroads before South Africa’s two specialist spinners, Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj, took advantage of the turn on offer to share five wickets between them. Gerald Coetzee mopped up the lower order with three wickets post-lunch.Rabada bowled an extended new-ball spell of seven overs and did the early damage. He removed West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite for the fourth time in four innings in the series – this time lbw with a ball that straightened and beat the outside edge – and strangled Raymon Reifer down the leg side.Wiaan Mulder was not available to share the new ball, as he did in the first innings, because he was sent for a scan on his right index finger after being hit while batting on the third day. The scan revealed no fracture and Mulder was cleared to play but did not bowl.Instead, Simon Harmer opened the bowling from the Golf Course End and found significant turn from his first ball. Harmer looked threatening throughout and eventually found Tagenarine Chanderpaul’s outside edge which deflected off Heinrich Klaasen’s gloves to give Dean Elgar the catch at second slip.Harmer thought he had another off the next ball when Roston Chase was given out caught behind but reviewed immediately and replays showed the ball had missed the inside edge and flicked the top of his front pad on its way through. At the other end, Maharaj took over from Rabada and bowled Chase with his fifth ball.Jermaine Blackwood pulled out a full-blooded swipe against a shorter delivery from Harmer and sent it straight to Temba Bavuma at midwicket and West Indies’ troubles deepened when, on the stroke of lunch, Maharaj asked for a review after he beat Kyle Mayers’ forward defence and hit him on the pad. It proved to be successful but, when taking off to celebrate, Maharaj went down with what looked like an Achilles’ injury. He was stretchered off the field at the interval.Jason Holder and West Indies collapsed at the Wanderers•AFP/Getty Images

With two bowlers unavailable, South Africa’s attack had to work a little harder in the afternoon session. Joshua Da Silva and Jason Holder put on 48 runs for the seventh wicket against a hostile spell of fast bowling from Coetzee. He was consistently in the mid-140kph and used the short ball liberally. One of them hit Holder in the box and he required some on-field treatment before continuing. In Coetzee’s next over, he dished up a wide delivery, Holder went for the drive and played on. Da Silva was bowled four overs later and it was only a matter of time before the result was secured. Kemar Roach sliced Coetzee to Keegan Petersen at point and Alzarri Joseph was stumped as West Indies were dismissed 10 minutes after the afternoon drinks break.Earlier, South Africa’s last three wickets fell for 34 runs in 36 minutes and 46 balls. Bavuma added only a single to his overnight score of 171 before he holed out to deep square leg in the second over of the morning. Bavuma departed to applause from a small but growing Saturday crowd. Maharaj went in similar fashion but not before starting the day with a cracking cover drive off Mayers.Rabada then made the most of his licence to thrill. He middled just about every ball he faced and sent a Mayers legcutter and Holder short, slower ball over midwicket and long-on for sixes in successive overs. Holder cranked up the pace three balls later, cramped Rabada for room, and he top-edged a pull to give Holder his third wicket.Despite West Indies’ efficiency in the field on the fourth morning, they still faced a huge ask. The highest successful chase at the ground is 310, reached by Australia in 2011, while the most runs ever scored in a fourth innings at the venue is 450, which South Africa put in a draw against India in 2013. In the end, West Indies did not even come close.

Former Zimbabwe international Peter Moor has been picked in Ireland’s Test squads for upcoming matches against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka while senior batter Paul Stirling misses out.However, Stirling will lead Ireland in the ODIs against Sri Lanka in the absence of rested captain Andy Balbirnie, who is set to captain his country across all formats in Bangladesh and the Test in Sri Lanka.

Ireland tours of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka

• Three ODIs (Sylhet), three T20Is (Chattogram) and one Test (Dhaka) vs Bangladesh: March 18-April 8

• One Test (Galle) and two ODIs (Colombo) vs Sri Lanka: April 18-28

Ireland will also be without left-arm seamer Josh Little, who will play only the ODIs against Bangladesh, after which he is due to fly to India for his first IPL stint with defending champions Gujarat Titans. Little will also play for Multan Sultans in the PSL just before Ireland’s tour of Bangladesh.The Test in Bangladesh will be Ireland’s first since July 2019, when they played England at Lord’s. Ireland have played only three Tests – the others being against Pakistan and Afghanistan – since obtaining Full Member status in 2017.Moor had qualified to play for Ireland last October, though he was overlooked for the tour of Zimbabwe last month. Moor, 32, has represented Zimbabwe in eight Tests, 49 ODIs and 21 T20Is, with his last appearance for them coming in a T20I in October 2019.”He’s [Moor] played a bit of Test cricket in Bangladesh and gives us some experience in that middle order,” Ireland coach Heinrich Malan said. “He has played international cricket [before], and it’s nice to have someone with that calibre in and around our environment.”

Ireland squads

ODIs and T20Is against Bangladesh: Andy Balbirnie (capt), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Barry McCarthy, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Ben White, Stephen Doheny (ODIs only), Josh Little (ODIs only), Andrew McBrine (ODIs only), Ross Adair (T20Is only), Conor Olphert (T20Is only), Craig Young (T20Is only)One-off Test against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka: Andy Balbirnie (Capt), Curtis Campher, Murray Commins, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, James McCollum, Peter Moor (wk), Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Ben White, Mark Adair (Bangladesh only), Matthew Foster (Sri Lanka only)ODIs against Sri Lanka: Paul Stirling (capt), Curtis Campher, Murray Commins, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Matthew Foster, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Andrew McBrine, Conor Olphert, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Craig Young

Now in its 10th year, the Hudson River Derby isn't the glitzy affair that MLS had in mind, but fans of both clubs have kept rivalry alive

The waitress hadn't even heard of Major League Soccer.

GOAL called a run-of-the-mill sports bar in midtown Manhattan, asked if they were planning on showing the Hudson River Derby – long hailed as a flagship event in the MLS calendar – this weekend. The response?

"What's MLS?"

It was perhaps a microcosm of where the matchup between NYCFC and New York Red Bulls stands in the city's sports landscape. To fans of the clubs, what started as a forced campaign has developed into a friendly sort of animosity. Players are starting to embrace it. But outside of the immediate American soccer sphere, it hasn't really made a splash, failing to penetrate a crowded New York and New Jersey sports market that features over 20 professional teams – never mind the wider soccer consciousness.

But for those involved, it remains a date on the calendar to circle, the kind of game that can define a season – no matter how a campaign concludes.

"There is definitely a rivalry that is not manufactured. Like some people have actually picked up the torch and gone 'You know what? We are fighting for bragging rights in New York'," Victor Arroyo of the Red Bulls' Empire Supporters Club said.

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  'There was a lot of pushback'

  Context is everything here. When the New York Derby – as it was first dubbed – started, it all felt a bit forced. New York Red Bulls were one of the first teams in MLS, and already had stronger rivals in D.C. United.

  "We've been around since the league started. We were the Metro Stars, we represented the New York, New Jersey metro area. Our biggest rival, and some fans will still agree, is actually D.C. United," Arroyo said.

  That much is still clear today. The Red Bulls have three officially recognized Supporters' Groups. Many of them still break out anti-D.C. songs, even when the New Jersey-based side aren't playing against their rivals to the south.

  There wasn't another team to hate, never mind an upstart that had no real history in the landscape of the league. But MLS pushed it all the same. In a way, it needed a New York clash. It's ubiquitous in every American sports, the idea of two teams in the tristate area that hate each other.

  "To introduce NYCFC and initially ponder them up as, 'Hey, this is going to be your rival,' which was kind of the sentiment in the very beginning, there was a lot of pushback," Arroyo said.

  At first, the animosity worked out. Red Bulls fans resented the fact that NYCFC were expensive transplants who relied on support from Yankee Enterprises and played their home soccer at Yankee Stadium. NYCFC fans often retorted with the fact that the New York Red Bulls do not, in fact, play in New York.

  "The banter you hear, from some of our chants for New Jersey is sh*tting on New Jersey," Danny Chediak, VP of NYCFC's Third Rail Supporters' Group said. "From our end, it's very much us talking down. From their end, I don't think they really care."

  Arroyo insisted that it's a tired rhetoric.

  "I laugh it off. It definitely pisses a lot of people off. Every once in a while, it'll get under my skin too. I get it. We play in New Jersey, but we're not a New Jersey team. We encompass all of New York, which is one of the things that we're proud of," Arroyo said.

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• 'This game has always been the game to watch'

  NYCFC, then, were willing to embrace the rivalry more so than their neighbors across the river at first. A new club with big-name signings, they needed a big game to latch onto.

  "Every year since Year one, this game has always been the game to watch, no matter how good or bad either team is at any given moment," Chediak said. "For some reason, this ends up being the most intense game, the one that everybody gives a crap about."

  The new faces had little to be excited about early on. The first fixture between the two sides ended in a 2-1 win for the Red Bulls, Bradley Wright-Phillips bagging the winner in front of a packed Red Bull Arena. They would go on to win the next three, a run capped off by a 7-0 victory over NYCFC at Yankee Stadium – a game known in Red Bull lore as "The Red Wedding" in a nod to Game of Thrones.

  "We gave them a 7-0 spanking at their own house, which we loved. We had our own players making fun of them playing at a baseball stadium doing their goal celebrations," Arroyo said.

  Over time, NYCFC found a foothold in the derby. Their fortunes were bolstered by the improvement of the team at large, David Villa leading the line to two straight MLS best XI appearances, and the 2016 MVP award. His first MLS hat-trick came against the Red Bulls, the Spaniard scoring all three in a 3-2 win in August 2017.

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  'The derby exists independently'

  But Villa's departure, along with the decline of the Red Bulls, and relative lack of star power on both sides, saw the game decline in viewership. What was once the high-profile matchup that featured Villa, Andrea Pirlo and Wright-Phillips was now an intriguing contest between two teams with little wider appeal.

  So, the fans took over. In 2019, supporters from both teams came together to form a 501(c) to raise money for a trophy to be presented to the winner of every annual series between the two teams. The result was a three-foot, three-inch design that mimicked the torch of the Statue of Liberty. It was presented for the first time in 2023.

  "The derby exists independently. And I'm thankful that it does, because a big portion of why we created the charity, because we wanted to trademark it and to make sure that [MLS] wasn't able to make money off of just the namesake or whatever," Chediak said. "It's a push to make sure that they're our clubs, as well as the league."

  Make no mistake. These fans still dislike each other. But the trophy has brought about a strange togetherness in it all. And as long as this whole thing stops with words, then any sort of antagonism is just fine.

  "We can be mad at each other. I can say 'f*ck the Red Bulls', then can say 'f*ck you City' as much as they want. Let it stay at words, and I don't give a sh*t. You could be animated about it, but if it stays without violence, that's fine," Chediak said.

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  'That was a sensational game'

  More recently, though, the game has been somewhat renewed – if only because the fixtures have had some weight. Last season might have been pivotal. The Red Bulls endured a rocky campaign, and after being thoroughly beaten by their rivals on Sept. 28, were within touching distance of failing to make the playoffs.

  But they nudged their way into the conference semifinals after beating the Columbus Crew on penalties in the opening round. It all led to a matchup with an Eastern Conference Final spot on the line at Citi Field. And despite it being a NYCFC home game, the stadium was a sea of red. NYCFC fan groups. were fuming. The Red Bulls, meanwhile, were buzzing.

  And that was clear on the pitch. NYCFC outshot the Red Bulls 25-9, had 71 percent of possession, and lost, 2-0. Red Bulls midfielder Daniel Edelman, an academy product, felt the energy of the game.

  "That was a sensational game. We stepped up. I think we really defended for our lives in moments of that game, and really just put everything on the line," Edelman said.

  Red Bulls fans, too, enjoyed it immensely.

  "That was our turning point, taking over that stadium and that field, hearing how their supporters – which I felt bad for – turning on themselves and saying 'hey we sucked.' That was pretty fantastic," Arroyo said.

The MLS icon has voiced support for Reyna’s rumored move to the La Liga side as he believes it would provide him with the playing time he needs

Lalas stressed Reyna needs consistent playing time above all elseSuggested mid-table La Liga club presents ideal environment for ReynaEmphasized Reyna must "meet them halfway" by maximizing any opportunityAFPWHAT HAPPENED

Following another season with limited minutes for Giovanni Reyna, there are reports indicating Borussia Dortmund has told the American that he can leave this summer.

In light of that, Reyna has been linked with a move to La Liga, with Real Sociedad rumored to be interested, and former USMNT star Alexi Lalas has endorsed the potential transfer, should it happen. He emphasized that Reyna's priority should be finding a club where he can play regularly – and Sociedad could offer that.

“It's a good solid team and that's what he [Gio Reyna] needs. I mean, he doesn't need a super club." Lalas said on his State of the Union Podcast. “He doesn't need Champions League for that matter, just a place where he can, where he is of the level, where he can play, where he gets a chance.

"Gio has to meet somebody halfway, all right? He's not just going to be gifted anywhere he goes the opportunity. I think that is a real question when it comes to Gio that he is going to have to answer through his work.”

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Lalas also touched on the scenes after Borussia Dortmund’s last game of the 2024-25 season in which Reyna was seen waving to the fans and the crowd.

“It shouldn't come to anyone surprise that this is not just a possibility. But I think just a fait accompli, if you will, that Gio Reyna is going to go somewhere else."

Lalas said he understands the emotions of leaving of a club that helped develop him since he was a teen.

“While it hasn't gone well for him at Dortmund, this is still the community that you live in, the community that your family lives in. You spend that other 22 and a half hours of a day living and functioning in that community," he said. "So I get it, it can be emotional, but hopefully it's on to, I don't know if it's bigger, but at least better things in terms of him consistently playing and he gets back to a consistency for him individually and, you know, potentially for the U.S. men's national team.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

At 22, Reyna's career stands at a critical crossroads after a promising start at Dortmund gave way to injury struggles and limited playing time. The midfielder, once considered American soccer's brightest young talent, has seen his development stagnate.

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With only one year left on his contract, the American will likely prioritize finding a permanent solution that provides stability and playing time after several disrupted seasons.

The same two teams will face off again in the WTC final at The Oval in London in early June

Sidharth Monga13-Mar-20232:44

What could India’s XI look like for the WTC final?

The comatose pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad had the final say as Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne batted Australia to a comfortable draw in front of the humongous but empty stands. Thus, a fourth-successive Border-Gavaskar Trophy series ended in an identical result: 2-1 to India.India needed to win three Tests in the series to secure their participation in the World Test Championship final against other results elsewhere, but they received good news just as the second session was beginning: New Zealand had won a thriller in Christchurch to deny Sri Lanka, the only side that could challenge India’s progress to final. The India huddle was seen shaking hands just as it was confirmed that Kane Williamson had completed the bye that won them the Test off the final ball.Related

Murphy's maturity, Khawaja's redemption, Head's promise among Australia's takeaways

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India qualify for WTC final after NZ beat SL in Christchurch

Trailing India by 88 at the start of the day, Australia needed to bat a little over two sessions to practically ensure the draw. Although the ball did a little more than it had earlier, they lost just the two wickets in the day. One of those would not even have been out had it been a proper batter and not the nightwatcher Matthew Kuhnemann, who didn’t review the lbw call off R Ashwin with the ball missing leg.It was a day of some triumph for Head and Labuschagne. Labuschagne began the series as a key batter if Australia were to succeed, didn’t score a fifty in the first three even though he kept making desperate changes to his game to succeed. Head came with a question mark on his game against spin – even within his team, which didn’t play him in the first Test.Head found the opening spot thanks to the injury to David Warner and eased their potentially tricky chase in Indore. Both Head and Labuschagne missed out in the first innings on a pitch made for batters. In the second innings, they put their heads down and both went past 50 for the first time in the series.The conditions did get progressively difficult as the Test progressed, but the pitch was so slow it didn’t result in actual wickets. The control percentage went from 90.3 in the first innings to 90.7 in the second to 86.8 in the third innings. Normally, Tests start with those third-innings numbers and get progressively difficult.2:22

Chappell: Australia didn’t learn a lot about their play in this series

No matter the flatness, funny things can happen when you are trying to save a Test. Also, Usman Khawaja, Australia’s leading run-scorer for the series, had injured himself and was going to bat only if desperately needed. Head and Labuschagne made sure there was nothing of the sort even after Kuhnemann fell early on the day.Head also made sure the runs came quickly, which took Australia to parity and then past India’s lead. Labuschagne was in no rush: he just wanted to enjoy his time in the sun. The closest India came to getting him out was when Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin found his inside edge, but Jadeja didn’t have a short leg at all, and Ashwin didn’t have a backward short-leg.Head was nearing what would have been an immensely satisfying hundred, but Axar Patel did him with a flighted ball that landed in the rough. It got him to 50 wickets in just 12 Tests even though he has got just three in this series.By the time the final session began, the only matter of interest was if Labuschagne would get to a hundred. That interest was killed pretty quickly as he kept patting back half-volleys, and added just seven to his 56 at tea. Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara got a bowl too, and the teams shook hand at the earliest possible moment they could have done so: with 17.5 overs remaining.Australia declared at that point to give India 15 overs to bat, which is when the sides can agree to end a Test in a draw. That was as emphatic a statement as any against the pitch rolled out for the Test.

The seamer picked up 5 for 15 and the opener smashed 76* off just 28 balls

Sruthi Ravindranath11-Mar-20236:07

Kappital performance by Delhi in WPL

With the new ball in hand, and her wife Dane van Niekerk – who hinted at retirement from international cricket earlier in the day – watching from the stands, Marizanne Kapp delivered her best T20 performance as Delhi Capitals wrapped up a ten-wicket win against Gujarat Giants at the DY Patil Sports Academy.Giants could muster just 105 for 9 off their 20 overs as they struggled against tight bowling from Capitals, with Kim Garth’s 32 off 37 balls their highest individual score of the day.They then helplessly watched Shafali Verma put up a show, as she smashed ten fours and five sixes on her way to the second-fastest fifty in the WPL, as Capitals completed their chase in just 7.1 overs. That also resulted in Capitals’ net run rate zooming from 0.956 to 2.338, as they strengthened their position at No. 2 on the points table.The perfect farewell gift courtesy KappA few hours before the game, Kapp had (kind of) broken the news about van Niekerk’s retirement. Last month, she had spoken about how it had been “difficult” for her when van Niekerk was snubbed for the T20 World Cup. “End of an era,” Kapp tweeted on Saturday, along with pictures of van Niekerk and herself with their South African team-mates.Up until this game, Kapp had collected figures of 0 for 36, 1 for 29, and 0 for 25 in her first three games of the WPL. In a tournament that has been dominated by batters and seen four totals in excess of 200, Kapp had actually fared better than most other bowlers. But Kapp sets high standards for herself – her captain Meg Lanning too acknowledged the same at the press conference later – and felt she had “let the team down”.”I just wanted to perform so badly for my team, it’s not been going too well in the previous three games. I felt like I missed my line and length a lot and today it worked,” Kapp told the host broadcaster after the match.And she turned it around in some style. She bowled four overs in a row, choosing discipline to pick up her maiden five-wicket haul in T20s. The 5 for 15, in a way, also seemed like the perfect farewell gift for van Niekerk.On a pitch that offered a bit of seam movement, Kapp stuck to the right lengths, bowling straighter and attacking the stumps, having three of the batters bowled and two pinned in front.Kapp’s carnage started with the second ball of the match, when she bowled the perfect yorker to hit S Meghana’s off stump. In her next over, she welcomed her compatriot Laura Wolvaardt to the tournament with a ball that shaped back in off the seam to beat the inside edge and crash into the stumps. Right on target again.Next ball, she pinged Ash Gardner on the pads with another nip-backer. And just like that, she left Giants in a disarray at 9 for 3.Shafali Verma hit a 19-ball fifty•BCCI

“She [Kapp] bowled her stock ball and her natural length, which was able to get a little bit out of the wicket,” Lanning said. “It was a bit of a new ball wicket from what I saw – and to see her do so well was great. She’s been a bit down throughout the tournament. I don’t think she’s actually bowled that badly but it’s the nature of the game… she actually worked really hard, [she is] very hard on herself.”And just when Harleen Deol was getting comfortable, Kapp hit her back leg with an offcutter. The appeal for lbw was overturned but a confident review gave Kapp her fourth wicket, and Capitals their fifth, in the powerplay. And then came wicket No. 5 as she bowled Sushma Verma through the gate with a length delivery that nipped back in.The cameras cut to a proud van Niekerk cheering for her wife. “Feels like I’m the one retiring,” Kapp told the host broadcaster at the end of an emotional day. I’m just happy she [van Niekerk] is in a better place mentally.”Shafali does Shafali things, yet againJust four runs had come off the first over of the chase. A low-scoring thriller to come? No way Shafali was going to let that happen.Her first big hit was a typical dancing-down-the-track six over long-off. She slapped four more boundaries in the next six balls, before taking on Ashleigh Gardner for two fours and a six. Lanning joined the party as well and hit two more fours off Gardner to close out a 23-run over. In the fifth over, Shafali got to her fifty, off just 19 balls, her fastest in T20s.The effortless hitting continued as the Capitals raced to 87 for no loss in the powerplay. It didn’t take much longer – with three fours and a six being hit in the next seven balls – to finish the game.”Shafali took the wicket out of the equation,” Lanning said. “She backed herself, played to her strengths, stayed nice and still and hit straight. On these wickets if you do that, you’re going to be pretty successful. I loved standing at the other end, watching her do her thing. It was a lot of fun out there. Hopefully, she can continue on and be confident from this innings.”

Hampshire seamer John Turner starred with three wickets on his Vitality Blast debut as the defending champions recorded their third straight win, holding off rock-bottom Middlesex at Radlett.The 22-year-old captured the wicket of Middlesex captain Stephen Eskinazi with his first ball in the tournament, finishing with 3 for 30 as the Hawks successfully defended a modest total of 164 for 6.Max Holden’s first Blast half-century of the summer, with 53 from 31 balls, had given the Seaxes hope of finally breaking their duck in the South Group as he and Ryan Higgins (43 from 35) added 60 for the fourth wicket.But Hampshire’s death bowlers held their nerve to ensure the home side remain winless in the competition, equalling their longest losing start to a campaign of seven defeats in 2006 and 2009.Hampshire skipper James Vince, who had smashed a match-winning 88 not out in the sides’ first meeting of the tournament, missed out this time after driving Josh de Caires’ second ball tamely to mid-off.But Ben McDermott was soon into his stride, pummelling Blake Cullen for successive boundaries and dispatching both Tom Helm and de Caires over the fence as he and Toby Albert shared a partnership of 56 from 38.Luke Hollman’s tight three-over stint of 2 for 12 broke the stand, luring Albert into a mistimed reverse sweep and the leg-spinner also prised out the big-hitting McDermott, caught at long-off just short of his half-century.With Joe Weatherley and Aneurin Donald both holing out as de Caires recorded his best T20 figures of 2 for 34, the Hawks had lost three wickets for just 11 runs and they responded by shifting Chris Wood up the order to No.7.That move paid off as the quick hrashed 31 from 21 and he and Ross Whiteley, with an unbeaten 28 from 20, hauled Hampshire above 150 but Higgins, with four consecutive dot balls in the penultimate over, ensured they fell short of par.However, their total looked more than substantial after two overs of the Middlesex reply, with just two extras on the board and both openers back in the pavilion with ducks against their name.Eskinazi was caught miscuing a pull to midwicket off Turner’s first delivery and Joe Cracknell followed five balls later, leg before – but Holden and Pieter Malan kick-started the innings with a stand of 43 from 23.Malan, having advanced to 18 with two powerful leg-side blows off Wood, attempted to do the same against Nathan Ellis just before the end of the powerplay and was caught in the deep.Holden displayed a knack of picking out the gaps, carving Scott Currie to the cover boundary and clipping his next ball to leg for four more as Middlesex kept pace with the required run-rate.The left-hander brought up his 50 from 26 balls and Higgins was a more than capable foil in their partnership, bisecting the leg-side fielders perfectly to register successive fours off Wood.But Liam Dawson tilted the contest back in Hampshire’s favour, tempting Holden to top-edge a pull to short fine leg and Turner claimed his third wicket before Vince raced from mid-off and dived to pouch a skier from Higgins.Despite two boundaries by Martin Andersson to keep Middlesex in contention, a target of 15 from the final over proved too steep.

On a rain-hit day, West extend lead to 384 despite Saurabh and Jain strikes, while South need 194 runs to beat North

Himanshu Agrawal07-Jul-2023

Cheteshwar Pujara hit his 60th first-class century to leave West Zone in a dominating position on the third day of their Duleep Trophy semi-final against Central Zone in Alur. Rain stopped play immediately after he was run-out for 133, with West ending on 292 for 9 – thus, 384 ahead of Central – even as no play was possible after that stoppage.Pujara added crucial partnerships with the middle and lower orders after West were 150 for 4 at one stage, when Saurabh Kumar dismissed Sarfaraz Khan for 6. He shared important stands of 47, 32, 21 and 26 for the fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth wickets, respectively, as the defending champions took one step towards the final. Pujara picked up pace towards the latter stage of his innings after initially taking his time to build his innings, going for his shots with the tail for company.However, Central’s spinners Saurabh and Saransh Jain kept a lid at the other end, sharing seven of the nine wickets to fall between them. In fact, all six wickets went to the duo on the third day, with Saurabh finishing with 4 for 79, and Jain with 3 for 56. After Saurabh had struck first to remove the overnight batter Sarfaraz, Jain grabbed the next three wickets to keep West in check before Saurabh got Chintan Gaja.That continued a sensational Duleep Trophy for Saurabh, who leads the wicket-taking charts with 16. However, his batting team-mates might have to deliver something special even if West were to declare at this stage and set Central 385 to win. And they will be especially wary during the chase after having folded for 128 in the first innings.R Sai Kishore celebrates a wicket with his South Zone team-mates•PTI

Rain spoiled the party in nearby Bengaluru too, leaving the match between South Zone and North Zone tantalisingly poised ahead of the final day’s play. Inclement weather interrupted play after South were 21 without loss in their chase of 215, first forcing an early tea break and then complete abandonment of the evening session. But before that, Vijaykumar Vyshak’s 5 for 76 helped South restrict North to 211 in the second innings, after they were three runs ahead in the first.Vyshak led the way, picking up four of the last seven wickets to fall, as North slid from a comfortable position of 146 for 3. The collapse began when Prabhsimran Singh, on 63, found the fielder at deep square leg while trying to pull a short ball from Vyshak in the 37th over. Two overs later, Sai Kishore dismissed Ankit Kumar, while Vyshak struck twice in the 46th: he first had Jayant Yadav inside edging on to his stumps, and then Pulkit Narang slashing one to slip.Vyshak’s fifth came when Ricky Bhui held on to a good, low catch down the leg side to send Nishant Sindhu back, even as Sai Kishore helped clean the tail up with the last two wickets to fall.Earlier, Prabhsimran played an enterprising knock which contained 11 fours, although North needed help from No. 9 Harshit Rana to boost their score. Rana smashed 38 at better than a run a ball, setting the game up for a final day which could see more rain breaks.