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On paper, Australia remain favourites, but India wouldn’t be too displeased either with how things stand going into the MCG

Andrew McGlashan18-Dec-2024At 2.33pm on Wednesday the players left the field at the Gabba for the final time. A short while later, the approaching rain hit the ground and the umpires didn’t wait too long to bring down the curtain on a rare five-day Test that felt much longer than that. The evening before, KL Rahul had joked he’d got more tired walking up and down to the dressing room than he did in the middle.And yet, the final day included its fair share of intrigue. There was a curious Australia second innings in which Steven Smith appeared at No. 6; Jasprit Bumrah taking his series tally to 21 wickets at 10.90; a (seemingly brief) injury scare around Travis Head; and finally the most surprising development, the international retirement of R Ashwin.It means Ashwin won’t be at the MCG, where he had such a big impact on India’s victory in the 2020-21 series, when the teams reconvene on Boxing Day tantalisingly poised at 1-1.But how do you assess the tied scoreline? Offer that to India before arriving and there’s a good chance they’d have bitten your hand off for it given the historic success of Australia in Perth and Adelaide especially and the fact they were coming off a whitewash against New Zealand. After the first Test, though? Perhaps they would have hoped for more.Related

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• Only murmurs in the building: Gabba shrouded in mystery before Ashwin bombshell

• Cummins' updates: Starc and he 'are feeling really good'; Head 'will be fine' for MCG

• 'We're not going to take any risk' – Rohit on Shami's fitness for Australia

From Australia’s point of view, it feels under where they would have expected to be for the same reasons of their records at the venues but it’s been a strong response to the thrashing at Optus Stadium. Last week’s pink ball gave them a leg up when it was desperately needed. Despite the odd-looking second innings in Brisbane, they were never on the back foot in this match once Head and Smith had lifted them from 75 for 3.India were not shy of celebrating when they saved the follow-on through the fighting efforts of Bumrah and Akash Deep. Rohit Sharma had a wry smile on his face when he was asked if India’s joy at that moment was a reflection of deeper cracks in the side.”I have been here enough to understand what are mind games and what are chit-chatters and all of that,” he said. “From our personal point of view, we were behind the game. Obviously, it is a little victory for us to avoid that follow-on, looking at how the weather was going to play, looking at where the game was heading. Eventually, we ended up in a draw.”With Australia being ahead in the game, they didn’t manage to get the result. For us to celebrate that, it was a little victory for us. There is no harm. We enjoy each and every moment. We saw two guys who were fighting for the team and we were really happy with that. So, we were celebrating how these two guys batted at the end.”Cummins, playing his role in the mid-series fun, later laughed off suggestions that India took more than Australia from how the game panned out.”Can’t say I’ve ever been scared of momentum,” he said. “Don’t really care about that. Think we can take a lot from this week. A couple of great partnerships. To be sent in on a wicket and score 450 and then be a bowler down and manage to bowl India out for 250 when the wicket was probably a bit better, think we can take a lot from that.”Heading to Melbourne, both sides have similar issues to confront around the top order. For India, the form of Rohit and Virat Kohli remains a concern, Yashasvi Jaiswal has not been able to back up his 161 in Perth and Rishabh Pant has been kept quiet, particularly by Cummins.For Australia the spotlight is on openers Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney. Marnus Labuschagne’s half-century in Adelaide has eased some pressure on him, but he was again out loosely to Nitish Kumar Reddy in this Test. Bumrah is proving a mighty handful for the top order although Cummins added little should be read into Australia’s second innings at the Gabba given the attempt to set a target.Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc took on most of Australia’s bowling load•AFP/Getty ImagesMitchell Marsh’s series has also yet to take off: he walked when he didn’t nick one in Adelaide and has bowled six overs in two Tests, despite Australia being a bowler down for most of the game in Brisbane. Two excellent catches aided his team in this match, but he has yet to suggest he can hit the heights of last season when he was named the Allan Border Medalist.However, one area where Australia have better depth than India is the pace bowling. While Josh Hazlewood’s injury is a significant blow, it is quite the luxury to know that Scott Boland is waiting in the wings to return on his home ground where he is such a force. Meanwhile, Rohit did not sound confident about Mohammed Shami being available at all during the series although Akash, who is often compared to Shami, was much better than his 1 for 95 would suggest.On balance, Australia remain favourites for the series although that is largely based on the stunning form of Head, a revived Smith and the durability of Cummins and Mitchell Starc.And so the roadshow heads to the MCG, a surface that has been a fast bowler’s dream in recent seasons, with the prospect of a record opening-day crowd. The weather forecast, whisper it, looks good for Boxing Day (it’s also good for Brisbane the moment the Test leaves town) and there is a series where everything remains up for grabs. Merry cricket Christmas.

Amazon Warriors were restricted to just 130, and Tahir and Joseph fought back, but Hosein’s boundaries took TKR home

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Sep-2025

The Trinbago Knight Riders players start the celebrations•Randy Brooks/CPL T20/Getty Images

Akeal Hosein took two big wickets to help restrict Guyana Amazon Warriors to 130 and then scored a quick and unbeaten 16 off seven balls in the dying moments of a tense chase to lift Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) to their fifth CPL title. Hosein went out to bat when TKR were 116 for 7, needing 15 from 22 balls, and he finished things off in dramatic fashion with a six and four in consecutive balls off Gudakesh Motie to spark off their celebrations.The home fans in Providence were left stunned after their 46-year-old captain Imran Tahir had given them hopes of lifting the trophy with his 3 for 34, which included the wickets of Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell on consecutive deliveries.That it wasn’t a great outing for the batters was evident in Alex Hales scratching his way to 26 off 34 balls in the chase, as he saw six wickets fall while dropping anchor. The highest score by any batter across both innings was Iftikhar Ahmed’s 30 for Amazon Warriors, who required contributions from their middle and lower orders after being 65 for 5 in 12 overs.Once Amazon Warriors opted to bat, Russell struck in the first over by having Quentin Sampson caught for a duck, but Ben McDermott countered soon after. He went for 4, 6, 4 off Hosein to end the fourth over even as Shai Hope took his time at the other end. Saurabh Netravalkar ended the 38-run stand in the last over of the powerplay when McDermott found the fielder at deep midwicket to depart for 28 off 17 balls, which began a collapse of 4 for 24.Hosein bowled Hope for 12 off 19, Usman Tariq cleaned Moeen Ali up for 10, and Hosein got his second by having Shimron Hetmyer find long-on for 4. But Iftikhar, Dwaine Pretorius (25 off 18) and Romario Shepherd (13 off 9) doubled Amazon Warriors’ score in the last eight overs. Netravalkar dismissed both Pretorius and Iftikhar to finish with 3 for 25.Halfway into the third over of TKR’s chase, it looked like the target was too little to challenge Colin Munro, who hammered three fours in a 22-run second over that saw five wides from Shepherd. Pretorius, however, dismissed Munro next over to check TKR’s progress.TKR captain Nicholas Pooran huffed and puffed to 1 off eight balls before finding mid-off, and TKR were 55 for 3 after eight overs, with Darren Bravo being trapped lbw by Tahir. Just 12 runs came off the next three overs without a single boundary as Moeen and Tahir didn’t allow the TKR batters to break free. But Sunil Narine brought TKR back by heaving Motie for two sixes in the 12th over to bring the equation under run a ball.The twists and turns continued when Shamar Joseph had Narine caught at mid-off for 22, and Pollard hit back by launching Tahir for three sixes in the 14th over, to make the equation a lot more comfortable at 22 required off 36.But Tahir gave TKR another scare. He bowled Pollard with a googly and had Russell caught at slip first ball. When Joseph took a return catch off Hales in the 17th over, Amazon Warriors believed a miracle was coming, but Hosein washed away all their hopes with a match-winning cameo.

Jitesh Sharma, Devdutt Padikkal and Rajat Patidar have all played crucial hands this year in putting the franchise on cloud nine

Alagappan Muthu07-Apr-20252:15

Is 2025 finally going to be RCB’s year?

Virat Kohli is a fan boy. He has spent a part of his time at Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) dancing with Chris Gayle, nerding out with AB de Villiers and being blown away by Glenn Maxwell. In all that time, the team has tasted a lot of success. Four play-off appearances in the last five years. But that was never enough. Not for this franchise. Not with their history.At the auction, they did a lot of good business. Once more, they were able to attract high-impact overseas players. Phil Salt was a dream buy. His aggression at the top compensates for the others. Tim David has the power to make anything happen. He once changed a game facing just 14 balls. Josh Hazlewood broke the game open at Chepauk and closed the game out at Wankhede.But there is another thing that RCB are doing right. Something that they rarely have. They’re getting more out of their Indian players.Related

• RCB return to Chinnaswamy to take on unbeaten DC with renewed optimism

• Jayawardene says Bumrah is in 'good nick' after IPL comeback

• Patidar lauds Krunal's 'courage' after triple-wicket final over

• Stats – Kohli becomes first Indian to 13,000 T20 runs; Bhuvneshwar overtakes Bravo

• Kohli, Patidar and Krunal star as RCB end ten-year Wankhede jinx

Devdutt Padikkal has faced 49 deliveries in IPL 2025. He’s hit 11 of them for boundaries. His strike rate right now is 159.18. That’s twice as much as it was last season. A lot of work has gone on behind the scenes to effect such a change.”I knew there were things that I needed to improve,” Padikkal said, “And there were lots of aspects of the game that I wasn’t up to the mark I felt in the last year. I had a good couple of months before the IPL started and I feel all that hard work is coming into effect now.”Padikkal had a good start to his IPL career, scoring three fifties in his first four innings and a hundred by the time he was 21. Usually, that might have meant he could settle into the team and grow into his role. But in the IPL, its different. Rajasthan Royals (RR) came calling and he had to prove himself all over again. Then he moved to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) where he had that horror season, averaging 5.49 and striking at 71.69.”When I made that move to another franchise, it was a little uncomfortable obviously. I wasn’t very confident about myself, and it took me three-four years to really find what I am as a cricketer in IPL,” he said. “So it’s not that easy, you try your hardest but at times it just doesn’t work. So coming into this season, obviously I had to work really hard.”Coming in at No. 3, obviously that is a role that has been given to me. I feel in T20 cricket these days everybody pretty much has the same role, to go out and hit from ball one, so that doesn’t really make any difference in terms of what I have to do as well. So, yeah that’s how it’s been going and hopefully I can carry on in the same way.”3:43

Rayudu: Patidar’s use of Bhuvi at the death was a masterstroke

Jitesh Sharma is a livewire. Where other batters might have needed convincing about the tempo of T20 cricket, he came fully formed. Batting down the order requires some sacrifice. Specifically, you can never play for your own runs. Jitesh has on average found the boundary once every five deliveries in the IPL. This season, he’s been even more destructive. One in three deliveries he’s faced, including a near yorker from Jasprit Bumrah, has ended up in the fence.”Jitesh has been terrific,” Krunal Pandya said at the end of the game. “I mean, the way he has batted, if you see, he has improved his game. The game awareness what he’s having while batting has been top notch. Again he has worked really hard, and with gloves he has been terrific, always. Working hard and you know, seeing the result, it feels good.”It is early in the season, but Jitesh is the one of only nine players averaging over 40 and striking at over 180.Bridging the gap between the top order and the finishers is the captain. Rajat Patidar came in as an unknown quantity but seems to be happy with the responsibility. Crucially, it hasn’t affected his batting. He is RCB’s best player of spin and their primary source of impetus in the middle overs. He has performed that role to perfection against both IPL’s five-time champions.Overall, add Kohli’s 67 to Patidar’s 64, Jitesh’s 40 (not out) and Padikkal’s 37, and Indian batters scored 208 runs for RCB against Mumbai Indians (MI), the most for them in an IPL match – their previous best was 188, against LSG in 2022. That’s also the joint-fifth-highest by Indian batters for any team in an IPL innings.RCB are on cloud nine this season•BCCIA significant test of his captaincy arrived as MI clobbered 89 runs in 34 balls through the middle overs to bring themselves back into the game. At the end of 16 overs, they were 170 for 4, the first time in the game where their score had ticked over RCB’s at the same stage. They were looking favourites to chase down 222. But Patidar was able to rally his bowlers and it appears he had a hand in the defensive masterclass that Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Krunal pulled off.”At that time, I think the message was, the wide yorkers, I think that was not a good option,” Patidar said. “The way all the bowlers, especially the fast bowlers the way they have executed their plans, I think that was really amazing and the one bowler, I think the way he has bowled, KP, Krunal Pandya, the last over, I think that was not easy to be bowling any of the team, against any team, 20th over. The way he has bowled, that was really amazing. The way he has shown courage, that was really fantastic.”RCB conceded only 28 runs and took five wickets in those last three overs. They had to dig real deep. “That was a really amazing match and that was very hard, I think,” Patidar said.RCB look different now. They’re getting the best out of even their unheralded players. Maybe 18th time really is the charm.”I don’t want to jinx it,” Krunal said. “Or I don’t want to say. But we all know, right, when you get into this tournament, what we want at the end of the tournament.”

Legendary former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson heaped praise on new Manchester United signing Senne Lammens as he also shared valuable advice for manager Ruben Amorim, amid the club's unbeaten run in the Premier League. After a difficult start to the 2025-26 campaign, the Red Devils have endured a brilliant unbeaten run, including a three-game winning streak, since October.

• Man Utd chose to sign Lammens over Emi Martinez

  After a disastrous 2024-25 campaign, doubts were raised over Andre Onana's future at Old Trafford. In the summer, United were tipped to replace the underperforming Cameroonian goalkeeper with a new signing, as they were strongly linked with a move for World Cup-winning Argentine custodian and Aston Villa star Emiliano Martinez.

  Following Altay Bayındır's poor start in the new season and Onana leaving for Trabzonspor in Turkey on loan, a new goalkeeper's arrival was imminent. The club eventually signed young Belgian custodian Lammens from Royal Antwerp on deadline day as they snubbed Emi Martinez. 

  Since moving to England, Lammens has appeared in five Premier League games thus far, during which he has conceded seven times. He played an important role in Amorim's side winning three back-to-back matches in October against Sunderland, Liverpool, Brighton and has also been compared to legendary Red Devils goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, although the youngster dismissed any such comparisons. 

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  Ferguson hailed Lammens

  Ex-Red Devils boss Ferguson spoke highly of the Belgian goalkeeper as he told : "There are signs, the manager has had some good signs. Particularly the goalkeeper has been outstanding, he’s only played three or four games and he’s looking really good. Of course, Mbeumo and Cunha, the new players from Wolves and Brentford, they’ve added to it. I hope the manager gets a bit of success because at United you need to have success – the signs are getting better. I think back-to-back wins is something teams like United should always expect. But having gone through a cycle where the improvement has to come by waiting and being patient, they’ll enjoy it now."

• Lammens isn't worried despite Onana's misfortune

  Goalkeepers have had to face severe criticism at Old Trafford in recent years, including David De Gea, towards the end of his journey with the club. Then came Onana from Inter but he failed miserably. However, Lammens is not worried about the pressure as he told reporters: "There's been a lot of commotion about the goalkeepers in recent years. They've received a lot of negative comments. I wasn't worried about that. I want to be someone people look up to. My dream is to play here for the next ten years, be important to the club, and build a legacy. That's a long-term goal. 

  "It hasn’t taken long for the Stretford End to fall in love with him. Many fans are hailing him as the next Schmeichel, but the keeper has his feet firmly rooted to the ground. "It was wonderful to hear the supporters sing that to me. A huge compliment, especially after my first match. But I'm not getting too carried away with their enthusiasm. I still have a lot to prove to be mentioned in the same breath as Peter Schmeichel, you know."

  Lammens added: "I ran into him (Schmeichel) on the sidelines after a match. He was very friendly. Schmeichel knows it's not easy to be compared to him. He told me to be there for the team, but above all, to be myself. It was nice to hear that from someone you look up to. It also reassured me in a way."

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  Man Utd aim to get back to winning ways

  After three consecutive wins in the Premier League in October, Amorim's side were held to back-to-back 2-2 draws by Nottingham Forest and Tottenham. They will now aim to get back to winning ways after the international break as they take on Everton on November 24. 

Are Manchester City starting to build some serious momentum?

On Wednesday night, the Sky Blues demolished Borussia Dortmund 4-1 in the Champions League, with Phil Foden bagging a brace, Erling Braut Håland scoring his customary goals and then Rayan Cherki getting in on the act late on.

Back in the Premier League, Pep Guardiola’s team have won five of their last seven, including four in a row at the Etihad, rediscovering their best form ahead of Liverpool’s trip to the Etihad on Sunday.

If the serial champions are going to defeat the reigning champions in this weekend’s headliner, which “exceptional” star should Guardiola start in his forward line alongside Foden?

Is Phil Foden getting back to his best?

On Friday morning, Thomas Tuchel’s England squad was announced for next week’s World Cup qualifiers against Serbia at Wembley and Albania in Tirana, with Phil Foden one of the noteworthy names included.

The 25-year-old has not featured in any of England’s last six matches, seeing just 179 minutes of international action, out of a possible 1,260, that is only 14%, since the Three Lions’ defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.

His return to the England squad is an indicator of Foden’s return to form at club level, with his double against Dortmund taking his tally to four goals for the season, having bagged only ten throughout the entirety of the previous campaign, not including the Club World Cup.

Following Wednesday night’s Champions League victory, Guardiola asserted that Foden is back, labelling him a “special player”, while Barney Ronay of the Guardian noted that he was the ‘best player on the pitch’, adding that he was ‘perky and precise all night’.

Thus, Foden’s recent performances mean he is a guaranteed starter against Liverpool, but who should come into the team alongside him, thereby forming part of the Citizens’ attacking quartet in support of Håland?

The exceptional star Pep Guardiola must start against Liverpool

In mid-week, it was Tijjani Reijnders, Savinho and Jérémy Doku who all started alongside Foden, but Guardiola surely must tinker with his lineup this weekend.

Chalkboard

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

That’s because, having recovered from a thigh injury, Rayan Cherki is starting to show glimpses of what he is capable of.

The Frenchman came off the bench to score his fourth goal for the Citizens on Wednesday, having previously netted against Al Ain, Wolves and Swansea.

When he arrived from Olympique Lyonnais for £34m in June, big things were expected of the 22-year-old, with Guardiola describing him as “exceptional”, and his statistics in Ligue 1 last season underlining why.

As the table documents, Cherki was one of the outstanding players in France’s top-flight last season, leading Ligue 1 for assists as well as a whole host of other creative metrics, behind only Désiré Doué in terms of goal-creating actions.

This season, despite sitting out eight matches due to injury, Cherki has already started to produce in a Man City shirt, registering three goals and three assists as well as creating four big chances in the Premier League; only seven players have more across the entire division, despite the fact he’s featured in only 163 of a possible 900 minutes to date.

Two of his three assists came against Bournemouth last Sunday, both times setting Håland free to burst in behind to slot the ball beyond Đorđe Petrović.

Thus, this forthcoming Sunday, a similar game plan is surely required.

During their sequence of six defeats from seven games, Liverpool were very susceptible to players running in behind, with Virgil van Dijk not at his dominant best and Ibrahima Konaté largely looking all at sea throughout the entire campaign.

With that in mind, Guardiola will want to pick a team that can exploit this weakness, featuring Håland running in behind and Doku giving right-back Conor Bradley nightmares with his dribbling, pace and trickery.

In order to best supply these other attackers, he must find room for Cherki, who demonstrated against Bournemouth last weekend that he possesses the right skillset to unlock Man City’s other attackers.

In the possible absence of Rodri, Reijnders will be in the team to offer support to Nico González while, as already documented, Foden’s flurry of goals makes him undroppable.

This leaves Savinho, who is still yet to score in the Premier League or Champions League this season, meaning the Brazilian is the most likely candidate to make way for Cherki, who simply has to be included in the starting lineup if Man City are going to become the latest team to defeat Arne Slot’s Reds this season?

Man City "monster" is closest thing Pep's had to Messi & it's not Cherki

Pep Guardiola has found his new Lionel Messi at Manchester City in pure “monster” and it is not Rayan Cherki.

By
Ben Gray

Oct 30, 2025

There was a lot of news in the world of Major League Baseball on Monday night. This is not exactly a surprise in the lead-up to the trade deadline, but many of the biggest stories from the diamond on Monday were wholly unrelated to real or proposed future deals.

The biggest story in the sport was obviously the death of Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg at the age of 65. Tributes came in from across the sport as fans, players, and Sandbergs peers celebrated his life.

But beyond remembering Sandberg’s incredible career, a whole lot of mesmerizing baseball moments took place on Monday.

Take a look below at some of the strange, fascinating, and strangely fascinating highlights from around the league.

Maikel Garcia Gets Stung by a Bee

It was a big day for Maikel Garcia. The 25-year-old cousin of Ronald Acuna Jr. and his Royals teammates were facing off against the Braves, and Garcia was determine to get the better of the family rivalry.

Garcia was able to slide in under the tag when Acuna fired a bullet from the outfield in an attempt to stop him from scoring, and Garcia celebrated with a playful taunt.

But the real highlight of Garcia’s night came a few innings later, when he shook off getting stung by a bee to drill a single which he legged out to turn into a double.

This Might Be the Worst Ump Call of the Season

Listen, we’ve covered a lot of bad officiating calls through the baseball season so far. While the presence of the human condition in the calling of balls and strikes has long been a part of the DNA of the sport, it’s calls like this one from Brian Walsh in Monday’s game between the Orioles and Blue Jays that have people calling for the robot revolution.

O’s pitcher Zach Eflin delivered a pitch right down the middle… for a ball. The broadcast booth was rightfully stunned and appalled by the call.

The Angels Find New Way to Give Up Two Runs

There’s no good way for an outfielder to miss an easy catch, but there are several degrees of bad, and Angels outfielder Gustavo Campero unlocked a painful level of bad with his error against the Rangers.

With Los Angeles holding a 2–0 lead in the fifth inning and trying to get out of a bases-loaded jam, it appeared that Campero had the out to end the inning right above his glove. It was even in his glove… until it wasn’t.

The Rangers scored two runs on the play, tying the game.

Everyone Was Getting Hit by Pitches and Forced to Leave Their Game

It’s been a scary season to be a baseball this year, with sluggers like Cal Raleigh, Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani all hitting dingers at a ridiculous pace.

But on Monday, the baseballs struck back, as a string of players were hit by pitches. Some of these HBPs were scarier than others, but by the end of the night, it was impossible to ignore the sheer volume of hits.

Eugenio Suarez, who is one of the hottest names on the market ahead of the trade deadline, was caught on the hand in a scary moment for the Arizona Diamondbacks and any contenders hoping to secure his services for the rest of the year.

Thankfully, x-rays were negative and Suarez is considered day-to-day.

George Springer took a pitch to the helmet in another horrifying moment for the Blue Jays. He was down on the ground for an extended period but eventually was able to walk off the field with some help from team staff. Hopefully he’s doing okay.

Royals catcher Salvador Perez was also forced out early after getting tagged with a pitch on the elbow.

Even pitchers weren’t immune from the carnage, with Dylan Cease catching a grounder to the back of the head. Though he stayed in the game after taking the shot, he was clearly (and understandably) rattled.

All four of these plays came across the timeline within just a few hours, and at the time, it felt like it might be best to simply unplug baseball for the night and try again tomorrow. Best wishes to the health of all players involved.

Fernando Tatis Jr. Submits Catch of the Year Contender

Just look at this. It simply does not get better.

Another look:

Anything can happen on any given night during baseball season, but on Monday night, it felt like happened.