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da pinnacle： Quer um 9 bolado? Pois o Flamengo já tem. Nesta quarta-feira, Pedro marcou quatro dos oito gols do Rubro-Negro na histórica goleada por 8 a 2 sobre o Maringá, no Maracanã, que colocou a equipe carioca nas oitavas de final da Copa do Brasil após perder o jogo de ida por 2 a 0.O centroavante agora soma 21 gols em 20 jogos no ano, sendo assim o maior artilheiro da elite do futebol brasileiro em 2023.

Pedro superou outro grande goleador do futebol carioca que também marcou neste meio de semana: Germán Cano. O atacante do Fluminense, que estufou as redes na vitória tricolor por 3 a 0 sobre o Paysandu, nesta terça-feira, tem 20 tentos anotados em 19 atuações na temporada.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasFlamengoApós marcar quatro gols na goleada do Flamengo, Pedro fala sobre a emoção do feito: ‘Especial’Flamengo26/04/2023FlamengoATUAÇÕES: Cebolinha, Gerson e Pedro têm atuações mágicas na classificação do Flamengo na Copa do BrasilFlamengo26/04/2023FlamengoFlamengo dá show, goleia o Maringá no Maracanã e garante classificação na Copa do BrasilFlamengo26/04/2023

da 888casino： Entre os jogadores que disputarão a Série A neste ano, quem mais se aproxima da dupla é Lelê. Ex-Volta Redonda, o atual parceiro de Cano nas Laranjeiras já marcou 15 vezes em 19 partidas em 2023. Hulk, do Atlético Mineiro, com 14, também está na disputa. Confira o top 10:

ARTILHEIROS DO BRASIL EM 2023
– Apenas jogadores dos clubes da Série A

1º – Pedro – Flamengo – 21 gols
2º – Cano – Fluminense – 20 gols
3º – Lelê – Fluminense – 15 gols
4º – Hulk – Atlético-MG – 14 gols
5º – Roger Guedes – Corinthians – 13 gols
6º – Lucero – Fortaleza – 12 gols
7º – Suárez – Grêmio – 11 gols
Gabigol – Flamengo – 11 gols
Thiago Galhardo – Fortaleza – 11 gols
10º – Tiquinho Soares – Botafogo – 10 gols
Everaldo – Bahia – 10 gols

أعلن البلجيكي يانيك فيريرا، المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي الزمالك، بدلاء الفارس الأبيض لمواجهة الإسماعيلي بعد قليل في الدوري المصري.

ويلتقي فريق الزمالك مع الإسماعيلي عصر اليوم في تمام الساعة الخامسة مساءً، على استاد هيئة قناة السويس، في الجولة السابعة لمسابقة الدوري الممتاز.

طالع| محمد صلاح: الأهلي يمتلك قنابل موقوتة.. وفيريرا أسوأ مدرب في أمر واحد فقط

ويحتل الزمالك المركز الثاني في جدول ترتيب الدوري المصري برصيد 13 نقطة، من الفوز في 4 لقاءات والتعادل بمواجهة وحيدة وتلقى هزيمة أخرى.

بينما على الجانب الآخر، يحتل فريق الإسماعيلي، المركز الثامن عشر في جدول ترتيب الدوري المصري، برصيد 4 نقاط، من فوز وحيد وتعادل و4 خسائر. بدلاء الزمالك اليوم أمام الإسماعيليمحمد عواد وصلاح مصدق وأحمد فتوح وسيف جعفر وأحمد حمدي وعبد الحميد معالي وأحمد شريف وعمرو ناصر وناصر منسي.

Celtic went into the final international break of the season off the back of a disappointing 3-2 defeat to their city rivals in the Scottish Premiership at Parkhead.

Brendan Rodgers will be disappointed that his side let the game slip away from them after they brought the score back to 2-2 from 2-0 down at half-time, as Hamza Igamane scored an 88th-minute winner for Rangers.

Goals from Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate got the Hoops back into the game and the home crowd appeared to be pushing them on for a winner, before that late sucker-punch.

Despite that loss, Celtic are a whopping 13 points clear at the top of the Premiership table and it seems to be a matter of when, not if, they clinch a fourth successive league title.

There were also other positives to take out of the clash with their Glasgow rivals, despite the disappointing scoreline, as central defender Maik Nawrocki stepped up with an impressive showing.

Why Maik Nawrocki deserves more minutes this season

The Polish central defender had not played a minute of Premiership action or started a single game in any competition for the club this season prior to the clash with Rangers at Parkhead last time out.

Injuries to Liam Scales and Auston Trusty resulted in Rodgers deciding to go with Cameron Carter-Vickers and Nawrocki as the central defensive pairing, and the latter certainly took his chance to impress.

Those did not watch the game may see that the former Legia Warsaw man made his first start and that Celtic conceded three goals and lost and try to connect the dots, but none of the goals conceded were down to any errors on his part.

If anything, Nawrocki’s contributions in the heart of the backline for the Scottish giants prevented the highly-motivated Rangers team, managed by Barry Ferguson, from scoring even more goals at Parkhead.

As you can see in the table above, the 24-year-old colossus won 70% of his physical duels with Rangers players and did not get dribbled past a single time, whilst he also read the game well to make four interceptions.

So far this season, Scales has averaged 4.3 clearances and 1.7 tackles and interceptions per game, whilst Trusty has averaged 3.3 clearances and 2.4 tackles and interceptions per game in the Premiership.

This suggests that Nawrocki has the potential to offer more than both of them as an out-and-out defender if he can maintain the level that he displayed in the clash with Rangers.

Therefore, the summer signing from 2023 deserves more minutes between now and the end of the campaign to prove to Rodgers that he has a future as a key player for Celtic before the next transfer window.

Market Movers

Football FanCast’s Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club’s star player or biggest flop worth today?

Nawrocki is currently one of the lowest valued players in the squad at Parkhead, and a strong end to the season as a first-team regular could help to boost his value.

Celtic's lowest-valued players in the 24/25 season

At the time of writing (25/03/2025), the former Legia Warsaw man is valued at just £1.7m by Transfermarkt and there are only four outfield players in the squad who are worth less, albeit one of them is the rarely-seen James McCarthy.

Hyun-jun Yang, who has recently emerged as a key squad option for Celtic with five goals and six assists this season, has seen his value rise to £2m – £300k above Nawrocki.

The 24-year-old titan’s goal between now and the end of the season should be to nail down a place in the XI next to Carter-Vickers ahead of the summer, in a bid to improve his position in the squad and his market value.

There is, however, a former Celtic centre-back who is currently worth even more than both Yang and Nawrocki. The Hoops cashed in on Jack Hendry in the summer of 2021 for a reported fee of £1.5m, and he has thrived since then.

Celtic sold their own John Stones

The Scotland international was signed from Dundee in January 2016 and made just 27 first-team appearances, despite earning comparisons to John Stones in his younger days.

During his time at Wigan, before his move to Parkhead in 2016, Hendry spoke about being compared to the Manchester City and England star. He told The Guardian:

“The conversations were initially all about going to Everton, into the 23s and developing the way Stones had done. The Wigan chairman told me they had missed out on Stones when he went to Everton so now it was their turn to get one up.

“I’ve grown up with people speaking about our similarity. I’m now going to be on the same pitch as him. It’s funny how football works out. He has had criticism, come back and is a world-class footballer so he is a great role model.”

He was seemingly unable to live up to that comparison at Celtic, given his lack of game time, and was sent out on loan to Oostende in Belgium, giving the Pro League side an option to buy him – for the aforementioned fee of £1.5m, for the 2020/21 campaign.

Interestingly, though, the centre-back almost immediately completed another transfer, joining Belgian giants Club Brugge for a reported fee of £3.5m just one month later, due to a release clause that was put in his deal.

Hendry went on to play 41 times for Club Brugge in all competitions before Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq swooped in to secure his services for a reported fee of £6.5m in the summer of 2023 – a fee considerably higher than what Yang and Nawrocki are currently valued at.

This means that his value soared by 333% in the space of two years, from the £1.5m that Celtic sold him for to the £6.5m that the Saudi Arabian side signed him for, and the Hoops may regret that they did not get more value out of the Scottish titan.

Hendry, who has been an incredibly reliable figure in possession and a strong defender off the ball, has been Al-Ettifaq’s own version of Stones with his mixture of technical and physical qualities in a centre-back position.

Celtic, unfortunately, could not unearth their version of the Manchester City star during the Scottish titan’s time at Parkhead, but he did not get many opportunities to showcase his quality.

That is a lesson that can now be learned from to better handle Nawrocki, who has shown that he deserves to have more minutes on the pitch moving forward, having proven that he can put in exceptional performances at Premiership level.

Rodgers must, now, hand more starts to the Polish centre-back in the hope that he can kick on and flourish at Parkhead, in a way that Hendry never got the chance to do – causing Celtic to miss out on having their own John Stones at centre-back.

Celtic star was sold for £4.5m, now he scores more frequently than Maeda

Brendan Rodgers cashed in on the Celtic attacker last year and he is now more prolific than Daizen Maeda and Adam Idah.

By
Dan Emery

Mar 25, 2025

It has been a strange season for Alejandro Garnacho. The Manchester United attacker has ten goals and eight assists across all competitions this term, but just six of those 18 goal involvements have come in the Premier League, in 31 games.

With that being said, the 20-year-old has achieved a huge milestone this season. Last weekend, he scored his 15th Premier League goal, coming against Newcastle United as Ruben Amorim’s side slipped to a 4-1 defeat.

Impressively, that took him past his idol, and one of the best players in United’s history, Cristiano Ronaldo, for goals at the same age. At 20 years old, the former Red Devils number seven had just 14 top-flight goals.

However, Garnacho certainly has a way to go before he can match Ronaldo’s legacy at Old Trafford.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Man Utd legacy

Once described as “the greatest player of all time” by former teammate Gary Neville on Sky Sports, few in history have done it like Ronaldo. The 40-year-old is now plying his trade in Saudi Arabia, but his extraordinary career really took off during his first spell at Old Trafford.

After signing for United in 2003 for a reported £12.24m, the Portugal star scored 118 times and grabbed 60 assists in 292 appearances for the English giants.

He was phenomenal, winning three Premier League titles in a row and the Champions League in 2007/08.

That 2007/08 campaign was nothing short of extraordinary, with United winning the double and Ronaldo the Ballon d’Or in 2008, becoming the best player on the planet. He scored 42 goals and provided eight in 49 games in all competitions that season.

His move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2009 for a then-world-record £80m was certainly devastating for the Red Devils. He was, in many ways, irreplaceable. Although their success continued, it was never easy to replace someone like Ronaldo.

Well, they might well be in danger of a repeat situation this summer, in a deal worth even more than Ronaldo’s back in 2009.

Man Utd’s new Ronaldo in 2025

If you asked United fans 16 years ago which player they would least like to be sold, Ronaldo would likely have been the answer. Well, in 2025, the answer to that question would surely be Bruno Fernandes.

It has been an unforgettable season for United’s captain Fernandes, in what has been a poor season as a side. He has an incredible 16 goals and 18 assists in 46 games in all competitions for the Red Devils.

His eight goals and ten assists in the Premier League this term ensures it is his second-best season in terms of output since his move to United back in 2020. The only season he exceeded those numbers was 2020/21, when he scored and assisted 29 goals. As Statman Dave said, he is a “machine”.

It isn’t easy to pinpoint one performance from the Red Devils’ number eight that has been his best this season. He has managed multiple goal involvements in a single game eight times, but his best was arguably the excellent hat-trick against Real Sociedad in the Europa League.

Indeed, Fernandes’ underlying FBref numbers compared to other midfielders in the last 365 days are astounding. For example, the 30-year-old averages 9.32 progressive passes, which ranks him in the top 3% of midfielders.

Goals and assists

0.65

99th

Key passes

3.15

99th

Progressive passes

9.32

97th

Shot-creating actions

5.93

99th

Ball recoveries

6.10

85th

United fans – and Amorim – may be worrying that their captain will leave the club, given Madrid were recently linked with a move. At the end of March, the Daily Star claimed Los Blancos are targeting a £90m move for their talisman.

That would see him leave for even more than Ronaldo did all those years ago, and given Fernandes’ importance to this United side, there is certainly a case to be made that this would be an even bigger loss.

The Red Devils will surely be hoping Fernandes doesn’t become their new Ronaldo, in that sense.

Upgrade on Rashford: Man Utd leading the race to sign £30m "monster"

Man Utd are looking for attacking reinforcements this summer

ByJoe Nuttall Apr 16, 2025

Stokes has dark days. But he has climbed back up and, on the biggest occasions, when his team need him most, it was Stokes who always his hand up

George Dobell at Lord's15-Jul-2019A few weeks ago, in a hotel in Jaipur, Ben Stokes spoke publicly for the first time about the aftermath of night in Bristol.He was, in many ways, frustrated to revisit an episode from which he had moved on. And from which he thought everyone else should have moved on too. He had been exonerated, after all. Stokes’ main point was, in essence, that he didn’t want to be defined by it. As he put it, “I don’t want to be remembered as the guy who had a fight in the street. I want to do things on the field to be remembered for. If we win the World Cup, that becomes the first paragraph [of his ESPNcricinfo profile].”He didn’t want to be remembered for night in Kolkata, either. England’s men’s side haven’t won many global tournaments: to have one snatched away in such dramatic fashion as occurred that night in April 2016 hurt for a long time. More importantly, it could have scarred many cricketers and made them avoidant of similar high-pressure moments. As Eoin Morgan put it: “A lot of careers would have ended after what happened in Kolkata.”Yet here was Stokes, once more at the helm when a match had to be decided. And not just any match. A World Cup final. A game that represented the culmination of four years’ work and would define the reputation of this England side. A game upon which the game in England and Wales hoped to win many new supporters. The stakes could not have been higher. And when his team needed someone to be there at the end, it was Stokes putting his hand up.It was no surprise. For it has been telling that, in his last five innings of the tournament, Stokes has scored between 79 and 89 four times. Just as it was telling that it was Stokes who provided the late-innings acceleration against India (he scored 79 in 54 balls), and Stokes who stood unbeaten (with 82) when the lower-order collapsed (England’s last six batsmen contributed 32 runs between them) in the defeat against Sri Lanka. His 89 in the group game against Australia at Lord’s went in vain, but it was noticeable that he was the only man in his side to reach 30 in the innings. Whatever the need, whatever the occasion, he has adapted his game the best he can to serve his team.And he delivered. He held his nerve, he oversaw a testing run chase, and he saw – just about – his side over the line. He is now a World Cup winner. More than that, he has a Man-of-the-Match award in the first World Cup final England’s men team have won. It was Stokes who brought cricket home. His rehabilitation is complete. His legacy assured. This is what fulfilment looks like.Stokes’ reputation, with the bat at least, is probably that of an audacious strokemaker. And as he showed when slog-sweeping Trent Boult for six in the final over of England’s chase, he can play some remarkable shots. He was the only man in the England innings who hit a six, and from a point of apparent hopelessness, he made 32 from his final 13 deliveries to earn the Super Over.Ben Stokes – a fine cricketer, and a fine role model•Getty ImagesBut that reputation sells him a bit short. For he is also an intelligent, calm cricketer with fine technique. He has made Test centuries in Perth and Rajkot, against pace and spin, and timed this chase with calm precision. It took him 81 balls to reach his half-century here – an age in England’s modern ODI history – after he reasoned his side could not afford to lose him. He has developed into a thoughtful, versatile cricketer who can adapt his game to suit his side’s needs. He is now averaging 54.31 at a strike rate of 87.16 since he came back into the ODI side.That’s just as well too. For while many of us expected this tournament to be contested upon the flat, high-scoring wickets on which England built their reputation, they have actually been contested on surfaces offering bowlers far more assistance. As a result, the batsmen who have excelled are, on the whole, those who have adapted. And adaptation has not always been the area in which England have been strongest.It’s not just with the bat he has adapted either. Having accepted that other bowlers were better suited to the role of wicket-taker in this tournament, he became England’s second most economical bowler in the campaign – he conceded 4.83 runs per over; Jofra Archer conceded 4.57 – while also finishing with his team’s highest batting average (66.42) and passing 50 five times. Not even Joe Root or Jason Roy managed it more often. “He really carried the team and our batting line-up,” Morgan said.Don’t forget his fitness, either. He had already covered much ground in the field, bowled a few overs and batted for two and a half hours before the Super Overs started. Yet he was the man Morgan chose to bat again; a decision Stokes justified with eight from three balls and some demanding running between the wickets. And of course he pulled off one of the catches of the World Cup, in the opening match against South Africa. “Superhuman” was Morgan’s description of his efforts; it seems about right.That this result was achieved, in part, by a moment of incredible fortune – a throw deflecting for four overthrows off Stokes’ bat – was cruel for New Zealand. Stokes looked genuinely mortified to be the unwitting beneficiary. He apologised to Kane Williamson at the time – an apology that was graciously accepted – and admitted it “wasn’t the way I wanted to do it”. There was, though, perhaps something fitting about England winning on the basis of hitting more boundaries. Such big-hitting has been the bedrock of their approach over the last four years or so, after all.Perhaps there may be some consolation that Stokes has New Zealand heritage too. He lived in the country until he was 12 – his parents and brothers still do – and he has Maori ancestry, which some in his family think contributes to his unquenchable spirit. Maybe, in a way, the people of New Zealand will take pride in his success. And maybe, in a way, they will take pride in the manner in which England have adopted New Zealand’s approach to the game. New Zealand’s influence has changed cricket for the better. It won’t feel like it right now, but in its own way maybe that matters more than trophies.Certainly the people of England and Wales should be proud of Stokes. He has been knocked down. He has known dark days. But he has climbed back up and, on the biggest occasions, when his team-mates needed him most, he has always taken responsibility and very often delivered. He is a fine cricketer, a fine team-mate, and yes, a fine role-model. Ben Stokes: World Cup final match-winner. That’s his reputation now.

The ‘pack of dogs’ that Faf du Plessis spoke of four years ago was back in full force at Kingsmead, ‘headbutting the line’ in a manner more reminiscent of Zinedine Zidane than Jonny Bairstow

Daniel Brettig in Durban04-Mar-2018Like a family heirloom, the concept of verbal hostility on the field of play is passed from one generation of Australian cricketers to the next. There were times during a hot-tempered and endlessly watchable day four at Kingsmead that recalled angry days in the past, as a young Australian side sought to make its own mark on South Africa.It was four years ago, amid an Australian victory over South Africa in Cape Town, that Faf du Plessis described the team then led by Michael Clarke as “like a pack of dogs” in the way they swarmed around an opposition batsman in the field. During that series and the preceding encounter with England, the Australians reached peaks of hostility that left angry words to be exchanged between Clarke and Dale Steyn at the end of the Newlands Test and the teams to socialise separately that evening.Australia had beaten both England and South Africa playing cricket of a high standard and an unmistakable hostility, the intensity of which renewed debate about the way the team plays in moments of pressure. Within the Australian team, there was total certainty about this being the most effective way to win; outside it, there was no little conjecture about how this method, however effective, looked. But the bottom line was that the results went Australia’s way, further entrenching the team’s view that this was how they won. In the words of Nathan Lyon, the Australians play the game while “headbutting” the line between aggression and transgression.This time around, that level of hostility was revisited as Steven Smith’s team sought to bury a Proteas side chasing 417 for victory, and grew in intensity as the commendably upright Aiden Markram frustrated their efforts to do so. Seemingly it started not with the beginning of the South African innings but the arrival of AB de Villiers, who before facing a ball was immediately talking to the umpires. When he was turned back from a quick single by Markram and run out by David Warner and Lyon, the line was headbutted with a force more Zinedine Zidane than Jonny Bairstow – the “pack of dogs” were back.Lyon, upon breaking the stumps, took particular interest in a prone, diving de Villiers as he ran past him, and dropped the ball so closely in his vicinity that it fell between the batsman’s body and one of his batting gloves. At the same time, Warner was yelling at the top of his lungs in Markram’s direction, manically mouthing words that looked like “why’d you do that” among other things. Australian celebrations about getting de Villiers in such a manner, and having an opportunity to get inside the head of Markram at the same time, were summed up by the wicketkeeper Tim Paine.”Obviously it was a huge wicket. You put a lot of planning into how you’re going to bowl to someone like AB de Villiers, so to have him run out for zero is – I think that gets everyone a little bit excited,” Paine said. “The boys were certainly pumped up to see him going back. We think he’s their best player, to have him back in the sheds for zero was a huge confidence boost for us. But we also know how good the rest of their side is.”We knew there was going to be some fight at some stage, and we certainly got that and we expect that to continue throughout the series. That’s what happens when you’ve got two great sides playing against each other. It was a big moment in the game – probably even bigger now that you look back and see how they played after that. and how the wicket didn’t help us as much as we thought it may have.”We spoke to Aiden about running out their best player and one of the best players in the world. I think had someone run Smithy out in our team you’d cop a fair bit of a ribbing. It was nothing aggressive. It was just reminding him of what he had just done, trying to get him off his game, the same as they do to us. It didn’t work.”The fact that it did not work was to be demonstrated as Markram and Theunis de Bruyn regrouped. The latter became embroiled in some fiery exchanges with Mitchell Starc in between deliveries and boundaries. Sometimes, a fast bowler starting to get involved in a war of words with a batsman denotes nothing so much as frustration and a loss of concentration on the task.But it was telling about the way Australia’s players see the game that from behind the stumps, Paine was happy to hear Starc raise his voice. For the way the Australians play is the way that they have been raised to play, at junior, club and state levels, and having all copped it themselves at various times, they are always eager for opportunities to dish it out where useful.”It was good to see actually. We enjoy it when Starcy is up and about like that and at the batters, because he bowls at high pace and can create chances all the time,” Paine said. “It wasn’t his session during the middle but he showed what he can do when the ball starts to reverse-swing – or hopefully tomorrow when he gets the new ball in his hand. He’s such a dangerous, fast, left-arm bowler that it’s a delight to have him in your team.”

For Markram, the experience was akin to the introduction to cricket the Australian Test team way that another young South African batsman had endured back in 2002 – Graeme Smith

In the final session, Starc’s exchanges stretched from the middle of the ground to the boundary, where he replied to numerous choice remarks by a group of young South African spectators at fine leg. Here, too, was a bit of deja vu, recalling a tamer version of the day Merv Hughes swung his bat at a fence at the Wanderers in Johannesburg after being harangued by a spectator as he jogged up towards the dressing room during a rain delay. This time security arrived to calm fans down before things escalated, but it was another moment speaking to the edge on which the Australians were playing.For Markram, the experience was akin to the introduction to cricket the Australian Test team way that another young South African batsman had endured back in 2002 – Graeme Smith. In a detailed interview with Sports Illustrated, Smith later recounted more or less exactly how he had been targeted by Matthew Hayden, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee, in a departure from the “what happens on the field, stays on the field” mantra commonly stated by the Australians. But he was able to get through it with plenty of credit, not only surviving the reaction to the run-out but thriving in one of the finest innings ever seen at Kingsmead.”That was a massive challenge today, as well,” Markram said. “It’s natural when you play against the Australians that there’s a lot of chatter on the field. Something that I certainly don’t mind, something that keeps me in the game and keeps me going, keeps me motivated. And it never really gets out of line either, not a lot of swearing or things like that happen. There are a few here and there but it’s not the end of the world.”I believe it’s part of the game. It’s how the game should be played, nice and hard, and makes success that bit more rewarding. I think just having what happened [with the run out] did affect me a little bit and you hear every word out on the field but I don’t speak back on the field, I try to just get on with what I do and it’s always going to be there, it’s part of the Australian side to keep chatting to batters but it’s something I really do enjoy, it’ll keep coming for the rest of the series, but I enjoy it.”Discussion about whether the Australian side needs to play in this way will carry on long after this match concludes, but it was perhaps telling that the moment the day tilted definitively towards Smith’s side had less to do with intimidation than it did with physical durability, alertness of mind and fierce concentration. Mitchell Marsh, sore after a fall in the field, was brought on to bowl as Markram and Quinton de Kock pulled ever closer to the target. Paine came up to the stumps, and found rapid reward when a Markram edge slapped neatly into his gloves.It was a reminder that for all the bluster, the other tradition carried from generation to generation of Australian players is the pursuit of excellence. How much that excellence has to do with “aggression”, “hostility”, “sledging”, “mental disintegration” or any other of those buzz words is a question that will continue to be asked – especially when Australia perform as well as they have in Durban.

Lucknow Super Giants claimed their third win in a row, and first over Gujarat Titans in five attempts, with a fighting defence of 163 in Lucknow. Marcus Stoinis’ first half-century of the season provided the ballast after the home side had chosen to bat first and, although Titans started well in their run chase, Yash Thakur claimed a maiden five-for to help demolish the innings.The LSG batting effort was rarely fluent, captain KL Rahul and Stoinis opting for accumulation after Umesh Yadav had struck twice with the new ball. Both fell when looking to up the ante and it needed flashes of power from Nicholas Pooran plus a cameo from Ayush Badoni to get them up to a respectable score.Related

• Mayank 'seemed okay, which was quite a relief' – Krunal

In their favour was the fact LSG had never been beaten defending a target of 160-plus. Titans looked set to threaten that record after racing to 54 without loss inside the powerplay, only for a stunning collapse of 8 for 48 to make it 13 from 13 for LSG. After Yash skidded one through Shubman Gill, Ravi Bishnoi’s spectacular caught-and-bowled dismissal of Kane Williamson provided the spark, while Krunal Pandya raced through his four-over allocation for figures of 3 for 11 as Titans imploded.That they managed such a comfortable defence was even more remarkable given LSG lost the services of their new pace sensation, Mayank Yadav, after just a single over due to a side strain – the one sour note as Rahul’s team moved to six points and third in the table.Titans start strong then stumble
Chasing what seemed a middling target, Titans eased out of the blocks with a fifty opening stand inside the powerplay. Sai Sudharsan was all poise and wrists, hitting four early boundaries – including two off Mayank in his only over, during which the LSG fast man barely breached 140kph – while Shubman Gill looked to play himself in. With Mayank having to leave the field and M Siddharth struggling with front-foot no-balls, Titans looked to be cruising.Krunal Pandya finished with three wickets•BCCI

However, the dismissal of Gill from the final ball of the sixth over sparked an extraordinary collapse. Krunal whizzed through a tidy over, before Ravi Bishnoi struck with his second ball, leaping to hold a brilliant one-handed return catch off Kane Williamson, Titans’ impact sub. Sudharsan then holed out to deep square leg from the first ball of Krunal’s second over, which was followed by BR Sharath top-edging a sweep to deep backward square. Titans had shipped four wickets for seven runs in the space of 18 balls and suddenly had it all to do.Yash we can!Titans’ chase never recovered. Krunal claimed a third wicket as the asking rate rose towards 12 an over, with the canny Yash returning to dismiss Vijay Shankar and Rashid Khan in the space of four balls to leave the score 93 for 7. Rahul Tewatia presented the only danger of an upset, twice clearing the ropes in 30 off 25 balls, but he picked out deep square leg before Yash wrapped up the innings for career-best T20 figures.Rahul’s slow-and-steady rebuild
LSG were after a fast start against the new ball, with Quinton de Kock marking his 100th IPL appearance by clattering Umesh Yadav into the stands second ball. He didn’t survive the over, however, an attempted repeat resulting in a big top edge to deep third. With Devdutt Padikkal notching a fourth single-figure score in a row for his new franchise, Lucknow were 18 for 2 in the third over and looking vulnerable.Marcus Stoinis and KL Rahul rebuilt after two early blows•AFP/Getty Images

Rahul is the perfect man for a rebuild, though, and he helped resurrect the innings in the company of Stoinis. After taking three boundaries off Spencer Johnson’s second over, the pair batted watchfully through the middle of the innings, until what almost appeared to be Rahul’s first shot in anger, in the 13th over, as the LSG captain attempted to hit Darshan Nalkande over long-on only to hole out. The partnership was worth 73 from 62 balls but ended just when LSG were hoping to push on.Spinners squeeze but Pooran finishes
Stonis should have been dismissed in the following over, mishitting Noor Ahmed straight up only for Rashid to grass the chance running in from long-off. Noor bowled his four overs off the reel for just 22 runs – conceding a single boundary – and although Stoinis broke the shackles to pump Nalkande twice over long-on for a 40-ball half-century, he fell trying to target the same bowler, top-edging a skier to the keeper.With two new batters at the crease going into the death overs, and Rashid still with two up his sleeve, LSG were facing an uphill struggle. Rashid conceded five singles off the 17th, but Pooran and Ayush Badoni released some pressure by taking Mohit Shah for three boundaries in the next. Although Badoni holed out looking to take on Rashid, Pooran carted the legspinner over midwicket for the only boundary of his allocation, with another six in the final over – in which Johnson conceded just eight – taking LSG beyond the magic 160-mark.

Under DeSilva holdings, the franchise will be known as Dambulla Sixers

Andrew Fidel Fernando05-Jun-2024The Lanka Premier League’s Dambulla franchise has new ownership – an engineering consulting firm called Sequoia Consultants based in Los Angeles.Sri Lanka Cricket announced this news about two weeks after the board was forced to terminate the previous ownership of the Dambulla franchise, because one of the co-owners – Tamim Rahman – was arrested by Sri Lanka police under the Prevention of Offences Related to Sports Act.SLC said this new franchise will be run by a local company named DeSilva Holdings, “which was specifically set up for this purpose”. The owner of DeSilva Holdings, Priyanga de Silva, is in turn a majority shareholder of Sequoia, and had played domestic cricket in Sri Lanka, according to the release.Related

• LPL terminates contract with Dambulla Thunders

Under DeSilva holdings, the franchise will be known as Dambulla Sixers, having previously been Dambulla Viiking, Dambulla Giants, and Dambulla Aura – the ownership having changed repeatedly since the tournament’s first season in 2020.”My desire to get engaged in cricket, especially cricket in Sri Lanka, prompted me to purchase the Dambulla Sixers team,” said De Silva. “I have seen LPL grow as a league during the last four years, which is commendable for a small country like ours. I am excited to be a part of this growth and be able to contribute to the development of cricket in our country,” he added.The new ownership takes charge with a little over three weeks to go, before the tournament’s scheduled start, on July 1. Matches will be played in Pallekele, Dambulla, and Colombo.

Manchester City have announced the signing of Lyon and France star Rayan Cherki, who has penned a five-year contract at the Etihad Stadium.

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• City confirm Cherki deal
• Attacking midfielder available for Club World Cup
• Becomes latest signing after Rayan Ait-Nouri

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  City have announced the signing of Cherki on a five-year contract from Lyon for a fee of €36m plus €6m in potential add-ons. His arrival will boost the creative midfield options currently available to manager Pep Guardiola, with stalwart Kevin De Bruyne's exit at the end of his deal confirmed earlier this year.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Cherki arrives just in time to be added to City's squad for this month's Club World Cup and is their latest signing following the recent arrival of Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves. It is thought either James McAtee or Claudio Echeverri could now be sent to Lyon on loan as part of the agreement.

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• WHAT CHERKI SAID

  Cherki told City's website: "This is a dream for me. Honestly, to be joining a club like Manchester City and have the opportunity to make the next step in my career here is something very, very special.

  "Everyone knows how good City are – they have been so successful for many years now. The responsibility to help the team continue winning is something I want to embrace.

  "I can't wait to show City fans what I can do."

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR CHERKI AND MAN CITY?

  Cherki is now free to feature for City during their Club World Cup campaign, which includes matches against Wydad Casablanca, Al-Ain and Juventus in Group G.

It’s not certain yet if Kohli will take part in the warm-up fixture in New York

PTI31-May-2024

Virat Kohli has linked up with the India squad in New York on Friday for the T20 World Cup 2024, days after his team-mates arrived. However, it is still unclear if he will play the warm-up game against Bangladesh at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on June 1.Kohli, who is coming on the back of a superb IPL season where he scored 741 runs in 15 games, will still get three net sessions before the first game against Ireland on June 5.There was an optional training session on Friday morning in which the likes of Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube and Mohammed Siraj sweated it out under the guidance of the support staff.