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Rashid Khan single-handedly ended Sunrisers Hyderabad’s four-match losing streak to beat Kolkata Knight Riders in the virtual semi-final of the IPL

The Report by Sidharth Monga25-May-2018Rashid Khan goes for the big one•BCCIThirty-four runs off 10 balls when his team was struggling to post a competitive total. Three wickets, including of the highest scorer and the biggest hitter in the opposition. One run-out of a batsman proving to be a great tactical move. Two catches. Rashid Khan single-handedly ended Sunrisers Hyderabad’s four-match losing streak to beat Kolkata Knight Riders and set up fourth bout against Chennai Super Kings this season, this time for the IPL title.Sunrisers were 134 for 6 in 17.5 overs when Rashid came out to bat. He produced an innings to rattle the young Knight Riders bowlers much like their captain Dinesh Karthik had recently done to the Bangladesh bowlers in the Nidahas Trophy final. Then Rashid came on to bowl with Knight Riders cruising at 67 for 1 in six overs, but took out Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, and crucially, Andre Russell in the last over that he bowled. There was a run-out in between to dismiss Nitish Rana, whose promotion had upset Sunrisers’ plans.Kuldeep Yadav lands lethal blowsBecause they don’t have David Warner, because their middle order has been out of form, Sunrisers Hyderabad have been conservative with the bat. Against a side whose batting looks like the future of T20, they got off to a cautious 45 for 0 Powerplay score, the lowest in Kolkata this season. In the eighth over, Kuldeep Yadav took out Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson, two men who had accounted for nearly half their runs in the season so far. Dhawan missed the length on a sweep, and Williamson added himself to the highlight reel of great batsmen who have fallen to wrong’uns this season: AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni.Muddle in the middleAt 60 for 2 in 7.5 overs, Sunrisers needed someone in the reimagined middle order to play out of his skin but that didn’t happen. The Knight Riders spinners choked the life out of them, and the low run rate kept bringing wickets. When Carlos Brathwaite ran himself out in the 18th over to become the sixth wicket to fall, Sunrisers were looking at nothing short of another bowling miracle if they had to make it to Mumbai.Rashid RichardsPossibly, Knight Riders dropped the guard with Brathwaite’s wicket. There was some luck involved. And there was some sensational hitting. Young Prasidh Krishna, who had bowled a good 18th over until then, suddenly ditched the yorker and bowled a wide length ball with third man up. The edge flew over him. In the next over, with Yusuf Pathan gone too, Piyush Chawla left his station at the cover boundary and charged in, only to be lobbed by a Rashid mis-hit. Had he stayed on the boundary, he would have been offered a sitter. And then Rashid just went berserk. The best of his four sixes and two fours brought back memories of Viv Richards shuffling across and flicking the last ball of the 1979 World Cup final innings for a six. This was the fourth ball of the last over. He added one more six of the last ball of this innings.Perfect start to chaseA bit of a tactical tinkering, and Knight Riders were off to a perfect start. Sunil Narine did his thing with 26 off 13, by the virtue of being a left-hand batsman, Nitish Rana was promoted to delay the introduction of Rashid and Shakib Al Hasan, who in turn would have troubled Lynn whose strike rate against quicks is twice that against spin. As a result, Lynn had to face only two balls of spin in the first eight overs, by when he reached 36 off 21, taking Knight Riders to 81 for 1.The slipAnd then Rana slipped when turning for a second. Not only did he slip, he found himself taking on Rashid’s arm when he got up. The throw was flat, quick, and by the stumps. This brought Robin Uthappa in, and Williamson immediately went to Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a third over inside the first 10. Before this match, in this season, Bhuvneshwar had bowled 11 balls to Uthappa for four runs and one wicket. Unlike against CSK in the first qualifier, Williamson was not holding back here. Five balls and one run in this over put Uthappa under pressure, who as a result tried a reverse sweep on the first ball of the next over and was bowled by Rashid.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe endgame before the endgameThe two balls of spin that Lynn had faced in the first eight overs had been sweeps. The next three he faced from Rashid were sweeps again. On one of them, his glove saved him from the lbw. On one, he hit an uppish boundary. Rashid, though, could sense he was getting closer to the prey. In Test cricket you can torture this prey at leisure and get him. In T20 you don’t have time. One shot, and he can get away. Rashid didn’t let him. With the sixth, he adjusted the line a little, went for lbw on the off stump rather than middle, and beat the bat. Only Russell remained now.Williamson persisted with Rashid, deciding to bowl him in the 15th over, with 58 required off six overs. Russell knew what was happening. He started to block Rashid. A slip came in. Another block. Then Williamson made Russell wait. A helmet and a box came on to the field. The short leg fielder took his time to put it on. The faithful local crowd got twitchy. Rashid knew he had three balls to get Russell in. He bounded in, bowled a wrong’un, not particularly great as it was short, Russell went back to cut, got an edge, and Dhawan took an amazing catch as the ball swirled away from him at slip. It wasn’t a great ball, but Kumar Sangakkara said on air this is what happens when you are not sure which way the ball is turning and you make the decision a split second late.The endgameIn the qualifier, Williamson had made a mistake by bowling Brathwaite in the 18th over, thus not even utilising all of Bhuvneshwar’s over. This time, no such thing happened. Siddarth Kaul and Bhuvneshwar bowled excellent overs No. 17, 18 and 19 to shut the chase out. And defending 18 in the last over at the same venue where he chased 19 in the last over of the World T20 final two years ago, Brathwaite managed two wickets with two length balls to finish things off. It was fitting both those catches went to Rashid.

Back-to-back defeats against the two relegated counties have given Northants a tough start to their Division Two campaign

ECB Reporters Network22-Apr-2018

Ryan Sidebottom in action for Warwickshire•Getty Images

ScorecardRyan Sidebottom took 10 wickets in the match as Warwickshire got their bid for an immediate return to Division One of the Specsavers County Championship underway with an innings-and-48-run victory over Northamptonshire on the third afternoon at Wantage Road.Sidebottom, after a career-best 6 for 35 in the first innings, added a second-innings 4 for 61 to help bowl Northants out for 218 as Warwickshire’s dominance on the game brought a huge margin of victory. Five of their nine defeats last season came by an innings but here they were on the right side of such a result and took 22 points to Northants’ two.The Bears were always in command of the game after firing out their hosts for just 147 on day one. They were made to work harder for 10 wickets second time around but only one partnership of note provided significant resistance – Adam Rossington and Josh Cobb added 72 for the sixth wicket between lunch and tea.Sidebottom claimed the crucial wicket of Rossington with the second new ball. With the first delivery with it he struck Rossington on the left hand and then caught him on the crease to remove the Northants keeper lbw for 58.Rossington and Cobb saved Northants from an even bigger defeat. They looked liked tumbling away as they slumped from 87 for 1 to 100 for 5 in the fourth over after lunch after Rob Keogh prodded forward to Sidebottom and edged to wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose for 6 from 51 balls.But Rossington advanced at Jeetan Patel to clip him wide of midwicket for four and the first runs off Patel for 35 balls. He twice hit the offspinner wide of extra-cover and lofted him over mid-off. Another aerial stroke – a swept six over midwicket off Patel – took him to fifty in 135 balls.Achilles heel flares up – Ripley

David Ripley (Northants head coach): “At Lord’s I felt it was much tighter than the scores suggested but here we’ve been well beaten. Our first innings batting was where the damage was done, it was a good toss to win and to come out with only 147 was where the game was lost.
“It was difficult to score on that pitch but to get knocked over is another thing. The Lord’s game we were properly bowled out but back here it was the old Northants Achilles heel of giving too many wickets away that we could have done more about.

Cobb also played well but failed to provide the big innings his side needed. He steered Sidebottom through point for two boundaries but edged Patel between first and second slip and almost presented a bat-pad chance to short leg off the same bowler. He pulled Chris Wright through square leg for a third boundary but in the over before tea, pushed at Wright to get a feather edge behind to fall for 30.Sidebottom cleaned up Brett Hutton for his 10th wicket of the match and it was left to 18-year-old Henry Brookes to claim the final two wickets, taking out Ben Sanderson’s middle stump to complete victory.It looked like being harder work for Warwickshire after the first hour where Alex Wakely and Rob Newton settled the home side after the loss of Ben Duckett – caught behind driving lazily at Sidebottom. But in the second hour of the morning, Patel took two wickets in two balls.Northants captain Wakely began with a flowing cover drive off Sidebottom and skipped down the pitch to lift Patel into the Wilson stand. But after a second six over long on, Patel came round the wicket and a quicker ball caught Wakely on the crease and he fell lbw for 25. Next ball, Richard Levi played forward and got an inside edge onto his pad that looped up to Jonathan Trott diving forward at slip.The double strike saw Northants grind to a halt and they only scored 12 runs in the remaining 13 overs to lunch, with Newton scoring only one run from 31 balls before he tamely chipped Chris Wright to short square leg for 46. That wicket, a quarter of an hour before lunch, cleared Warwickshire’s path to victory.

Liverpool suffered two worrying injuries to key players in the 1-1 draw with Manchester City, and journalist James Pearce has provided an update on the influential pair.

Liverpool's injuries vs Man City

The Reds picked up an impressive result in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, battling their way to an excellent point away to the reigning champions.

Prior to the game, City had won all 23 home matches they have played in all competitions in 2023, but Jurgen Klopp's men proved to be a match for them at the Etihad, showing off their title credentials in the process.

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Erling Haaland opened the scoring before half-time, making the most of some questionable defending to fire past Alisson, and it looked as though Liverpool could be on their way to a damaging defeat in Manchester. Thankfully, Trent Alexander-Arnold equalised with an inch-perfect finish with time running out, however, earning his side a hard-fought draw at the home of last season's Champions League winners.

There were two negatives to take from the game, though, with Diogo Jota leaving the field with an injury in the second half, and Alisson then going down in the dying seconds, with both looking like they may have potentially suffered hamstring issues. It is a big concern ahead of the festive fixtures, with Klopp needing as many of his key figures available as possible.

James Pearce drops Liverpool injury update

Taking to X after the game, Pearce confirmed that Liverpool pair Alisson and Jota are both "set for scans" on the injuries they picked up at City.

This is clearly concerning news for Liverpool, and the fact that scans are needed to determine the severity of the injuries does suggest that neither simply suffered cramp in a high-intensity encounter.

The idea of the Reds losing Alisson for a sustained period doesn't even bear thinking, considering the Brazilian is seen by many as the best goalkeeper in the world, and his influence has possibly been unrivalled at Anfield this season.

Even against City, on a day when he was far from his best, he still made a crucial save to deny Haaland just seconds before Liverpool went up the other end and equalised through Alexander-Arnold, and he is a colossal presence between the sticks.

Meanwhile, Jota would be another big miss, with the Reds forward scoring eight goals overall this season, and he is someone who does seem to pick up injuries on a frustratingly regular basis.

The hope is that the scans reveal that both Alisson and Jota have only suffered minor issues, potentially not even missing a Premier League game, but that could be wishful thinking, and it is easy to envisage Klopp having to make do without both for a chunk of action.

Not having Alisson available for a lengthy spell would be particularly galling for Liverpool supporters, with Caoimhin Kelleher a solid backup option but not someone a title-chasing team wants in their starting lineup every week, but the Reds do at least have Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo to call upon in attack without Jota around.

ScorecardAllrounder Gareth Berg produced a match-winning performance as Hampshire began their Royal London One-Day Cup campaign with a thrilling two-wicket win over Sussex with four balls to spare at Hove.Sussex looked favourites when Hashim Amla was sixth out for 63 to leave Hampshire needing 118 from 15.5 overs to overhaul Sussex’s 250. But Lewis McManus and Berg thrashed 59 from 37 balls for the seventh wicket and although McManus was caught behind in the 41st over with 57 still needed Berg unleashed some powerful shots and farmed the strike effectively, although he should have been run out on 47 when he slipped backing up too far only for David Wiese to miss with his throw at the stumps.There was another twist when Berg, who had earlier taken 3 for 51, was caught at deep midwicket in the 47th over off Ollie Robinson for 65, made from 37 deliveries with eight fours and two sixes, to leave his side needing 15 off 20 balls.But Mason Crane and Reece Topley kept their nerve and when Mason drilled Robinson back down the ground for a precious boundary, it meant three were needed off the final over. Topley scrambled a leg bye off the first ball from Ishant Sharma then Crane crashed the next to the cover rope to seal victory.Amla had set things up with 63 from 83 balls and Sussex were to rue that they dropped him on 35, when Sharma spilled an easy chance at mid-off, and again on 54 when the same player dropped a more difficult opportunity off his own bowling. Amla could only hit three boundaries but he held the innings together and allowed McManus and Berg to take the initiative.Earlier, Sussex batsman Harry Finch had made his maiden one-day hundred a fortnight after scoring his first Championship century on the same ground.Wicketkeeper McManus dropped him on 12 off Topley and then on 98 Crane put down a sharp return catch. Finch celebrated by hitting his seventh boundary off the next ball to move to his hundred. He was eventually bowled by Berg for 108 off 142 balls with eight fours and two sixes, both off Berg.Topley, playing his first one-day game for more than a year after a succession of injuries, picked up Wells in his first over but Finch and Luke Wright, who was playing his 200th List A game, added 105 in 22 overs before Wright top-edged a sweep at Crane. Wiese, with 29 off 20 balls, hit out towards the end of the innings to take Sussex to a total that always looked competitive on a pitch on which it became increasingly difficult to time the ball.Robinson picked Rilee Rossouw and James Vince in an excellent new-ball spell and Sussex seemed to be in control before McManus and Berg turned the tables.

Dinesh Karthik, hero of the Nidahas Trophy final, said he has been working on using the crease – how to use it, where to stand and what is the right position – to make maximum use of the ball

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Mar-20183:37

‘Karthik has changed perceptions about his batting’ – Nayar

It has been two days since Dinesh Karthik pulled off a heist to snatch victory in the final of the Nidahas Trophy. His unbeaten 29 off eight balls has also breathed a new lease of life into a start-stop career over nearly a decade and a half. Karthik believes the last-ball six off Soumya Sarkar to clinch the game was probably just dessert for all the hard yards and “good things” he has done over the years.”It is probably karma I guess,” he said at a press conference in Chennai. “For all the good things I have done all through my years and cricketing career… it probably helped me hit that six. If it had been a four, it would have been a Super Over and it would have been a different scenario. That two mm extra it went, was a great thing for me. Probably all the good things you do over the years come to fruition.”I am happy to play the sport. It just feels good, that suddenly after so many years there is lot of attention on me which is different to what it is when you are playing domestic cricket. It is a hard grind out there. But at the same time you want it to be start of something special. Not be something you get too carried away with. From here on I want to do things like that consistently.”When Karthik came in to bat at No. 7, India needed 34 runs off the last two overs. He stood outside the crease and began by tonking Rubel Hossain for two sixes and a four off his first three deliveries. Karthik completed the over with another four, only this time there was more deft touch than brawn: a scoop over short fine leg for four. The defining feature of his batting has been the use of crease. Karthik credited batting coach Sanjay Bangar and his friend and mentor Abhishek Nayar, the Mumbai batsman for helping him out in this regard.AFP

“That is one thing Sanjay Bangar has been talking about,” Karthik said. “Use of the crease – that was one of the things I worked with Nayar also. How to use it and where to stand so as to get a feel what the bowler will be doing and what is the right position for you to be in the crease to make maximum use of the ball. And it paid off.”Karthik’s composure was evident as much in his subdued celebration after hitting the six as his mentoring of Vijay Shankar, who was struggling to connect with the ball. Shankar had played out four dot balls off Mustafizur Rahman in the 18th over, and despite scoring a boundary in the last over got out off the penultimate delivery, leaving Karthik with five runs to score off the last ball.Karthik, however, defended Shankar, who hadn’t batted before in the tournament. “The good thing about him is he is very calm. Everyone thought he was flustered, he had a lot of thoughts,” Karthik said of Shankar. “He was looking to hit the ball. The only thing I told him was the outfield was fast..look to hit a four and not a six. The only idea behind it was sometimes you look to hit a six, you end up losing head positions. When you want to hit a four, you will have good base and look to time the ball. I wanted him to time the ball and he was just trying to do that.”Every cricketer goes through some days that things don’t connect and it was first time he batted for India. But the beautiful thing is even in that pressure situation he hit a boundary which was crucial. He has the skill. He has done really well. He is probably someone who is seen more as a batting allrounder but for him to take the pressure as a bowler and deliver consistently is fabulous and I can see a really good time for him in the future. If I’m right, I think they are impressed with him. He has got great attitude off the field, his work ethics are beautiful.”Karthik was quick to avoid comparisons with the finishing role that MS Dhoni has owned. “When it comes to Dhoni, I am studying in the university in which he is the topper,” he said. “So, it is unfair for me to be compared with him. I have started my journey. With time lets see how I go. His journey has been totally different. I am happy with where I am.””I have always enjoyed playing as a batsman. I think fielding comes naturally to me and i enjoy doing it. Whenever I get a chance to field, I get excited. With keeping you are standing at one place and moving.”

Barcelona captain Sergi Roberto has added to Xavi's injury problems ahead of Tuesday's crunch Champions League tie with Napoli.

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Roberto unlikely to start against NapoliMidfielder lacking match sharpnessClub only has three midfielders availableWHAT HAPPENED?

Roberto had been tipped to start in midfield against Napoli as Barca are without Pedri, Frenkie de Jong and Gavi due to injury. However, according to Mundo Deportivo, the plan will not be actualized when the Blaugrana take the field on Tuesday evening due to the Spaniard lacking match sharpness. The situation means Xavi only has three fit senior midfielders available in Ilkay Gundogan, Oriol Romeu and Fermin Lopez.

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Barcelona have struggled all season long with fitness problems, particularly in midfield. The club has only seen four players avoid any injuries so far this season in the form of Ilkay Gundogan, Oriol Romeu, Fermin Lopez and Inaki Pena.

Only recently, the club suffered a double injury blow when they lost De Jong and Pedri in the first half of their clash against Athletic Club at San Mames.

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Roberto received the green light from the medical team before the first leg against Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, however, the 32-year-old hasn't actually featured yet due to a lack of sharpness.

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WHAT NEXT FOR ROBERTO?

The lack of match sharpness may force academy graduate to stay on the bench at least for the start of the game on Tuesday, March 12. However, Xavi may look to bring on the experienced midfielder in the clash in the second half depending on the context of the game.

Leeds United were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2022/23 campaign after three years at the top table of English football.

The Whites were promoted under Marcelo Bielsa in 2020 and stayed up under the Argentine boss and then Jesse Marsch. However, a combination of Marsch, Javi Gracia, and Sam Allardyce failed to keep them up last term.

An instant return to the top-flight is now on the agenda for the Yorkshire-based outfit and German boss Daniel Farke has been brought in to secure it.

The impressive tactician won two Championship titles during his time with Norwich City earlier in his career and is now looking for a third promotion to the Premier League.

Points

94

97

Goals for

93

75

Goals against

57

36

Games won

27

29

Farke's Championship title-winning seasons with Norwich (via Sky Sports):

However, his squad was dealt a number of blows as the likes of Tyler Adams, Rodrigo, Max Wober, Robin Koch, Jack Harrison, Luis Sinisterra, and Marc Roca moved on either permanently or out on loan.

One decision that the German head coach made that may come back to haunt him, though, is the one to loan out talented young midfielder Sam Greenwood, who has outscored Wilfried Gnonto, Dan James, and Jaidon Anthony this season.

Why Leeds could lose Greenwood permanently

The Whites could lose the ex-Arsenal prospect on a permanent deal at the end of the 2023/24 campaign as they included a purchase option within his loan deal with Middlesbrough.

It was recently reported by The Athletic that Boro negotiated an option to sign Greenwood for £1.5m during next summer's transfer window if they decide the fit is right by that point.

This means that, essentially, Farke and Leeds have little say in what happens with the midfield technician next year as his current club have the chance to snap him up permanently if they want to.

If Middlesbrough do decide that they want to activate that £1.5m buyout clause and the Whites do not want to lose him then they would need to convince the player to turn down the opportunity to return to Teesside.

This could be a difficult task when you consider that Leeds were willing to sanction a possible permanent exit for him last summer and decided that he was not ready for their first-team.

Greenwood has been shown faith by Boro and may, therefore, prefer a switch to Michael Carrick's side over coming back to Elland Road if it comes down to it next summer.

Sam Greenwood's statistics this season

The 21-year-old whiz, who former Leeds ace Noel Whelan hailed for his "immense" ability, endured a slow start to life at Middlesbrough as his first four appearances for the club came as a substitute in the Championship.

However, he has since broken into the starting XI and has started each of their last four league matches, which has allowed him to showcase his quality out wide.

Greenwood has been deployed on the left of an attacking midfield trio behind the main centre-forward and has caught the eye with his recent attacking contributions.

The right-footed wizard has scored two goals in four starts, both of which came within the last three games, and the latest of those came in their 2-1 win over Norwich City on Tuesday night.

He produced a fantastic display against the Canaries earlier this week with a Sofascore rating of 7.7, which was the highest score of any player for either side.

The English dynamo scored the opening goal for Boro as he arrived in the right place at the right time to finish from close range after Norwich gave possession away on the opposite side of the pitch.

Greenwood also won seven of his 12 duels and completed all three of his attempted dribbles. These statistics show that the talented gem offered strength out of possession and helped to carry his team up the pitch with his dribbling quality.

To the latter point, the former Sunderland academy ace has completed 15 progressive carries in his last four matches for Boro and this shows that, alongside a goal threat, the Leeds loanee can provide value in transition.

Farke may now be looking at the gem's recent performances and wondering whether or not it was a mistake to part ways with the 21-year-old ace, particularly when he looks at how his current wing options have performed in front of goal.

Wilfried Gnonto's statistics this season

Gnonto has scored one goal in six Championship starts, with one further appearance off the bench, throughout the 2023/24 campaign so far.

The Italy international was brought back into the starting XI against Stoke on Wednesday night and failed to make the most of his opportunity to shine. He failed to provide a single shot on target, completed dribble, or chance created for his teammates in 70 minutes on the pitch.

Chances have not been particularly hard to come by for the 19-year-old whiz as he has already missed two 'big chances' and taken 1.6 shots per game, which suggests that his current return of one goal has been an underperformance.

Whereas, Greenwood has taken 1.3 shots per match and has not missed a single 'big chance' in front of goal to go along with his two league strikes.

Gnonto is not the only Leeds forward who has been outperformed in front of goal by the Boro star, though, as Anthony and James have also only scored one goal each in the league so far this season. The latter has, at least, provided four assists but the Bournemouth loanee is yet to register a single assist.

Meanwhile, Ian Poveda, Patrick Bamford, and Joe Gelhardt were all kept around to be part of the squad and have combined for zero goals and zero assists in 15 league appearances between them.

These statistics suggest that Leeds could have benefitted from keeping the 5 foot 11 dynamo as part of their squad to bolster their attacking options out wide.

The Whites have not had a steady stream of goals from those positions, outside of Crysencio Summerville's four strikes, and this was illustrated on Wednesday as Anthony and Gnonto started out wide and failed to make an impact in the final third as Farke's men lost 1-0 to Leeds.

Glasgow Rangers are currently attempting to land their next head coach to take on the job at Ibrox after Michael Beale was relieved of his duties earlier this month.

The Scottish giants are in the market for a new manager after the English tactician failed to bring tangible success over the course of his tenure at the club.

Rangers are already seven points adrift of the top of the Scottish Premiership table and failed to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League under their former boss.

Matches

Five

Wins

Two

Draws

Two

Losses

One

Whoever chairman John Bennett and chief executive James Bisgrove decide to hire will arrive with an uphill task to get the Light Blues back on track in order to compete for major honours this season.

They will also have a job on their hands to unlock or get the best out of the numerous signings who have struggled so far; including Belgian striker Cyriel Dessers.

What's the latest on Philippe Clement to Rangers?

Nieuwsblad recently reported that the Gers have made a contract offer to former Club Brugge tactician Philippe Clement and he could rock Ibrox by unlocking the summer signing's goalscoring potential.

The Glasgow outfit are said to have sent their proposal to the out-of-contract manager and he is now in 'pole position' to become Beale's eventual replacement before the end of the international break.

The report from Nieuwsblad also claimed that the Belgian tinkerer is expected to turn down the opportunity to go to the Saudi Pro League with Al Shabab, despite talks with the team last week.

Would Clement be a good appointment?

On paper, the 49-year-old boss has the potential to be an excellent appointment by Bisgrove and Bennett if he can translate his success in Belgium over to Scottish football.

Clement won an impressive three league titles in three seasons between the 2018/19 and 2020/21 campaigns with Genk and Club Brugge and has lifted four Pro League trophies throughout his managerial career in total.

The former Monaco chief also has an impressive record in qualifying matches for European competitions, which is where Beale struggled earlier this season for the Gers.

He has won nine and lost one of his 12 qualifiers, for the Champions League and the Europa League combined, and this shows that the Belgian mastermind knows what it takes to be successful at that level.

These statistics suggest that Clement could come in as a big upgrade on Beale, who has not won a single trophy throughout his managerial career to date and has no track record of being able to coach a winning side.

The 4-4-2 tactician has, on the other hand, showcased his ability to win league titles and achieve relative success in Europe at multiple clubs, with titles in charge of both Genk and Brugge.

Therefore, Clement could be a fantastic appoint by the Scottish giants if he accepts the offer that is reportedly on the table from the club.

Getting the best out of Dessers could be one of the first priorities for the 49-year-old boss if he does take charge of the Gers, as the striker has struggled this season.

How much did Rangers pay for Dessers?

The Scottish giants reportedly agreed a deal worth £4.5m to sign the Belgian centre-forward from Italian side Cremonese after they were relegated from the Serie A last season.

They brought him in off the back of a fairly underwhelming season in the top-flight of football in Italy as his side failed to avoid the drop-down to Serie B.

Dessers produced six goals and two assists in 26 league appearances for the club throughout the campaign and missed five 'big chances' in total.

The Nigeria international's lack of physicality was also a concern as opposition players got the better of him in 70% of his duels and 75% of his aerial contests, which suggests that the experienced forward was too weak for the Serie A.

How many goals has Dessers scored this season?

Dessers' lack of consistent quality at the top end of the pitch has carried over into the current campaign as he has only scored three goals in 15 appearances for the Gers.

His Scottish Premiership form has been a particular cause for concern. The 28-year-old marksman has produced one goal and zero assists in eight league outings for the Light Blues and lost a staggering 81% of his duels on the ground in that time, as per Sofascore.

Three of his six goal contributions for the club came in his four Champions League qualifying appearances earlier this season, which included one goal and two assists.

What's next for Dessers?

Journalist Dean Jones claimed, in August, that Dessers could go on to become a "cult hero" for Rangers if he is able to turn his form around over the months or years to come.

Clement could, therefore, rock Ibrox and impress supporters by fulfilling this prediction and helping the ex-Genk striker find his feet at this level.

He favours a 4-4-2 system and this means that Dessers could play alongside another forward and thrive away from being the main focal point for the side, which the Nigerian flop has clearly struggled with as he does not have the physicality to consistently compete and win duels against defenders.

Playing as part of a front two could allow him to focus solely on his movement off the ball to find the space to score and create goals.

His form for Feyenoord during the 2021/22 campaign suggests that the quality is there for him to turn his fortunes around at Ibrox if Clement's system can get the best out of him.

Dessers produced a sensational ten goals and one assist in seven Europa Conference League starts and managed nine goals in nine Eredivisie starts for the Dutch side, as per Sofascore.

No Rangers striker managed more than 14 league goals for the Gers last term and the ex-Cremonese forward's goal record for Feyenoord suggests that the forward, who also scored 29 goals in 40 matches for NAC Breda earlier in his career, could be a lethal scorer for the Scottish giants if he can get back to those levels.

Therefore, Clement could get supporters at Ibrox rocking with joy if they start to see the 6 foot 1 finisher firing in the goals on a regular basis in a 4-4-2 set-up.

Shai Hope’s blistering 88 powered Tridents to 185, before Reifer snared five wickets, including three in his last over, as Barbados opened their CPL campaign with a win

The Report by Peter Della Penna13-Aug-2018Raymon Reifer prepares to bowl•Randy Brookes/CPL T20/Getty ImagesAfter missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, Barbados Tridents got their CPL 2018 campaign off to a winning start by easily defending the highest-ever CPL total made in Guyana, in a 30-run win over the Amazon Warriors. At a ground where the average first-innings score in the CPL has been 126, Tridents overcame a shaky start of 11 for 2 to post 185 for 4, following a brilliant 88 off 45 balls by Shai Hope, before Raymon Reifer’s five-wicket haul derailed the Amazon Warriors chase.Tri-dented in the PowerplayTridents’ opening combo of Martin Guptill and Dwayne Smith were both dismissed in the first two overs, and there was little to indicate that a record total was imminent. Rayad Emrit emulated his Trinidad pal Dwayne Bravo’s incredible effort 24 hours earlier, with a one-handed catch to claim Guptill at mid-off. Smith fell at the end of the next over, driving Chris Green’s offspin to extra cover, and Tridents were reduced to 11 for 2 in two overs.Hope-ful partnershipHope and Steven Smith came together to steer the Tridents back into the match with a 105-run stand for the third wicket. Smith played the classy shots early, including a delightful straight drive off Green for four, to keep the scoreboard moving. However, the partnership could have been halved had Hope been runout on 31, with the score 64 for 2, in the last ball of the ninth over. Smith turned down a run to backward point as Hope hared from the non-striker’s end, but Sherfane Rutherford’s rushed throw missed the stumps after Hope had given up getting back in.The 24-year-old turned belligerent at the end of the 11th over, heaving Imran Tahir against the turn over long-on and straight down the ground for consecutive sixes. It spurred Smith to come out of his shell at the start of the 12th over, guiding a pair of cuts behind point for four off Keemo Paul, as Tridents produced 20 runs in a four-ball sequence across the two overs. Hope ended the 12th over by gliding two to third man to bring up a 30-ball half-century. He then took Sohail Tanvir apart for two sixes over long-on and a four through extra cover in the 13th over to bring up the 100-run partnership, putting Tridents in a commanding position with seven overs left.Pooran powerThe departure of Smith, who played around a straight ball from Tahir, allowed Hope to take the innings into high gear with Nicholas Pooran. Hope’s six assault continued off Paul in the 18th, driving over the extra cover boundary for the shot of the innings. But he fell two balls later, just 12 short of what would have been his maiden CPL ton.Pooran took the opportunity to remind everyone of his devastating ball-striking ability by swatting 21 runs off the final over, bowled by Paul, to put the chase out of reach for the host side. He began with a flat six over long-off, before collecting a scampered two. The third ball was smashed magnificently into the second-tier over long-off, and nearly landed on the roof. It took him to 38, six more than his best innings from a lackluster 2017 campaign. A helicopter whip for six over long-on two balls later showed Pooran’s style to match his strength, and he finished unbeaten on 45 off 27 balls.Reifer madnessDespite the fall of Chadwick Walton at the end of the second over, the Warriors had progressed confidently to reach 40 for 1 in the fifth over of the chase, when Reifer started to ruin the host side’s pursuit with his canny left-arm medium pace. Extra bounce resulted in a top-edged pull by Luke Ronchi that landed in Ashley Nurse’s hands at midwicket, before Shimron Hetmyer fell next ball, yanking Reifer to one of the two men out on the boundary during the Powerplay, Guptill covering good ground at deep midwicket to put Reifer on a hat-trick.Rutherford joined captain Shoaib Malik for an 84-run stand as Warriors kept themselves in the hunt. Legspinner Imran Khan didn’t bowl a single over on the night, with dew making it difficult for spinners to grip the ball. But Tridents captain Jason Holder’s gamble to bring back Nurse to bowl offspin in the 16th over paid off. One ball after Malik smashed him for six over long-on, the Guyana captain misjudged the length while trying to guide Nurse with an open face to third man, and wound up chopping onto his stumps for 38.As the required run rate continued to climb following Malik’s departure, Reifer exploited the breach with three wickets in the 19th to kill off the chase. With 39 required off the last two overs to win, Green scythed a Reifer full toss behind point for four, but perished off the next ball, with a tame drive to Holder at extra cover. Jason Mohammed sliced Reifer to the cover sweeper two balls later, before a slower bouncer next ball to Rutherford resulted in a gloved catch to Pooran to put Reifer on a hat-trick for the second time in the night. Reifer once again didn’t get the hat-trick, Paul this time punching a full toss down the ground for a single, but the efforts were enough to bag the Man-of-the-Match award.

The incident occurred in the vicinity of a Chennai Super Kings fielder, prompting the intervention of the police in CSK’s first home match in nearly three years

Deivarayan Muthu in Chennai10-Apr-2018A group of spectators flung a pair of shoes at the edge of the boundary at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, in the vicinity of Chennai Super Kings players, prompting the intervention of police in CSK’s first home match in nearly three years. The incident happened in the eighth over of the game against Kolkata Knight Riders, after which the concerned spectators were evicted from the ground and, as per reports, taken into custody.The incident followed calls, in the lead up to the game, for people to protest over the hosting of IPL games in Chennai. Several local political parties and fringe groups had called for a boycott of the IPL matches in Chennai till the lengthy Cauvery water dispute between Tamil Nadu and neighbouring state Karnataka is resolved. While there was no confirmation that the shoe-throwing incident was directly related to this issue, it was expected to be the likely cause.The group was carrying flags, which are not permitted inside the venue, and flung the shoes near Ravindra Jadeja, who was posted at the long-on boundary, and Faf du Plessis, who was seemingly carrying drinks for team-mates. CSK officials and the police subsequently intervened and diffused the tension.Hours before the start of the match, there were protests on Wallajah Road near the MA Chidambaram Stadium, albeit amid beefed-up security. Later, the toss was delayed by 13 minutes; match officials reportedly arrived late at the venue due to heavy traffic around the stadium, but play began on time.