The Dodgers regained control of the NLCS with an 8-0 win against the Mets at Citi Field in Game 3.

With a 2-1 series lead, the Dodgers will try to take a commanding advantage in this series with its best pitcher on the mound, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who will be making his first road postseason start. Can the Dodgers ace navigate a Mets lineup desperate for some timely hitting?

Here's our betting preview for Game 3.

Dodgers vs. Mets Odds, Spread and Total

Run Line

• Dodgers: -1.5 (+126)
• Mets: +1.5 (-150)

Moneyline

• Dodgers: -142
• Mets: +120

Total: 7 (Over -118/Under -104)

Dodgers vs. Mets How to Watch

• Date: Thursday, October 17th
• Game Time: 8:09 PM EST
• Venue: Citi Field
• How to Watch (TV): FOX
• Dodgers Lead 2-1

Dodgers vs. Mets Probable Pitchers

Los Angeles Dodgers: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1-1, 5.63 ERA)

New York Mets: Jose Quintana: 2-0 (0.00 ERA)

Dodgers vs. Mets Key Players to Watch

Los Angeles Dodgers

Shohei Ohtani: Ohtani parked a monster three-run homer that ended any hope of a late Mets rally in Game 3, his first home run of the series. The hope is the Dodgers' designated hitter can get it going now, as he entered just 2-for-7 in the first two games as the Mets have made a point to pitch around him. He has been walked three times in the first two. 

New York Mets

Pete Alonso: Alonso only has one hit this series, which isn’t going to cut it against a potent Dodgers lineup. Hitting in the heart of the Mets order, the club will lean on the slugger to get going after smashing three home runs in the prior two postseason series. 

Dodgers vs. Mets Prediction and Pick

The Mets are undervalued heading into this one with an in-form Quintana taking the mound and a lineup that has proven it can put runners on base all series long. 

While Yamamoto is off a sterling five innings of shutout work against the Padres in an elimination game, he also was pulled after three innings of work in his postseason debut against San Diego with only one strikeout. 

With a thin bullpen that has been taxed throughout this postseason behind Yamamoto, the pressure can turn to LA quickly. If the Mets can continue to work counts and get him out of the game early, the advantage can lie with New York, who has more options in the pen given the construction of each team’s pitching staff. 

So far in this series, the Mets are stranding runners at an alarming rate, including going 0-for-4 with RISP and stranding eight total batters in Game 3. 

This series is far too competitive to skew too far towards the Dodgers. I’ll play the home underdogs. 

Just when Celtic supporters thought this season couldn’t get any more miserable, the news all football fans fear during an international break filtered through to Parkhead.

According to widespread reports, striker Daizen Maeda has withdrawn from the Japan squad due to ‘tightness in his left foot’; the seriousness of the issue is not yet known.

Maeda didn’t actually feature as the Samurai Blue drew 2-2 with Paraguay in Suita on Friday, returning home prior to Tuesday’s clash with five-times world champions Brazil in Tokyo.

Once the international break is over, Celtic will travel to Dens Park to face Dundee on Sunday, before crucial clashes with Sturm Graz in the Europa League and then current Premiership leaders Hearts at Tynecastle the following weekend.

With Maeda potentially set to miss these important games and more thereafter, who should Brendan Rodgers choose to deputise during his absence?

Daizen Maeda's importance to Celtic

It is worth reiterating just how important a figure Maeda is to Celtic, despite his dip in form this season.

As the table below documents, not many players have scored more Celtic goals across Rodgers’ two spells in charge than the Japanese international.

Scott Sinclair

148

60

Moussa Dembélé

94

51

James Forrest

221

46

Daizen Maeda

100

46

Callum McGregor

261

37

Leigh Griffiths

96

37

Kyōgo Furuhashi

82

31

Adam Idah

76

29

Odsonne Édouard

68

27

Tom Rogic

105

24

Nicolas Kühn

69

24

As the table outlines, should Maeda score 15 more goals this season, he would become Rodgers’ leading scorer as Celtic manager, having currently played 148 fewer matches than the current leader, Scott Sinclair.

His stoppage time winner against Motherwell last time out was only his third of the season so far, but he did bag 33 during the previous campaign, four of which came in the Champions League, the first player to reach that many for the club in a single European Cup campaign since Joe Craig all the way back in 1977/78.

Maeda has also previously netted four times against Rangers too, converting the winning spot-kick in December’s League Cup Final, so Rodgers will be desperate for his star attacker to be available for the next Glasgow derby between the two at Hampden on 2 November.

For now, who is best suited to fill his void in the forward line?

The Celtic star who should replace Maeda

Considering Kyōgo Furuhashi, Nicolas Kühn and Adam Idah have all been sold throughout 2025, reinforcing the attacking department was a priority for Celtic this summer.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Supporters would argue this happened too late, with an entirely new front three arriving in the final hours of the window, after they’d been eliminated from Champions League qualifying by Kairat.

Sebastian Tounekti and Kelechi Iheanacho have both got off the mark in hoops, establishing themselves as part of the first-choice front three alongside Maeda, but we’re yet to see much from Michel-Ange Balikwisha, so is this now his time to shine?

The Scottish champions had attempted to sign a winger 12 months earlier, only for him to suffer an injury, belatedly joining from Royal Antwerp for around £5m in late August.

Upon his arrival, manager Rodgers labelled him a “really talented, exciting player” noting that he “can play both sides of the pitch”, while Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout asserts that “pace, dribbling and finishing” are his primary attributes.

The Belgian was thrown in for his debut during the dire Old Firm at Ibrox at the end of August, making six appearances for the club so far, four of which have come off the bench.

Balikwisha made his most telling contribution for the Celts to date during that aforementioned comeback 3-2 home win over Motherwell last time out, teeing up Maeda to nod in the last-gasp winner with an inch-perfect cross.

Unlike many of his teammates, Balikwisha has not been on international duty, yet to receive his first senior Belgian call-up, so has spent the last fortnight at Lennoxtown working with Rodgers and getting up to speed, which can only be beneficial.

Assuming Tounekti and Iheanacho keep their places at Dens on Sunday, Rodgers’ attacking alternatives are Yang Hyun-jun​​​​​​​, James Forrest or youngsters Johnny Kenny​​​​​​​, Shin Yamada or Callum Osmand; the latter is yet to even make his senior debut for the club.

Thus, starting Balikwisha​​​​​​​ appears to be a no-brainer, giving him the clash with Dundee as an opportunity to stake a claim, with huge games against Sturm Graz, Hearts, Rangers and Midtjylland all on the horizon in the coming weeks.

Rodgers made to sweat over two Celtic stars amid international break injury scares

A potential blow for the Bhoys.

ByTom Cunningham Oct 12, 2025

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has shared an injury update on his squad, and they could be without one of their players until after the new year.

The Blues made light work of London rivals Tottenham in their last outing, cruising to a 1-0 win on enemy turf, and Thomas Frank’s side hardly laid a glove on them.

It was a much-needed victory for Maresca’s men, who were dispatched by newly-promoted Sunderland in their previous Premier League clash the weekend prior.

The loss at home to Regis Le Bris’ side sparked major outrage after what was a very disappointing performance, with reports in the aftermath suggesting that Maresca’s long-term Chelsea future is far from certain amid interest from Juventus.

Luckily for the Italian, Chelsea have responded to that defeat in good fashion — knocking Wolves out of the Carabao Cup via a dramatic 4-3 win at Molineux to then claim the London derby spoils.

It has been a mixed start to 25/26 for Chelsea after what was a stellar summer, having won both the Conference League and Club World Cup earlier this year, but Maresca is believed to be dissatisfied with the squad at his disposal overall.

Chelsea ended the last summer transfer window as one of England’s most lavish spenders, investing nearly £300 million in new recruits, but the west Londoners failed to shore up their centre-back options or bring in a world-class goalkeeper.

Premier League Clubs’ Summer Spending

Rank

Club

Gross Spend

Sales

Net Spend

20.

Bournemouth

£136.7m

£202.5m

+£65.8m

19.

Brighton

£67.7m

£127.5m

+£59.8m

18.

Brentford

£92.8m

£152m

+£59.2m

17.

Wolves

£105.6m

£126.5m

+£20.9m

16.

Chelsea

£296.5m

£314.4m

+£17.9m

BlueCo are reportedly ready to prioritise the signing of a centre-back for Chelsea in January, but Maresca hasn’t exactly been helped by injuries and suspensions either.

Summer signing Liam Delap was missing for weeks with a hamstring problem and couldn’t play against Tottenham last weekend after his red card at Wolves.

Malo Gusto was also suspended recently, with Trevoh Chalobah, Robert Sanchez, Joao Pedro and Delap all sent off in the last 44 days alone.

Chelsea’s current disciplinary issues are a real conundrum for Maresca to solve, and it’s the last thing he needs considering their troubles with fitness issues this campaign.

Right now, Pedro Neto, Benoit Badiashile, Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill and Dario Essugo are all unavailable through injury, and Maresca might not welcome back the latter until 2026.

Chelsea could be without Dario Essugo until January

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of their Champions League clash with Qarabag, Maresca suggests that Essugo could be out injured until January.

Essugo, who’s been called a ‘frightening’ player by members of the media like journalist Antonio Mango, hasn’t been able to showcase his best since joining Chelsea in the summer, and it’ll be a while before he gets to do so.

That being said, there is some good news.

Chelsea’s manager believes that star forward Palmer, who’s been battling a niggling groin problem since the start of the season, could return for their blockbuster European showdown against Barcelona.

Chelsea play their last game before the next international break against Wolves this weekend, and their Barça clash is scheduled to take place around three days after they return to action away to Burnley on November 22.

Tottenham were denied a first Premier League win at home since the opening weekend this afternoon, as Man United defender Matthijs de Ligt broke Spurs hearts with a dramatic added-time equaliser, despite Thomas Frank’s side briefly snatching a late 2-1 lead.

Tottenham 2-2 Man United as poor Spurs home form continues

Bryan Mbeumo had put United ahead in the 32nd minute, with the October Premier League Player of the Month continuing his excellent form by nodding past a helpless Guglielmo Vicario at the far post.

The visitors dominated for large periods as Spurs looked disjointed and lacked overall creativity at home once again. Tottenham did have one chance before the interval, but striker Richarlison failed to capitalise — missing a golden opportunity when presented with a free header from 12 yards out.

He somehow completely missed the ball, leaving every Spurs fan in the stadium stunned, and those same supporters booed the home side off at half-time after a very disappointing first 45.

United looked on their way to three points, managing the game well after the restart, even if the brilliant Senne Lammens was forced into a couple of excellent saves to maintain their advantage.

However, the equaliser eventually did come, with substitute Mathys Tel’s shot in the 83rd minute deflecting off de Ligt and finding the back of the United net.

Wilson Odobert

7.4

Matthijs de Ligt

7.3

Amad Diallo

7.3

Mathys Tel

7.1

Patrick Dorgu

7.1

via WhoScored

Frank’s player introductions changed the game, with fellow sub Destiny Udogie setting up the Frenchman for his brilliantly taken equaliser inside the box. Yet another sub, Wilson Odobert, then chipped into the late drama.

Richarlison directed Odobert’s ball outside the box past Lammens and into the bottom corner on 91 minutes, sparking wild celebrations as the Brazilian removed his shirt in jubilation. Tottenham appeared to have completed a sensational comeback, yet there was one final twist.

A United corner to the back post was headed home by de Ligt, who was completely unmarked, in the 96th minute — silencing Spurs’ celebrations and rescuing a dramatic point for Ruben Amorim’s side.

The draw maintains United’s four-match unbeaten streak while Tottenham’s home woes continue. Spurs have now won just four of their last 20 home league games, with their excellent away record masking real struggles at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Peter Crouch takes aim at "lackadaisical" Djed Spence in Man United draw

For United’s first goal, so much went wrong.

Pape Sarr made the bizarre decision to play a very difficult pass to Micky van de Ven just outside Spurs’ penalty area, rather than just clearing the ball, and the Dutchman was then rushed into a botched clearance before United capitalised and opened the scoring.

Right-back Djed Spence also failed to close down the cross for Mbeumo’s header quick enough, with ex-Tottenham striker Peter Crouch telling TNT Sports at half-time that his defending simply wasn’t good enough.

Crouch said that Spence looked “too calm” when going to press Diallo, insisting that the defender was “lackadaisical” at that moment which cost Spurs the first goal of the game.

Overall, the north Londoners were arguably the weaker side and a victory for them would’ve been quite harsh on United, even if their brief comeback sparked real hope of a perfect last Premier League result before the November international break.

Their next two matches after the break are actually away from home, but they’re against very tough opposition in Premier League leaders Arsenal and European champions PSG.

West Ham defender Oliver Scarles was hauled off in their 2-1 loss to Leeds United with what looked to be a serious injury, and insider ExWHUemployee has now shared how long he’ll be out for.

The Hammers are second-bottom in the Premier League and have conceded more goals than any other side in the division thus far.

In his last two games, under-pressure new boss Nuno Espirito Santo has gone with a centre-back pairing of Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo, with both men struggling to deal with opposition attacks.

West Ham have precious few alternatives to Kilman and Todibo, with Konstantinos Mavropanos sidelined for the foreseeable future.

West Ham’s results in the Premier League so far
Sunderland 3-0 West Ham
West Ham 1-5 Chelsea
Nottingham Forest 0-3 West Ham
West Ham 0-3 Tottenham
West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace
Everton 1-1 West Ham
Arsenal 2-0 West Ham
West Ham 0-2 Brentford
Leeds 2-1 West Ham

The Greek international, who had been selected for nearly every game since West Ham’s only victory of the campaign at Nottingham Forest, faces up to six weeks out after picking up a hamstring injury at home to Brentford (GiveMeSport).

The last thing Nuno needs is another defensive injury, but according to insider Ex, Scarles has joined Mavropanos on the sidelines with the extent of his injury revealed.

The academy graduate was deployed at full-back against Brentford and started again away to Leeds, but was forced off in the opening 20 minutes after fracturing his collarbone.

West Ham have since confirmed that the 19-year-old has undergone successful surgery on the problem, with Performance Director Richard Collinge estimating he could return in December.

However, while this is the official line from the club, insider Ex believes that Scarles could be out for even longer.

West Ham dealt Scarles blow with real return timeline revealed

Writing via his West Ham Way Patreon, Ex states that Scarles actually faces as long as three months on the sidelines — meaning the teenager might not be back in action until 2026.

The England Under-20 international seriously impressed at youth level for West Ham before breaking into the first-team — even bagging three goals and 14 assists in 50 appearances for the Under-18s.

The attack-minded full-back also notched 13 goal contributions (six goals, seven assists) for the Under-21s, with Scarles since making 19 senior cameos in total for the east Londoners.

He was clearly starting to impress Nuno too, after being given the starting nod in each of West Ham’s last two Premier League games, so this layoff will be a major blow to him personally.

It was Julen Lopetegui who handed Scarles his Premier League debut last season, with Graham Potter then using the youngster on a pretty regular basis towards the end of 2024/2025.

With Mavropanos out injured too, it represents a golden opportunity for summer signing Igor Julio to battle his way into the starting eleven.

Nuno must give Igor Julio a chance amid West Ham defensive crisis

Lord’s-based team will stick with Spirit name but new branding expected for 2026 season

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Aug-2025The Lord’s-based Hundred franchise will continue to be known as London Spirit following the sale of a 49% stake to the Silicon Valley consortium known as the “Tech Titans”, with former England performance director Mo Bobat announced as the incoming director of cricket.MCC has been in discussions with its new equity partner for some time and is expected to unveil new team branding – possibly including the club’s famous egg-and-bacon colours – ahead of the 2026 season. But they have opted to keep the name as part of an identity that reflects “the capital’s energy, diversity, and cricketing heritage”.Bobat’s appointment is the first significant move by any of the Hundred teams after six of the eight equity sale deals were signed off by the ECB last month. Bobat, who will retain his role in the IPL as Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s director of cricket, is set to join up with Spirit from October.Related

Andy Flower replaces Justin Langer as London Spirit head coach

Titans land at Lord's as London Spirit sink to new low

Warner, Spirit take spoils despite Bairstow fire

“It’s an honour to join London Spirit at such an exciting time,” Bobat said. “The opportunity to shape the cricketing future of this franchise, working with MCC and our new partners, the Tech Titans, is incredibly exciting. I’m looking forward to building something special – on and off the field.”London Spirit chairman, Julian Metherell, said: “Today marks a significant moment for London Spirit. Mo Bobat brings unmatched expertise and vision to the role of Director of Cricket, and we’re thrilled to welcome him. At the same time, retaining the London Spirit name reflects our belief in the identity that’s been built – one that resonates with the capital, our fans, and our values. We now look ahead to a new era, with fresh energy and clear purpose.”London Spirit men, currently coached by Justin Langer, lost their opening game of the 2025 season after being bowled out for 80 in front of their new owners – but bounced back to record victory against Welsh Fire at the weekend.

Kamindu Mendis’ 41 not out off 16 from No. 6 rescued Sri Lanka from a collapse, and catapulted them to victory in a game that seemed to be slipping away. Sri Lanka needed 46 runs off the last four overs, having slipped from 96 for no loss to 125 for 5.But Kamindu crashed four sixes and a four, the vast majority of those shots coming behind square on the leg side as Zimbabwe’s seamers got their lines wrong at the death. In the end, Sri Lanka cruised home with five balls remaining and four wickets in hand.Higher up the order, Pathum Nissanka struck his third half century of the tour to set the platform for this chase of 176. It was a competitive total given the conditions, with Brian Bennett’s 81 off 57 balls being the primary driver of Zimbabwe’s score.Aside from Richard Ngarava, who took 2 for 19, Zimbabwe’s seamers were expensive.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Tinotenda Maposa’s horror over

With three overs to go and Sri Lanka still needing 34, Zimbabwe needed a quiet over from Tinotenda Maposa, who had bowled well until that stage. Kamindu manufactured a boundary off a wide yorker by reverse-scooping him for four first ball. Then came the horror deliveries. The next one was a chest-high full toss at the body which Kamindu swatted over the deep fine boundary. Maposa followed up that no-ball with a leg-side wide, and finished the over with another leg-side full toss that Kamindu happily deposited over the deep square leg rope. That 18th over cost Zimbabwe 26 runs, and essentially decided the match.

Sri Lanka’s middle-overs wobble

Following Nissanka’s outstanding 55 off 32 in which he was typically strong square of the wicket, Sri Lanka went through a period in which they lost six wickets for 46 runs in seven overs, with several Zimbabwe bowlers striking through this spell. The opening stand of 96 had come rapidly however – Kusal Mendis and Nissanka having scored at more than nine an over. This gave Sri Lanka some cover to weather the collapse.

Bennett holds Zimbabwe together

Although his innings began with some lucky edges through deep third, Bennett powered Zimbabwe through an impressive powerplay in which they reaped 59 – Bennett contributing 32 off 17. The deep third area would continue to be productive for Bennett, who used the seamers’ pace well. He also reverse-swept the spinners behind square on the offside. He was involved in fifty partnerships with Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl, before Dushmantha Chameera took out Bennett’s stumps with the last ball of the 19th over.

Chameera takes three

The best of Sri Lanka’s bowlers was Chameera, who finished with figures of 3 for 30. He was effective both in the powerplay and the death, taking the first wicket, before later sending down a series of excellent yorkers. He was good at reading the batters too – twice batters attempted to spring to the offside to drag him to leg, but found that Chameera had sent a rapid yorker at the base of their stumps and rattled them.

As expected, Juan Soto is commanding the news cycle as winter meetings draw nearer. The superstar, who took up residence with the New York Yankees this past season, is expected to get a massive contract across over a decade.

At just 26 and having helped bring the Yankees to their first World Series in 15 years last season, wants him.

The Boston Red Sox held an informational session with Soto to pitch him on coming to play for the Red Sox in Southern California on Thursday night. The meeting was three hours long and described as productive by Sean McAdam of MassLive. Soto was described as "impressed."

During the meeting, Soto inquired about three things in particular, according to McAdam: The team's commitment to winning, how it evaluates players, and Fenway Park and its facilities.

The last item is particularly noteworthy since it could be viewed as a big advantage or disadvantage to the Red Sox, depending on Soto's perspective. Fenway Park is the oldest stadium in MLB. If you value tradition, that's great. If you want modernity, well, you can only put so many fresh coats of paint on a 110-plus-year-old park. The locker room was revamped ahead of 2023.

It's a factor that also implicates the Chicago Cubs, whose Wrigely Field is just two years younger than Fenway Park. It's unclear how engaged the Cubs will be, if at all, on Soto in free agency, but they haven't appeared in any reports to this point.

Harry Kane believes England are "one of the favourites" to win next year's World Cup after his brace against Albania. The Three Lions secured a 2-0 win in Tirana to ensure they finished their World Cup qualifying campaign with eight wins out of eight. Now, the Bayern Munich star has sent a warning out to the other contenders for the 2026 tournament in North America.

• Kane stars again for England

  Kane's two second-half goals meant England finished their qualifying campaign with a 100 per cent record and took his goal tally for his country to 78 – taking him past Brazilian great Pele. The Three Lions have now kept a clean sheet in each of their last 10 games in the World Cup qualifiers, a run of 1,032 minutes without conceding a goal. The 32-year-old has so often been the saviour for England and that proved to be the case again on Sunday night in Albania. 

  Incidentally, former England defender Conor Coady says it is a "pleasure" to watch the ex-Tottenham striker in full flight.

  He said on BBC Radio 5 Live: "Harry Kane plays every minute of every game because he does the job. Playing for his country means a lot to him – it is a pleasure to watch him. I thought England were top draw tonight. The manage is in a fantastic place going into next year. It was hard at times, but the subs that came on were outstanding."

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• Getty
  

  Kane says England are among World Cup favourites

  In recent years, England have reached the final of the Euros for two straight tournaments and made it to the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Ahead of the next edition of this famous event, Kane appears to be confident about his country's chances.

  When asked how he rates his team against other top nations, he told ITV Sport: "I think it's as good as we've ever had, I think when you look at starting 11, you look at the players coming off the bench, we're going to go into the tournament as one of the favourites, we have to accept that, we've been like that now for the last few tournaments and that's part and parcel of it so we've been building, we've had a great year together with the new coach and now we look forward to obviously a big 2026."

• Tough test in Albania

  England boss Tuchel made seven changes to the side that beat Serbia 2-0 in midweek. The Three Lions had to be patient at Arena Kombetare, with Kane scoring in the 74th and 82nd minutes. For the ex-Spurs man, Albania provided a stern test for him and his team-mates.

  "I think it was a really tough game, probably one of the toughest games we've had in the group, and we had to be patient, we had to grind them down defensively, really solid, and we've done that, and we ended up with a two-nil win, another clean sheet, we can be really happy," he said. "Yeah so we kind of changed it, first half we went in a different out swing and then when Saka come on, we know how good he is at hitting that kind of front post zone and we kind of went to the front post, got a little bit lucky with the flick on but thankfully I was there to put it away. If you're going to go far in any tournament you need a whole squad, you need the players who don't start to come off the bench and make an impact, that's what football's about, it's not just the 11 that play so we're going to need everyone and you know the guys who come on today made a big difference. I think we've set the standard now, especially in the last few camps, and we carried it on into this camp, and it's an important win, you don't want to finish with a loss on the end of the year and then have to wait until March to play again, we can go away and enjoy this now."

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  What comes next for England?

  After this successful World Cup qualifying campaign, Tuchel's side will wait to find out which friendly games are in store for them in 2026. It remains to be seen what level of opposition England will face before heading to North America next summer as they seek their first World Cup win since 1966.

KL Rahul ranks the 2-2 draw in England as among India’s best achievements in Test cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Aug-20253:49

Bangar: Series result proves India is growing in stature

KL Rahul has said that a young team drawing the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-2 in England “will rank right at the top” among India list of achievements in Test cricket.”For us, as a team that wasn’t given a chance in this series, for us to fight back and to fight in every game and to get a result which is 2-2 might seem like a draw, but for us and for Indian Test cricket going in the future, I think this will rank right at the top,” Rahul told the host broadcaster right after India won the fifth Test at The Oval by six runs on the final morning. “And this is where the change begins and the Indian Test team will go on to create many things and win many more series outside of India.””I’ve played cricket for a while. I have won the Champions Trophy. I’ve seen India lifting the World Cup. I mean, nothing compares with lifting the World Cup, but so many doubts, so many questions from everybody about whether Test cricket would stay or not… I think both the teams with the way we’ve played in this series, I think we’ve answered that question.”Related

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Rahul added that while India would have loved to have won the series, the draw felt like a “satisfying” result. The series has been a gruelling one with all five matches going into the fifth day and both India and England having their moments.”Feeling is hard to describe,” he said. “Been here, toiled for 25 days. It took every inch out of us. Everything that we had, physically, mentally, emotionally, this Test series has taken everything away from all of us. And I think, at the end of 25 days, we’re standing here 2-2, absolutely proud of ourselves.”So satisfying to be here and draw the series. Would have loved to win this series. But for a young team to come here and for a lot of us to step up and show the world that we can compete, we can win games outside of India, yeah, it’s truly a testament to what this team is and what Indian cricket means.”Rahul also said it felt “a bit weird” to not have the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin, who all retired from Test cricket over the past few months, around. That meant additional responsibility for the opener, who is on his third tour to England, and he responded with 532 runs in ten innings at 53.20 – the third-highest for the series.”Yes, it hit me when I joined the team,” Rahul said on the absence of the three seniors. “I was here about two weeks earlier playing for India A and it didn’t hit me back then, but once I joined the team and I looked around and I didn’t have a Rohit, a Virat, an Ashwin.KL Rahul was the third-highest run-getter in the series•Getty Images

“But yeah, that’s when it hit me that everyone else is looking at me, coming to me to ask about English conditions, what they need to do, how they need to prepare. That’s when it hit me that, ‘okay, I’ve stepped into a different role now and it’s time for me to help the younger guys, use all the experience I’ve had of playing Test cricket and international cricket over the years and really put my hand up and stand up for this team’.”This moment almost feels like this is a young team that’s going to stay there for a long time.”On a personal level, Rahul said he was “really happy” with his performance. “When India are touring England, it’s always a challenge,” he said. “The most important thing is for the openers to give the team a solid start and then continue and get as many runs as I can. That was my goal. I was really focused and really wanted the series to go well for me. And I wanted to do the job for the team and put my hands up and take that responsibility.”Rahul hailed the performance of Shubman Gill, who in his first series as captain scored 754 runs in ten innings, breaking a number of records on the way. He also heaped praise on several of his team-mates, who put up their hands at critical junctures all through the series.Shubman Gill had a series to remember•Getty Images

“Shubman has been phenomenal,” Rahul said. “He’s really led from the front, worked on the boys behind the scenes as well, forming connections which a lot of people don’t see, but I think that’s really important to do as a captain and he’s done that. He’s been tactically really good.”The changes he’s made over the series has always got us the wickets somehow. I think he will grow as a really, really good Test captain. I don’t want to speak too much about his individual performance because he has shown the world what he can do in all three formats. And, especially this series, the way he batted. I think it was phenomenal to watch, phenomenal to bat with him, and there’s so much I get to learn from him.”But also, there have been so many other performances. [Mohammed] Siraj being the highest wicket-taker in the series, [Ravindra] Jadeja has got 500 [516] runs, which is really crucial down the order. Not to forget Rishabh’s [Pant] contributions, Jassi’s [Jasprit Bumrah] contributions, Prasidh [Krishna] stepping up, Akash [Deep] stepping up, Washington [Sundar] stepping up.”I think it’s been a complete team performance. There have been four or five people in every game that have stood up and delivered for the team. So that gives us more satisfaction than this whole series. And this whole series, almost a series victory, is because of how we played as a team.”