Another title for Australia, but what next for India?
ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jun-2023Is a one-off final enough to decide the winner of a World Test Championship cycle? Did India really blunder it at The Oval? What’s up with the India-A programme, and how should the BCCI look at structuring Indian cricket going forward?Sidharth Monga joins Kaustubh Kumar and Vishal Dikshit to discuss all the burning questions.
Coach credits self-awareness for South Africa’s run of seven successive T20I wins
Firdose Moonda15-Sep-2021Just as they’re on a roll, they’ll be taking a break. And it could not have come at a worse time.South Africa have completed a streak of three successive T20I series wins after beating West Indies, Ireland and now Sri Lanka on their winter tours. Say what you like about whether South Africa always looked at their best or the state of the opposition – and remember that West Indies were at full strength – but at a time when there have been few good things to say about the South African men’s team performance, this is among the best there is. They’ve equalled a record of seven successive T20I victories and are in as good a shape as they could have hoped to be, according to coach Mark Boucher.Related
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Excitement and anxiety as fit-again Bavuma gets ready to lead at T20 World Cup
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Tabraiz Shamsi: South Africa 'not as bad' as people think
“This team realised that we are definitely not the finished product, so there’s a lot of things we speak about,” Boucher said. “We had a good chat about the lessons we’ve learnt and where we want to go as a team. We tied the record for the most T20 wins by a South African team. That was one of the records that we were playing for. We understand that going into a World Cup each game is as important as the others and this becomes a habit. This is just part of the growth of the team.”Their opportunity to break that record and add an eighth win will come on October 23, when they take on Australia in the T20 World Cup opener. Between now and then, half of the squad will return home to South Africa to compete in a domestic T20 knockout cup and prepare for the tournament while the other half will head to the IPL.”We’ve spoken to the guys going to the IPL. They need to stay quite disciplined and realise we want to peak at the right time as a unit,” Boucher said. “They’ll be picking up bits of information about playing in those conditions that will really get them ready for a big tournament and if they manage themselves well and get some good time in the nets and get used to facilities it will stand us in good stead. It will be a great experience as long as guys look after themselves and peak at the right time.”Chief among Boucher’s concerns will be injuries, particularly for players like David Miller, who returned from a hamstring injury for the Sri Lanka T20Is only to pick up a quad niggle after the first match. Miller is among those going to the IPL. So are all South Africa’s frontline quicks – Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi (who missed the Sri Lanka tour for personal reasons) and Anrich Nortje – along with their star batter Quinton de Kock and the in-form Aiden Markram. The latter two, especially, Boucher wants fit and firing in a batting line-up that has managed well despite being one short throughout the Sri Lanka series.Aiden Markram’s effective offbreaks will provide South Africa with more options for the T20 World Cup•AFP via Getty ImagesDe Kock was South Africa’s top-scorer and continues to benefit from being unburdened from the captaincy. “Quinny went through a bit of a tough time after (the) Pakistan (tour in February) but since coming in he has been fantastic in the team environment. You can’t keep a player like that down for too long,” Boucher said. “He has been in a very happy space. He is a big name going into the World Cup so him being in the form that he is, is good.”And Markram, who was signed as a replacement player for Dawid Malan at Punjab Kings, has emerged as not only flexible enough to bat anywhere in the top order but as an allrounder option in spinner-friendly conditions. He finished as the joint-second leading bowler in the series. “Aiden has grown a hell of a lot in his game and has different options now,” Boucher said.Returning captain Temba Bavuma, who is recovering from a broken thumb, will add another top-order player to the mix for the T20 World Cup. Boucher is pleased to have a problem of plenty, even when it comes to leadership. He had nothing but praise for stand-in skipper Keshav Maharaj, who debuted in the format in this series, took a wicket with his first ball, and led South Africa to a clean sweep.”With Keshav – this is not his first roadshow. He has been around, especially in conditions like this. He has got a great feel for the game,” Boucher said. “The communication, confidence and trust he has in the spinners, especially the confidence he showed in Aiden, Aiden fed off and produced the goods. The way he dealt with his spinners and the players was great. He has got great leadership which stands us in good stead.”
As the Red Sox eye a postseason berth, one of their top offensive contributors is headed to the injured list.
Boston is putting outfielder and designated hitter Roman Anthony on the injured list with an oblique strain, Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters Wednesday.
Anthony, 21, is in his rookie year with Boston. He's slashing .292/.396/.463 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs in 71 games; his 3.1 bWAR would extrapolate to 7.0 over a full season. His performance has helped earn him an eight-year contract extension that could be worth as much as $230 million.
The Red Sox have thrived with Anthony in the lineup, and currently hold the American League's second wild-card playoff spot. They're just 2.5 games back of the Blue Jays for first place in the East Division.
Boston is scheduled to finish a three-game series against the Guardians Wednesday before heading west to meet the Diamondbacks.
India roll over for 93 in their chase of 124 with their captain Shubman Gill absent with a neck injury
Sidharth Monga16-Nov-20252:52
Philander: South Africa found ways to get a win
South Africa started the day staring at defeat, only 63 ahead with three wickets in hand, but registered a stunning win, their first in India in 15 years and the second-smallest successful defence in Asia. The whooping and cheering among the South Africa players echoed amid a shocked Sunday crowd at Eden Gardens as the visitors bowled India out for 93 in the absence of their injured captain Shubman Gill.Temba Bavuma was ever present, scoring the only half-century of the match and taking South Africa to a lead of 123 on a pitch with extravagant sideways movement and variance in bounce. He was helped a little by some ordinary spin bowling on the third morning, but he had earned the errors after defending resolutely on the second evening.Related
Kolkata minefield: Bavuma stands tall, Washington stands longer
'I don't buy this' – Pujara won't accept transition as excuse for losing Tests at home
'Job's far from done' – Conrad eyes series win
With 'small hands' and strong instincts, Bavuma shows self-assurance of a player at his peak
Stats – South Africa's first win in India since 2010
The target of 124 was always going to be tricky with Simon Harmer outbowling India’s spinners in the country where he had a forgettable tour in 2015-16. The uneven bounce made Marco Jansen a handful, causing the double jeopardy you need to defend small totals.India began the day in the ascendance but not with bowlers likeliest to take a wicket. Axar Patel opening the day was a surprise, and as the singles flowed with ease you could sense panic. Rishabh Pant, who had been excellent with his rotation of bowlers and field placements on the second evening, began to change bowlers too quickly and also took a desperate review against Bavuma when Ravindra Jadeja had clearly pitched outside leg from over the wicket.That Jadeja was bowling over the wicket in itself was a sign of desperation when all you really needed to do on this surface was bowl a good length and shut the scoring. Jadeja, who until day two was the best player of the match, just struggled to maintain that length and bowled seven overs for 21 runs. Washington Sundar, one of the three spinners in the last four home Tests, was not used at all.Temba Bavuma and Corbin Bosch added crucial runs in the morning•Getty Images
Bavuma’s defence found an ally in Corbin Bosch’s big hits, which he deployed mainly against Kuldeep Yadav. The two added an invaluable 44 for the eighth wicket, 25 of which came off Bosch’s bat. Eventually it was the fast bowlers that kept India alive. Jasprit Bumrah hit the top of Bosch’s off, and Mohammed Siraj, in only his second over of the innings, got the better of Harmer and Keshav Maharaj with reverse swing.It was always going to be a tough target on this pitch, but India had hope in South Africa’s selection of only two spinners, one of whom, Maharaj, had gone for 16-1-66-1 in the first innings. Jansen, though, stunned them at the start in his first two overs to send back the openers. Both these balls jumped off a length, got big on the batters, and took the outside edge.Simon Harmer was unplayable at times•BCCI
Washington, India’s newest No. 3, played resolutely again, mirroring the first half of Bavuma’s innings and facing the most balls in the match, but as it tends to happen on these pitches, Dhruv Jurel put a long hop into the hands of deep midwicket. The ball did stop on him as it tends to happen on these pitches.Harmer might have got on the board with this fortunate wicket, but he bowled beautifully to earn that stroke of luck. Ten years after a crushing tour of India, he is back a much-improved bowler. He could change his trajectory subtly, most of the times able to bowl a good length at different paces. It showed in how he completely tied up the most dangerous batter in the India line-up, Pant, and eventually earned a return catch with dip and turn.ESPNcricinfo Ltd
At 38 for 4, Washington and Jadeja added 26 runs, looked comfortable, but this is when Jadeja’s old-school method of defending with the bat behind the pad came back to haunt him. Just like in the first innings. Once again out lbw pad-first to Harmer, Jadeja ended forgettably a Test he had been largely good in, one during which he became only the fourth man to take 300 wickets and score 4000 runs.Aiden Markram reminded India of the nightmare Glenn Phillips had been on lottery pitches last year when he came on and finally got the edge of a distraught Washington, who scored 31 off 92 to go with his 29 in the first innings. Harmer then spun one past Kuldeep when he slowed it down tantalisingly.At 77 for 7, India were left needing a miracle from Axar, who threatened one when Bavuma gave him a sighter against Maharaj. He hit two sixes and a four, but when he happened to mishit he found a calm Bavuma making a difficult over-the-shoulder catch look ridiculously easy.Siraj lasted only one ball, triggering wild celebrations, the loudest from Kagiso Rabada, who has tasted only defeat on two previous tours of India and was missing this Test with a rib injury.
Bhuvneshwar takes 2 for 23 in UP’s victory against Goa; Rahane fifty helps Mumbai beat J&K
ESPNcricinfo staff26-Nov-2025
File photo – Urvil Patel went on a boundary-hitting spree•GCA
Urvil Patel smashes 31-ball ton for GujaratUrvil Patel marked his T20 captaincy debut with a remarkable 119 not out off just 37 balls as Gujarat opened their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign with an eight-wicket win over Services in a Group C fixture in Hyderabad.Retained by Chennai Super Kings after being signed midway through IPL 2025 as an injury replacement, Urvil reached his hundred off just 31 balls, the third fastest by an Indian. His fireworks at the top of the order turned a chase of 183 into a cakewalk. Urvil hit 12 fours and 10 sixes as Gujarat won with 45 balls to spare.
Urvil also holds the record for the joint-fastest T20 hundred by an Indian with Abhishek Sharma. Both hit 28-ball hundreds, against Tripura and Meghalaya, respectively, in the 2024-25 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. In 2023, Urvil had struck the third-fastest century by an Indian in List A cricket when he hit a 41-ball century against Arunachal Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.Urvil’s to-be CSK colleague and Kerala captain Sanju Samson struck an unbeaten 51 as Kerala romped to a 10-wicket win over Odisha. Samson’s knock was overshadowed by Rohan Kunnummal, who struck an unbeaten 60-ball 121 – his second T20 century.Bhuvneshwar stars in UP winIn his first competitive fixture since winning the IPL 2025 final with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Bhuvneshwar Kumar showed he hadn’t lost his swing or zip, picking up 2 for 23 in Uttar Pradesh’s six-wicket win in a Group B fixture against Goa in Kolkata.Put in to bat, Goa posted 172 for 9 on the back of Abhinav Tejrana, who top-scored with a 35-ball 72 on T20 debut. UP’s chase was then powered by Aryan Juyal, the wicketkeeper, who finished unbeaten on 93 off 57 balls, to seal UP’s chase with 10 balls to spare.File photo – R Smaran set up Karnataka’s win with a half-century•R Smaran/KSCA
Dubey’s last-over six steers Karnataka homeLegspin-bowling allrounder Praveen Dubey proved his all-round chops to haul Karnataka to a thrilling win over Uttarakhand in a Group D fixture in Ahmedabad.Needing 7 off 2, Dubey launched a six before hit the winning runs as Karnataka chased down 198 off the last ball. Dubey, who was released by Punjab Kings, finished 38 not out off 24 balls, the unbroken sixth-wicket stand with Shubhang Hedge worth 70 off just 40 balls.Karnataka’s chase was set up by R Smaran, who top-scored with a 41-ball 67 to show Sunrisers Hyderabad what they could expect come IPL 2026.File photo – Shardul Thakur led Mumbai’s attack•Associated Press
Rahane, SKY power Mumbai home; Shaw misses outAjinkya Rahane smashed a 31-ball half-century, while Suryakumar Yadav chipped in with an enterprising 47 off 30, as Mumbai eased past Railways’ 158 for 5 by seven wickets and its 25 balls to spare in a Group A fixture in Lucknow. Rahane top-scored with 62 off 33, falling hit wicket to legspinner Karn Sharma. Mumbai’s bowlers shared the wickets, with captain Shardul Thakur leading the way with a tidy 1 for 15 from four overs. Shivam Dube also struck once in his three-over spell.It wasn’t such a happy outing for Prithvi Shaw on T20 debut for Maharashtra as they lost to Jammu & Kashmir by five wickets in a Group B fixture in Kolkata. Shaw, looking to attract the interest of IPL franchises after going unsold in 2025, made just 5 before he was one of three victims of seamer Auqib Nabi. Umran Malik too impressed with 2 for 24.Abhishek Sharma managed just 4, but Punjab beat Himachal, while Jaydev Unadkat’s three-for helped Saurashtra grab full points against Tripura in Ahmedabad.
Rangers’ truly miserable European campaign continues, with their hopes of reaching the knockout stages now hanging by a thread.
On Thursday night, despite taking the lead through James Tavernier’s spot-kick, the Gers were held to a 1-1 draw by ten-man Braga at Ibrox, with the Arsenalists equalising shortly after Rodrigo Zalazar had been sent off for headbutting Nicolas Raskin.
This ended a sequence of seven successive European defeats, the longest streak in the club’s entire history, but they will almost certainly need to beat Ferencváros, Ludogorets Razgrad and Porto to stand any chance of reaching the Europa League knockout stages, which isn’t particularly likely.
Having finished eighth in last year’s inaugural league phase, before reaching the quarter-finals, this quite the fall from grace.
Much of the blame lies at those at boardroom level, hence why chief executive Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell were both sacked on Monday, much to the delight of many supporters.
Nevertheless, new manager Danny Röhl still has to build a cohesive team with the pieces he has been given, so which of Thelwell’s summer recruits did not impress on Thursday night?
Nasser Djiga at fault once again
The final Tuesday of the final international break of 2025 could prove to be a pivotal day in Rangers’ season.
Mere hours apart, one in Mount Florida and the other in well, Miami in actual Florida, both John Souttar and Derek Cornelius suffered long-term injuries that’ll see them sidelined until Christmas at least.
Thus, just as Röhl had found his first-choice centre-back pairing, he will continue to be without them going into the busiest period of the season, left with no choice but to keep picking Emmanuel Fernandez and Nasser Djiga, despite the continued poor performances of the latter.
Djiga was massively at fault for Braga’s crucial equaliser on Thursday night, completely misjudging a cross into the box which allowed Gabri Martínez to slot home.
The 23 year old joined Wolverhampton Wanderers from Crvena zvezda in January for a reported £10m, but barely featured for the Premier League side, suggesting why that might have been the case since making the loan move north of the border.
It did not start well for Djiga, sent off on his Premiership debut for tripping up Finlay Robertson as the Gers were held to a 1-1 draw by Dundee at Ibrox, before this inexplicable decision which allowed Romeo Vermant to score the first of Club Brugge’s nine goals in the Champions League play-off round.
Djiga, frankly, is costing Rangers points time and time again, which has to be a concern ahead of three winnable Premiership matches in a week against Falkirk, Dundee United and Kilmarnock, but which other starter from Thursday night may have just played himself out of contention?
Rangers summer signing who struggled vs Braga
Röhl made a couple of surprise selection decisions against Braga; Connor Barron came into midfield, while Max Aarons got the nod over Jayden Meghoma at left-back.
The Bournemouth loanee has been in and out the team all throughout the campaign, deployed in both full-back positions, but did not stake a claim for more regular minutes here.
The statistics document the Englishman’s tough night.
Aarons’ statistics vs Braga
Stats
Aarons
Match rank
Accurate passes
26
13th
Passing accuracy %
76%
12th
Key passes
Zero
10th
Attempted crosses
3
4th
Accurate crosses
Zero
7th
Defensive actions
3
16th
Tackles won
3
7th
Interceptions
Zero
12th
Clearances
Zero
19th
Possession lost
17
4th
Touches
59
6th
SofaScore rating
6.8
12th
Stats via SofaScore
As the table documents, despite the fact only two Rangers players, namely Tavernier and Fernandez, had more touches of the ball than Aarons, he did very little with all this possession.
The full-back completed just 26 passes, fewer than Braga goalkeeper Lukáš Horníček, was accurate with zero crosses and turned over possession on 17 occasions.
Fair to say, the Rangers support have not been enamoured by Aarons from the very start.
Under Russell Martin, he was controversially starting Champions League qualifiers instead of long-standing captain Tavernier, which most fans were not on board with, especially when Aarons was sent off just eight minutes into their 6-0 annihilation at the hands of Club Brugge at Jan Breydelstadion.
More recently, Aarons has been asked to fill in on the left-side, which he can do, but does not suit him naturally, especially on the ball, having to play on his weaker side.
Thus, for upcoming Premiership matches, where Rangers will dominate possession, expect Röhl to recall Jayden Meghoma at left-back, even if he has been far from convincing either.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
As for long-term, it would be no surprise to see both Aarons and Djiga return to their parents clubs in the new year, or at the end of the season at the very least.
Forget Djiga: Rohl must bin Rangers flop who lost the ball every 2 touches
Following Rangers’ 1-1 draw with Braga in the Europa League at Ibrox on Thursday, which flop must Danny Röhl axe who was even worse than Nasser Djiga?
ByBen Gray Nov 28, 2025
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Desde o anúncio até a estreia, Ferreirinha nunca escondeu sua paixão pelo São Paulo. Torcedor declarado do Tricolor, o atacante sabe da qualidade do grupo e mostrou que está disposto a deixar o ego de lado para ajudar sua nova equipe.
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➡️ Siga o Lance! no WhatsApp e acompanhe em tempo real as principais notícias do esporte
– Viemos sabendo da qualidade do grupo, vai ter briga por todas as posições. É um grupo campeão. Viemos para ajudar, independentemente se for começando o jogo ou no decorrer da partida – afirmou o atleta durante apresentação no CT.
A busca do São Paulo por um ponta rápido e driblador é antiga, e Ferrerinha sabe da responsabilidade que carrega para suprir tal carência na equipe de Carpini.
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– Eu já vim sabendo que o São Paulo procurava um jogador com minhas características há muito tempo. É meu estilo de jogo. Vou uma, duas, três vezes para cima do adversário. Como disse, venho para somar, para ajudar e espero ser muito feliz aqui – comentou.
O torcedor são-paulino vive a expectativa pelos clássicos contra Corinthians e Palmeiras, mas Ferrerinha repetiu o discurso de Carpini e pregou foco no duelo de sábado (27), contra a Portuguesa. O atacante deve ser titular na partida contra a Lusa, no MorumBIS.
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➡️ Veja os grupos e datas dos confrontos no Paulistão
Clássico é sempre importante ganhar. Todo clássico é uma final. Vamos pensar na Portuguesa no sábado, mas depois no Corinthians e no Palmeiras. O importante é ganhar, começar bem com título, mas primeiro pensar na Portuguesa – destacou Ferreirinha.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers held their championship parade on Friday in Los Angeles, just two days removed from capturing their second World Series title in the last five seasons.
It was an interesting call to hold the parade on a Friday, especially on a notoriously bad traffic day in any metropolitan area, but especially in Los Angeles, which is one of the worst cities for traffic on the globe.
Why is this relevant? Well, on Friday morning, the Dodgers' championship parade got off to quite a slow start, as several of the team's victory buses got stuck in Los Angeles traffic within minutes of the convoy beginning.
At least they still had drinks and nice weather and could enjoy themselves.
He and Graham Clark put on 181 together to break their own record for Durham’s highest T20 stand
ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay18-Jul-2025Durham secured a home quarter-final in the Vitality Blast as a record-breaking partnership from centurion Alex Lees and Graham Clark led them to a resounding nine-wicket win over Northamptonshire Steelbacks.Steelbacks won the toss and batted first and David Willey (62) exploited a platform set by Matthew Breetzke (52) with some destructive hitting, but an excellent spell from Matthew Potts helped reel Northants in late on as they finished on 203 for 5.Lees and Clark made an excellent start to the Durham chase as they raced to 100 within eight overs and they continued the charge as they broke the record for Durham’s highest T20 partnership, previously held by the same pair against the same team.They made the chase look easy, hitting 12 sixes between them in a partnership worth 181, while Lees reached his maiden T20 century as he steered his side home with plenty of time to spare.Northants started well, but there was a big let-off for them early on as Will Rhodes dropped Breetzke on 10 when the South African opener mistimed a pull shot off Potts. He made Durham pay for that mishap as he heaved a Codi Yusuf ball over the legside boundary for six to continue his positive start.Breetzke continued his onslaught as he smashed three consecutive balls from Yusuf for six, but Durham struck through Callum Parkinson as Ricardo Vasconcelos tried to smash one down the ground but he could only find Potts at long-off.Breetzke continued his side’s charge and he passed fifty from 31 balls, his fourth in the competition, but he then fell for a swashbuckling 52, with Nathan Sowter picking up the wicket as the opener holed out to Rhodes on the boundary.Willey then made the most of some short-pitched bowling from Parkinson as he smashed back-to-back sixes down the ground.The Northants skipper then reached his fifty from 25 balls with a six off the bowling of Sowter to continue his team’s charge towards a massive total.Willey then continued his devastating display of hitting as he smashed a Raine ball over the long-on boundary for six.Potts removed Ravi Bopara for a tidy 33 to halt the Northants charge, with a jumping David Bedingham taking a nice catch, and Willey’s excellent knock ended as he feathered a Potts ball through to Ollie Robinson for 62.Potts struck for a third time in the final over to remove George Bartlett, but the Steelbacks finished on a total of 203 for 5.In pursuit of 204, Lees and Clark got off to a solid start, with the former clubbing a Ben Sanderson delivery down the ground for four.Lees then pulled off an inventive shot as he scooped a Willey ball for six and he backed that up with one that he whipped away for four.The Durham skipper sent George Scrimshaw’s first ball into the stands as he produced an excellent pull shot and he did the same thing with the following ball.Clark then pulled a Luke Procter ball for six as the hosts raced to 78 without loss in the powerplay, while Lees reached his half-century from 23 balls at the other end.Clark then heaved a Sanderson ball for six to reach his half-century from 26 balls as Durham continued their charge.Clark pummeled a Lloyd Pope delivery down the ground for six and Lees followed that up with two more blows over the long-on boundary.Lees then hit a beautiful cover drive off the bowling of Procter for four, but the partnership was finally broken by Procter as Clark went for 79 as he miscued a ramp shot and was caught behind.Lees then reached his century from 48 balls and guided his team home with 21 balls to spare.
'Give Erling Haaland the ball and he will score' had proved to be a pretty effective tactic for Manchester City over the previous two months, but Aston Villa have exposed its flaws. They found a way to blunt the Norwegian's edges on Sunday, ending Haaland's run of scoring in 12 matches in a row for club and country while also becoming the first team to keep a clean sheet against Pep Guardiola's side in nine games.
Villa are far from the only team to have noticed that stopping Haaland means stopping City this season, but they were the first ones to see their plan through. It should be said that Unai Emery's side were a touch fortunate, and on another day Haaland might have scored. However, Haaland instead fired straight at Emi Martinez when played in by Bernardo Silva before heading a late cross straight at the Argentine goalkeeper. He even managed to find the net at the death, clattering into the post in the process, but the goal was ruled out by a marginal offside against Omar Marmoush.
It was a reminder that, contrary to what you might think looking at the jaw-dropping runs of form throughout his career, Haaland does not actually score all the time and cannot be expected to either. And unless City come up with a contingency plan, they will not be able to win the title back.