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While Mumbai, with Bumrah’s addition, have all bowling bases covered, GT’s Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Buttler average nearly 58 this season as a trio

Vishal Dikshit05-May-20252:23

‘Sai Kishore vs SKY will be an interesting clash’

In many whodunnits, a character – while sifting through several clues – happens to superimpose two completely different images on top of the other, and somehow the true picture emerges out of nowhere.Similarly, in Tuesday’s IPL clash, there are several such threads about the strengths of Mumbai Indians (MI) and Gujarat Titans (GT), two teams that have taken completely different routes to reach 14 points. But when you place a certain set of numbers about the two teams next to one another, it appears this game could perhaps be decided in the battle between GT’s top three and MI’s pace attack in the early overs.That GT’s top three of Shubman Gill, B Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler do their heavy lifting is not a new revelation. Right from their first game, at least one of them has scored a half-century in their 10 innings. In five of those, at least two have crossed the 50 mark, always helping GT set a strong base. Fifty-five matches later, they remain the only team in this IPL to have used the same top order throughout.What has worked for the opening pair is that both Sai Sudharsan and Gill are also red-ball openers, which has equipped them with the technique to negotiate the swing and seam of the new ball. And their domestic experience over the years has prepared them for the slower black-soil surfaces, like the one they played on against MI in Ahmedabad, where the openers had scored a steady stand of 78 in 51 balls to set the base for a near-200 score. This stability, along with Buttler marrying his boundary-hitting with consistency, has meant that GT’s top three have averaged 57.56 this season. That’s a whopping 18 runs more than the next best.Related

• Solanki confirms Rabada available for Mumbai game: 'He has served his time and expressed regret'

• Spotlight on returning Rabada as MI and GT tussle for top spot

This opening pair could give the impression that they are both anchors, and they might even be compared to the ball-bashing openers in other teams, but they have ensured that this average has not come at the cost of scoring quickly. The combined strike rate of their top three stands at an impressive 161.32, the third-best this IPL after Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).”Those two guys have been very, very consistent and not just those two, the top three have scored 75% of their runs,” MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene had his stat ready while speaking of the top three’s challenge ahead of the game. “So that’s a challenge our bowling unit will have, and we’ll have to work towards that. That’s how their team is being built up and that’s something we’ll look at deeply.”Hardik Pandya gives a smile-off to Shubman Gill in their last meeting•Associated PressNow superimpose all that with MI’s new ball-bowling. Nobody strikes as often as Trent Boult does in the first over of the IPL, and his partner Deepak Chahar is joint-third on the list. The return of Jasprit Bumrah to full fitness has also allowed Boult an extra over with the new ball and not think too much about the death overs. Boult and Chahar together have struck so well, stepping up on each other’s off days just like Gill and Sai Sudharsan, that they have led the way in bowling out their last two oppositions, and three of their last six.In that streak of six wins on the trot, MI’s overall bowling has hit a different level too, with captain Hardik Pandya striking regularly in the middle overs and the spin of Karn Sharma fetching them another six wickets. The result? MI’s average of 23.23 and economy rate of 8.13 are the best in the span of 24 matches that have been played, starting from the day MI won the first of those six back to back games.The addition of Bumrah, at first-change, has further compounded oppositions’ headache: lose early wickets and then take on the best T20 bowler going around. MI’s fast bowling trinity has been so good, even on away grounds, that their tally of 34 wickets in the first 10 overs is better than anyone’s this IPL, along with the best average (27.76) and the third-best economy rate (8.58).When MI had traveled to Ahmedabad earlier in the season, GT had dished out a black-soil pitch to make scoring tougher for MI batters who are more used to the red soil at the Wankhede. On Tuesday evening, GT may also enjoy scoring at Wankhede, but it’s also a ground where the MI get a lot of success. Who will blink first?

Akash Deep produced the best match figures by an Indian bowler in England

Sampath Bandarupalli06-Jul-20251:56

Aaron: Gill showing signs of a great leader

1-7 – India’s win-loss record in Test matches at Edgbaston. They had lost seven of their first eight games (with one draw) before beating England for the first time at the venue on Sunday.India’s win at Edgbaston is also the first time they have levelled a series in England immediately after losing the first Test. They had lost the first Test on 13 previous series in England and went on to lose the second in six and draw it in seven.336 – India’s margin of victory at Edgbaston is their biggest by runs away from home. Their previous biggest was a 318-run victory against West Indies in North Sound in 2019.Related

• Stokes' batting in focus as England count cost of Edgbaston errors

• Akash Deep ten-for seals statement win for India

10 for 187 – Akash Deep’s match figures at Edgbaston are the best for India in a men’s Test in England. Chetan Sharma, also at Edgbaston in 1986, is the only other India bowler with a ten-for in England.17 – Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj’s tally of wickets at Edgbaston is the joint highest by India’s new-ball bowlers in a Test. Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2005, and Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav against Bangladesh in Kolkata in 2019, also took 17 wickets.272 – Runs scored by Jamie Smith at Edgbaston, the third-highest by a wicketkeeper in a Test. Only Andy Flower is ahead of him with aggregates of 341 against South Africa in 2001 and 287 against India in 2000.1692 – Runs scored by England and India at Edgbaston – the highest for a Test between the two teams, bettering the 1673 in the previous match at Headingley. It is also the fourth-highest aggregate for a Test match not to end in a draw.3365 – Total runs in the first two Tests, the highest for the first two matches in any bilateral Test series. The previous highest was 3230 by Australia and England in the Ashes of 1924-25.India scored 1849 runs at Headingley and Edgbaston, the most by any team across the first two Tests of a series.

His Wanindu Hasaranga celebration might stay in the memory, but what Abrar Ahmed achieved with the ball against Sri Lanka was nothing short of stupendous

Danyal Rasool24-Sep-2025Wanindu Hasaranga is barely a year older than Abrar Ahmed, but looked like an older man gently putting down a young upstart. Abrar, with a slightly impudent grin on his face, seemed to be convincing Hasaranga he had meant no offence. Not that Hasaranga, who wore a grin at least as equally broad, needed much convincing.He gave Abrar a pat on the head, the two men slapped each other’s chests and shoulders, and Abrar walked away still sporting the smile as he savoured successfully ribbing his ounterpart. Hasaranga gave him a parting pat on the back of the head and, as things tend to be between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, everything was swiftly all right once more.Perhaps the interaction took that slightly paternalistic tone because it is so easy to infantilise Abrar – and he appears to revel in it. He was the baby-faced 17-year-old who broke in at the PSL in a different lifetime. Even when, several years and debilitating back injuries later, he made his debut in Pakistan’s Test side, he was the smooth-faced boy with the slightly kooky action and the glasses. So he got stuck with Harry Potter.Related

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• Talat: Middle-order batting the hardest job in T20s

• Asalanka: Sri Lanka have to 'get combinations right'

• Nawaz and Talat trump Sri Lanka in nervy chase

A couple of years on, something resembling a beard was beginning to take shape and the glasses were replaced by contacts when he cleaned up Shubman Gill with a legspinner’s dream of a delivery at the Champions Trophy. By now, it was the wantonly provocative celebration, a flick of the head to send the batter on his way, that set the stage for both imitation and mockery, which Hasaranga deployed as such an effective counter to Abrar’s decision to appropriate the Sri Lankan’s celebration when he dismissed him earlier.It is pictures of that interaction that will dominate the way this game is committed to memory. Just like in 2022 when Abrar’s look – rather than the fact that he had become the first spinner to take five wickets in a session on debut in a Test match, is the dominant recollection from that day. Just like his unique send-off – rather than the quality of the ball that undid Gill – is what anyone remembers of that dismissal. Just like it will invariably be little more than a footnote that Abrar had delivered the most economical spell for a spinner in Asia Cup T20 history – eight runs in four overs.While a lot of players strain to imbue their game and personality with gravitas, Abrar is much more content hiding his behind the joy he takes from the game. It should not, however, detract from how valuable his role is to his side, or how seriously he takes it.

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South Africa’s captain wants to “play on the front foot” to once and for all stamp his team’s authority in the Test format

Firdose Moonda21-Nov-20251:57

Philander: SA batters have to ‘tighten up a bit’

Temba Bavuma and Shukri Conrad have already been where no other South African team have before – a WTC final victory, an undefeated streak as captain for Bavuma and a ten-Test unbeaten run for Conrad as coach. Now, they want to go one step further.Though South Africa have won a series in India before – 25 years ago – and a draw in Guwahati will be enough to achieve that for a second time, they have never won three Tests in a row in Asia. In itself, that may be nothing more than good pub quiz trivia but what it would do in underlining South Africa’s championship status is massive.If that sounds like all South Africa talk about is justification, it may be, but it comes against the backdrop of the conversation that was had before they lifted the mace at Lord’s. Things were said. True things like South Africa not playing either England or Australia in the cycle, and only faced India at home. Silly things like they weren’t properly tested in the subcontinent because Bangladesh (and this was said about South Africa not by them) don’t really count. South Africa always said those things didn’t bother them but they noticed them enough to be fuelled by them, and that shows.Related

• With 'small hands' and strong instincts, Bavuma shows self-assurance of a player at his peak

• Mystery pitch adds to intrigue in Guwahati's Test debut

• Rib injury rules Kagiso Rabada out of second Test too

South Africa validated themselves after winning the mace by squaring a series in tough conditions in Pakistan, and doing it without regular captain Bavuma, and then taking the series lead against India in Kolkata. Imagine what a series win over India, who South Africa suffered two of their worst defeats to in 2015 and 2019, would say about this side?They know it would substantially elevate this group’s status and are looking forward to the opportunity to add a few more lines to what has been a near-perfect script over the last 24 months.”The mood is buoyant amongst the boys,” Bavuma said at the pre-match conference in Guwahati. “We’re excited to try and replicate our performance from the first Test. We’re also excited to be a part of the first Test here in Guwahati. Looking at where the series is at and the whole narrative around it, we’re looking forward to it being an exciting and thrilling game.”If South Africa win – and depending on what happens in Perth and then across the next month in the Ashes – they could also end up near the top of the WTC 2025-27 table, which is a position they will hold until they next play a Test in October 2026. While it’s far too early in the cycle to be concerned about where teams are, as defending champions, it’s far more palatable to be close to the summit than not.Temba Bavuma and Shukri Conrad hug after the Kolkata Test•AFP/Getty ImagesSpeaking of The Ashes, it’s impossible not to compare the hype and frenzy of what is going on between Australia and England to the contest between the much younger but equally intense rivalry between India and South Africa, and similarly impossible not to wish the latter had the length of the former.That this series is limited to two matches is a consequence of a Future Tours Programme (FTP) that was decided more than three years ago, when South Africa were not as desirable an opposition. That South Africa have only played two-Test series since early 2023 is a consequence of that same FTP, when Cricket South Africa (CSA) needed to be financially savvy as they neared bankruptcy, which translated to hosting fewer Tests, especially against loss-making opposition. (Sidenote: they also only hosted India, a profit-making side, for two Tests in 2023-24 but made even more money through white-ball matches against them and so, opted for more of those, including four T20Is in 2024).All that will change slightly next year when South Africa host England and Australia for three Tests each. For now, this two-match series is all they have and naturally, an Indian media that also wants more asked Bavuma about it. While Bavuma stressed that he has no say in the schedule, he provided a typically thoughtful answer.”Every player that has had the opportunity to interact with the media and that has that question (of whether they want to play more Tests) put in front of them, has voiced out their frustration,” Bavuma said. “It would be nice for a 3-4 match series against a formidable team like India. And I think it’s just good for the fans when people get to see good cricket, get to see one team dominating and then the other. As players, all we can do is what we’ve been trying to do out on the field: keep playing good cricket. I think that will attract the top nations to play a lot more cricket against us.”

“Our mindset is not on protecting the lead that we have. We want to play on the front foot, and we will continue to do so. Whatever opportunities are there within the game, we’ll look to be ruthless and take them”Temba Bavuma

And he confirmed what many of us suspect. “We woke up this morning to watch the Ashes and with a bit of jealousy, knowing that they’ve got five Tests. Hopefully, not too far in the future, but more in the near future, we’ll go back to playing four Tests against India. Whether here in India, or back home in South Africa.”The last four Test series between India and South Africa was in 2015, and South Africa lost 3-0. They have only played three other four-Test series since, all against England and lost them all.None of that will be on their mind when they line up to play India on Saturday. The sides are as evenly matched as they come: South Africa without Kagiso Rabada again, the leader of their attack, and India, without their leader, Shubman Gill, and both sides know as much about what to expect from the venue as the other.With no Tests played in Guwahati, though India have home advantage, they don’t have any more experience in Tests here than South Africa.The one thing both know is that given the time of year and how far east the city is, darkness comes early and play could be curtailed. Bavuma was even asked if that may help his side drag things out to a draw – nevermind that South Africa haven’t drawn in 13 Tests – and he made it clear that South Africa came to get a job done and they want to finish it.”Our mindset is not on protecting the lead that we have. We want to play on the front foot, and we will continue to do so. In terms of the game, we’ll play what’s in front of us,” Bavuma said. “We understand that light does become an issue but we don’t want to go in there with that defensive mindset.”Whatever opportunities are there within the game, we’ll look to be ruthless and take them. If there’s an opportunity for it to be 2-0, then so be it.”

Liverpool have not been very good this season. Viewed through the prism of extensive summer spending – more, in fact, than any other club in a single summer transfer window – some of the criticism concerning Arne Slot’s side has been justified.

But some of it has been blown out of proportion. The Reds are a team in transition, and while six defeats from seven matches in all competitions were inexcusable, the response to put Aston Villa and then Real Madrid away in the space of four days underscores the quality rippling through this team.

One of the Premier League champions’ biggest problems this year has been a lack of physicality and control in the engine room. And so, against Los Blancos on Tuesday evening, Slot reverted to type.

How Liverpool won the midfield battle vs Real Madrid

In short, Liverpool played like they wanted it more. Gone was the lethargy and limpness of recent months, and Slot grinned as he watched his outfit rekindle that irresistible quality of last year.

Real Madrid might have won 55% of the duels on the evening, but Liverpool’s midfielders were economical in their performances, far more reliable and robust than we have been forced to watch for much of the campaign.

Dominik Szoboszlai was as brilliant as ever in the ten role, unplayable at times and unquestionably in the form of his Liverpool career. Moreover, Ryan Gravenberch instilled calm in an assured showing as the anchor. It is no coincidence that Liverpool’s return to form comes after last season’s midfield have been moulded back together.

After all, it was Alexis Mac Allister who bagged himself a goal after Szoboszlai’s whipped delivery, showcasing the direct danger this midfield can pose against opponents, marrying that with slick passing and crisp defending.

A header from a midfielder against a Spanish giant on a big European night. It was reminiscent of Gini Wijnaldum against Barcelona.

However, there was another man on the field to show Slot that he could be his version of the iconic Dutchman, with a statement showing in a red shirt.

Slot's own Gini Wijnaldum

Liverpool were deserving victors against Real Madrid on Tuesday, and Wirtz played a crucial part in claiming three points, hailed post-match by Szoboszlai, who said, “What a game! He just kept on running.”

Wirtz has flattered to deceive since joining Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen for £116m this summer, but he looks to be turning a corner, settling into the rigours of football in Slot’s Anfield side.

Despite still searching for that elusive first goal in a Liverpool shirt, the German international oozed class of a different kind against Xabi Alonso’s side, and marrying that with a remarkable physical shift, he has set the foundation for an upswing in performances over the next months.

Hailed as being “something special” by writer Eddie Gibbs, the 22-year-old glittered against the most dominant and destructive European side around, and it’s curious that he has shuffled into a wider berth than the number ten role assigned to him for much of the season so far.

Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger offered an interesting take on the situation. The 76-year-old suggested that the inculcation of Wirtz into the midfield had been to the detriment of Liverpool’s overall fluency.

But, shaped into a more unnatural role on the left, Wirtz’s energy and incredible work ethic played into Liverpool’s victory.

In this way, he could become Slot’s own version of Wijnaldum, who would not have envisaged a permanent remould into an industrious, box-to-box midfielder at the heart of Jurgen Klopp’s team when joining the Reds from Newcastle United in 2016.

And yet Wijnaldum became one of the staples of Liverpool’s incredible successes, featuring 237 times for the club but only posting 22 goals and 16 assists across all competitions.

Wirtz will still hope to provide a prolific dimension at Liverpool over the years of his stay, but it might be that his adaptation to this new land requires something of a shift akin to Wijnaldum’s way back when.

And with such indefatigable performances as the one earlier this week, it’s surely only a matter of time until he announces himself as a superstar.

Arne Slot has just unlocked Liverpool's new Coutinho vs Real Madrid

Liverpool may have unearthed their next Philippe Coutinho after getting the better of Real Madrid 1-0.

By
Kelan Sarson

Nov 5, 2025

Northern Superchargers move second after dumping two-time champions out of the competition

ECB Media23-Aug-2025Northern Superchargers 127 for 3 (Davidson-Richards 50, Litchfield 29) beat Oval Invincibles 125 for 6 (Winfield-Hill 37, Cross 2-16) by seven wicketsNorthern Superchargers solidified their position in the top three of the women’s competition of The Hundred with a comfortable win over a misfiring Oval Invincibles, whose hopes of staging a late run to the knockout stages lay in ruins after a maiden tournament half-century for Alice Davidson-Richards and another brilliant cameo from Phoebe Litchfield.A win here doesn’t quite confirm the Superchargers’ progression – London Spirit, in fourth, could yet haul them in – but the result does end the Invincibles’ slim chances of featuring come the business end.The result will sting for Lauren Winfield-Hill’s team, who scrapped hard but were always up against it once Tash Farrant was injured in the field; Tarrant was only able to bowl five deliveries, which meant that Winfield-Hill had to turn to spin. With Farrant indisposed and her new-ball partner Marizanne Kapp forced to complete her 20 deliveries early, Litchfield and Davidson-Richards counter-attacked devastatingly, putting on 47 to take the game away from the visitors.Davidson-Richards brought up her fifty with a slew of punches down the ground, hitting nine fours in all in her 32-ball stay, while Litchfield’s range of shots, with the signature reverse-sweep once more in evidence, was breath-taking at times, her 21-ball 29 taking her into the top three of the competition’s run-scorers.Despite losing both batters in quick succession, the Australian pair of Annabel Sutherland and Nicola Carey steadied any nerves to see the Superchargers home with a full set still to bowl.The Invincibles, two-times winners of the competition, will be hurting. A garlanded line-up only sporadically clicked into top gear and even today, despite a sparky knock of 37 at No.5 from Winfield-Hill, their big guns were quiet, with their top four of Paige Scholfield, Meg Lanning, Alice Capsey and Kapp contributing just 39 runs between them, as Grace Bollinger and Kate Cross set the tone with excellent new-ball spells.Meerkat Match Hero, Alice Davidson-Richards, was relieved that they held their nerve to get the job done. “I’ll be honest, I was a bit of a wreck at the end there, pacing around with a cup of tea, just hoping the girls [Sutherland and Carey] could get us over the line. In the end it was a really great win for the team.”Up top it was quite hard against the seamers who were swinging it around for both teams, but as I got in, it got a little bit easier. And at Headingley, it’s always a decent deck to bat on.”
ends

Planning for a career after football is always wise, but that usually comes in the form of punditry or coaching. Gary Neville famously did one far more successfully than the other, whilst Mikel Arteta is now one of the best managers in the world.

Alfie Whiteman has done neither after leaving Tottenham Hotspur, however.

The 26-year-old has retired from football to pursue an entirely different dream. The goalkeeper was part of Ange Postecoglou’s Europa League-winning squad just last season, providing backup for Guglielmo Vicario and Antonin Kinsky, but failed to get a single minute on the pitch.

In fact, the goalkeeper’s last senior appearance came on loan at Swedish side Degerfors IF in the 2021/22 campaign. Playing 21 games in the Allsvenskan, Whiteman kept just two clean sheets and conceded 40 goals in a difficult spell.

Life as a goalkeeper and as a professional footballer, Whiteman admitted, was not the dream that he had imagined. The goalkeeper, who left Spurs as a free agent in the summer, recently told The Athletic: “I signed for Spurs at 10 years old. Then I left school at 16 and went straight into this full-time life of football.

“When I was around 17 or 18, living in digs, I just had this feeling inside of, ‘Is this it?’ Getting on the mini bus, going to training, doing the Sports Science BTEC (he also did an A Level in Economics) and going home to play video games. I realised, ‘Oh, I’m not happy here’ from quite a young age.

“The stereotype of a footballer is generally quite true. It’s the golf, washbag culture. I was that young footballer. I wanted the Gucci washbag and I drove the Mercedes. You all just become a reflection of each other. You’re a product of your environment. It’s the way football is in this country; it’s so shut off from anything else. You go to training and then you go home, that’s it.”

Unfulfilled and released from his boyhood club, Whiteman has since gone in pursuit of happiness in the film industry.

Whiteman swaps the football for the camera in stunning change

After earning £1.5m in wages at Spurs, Whiteman has retired from football at 26 years old to become a film director and photographer. The former goalkeeper now works for Somesuch – an award-winning production company – where he plans to take a much more fulfilling career path.

It’s been a long time coming too. During his time sitting on the Spurs bench, Whiteman was working as a runner for directors, photographers and producers in preparation for his dream role. Although the expectancy is for footballers to retire in their 30s, he didn’t wait until then to make the jump.

Although many goalkeepers can boast careers at the highest level, you’ll struggle to find a shot-stopper who’s got his hands on a European trophy and an Oscar, but that’s the dream for Whiteman.

Tottenham Hotspur player salaries 2025/26

Rafael Devers has exclusively been a designated hitter this season, despite what he and the teams that employ him have wanted. Devers, a former All-Star third baseman, lost his position in Boston when the team signed Alex Bregman and then traded him to the San Francisco Giants where he has also been reluctant to transition to first base.

On Tuesday, WEEI's Will Flemming revealed that Devers had stood up Giants legend Will Clark when he first arrived in San Francisco. While Devers was taking some reps at first ahead of the team's game on Tuesday night, the origin of Flemming's story surfaced.

Will Clark had told the story of Devers not coming out to practice with him not once, but three times during his first series in San Francisco. Clark told the story on his podcast with Eric Byrnes a week ago and even said he understood why Devers didn't come out to work with him.

"So Matt Williams and Bob Melvin want me to go out there and work with him around first base," said Clark. "No problem. And we weren't gonna like go through anything physical. We're just going to walk through and say hey look if the throw's coming from over there stand this way, if the throw's coming from over there, stand that way. It wasn't gonna be this big thing. And Friday, Saturday, Sunday he did not come early. At all. Period. Not at all. In fact, he didn't even hit on the field, right?"

Clark then explained exactly what he thought had happened that weekend.

"I know what the f— happened," he continued. "I said he didn't want to go out and be at first base and be 20 feet in front of their frickin' dugout with what went on in Boston and now he's working with me at first base. He didn't want to have to go through all that bullsh– through the press and the media. And so I completely understand. But Rafael Devers, next time I'm in San Francisco, your ass will be on the field at first base. Just letting you know that."

Clark went on to say that Devers would be on first even if it meant he had to grab him by the "back of the neck" and drag him out there himself.

Devers went 2-for-12 with a home run as the Giants won two of three games in that series vs. the Red Sox.