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Marufa Akter swings her way straight into World Cup lore

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

She wasn’t Bangladesh’s only match-winner, but Marufa’s hooping deliveries set the tone for victory

Andrew Fidel Fernando02-Oct-2025Imagine having taken almost 18% of the pace-bowling ODI wickets your country has ever got, all by yourself. Imagine having done all that in less than four years in internationals, before you turn 21. Then imagine that, in your first ever World Cup match, your captain throws you the new ball to set the team’s campaign into motion, and in that tone-setting over, you bowl spectacular deliveries back-to-back to dismiss two batters, one of whom is the opposition’s best.Welcome to the life of Marufa Akter. If you are new here (many of us are), there are two internet pages worthy of your consideration. If you are a numbers person, try this link and note her figures in Asia, in particular. If you’re more of a visual learner (and even if you’re not, this one will still electrify you), try this clip of her taking her wickets.Note that she is not merely “swinging” these deliveries. Marufa is them. Sending them around a corner, like a stock car on slick tyres, drifting around a bend. Like a planet falling into orbit having shot too close to a star.Related

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  • Bowlers, Haider propel Bangladesh to second win at World Cup

  • Bangladesh coach Sarwar Imran returns to work days after suffering minor stroke

Colombo’s humid conditions are generally good for new-ball swing, and great inswing bowlers have operated here before. But the last time this Khettarama Stadium saw a right-arm bowler send such unplayable bananas down the track, Nuwan Kulasekara was the architect. But Kulasekara played 20 ODIs at this venue. Marufa was doing it in her first ever ODI in the country.”I know my balls swing more, more, more,” Marufa said in English, which is a distant second language for her, roughly six hours after her opening spell. And still “more, more, more” catches the spirit of the amount of swing she was getting. She went on, in English, to try and explain what her last thoughts before she went to bed were: “Always, I’ve been thinking, how to do well in the first match, and be the matchwinner.”Others would take up the mantle and drive home the advantage that Marufa won. Shorna Akter, the only bowler to turn the ball significantly in this match, took three wickets for five runs. Nahida Akter also took two wickets, but for 19 runs, when Marufa gave away 31. There was no doubt as to who had set the tone for this Bangladesh win, however. Those two hooping inswingers should now become articles of excellence in the World Cup lore.Right-arm bowlers bowling inswing to right-arm batters is understood to be one of the oldest hustles in this sport. Many right-armers anyway generate inswing to right-handers, who are taught by coaches from childhood upwards never to keep a gap in between bat an pad.But the best inswing bowlers, like Marufa against Pakistan, upset this paradigm. The best inswing bowlers that gap between bat and pad, starting wide of the stumps, swinging from the hand, but then continuing to swing at increasingly sharp angles.The Marufa ball to Omaima Sohail may perhaps be a life highlight – the cricket ball swerving dramatically past all hard objects until the top of leg stump is found. The next ball was perhaps less impressive, but had more impact. Marufa started this inswinger waaay outside off. Having seen her team-mate’s stumps rattled, Sidra Amin – Pakistan’s best batter this year – maybe felt the need to play. She was good enough to get an inside edge to a ball that was swinging prodigiously; unfortunately for her, it richocheted into her leg stump.After the match, Pakistan captain Fatima Sana said that Marufa’s early wickets had suggested that seamers would thrive on this pitch. But Pakistan’s quicks couldn’t quite find the same impact.’We really enjoyed bowling with the new ball as the ball was seaming around,” Sana said. “Danny [Diana Baig] also felt the same. So we were trying to take early wickets but unfortunately we could take only one wicket each. We saw Marufa bowled well, so we knew there would be help for pacers.”How Marufa develops remains to be seen, but at age 20 she is already making matchwinning contributions. And in her first over at a big one-day tournament, she bowled two deliveries this World Cup could be remembered by.

Rohit's batting shines spotlight on value of instinct and adaptability

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

With a side full of young batters, the responsibility on Rohit was more than usual. He did not disappoint

Karthik Krishnaswamy11-Mar-20242:35

How significant is this series win for India?

The World Test Championship final last year was Rohit Sharma’s 50th Test match. He was the fifth-most experienced member of India’s top seven in that game.The Dharamsala Test that ended on Saturday was Rohit’s 59th Test, and India’s top seven had undergone so much of a churn over those nine Tests that he was now its second-most experienced member. It included three players who hadn’t played Test cricket before this series, and one who came in with just four previous caps.For India, from a batting perspective, this series was all about the new and new-ish faces. Yashasvi Jaiswal became the first India batter since Sunil Gavaskar to score more than 700 runs in a series. Shubman Gill came of age. Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel and Devdutt Padikkal made brilliant first impressions. Even the one debutant who didn’t quite come off, Rajat Patidar, went through a run of luck wretched enough to be worth writing about.With all that youthful energy around him, and with his harnessing of that energy as captain taking up its share of oxygen, it was inevitable that Rohit’s batting would fly under the radar. But the series is done now, giving us space to reflect on his 400 runs – fourth in the series aggregates behind Jaiswal, Gill and Zak Crawley – at 44.44.In a series played in mostly batting-friendly conditions, that average doesn’t demand your attention. But, notably, he went at a strike rate of 64.20 – behind only Jaiswal and Sarfaraz among India’s batters – and at 70.00 in the first ten overs of his innings. That’s not as quick as Ben Duckett (81.10) in that phase, but quicker than both Crawley (68.72) and Jaiswal (63.09).It wasn’t the all-out aggression Rohit had adopted in the first powerplay during last year’s ODI World Cup, but it wasn’t too far from being its red-ball equivalent.Rohit Sharma hits a six•Getty ImagesIt said something about the situations India were in, and Rohit’s instincts in those situations. Go back to India’s failed chase of 231 in Hyderabad. There were times during that fourth innings when India’s batters seemed to retreat into their shells, making little apparent effort to disturb the England spinners’ lengths. According to ESPNcricinfo’s data – – India’s batters scored 28 runs off 172 good-length balls from the spinners during that chase, as against England’s 175 off 306 in the third innings.England’s batters, led by Ollie Pope, had used the sweep and reverse-sweep frequently against good-length balls. Most of India’s batters failed to come up with an equivalent response. The exception was Rohit, whose 58-ball 39 featured frequent forays down the pitch, sweeps, and back-to-back reverse-swept fours off Jack Leach.This was Rohit’s way right through the series. His response to India being 33 for 3 on the first morning in Rajkot was, likewise, to counterattack – on this occasion, luck was on his side and an edged slog off Tom Hartley, when he was on 27, was spilled by Joe Root at slip. He raced to his half-century in 71 balls and eventually made 131 off 196.Related

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Dharamsala was perhaps the one time in this series when a long Rohit innings coincided with India establishing and extending a dominant position. It was, in some ways, his most straightforward innings, an outcome of spending time in good batting conditions and taking toll of an attack that wasn’t particularly challenging. It allowed India fans to sit back and enjoy his batting without worrying about the match situation or conditions. You simply let the Rohit shots – and those from Gill at the other end – wash over you, particularly the ones he hit off Mark Wood: the early back-foot drive through cover point; the hooked six with fine leg, long leg and deep square leg in place; the back-away slap through mid-off when there was no one in front of square on the off side.Before that, Ranchi presented India a fourth-innings chase as tricky as the one in Hyderabad, and Rohit set it up in much the same manner, using his feet constantly to minimise the risk of lbw, in the process messing with the lengths of England’s spinners – this perhaps contributed to the slew of full-tosses they sent down. There were audacious shots against pace too, most memorably a pick-up shot for six over wide long-on off a good-length ball from James Anderson.At one point, the audacity seemed to go to an almost unprecedented extreme, when Rohit took an off-stump guard against Hartley.Right-hand batters often stand on off stump when they face offspinners or right-arm seamers bowling from over the wicket, to try and take lbw out of the equation. But it’s almost unheard of for the off-stump guard to be used against left-arm spinners operating from around the wicket, because they can straighten the ball from a stump-to-stump line. Standing on off stump forces batters to play across the line to this sort of ball, greatly increasing their risk of dismissal. And yet, here Rohit was, daring Hartley to attack his pads and stumps.3:53

Rohit mounts staunch defence of pitches in India

It seemed to have the opposite effect on Hartley, though. Bowlers have two points of reference – the stumps and the batter – and Hartley’s line appeared to shift in reaction to the batter’s position. Rather than attack the stumps, he seemed to shift his line wider, taking lbw and bowled out of the equation on a pitch with low bounce.Until he was stumped for 55, Rohit seemed to have pulled off a psychological masterclass against an inexperienced bowler. He revealed in his post-match press conference, however, that he had done no such thing. He said he hadn’t even been aware he had been batting on off stump until he went back and watched footage of his innings. It’s possible he had simply taken stance on a spot he must have marked for the offspinner Shoaib Bashir when Hartley bowled from the same end.Rohit Sharma celebrates his 12th Test century•Gareth Copley/Getty”I was not aware, honestly,” Rohit said. “I was not aware of it until I went and saw the replay on the screen that I’m batting on off stump, because there was a lot of [foot]marks there, so I didn’t want to bat on off stump.”I wanted to stay a little leg-side [of the ball] and play the left-arm spinner, but against the offie I wanted to just try and move around a little bit in the crease, middle stump, off stump, try and just get him thinking a little bit as well.”If Rohit can make the viewer think he’s pulling off a heist when he’s simply being absentminded, it’s because of the adaptability he’s shown time and again in the past. His home record is as good as it is – his average of 61.58 is the best of all batters with at least 2000 Test runs in India – because he’s found a range of methods for dealing with the various challenges home conditions can present. He trusted his defence and survived two fiery early spells from Kagiso Rabada on his way to 212 in Ranchi in 2019. He used the sweep and slog-sweep extensively when he made 161 against England in Chennai in 2021, but avoided those shots almost entirely when he made 120 against Australia last year in Nagpur.This series presented Rohit with another diverse set of challenges, at a time when he was expected to carry one of the least experienced batting line-ups India have ever named. He came through them in a manner we have come to expect, but don’t let that fool you into thinking what he did was routine.

Stats – Rishabh Pant's lone rescue act, Marco Jansen's dream debut series

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

India become the first side to lose 20 wickets in a Test match as a result of catches

Sampath Bandarupalli13-Jan-20221 Rishabh Pant’s century was the first for India in an all-out total under 200 in Test cricket. Twelve players before Pant have scored a Test hundred in an all-out innings of less than 200, but none while batting at No.6 or lower.58.82 Percentage of team runs contributed by Pant in the second innings. Only one batter made a higher contribution for India while batting at No. 6 or lower in a completed Test innings – 62.32% by Kapil Dev with his 129 against South Africa in 1992.

3 Number of wicketkeepers to score a Test hundred in all of England, Australia and South Africa – Adam Gilchrist, Jonny Bairstow and Pant. No Indian keeper before Pant had scored a Test century in any of these three countries.4 Number of hundreds for Pant in Test cricket. These are the second-most for an Indian wicketkeeper, behind MS Dhoni’s six centuries. Three of Pant’s four hundreds have come outside India – no other Indian keeper has more than one Test hundred away from home.19 Number of wickets for Marco Jansen in this series. Only four bowlers have taken more wickets in their debut Test series of three or fewer matches. Jansen’s 19 wickets are also the most in a Test series for South Africa since their re-admission in 1992.

20 Number of wickets lost by India as a result of catches in Cape Town, the first team to lose all 20 wickets to this kind of dismissal in a Test match. There have been five previous instances of a team losing 19 wickets as a result of catches in a Test match – the last of those by South Africa against England in 2020, also in Cape Town.55 Number of wickets lost by India as a result of catches in the series against South Africa, the most by a team in a three-match Test series. The previous highest for this kind of dismissal was 48 wickets by Pakistan against New Zealand in 2009.94.75 Keshav Maharaj’s bowling average in Test cricket against India. It is the worst average in Tests against India for any player to have bowled 1000-plus balls. Only seven players have a worse bowling average against an opponent in Tests (min: 1000 balls bowled).

Maresca must drop 5/10 Chelsea star who had fewer touches than Sanchez

by z3u9t.icu Uncategorized

Sometimes a game is just that for a club; other times, it feels far more consequential, and for Chelsea, their draw against Arsenal on Sunday evening falls into the latter category.

Enzo Maresca’s side went into the top-of-the-table clash with a point to prove, and while they didn’t win, they certainly proved it.

The Blues were all over the Premier League leaders from minute one, and even with a man down, continued to go toe to toe with the Gunners.

However, while most of the team put in stellar performances and more than secured their places in the starting lineup for the next game, there was one Chelsea star who had a middling day at the office.

The Chelsea stars who cemented their places in the team

As if there was ever really any doubt anyway, Reece James once again demonstrated that he has to start every game he is fit for, be that at right-back or in midfield.

Chalkboard

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

On top of providing the assist for the Blues’ goal, the unplayable captain also won 11 of 12 duels, played two key passes, won four fouls and completed three of four crosses.

In all, as presenter Olivia Buzaglo put it, it was a “gargantuan” performance from the Cobham graduate.

Speaking of academy graduates, another player who now has to be one of the first names on Maresca’s team sheets is Trevoh Chalobah.

The 26-year-old once-capped international was monstrous at the back against the Gunners, won 100% of his tackles, made six clearances, recovered the ball four times, won five of seven duels and didn’t get dribbled past once.

As if that wasn’t enough, he also rose to meet James’ corner and head it home early in the second half.

Staying at the back, Robert Sanchez again proved that he’s transformed from a liability between the sticks into one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League.

Finally, while he didn’t get a goal or assist, Pedro Neto was undoubtedly the West Londoners’ best attacker on the night.

On top of doing his best to help out in defence, he was a constant threat on the counter and provided his side with a vital outball to relieve pressure towards the end of the game.

However, while most of the team should be starting the next game based on their performances, there was one Chelsea star who probably played himself out of the side.

The Chelsea player Maresca must axe

It seems harsh given the teams’ performance and the fact they held on with ten men, but there was one Chelsea player who underwhelmed on Sunday evening: Joao Pedro.

Now, there is absolutely no denying the Brazilian’s immense talent, nor the fact that, come the end of the season, fans will probably be more than happy with his efforts.

However, what is equally true is that, against Arsenal, the former Brighton & Hove Albion gem was really quite disappointing.

Even before the hosts went a man down, he offered little in attack, and when he was presented with a golden opportunity in the first half, he couldn’t sort his feet out in time. Joao Pedro

Then in the second 45, it quickly became clear that he was not holding the ball well enough for his faster teammates to counterattack, and he was therefore replaced by Liam Delap, who was far better at that.

Unsurprisingly, the watching press were not all that impressed with what they saw. For example, football.london’s Bobby Vincent gave him a 4/10 match rating and wrote that it ‘just wasn’t his day.’

That may sound a little harsh, but the 24-year-old’s match statistics prove it’s not.

Minutes

55′

Expected Goals

0.24

Goals

0

Total Shots

1

Big Chances Missed

1

Touches

21

Lost Possession

8

Total Passes

6/8

Ground Duels (Won)

5 (2)

Aerial Duels (Won)

3 (2)

Fouls

1

In his 55 minutes, the Brazilian took just a single shot, missed a big chance, took 21 touches – 43 fewer than Sanchez -, lost the ball eight times, failed in two of three dribbles and completed just six passes.

Ultimately, while Pedo is an excellent player, he was really quite disappointing against Arsenal and with Delap ready to step in, he should be dropped for Wednesday’s game.

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ByJack Salveson Holmes Nov 30, 2025

'I'll be wearing them' – Smith commits to anti-glare tape in day-night Test

by csb10.top Uncategorized

Steven Smith has confirmed he will use the anti-glare strips under his eyes when batting during the day-night Test at the Gabba after some advice from Shivnarine Chanderpaul ensured he was wearing them the correct way up.Smith trained with them under lights in the lead-up to the second Test against England and said he definitely felt a positive impact. However, initially he had not quite used them the way they were designed.”I actually messaged Shivnarine Chanderpaul and asked him what his thoughts were, whether he wore the chalk or the strips,” Smith said. “He said the strips, and he thinks it blocks out 65% of the glare. And he also said, ‘I’ve seen photos and you’re wearing them the wrong way’. So yesterday I put them on the right way.”I agree with him. I think it certainly stops the glare. Yeah, I’ll be wearing them.”Related

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The ‘eye blacks’ – small, black, adhesive strips worn on the cheekbone – that Smith wore in training are commonplace in several American sports, and are designed to reduce the glare from floodlights by absorbing the light that would otherwise reflect off the skin.Smith is known to not be a fan of batting against the pink ball. In day-night Tests he averages 37.04 with one century compared to 58.31 in day matches with 35 hundreds.”It’s hard to bat all the time,” he said of any difference between twilight and complete darkness. “It’s a tricky one. The ball reacts obviously differently to a red one. It can change quickly. It can start moving randomly.”You’ve got to try and play what’s in front of you at that time and when it does shift on you and the ball starts doing something different, you’ve got to try and come up with plans to counter that, whether it be more aggressive, whether it be going to your shell and trying to get through that period. Everyone’s different. It’s trying to be one step ahead when it does start to shift.”Steven Smith wears black tape under his eyes•Getty Images

During the previous day-night Test at the Gabba, when West Indies famously won by eight runs in early 2024, Mitchell Starc commented about how the harder surface at the venue meant the pink ball went softer than it does in Adelaide where extra grass can act as a cushion.”I think Adelaide, the wicket they have down there, it’s quite furry, and the ball can kind of stay harder for longer,” Smith said. “Here it’s obviously renowned to be quite a hard, fast wicket, and it’s difficult to change your characteristics of the wicket. So at times [the ball] can get a little bit soft, and you can see guys batting comfortably at stages. So that’s one thing we have to weigh up going into this game, and see how it plays out.”Amid uncertainty over how Australia would line up for the Test, Smith said they would be open to in-match flexibility around the batting line-up, referencing the possibility of two nightwatchers. But he was not fully buying into the belief of Pat Cummins and Travis Head that batting orders were overrated despite having opened the batting in four Tests in 2024 at his own request, including the last pink-ball game at the Gabba where he carried his bat to finish 91 not out in Australia’s failed fourth innings chase.”I think [with the] pink ball, anything’s possible,” Smith said. “We’ve been pretty open in the past around maybe having two nightwatchmen and things like that, so it’s a completely different game.”You’ve got to play what’s in front of you at any given stage, but I’m not sure I completely agree with those two on the batting orders being overrated. I think it’s nice to be in a similar role and get used to that role over and over again.”So, it can change in games, and maybe that’s the way forward. But having certain spots for one innings and other spots for a second innings, I’m not sure about. I think it’s nice to have a single role and try to get used to that as much as possible.”

Palmeiras vence o Vitória na primeira rodada do Brasileirão

by h79snht.top Uncategorized

MatériaMais Notícias

O Palmeiras venceu o Vitória por 1 a 0 no Barradão, neste domingo (14), pela estreia no Brasileirão 2024. O gol da partida foi marcado pelo volante Richard Ríos.

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➡️ Siga o Lance! Palmeiras no WhatsApp e acompanhe todas as notícias do Verdão

➡️ A boa do Lance! Betting: vamos dobrar seu primeiro depósito, até R$200! Basta abrir sua conta e tá na mão!

Com o resultado, o Verdão empata em pontos com todos os times que também saíram vitoriosos na primeira rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro. O Rubro-Negro Baiano fica com a pontuação dos derrotados.

✅ O QUE VEM POR AÍ?

O Palmeiras recebe o Internacional na quarta-feira (17), enquanto o Vitória enfrentaria o Cuiabá na semana, mas o jogo foi adiado.

➡️ Clique aqui e confira os próximos jogos e a tabela do Campeonato Brasileiro

✅ FICHA TÉCNICA
VITÓRIA 0 X 1 PALMEIRAS 
1ª RODADA – BRASILEIRÃO 2024

🗓️ Data e horário: domingo, 14 de abril de 2024, às 18h30 (de Brasília)
📍 Local: Estádio Manoel Barradas, o Barradão, em Salvador (BA)
🟨 Arbitragem: Braulio da Silva Machado (árbitro); Alex dos Santos e Thiaggo Americano Labes (auxiliares); Rodolpho Toski Marques (VAR)

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⚽ ESCALAÇÕES

VITÓRIA (Técnico: Léo Condé)
Lucas Arcanjo, Zeca, Camutanga, Wagner Leonardo e Lucas Esteves; Willian Oliveira, Dudu, Rodrigo Andrade e Matheuzinho; Osvaldo e Alerrandro.

PALMEIRAS (Técnico: Abel Ferreira)
Weverton; Mayke, Luan, Murilo e Vanderlan; Gabriel Menino, Richard Ríos e Raphael Veiga; Estêvão, Rony e Endrick.

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Tudo sobre

BrasileirãoBrasileirão 2024PalmeirasVitória

Man Utd receive bid for "insane" £105k-p/w player, he's said yes to January move

by rastrear-estafeta.com Uncategorized

Manchester United have now received an offer for an “insane” player ahead of the January transfer window, and he’s said yes to the move…

Man Utd could offload "insane" player in January

Just when Man United were looking like they might have turned a corner, they were brought crashing back down to earth against Everton on Monday night, with the Toffees emerging as 1-0 winners, in what was David Moyes’ first-ever win as a visiting manager at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils were unable to take anything from the game, despite playing against ten men for the majority of the night, with Idrissa Gueye being shown a straight red card after striking his own teammate, Michael Keane.

Having gone the five previous Premier League games undefeated, the loss serves as a reminder that the current squad is still some way off being able to compete for major honours, as pointed out by Ruben Amorim in his post-match interview.

As such, there is work to be done in the January transfer window and beyond, and Man United now have a decision to make when it comes to Joshua Zirkzee’s future, as AS Roma have submitted a loan with an option to buy offer for the striker.

That is according to a report from Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness), which states Zirkzee is now edging closer to joining Roma, having ‘said yes’ to the January move, although it is currently unclear whether United are willing to sanction a departure.

The Dutchman is valued at €40m (£35m), with the Italian club willing to include an obligation to buy if they qualify for the Champions League, but it is not specified what sort of fee they would be willing to shell out.

Man Utd should cash-in on Zirkzee this winter

The 24-year-old has flattered to deceive ever since his arrival at Old Trafford, scoring just three Premier League goals in 37 appearances, and his recent performance against Everton was less than impressive.

The Netherlands international squandered one big chance and received a SofaScore match rating of just 6.3, the joint-lowest of any player, excluding Gueye, who was dismissed after just 13 minutes.

Alongside Zirkzee: Man Utd's "waste of time" must not start again for Amorim

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ByEthan Lamb Nov 25, 2025

Having been lauded as “insane” by scout Ben Mattinson in the past, the £105k-a-week forward could succeed elsewhere, and he may have a part to play until Benjamin Sesko returns from a knee injury.

However, Amorim should definitely move Zirkzee on in the January transfer window and bring in a new striker to rival Sesko for a starting spot, with Man United recently renewing their interest in Bayern Munich star Harry Kane.

John Souttar dealt "really bad news" as Rangers made to sweat over injury blow

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

After John Souttar was forced to miss Scotland’s dramatic victory over Denmark earlier this week, Rangers have been left to sweat over his availability ahead of their clash against Livingston this weekend.

It was about as dramatic as it gets for Scotland as they booked their place at the 2026 World Cup. What started with an incredible Scott McTominay overhead kick to send them into dreamland soon transcended into a nightmare when the 10 men of Denmark equalised once through Rasmus Hojlund and then a second time through Patrick Dorgu late on.

It looked as though history was about to repeat itself and Scotland were destined to miss out on automatic qualification, until the ball fell the way of Kieran Tierney. Even Rangers fans may have cheered the Celtic hero as he found the back of the net to send Scotland to the World Cup, before Kenny McLean’s halfway-line goal ended an absurd evening.

Celebrations will no doubt go on, but the rivalries will also return with the action in the Scottish Premiership as Rangers aim to continue their turnaround under Danny Rohl.

The Gers are set to play host to Livingston on Saturday afternoon in an attempt to make it four wins from four under Rohl in the Scottish Premiership and continue to close the gap on shock league leaders Hearts.

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ByDan Emery Nov 18, 2025

The German manager has already picked up more league points than Russell Martin did, which highlights just how disastrous the former manager was at Ibrox, but could yet run into his first problem this weekend.

In amongst the celebrations in Scotland, Souttar was forced to miss out on a starting place after suffering an injury in the warm-up in what should be a concern for Rangers.

Rangers handed fresh John Souttar concern

As confirmed live on Sky Sports News by Gail Davis ahead of Scotland’s victory over Denmark, Souttar picked up an injury in the warm-up and has handed Rangers a fresh injury concern ahead of their return to action this weekend.

Scotland were able to replace Souttar with the experienced Grant Hanley, but the Gers are unlikely to have the same luck. The central defender has started all but one game for Rangers so far this season and remains one of their most important players.

At a time when their fortunes are beginning to turn, the last thing that those at Ibrox need is an injury to such an influential player. Unless they receive some positive news, however, the Gers must find a replacement for Souttar.

Described as “excellent” by former Scotland manager Craig Levein, there’s no doubt that Rangers need the defender to make a return to action as soon as possible.

Thelwell let Rangers star go for £0; now he'd walk into the XI over Aasgaard

What "VAR said" about Auston Trusty's kick on Jack Butland in Celtic v Rangers

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Callum McGregor and substitute Callum Osmand scored in extra-time as Celtic emerged victors in an epic Premier Sports Cup semi-final against 10-man Rangers at Hampden Park.

With former Hoops boss Martin O’Neill back in the dugout as interim manager after taking over from Brendan Rodgers last Monday – along with Shaun Maloney – Celtic took the lead through Johnny Kenny after 25 minutes and then Gers midfielder Thelo Aasgaard was shown a straight red card by referee Nick Walsh for a reckless challenge on Anthony Ralston.

The Ibrox side, with new head coach Danny Rohl taking charge of his first Old Firm game, fought back in the second half with captain James Tavernier levelling from the spot in the 81st minute to take the game to extra-time.

However, McGregor thundered in a goal three minutes after the restart, before teenager Osmand scored his first Celtic goal 15 minutes later for a 3-1 win which sets up a meeting with St Mirren in the final on December 14 at the national stadium.

An exhausting afternoon began with Celtic quickly into their stride. Japan striker Daizen Maeda was through and shot straight at Jack Butland but the Gers goalkeeper was as bemused as anyone seconds later when Ibrox defender Nasser Djiga’s attempted clearance cannoned off midfielder Nicolas Raskin and ended up in the Rangers net, only for VAR to confirm Maeda was offside in the build-up.

Moments later, Gers striker Youssef Chermiti missed the target from six yards after Mohamed Diomande had picked him out.

However, when Kenny jumped highest in the box to head in an Arne Engels corner with barely a challenge from four blue jerseys around him, Celtic were deservedly ahead.

Butland saved a powerful Kenny drive before Hoops keeper Kasper Schmeichel blocked a Raskin drive with his leg after a Gers counter, then Chermiti failed to connect properly with Tavernier’s free-kick when only two yards from goal.

When the hitherto anonymous Aasgaard was sent packing for a needless lunge at Ralston, Rangers’ task became even more difficult.

There were loud and angry Gers shouts for a red card when Celtic defender Auston Trusty left his boot on Butland’s face after the keeper had gathered the ball but Walsh produced only a yellow.

What VAR said on Trusty yellow card in Celtic vs Rangers

Talking about the incident at half-time on Premier Sports, it was confirmed that “VAR said” Trusty’s challenge was “reckless” but was still only worthy of a yellow card.

Better than Ange: Celtic reach out to hire "tactically unbeatable" manager

'Disappointing for both of us' – Rahul says rush for century led to Pant run-out

by h79snht.top Uncategorized

Rahul said Pant and his own dismissals on either side of lunch changed the momentum

Nagraj Gollapudi12-Jul-20255:23

Rahul: ‘A bit of theatrics at the end, we wanted to bowl two over’

India were 247 for 3 as Shoaib Bashir lined up to bowl the last over before lunch on Saturday. Three balls later, Rishabh Pant ran himself out in a self-destructive fashion. In the second over post the break, KL Rahul, having become only the second Indian to put his name more than once on the Lord’s honours board, edged one to give Bashir his only wicket of the innings. India were 254 for 5 suddenly, having otherwise controlled the first session, scoring 103 in 22.3 overs until Pant’s run out.So how did India lose their firm hold over the match? Rahul raised his hand at the end of the day to admit that his desperation to reach the landmark before lunch “changed the momentum” of the Indian innings.Rahul said he had told Pant of his plan to get to the century before the break, a couple of overs before lunch. When he pushed a single to sweeper cover off the first ball of Bashir’s over just before lunch, Pant moaned about his senior partner wasting the opportunity to punish what he felt was a bad ball for a four. Two balls later, Pant, attempting a risky single, was run out by a brilliant pick-up-and-direct-hit from England captain Ben Stokes. Pant walked back disappointingly as he might have sensed a century himself until his inning was rudely cut short on 74.Related

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“Not ideal,” Rahul said at the media briefing. “There was a conversation a couple of overs before that: I told him [Pant] that I would get my hundred, if possible, before lunch. And with Bashir bowling that last over before lunch, I thought there was a good chance for me to get it, but, yeah, unfortunately, I hit straight to the fielder.”It was a ball that I could have hit for a boundary. Then he just wanted me to rotate strike and see if he could put me back on strike. But, yeah, it shouldn’t have happened: a run out at that stage really changed the momentum.”It was disappointing for both of us. Obviously, nobody wants to throw their wicket like that.”1:58

Manjrekar: Rahul hasn’t put a foot wrong

While the series is level 1-1, India have shot themselves in the foot by committing untimely errors, which has robbed them of the opportunity to dominate. Rahul agreed that India batters, including him, wasted the opportunity to convert starts into bigger scores that could have put the visitors “ahead” at Lord’s.”Of course, there’s a little bit of disappointment because till just before tea time, we were in a really good position. Obviously, me and Rishabh got that long partnership and then we both got out [in quick succession] – he got out just before lunch and I got out just after lunch. That wasn’t ideal, so you had set batters in the top five who had got off to starts, so ideally you want one of them or both to go on and get a big score and that’s how you get ahead in a Test match.”Personally, though, Rahul said he was happy to carry forward the form established in Leeds, where he scored 137 in the second innings after chasing a wide delivery in the first innings when he was closing in on a fifty. His 55 in the second innings in the second Test in Birmingham played a role in India raising a big target and winning in dominant fashion. At Lord’s, where India won a classic in 2021, Rahul was the Player of the Match for his 129 in the first innings. Those memories surely must have spurred him on to do a repeat this time, but Rahul said he has also been working on the mental side of his game since his last visit to the venue.He said that for the last two-odd years, he has also been working with a specialist who has helped him with “improving reaction times” by engaging in mental drills and games that top athletes involved in F1 and adventure sports practise. Rahul said he travelled to Salzburg in Austria, the base of the Red Bull team in F1, to work with the specialist who has also helped elite F1 drivers in being sharp and proactive.

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