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An update has emerged on Rangers’ chances of landing one of the strikers on Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s wishlist in the summer transfer window…

What’s the talk?

Fabrizio Romano has claimed that a Gers target is now closing in on a move to Italy this week in a potential blow to Ross Wilson’s plans.

He Tweeted: “Erik Botheim joins Salernitana on a permanent deal from Krasnodar, four year contract in place. Medical later this week in Italy.”

Journalist Jonas Advan Giaevar previously reported that the Light Blues were keen on the attacker, Tweeting: “It’s true that Rangers at least have enquired about Erik Botheim. Remains to be seen whether that leads to an offer or not.”

Alfredo Morelos upgrade

Wilson must use this latest update as fuel to launch a renewed swoop for the free agent striker. The move to Italy is not rubber-stamped, yet, and the Gers must now attempt to hijack the deal as he would be a fantastic signing for the club.

He has the potential to be a big upgrade on Alfredo Morelos as he showcased his quality in front of goal last season. Before moving to Russia, and eventually ripping up his contract, the striker caught the eye playing for Bodo/Glimt in Norway. In the 2021 Eliteserien campaign, he scored 15 goals and managed three assists in 30 matches.

In the Europa Conference League, he averaged SofaScore rating of 7.57 as he produced four goals and four assists in six games as he burst onto the European scene, with Football scout Jacek Kulig dubbing him a “complete forward” as a result of his displays.

Botheim scored 19 goals and assisted seven in 36 starts and this means that he averaged a direct goal contribution every 1.38 matches.

Morelos, meanwhile, managed 11 goals and seven assists in 26 Premiership games and four strikes in nine Europa League outings. He averaged a goal contribution every 1.59 matches and missed 16 ‘big chances’ in total across the two competitions – compared to Botheim’s eight.

These statistics suggest that the Norweigan finisher has the potential to offer more than the Colombian at the top end of the pitch. His impressive form domestically and in Europe shows that he is a natural goalscorer, who can also set up his teammates, and that he is not as wasteful in front of goal as the Gers man.

The free agent is also four years younger than Morelos and has plenty of time on his side to grow and improve as a player. Therefore, Rangers can land an upgrade on their current number nine in the here and now and for many years to come by hijacking this deal and bringing in the talented 22-year-old phenomenon.

AND in other news, Gvb plotting Rangers swoop for £1.3k-p/w gem who “rarely misses”, imagine him & Kent…

Arsenal are believed to be back in the hunt for Juventus midfielder, Arthur Melo, having been linked with Brazilian back in January.

What’s the word?

As per journalist Claudio Raimondi (via Tutto Juve), the Gunners could well be set to reignite their interest in the 25-year-old this summer, having attempted to bring the €40m (£34m) player to the Premier League during the winter window only for the deal to fall through.

Speaking about the 22-cap international’s future – and that of club teammate Aaron Ramsey – Raimondi stated: “Juve are interested in Fabian Ruiz, but before starting a real negotiation, they must resolve the Ramsey-Arthur situations.

“For the Welshman, who is of interest to the Turkish team coached by Pirlo, they will move towards the termination of his contract with severance pay, while for the Brazilian midfielder, something is moving on the Arsenal side.”

The playmaker joined the Serie A side on a reported £66m deal back in 2020 from Catalan giants Barcelona, with fellow midfielder Miralem Pjanic moving in the other direction.

Arteta’s own Xavi

While that move has failed to work out for either party, with Arthur having fallen down the pecking order in Italy and with Pjanic spending last season on loan at Besiktas, that should not overshadow what would be a major coup for Mikel Arteta and co, were they to bring the former to the club this summer.

Despite starting just 11 league games last term, the £16.2m-rated gem is still a supremely gifted player in possession, notably ranking in the top 4% for pass completion and the top 7% for attempted passes among those in his position across Europe’s top five leagues.

The man to keep things ticking in the centre of the park, the £125k-per-week unsurprisingly drew comparisons to current Blaugrana coach Xavi Hernandez during his spell at the Nou Camp, with former teammate Lionel Messi stating upon his arrival:

“Those who came are very good. Arthur, I didn’t know that much about but he seems similar to Xavi. He’s very safe and trustworthy. He has the La Masia style. Playing short passes, without losing the ball, and he grasped it quickly, the dynamic of the team.”

Such a glowing assessment from arguably one of the greatest players of all time illustrates just what a talent the Juve man is, while the likeness to the aforementioned Xavi will also set pulses racing back in north London, with the Spaniard having enjoyed a lengthy career at the elite level.

A product of the famed La Masia academy, he went on to rack up 766 appearances in all competitions for the La Liga outfit, scoring 85 goals and providing 185 assists in that time, while also claiming a plethora of major honours, including four Champions League triumphs.

On the international front, the now veteran star was part of the remarkable La Roja side that came out on top in three successive major tournaments between 2008 and 2012, having arguably won all there is to win in both forms of the game.

Arteta and co will know that such talents and such success is rare, although the Gunners boss will no doubt be keen to bring in a Xavi-esque talent like Arthur who can dictate the tempo in the centre of the park, having himself been a product of that much-celebrated Barcelona youth system.

AND in other news, Arsenal now plotting record-breaking bid for £100m gem, he’d be a “superstar” signing

According to reliable journalist Tom Barclay, Southampton transfer target Liam Delap would ‘definitely’ fit the profile of player that manager Ralph Hasenhuttl might be tempted to sign during the upcoming transfer window.

The Lowdown: Delap profiled

The 19-year-old first joined the academy at Manchester City as a scholar three years ago and has worked his way up through the ranks at the club, which saw him rewarded with his first-team debut in the Sky Blues’ 2-1 Carabao Cup victory against Bournemouth in September 2020.

The forward put pen to paper on a new three-year contract extension with the Etihad Stadium outfit last summer, but he has recently been touted with a move away from the Premier League champions in a bid to get some much-needed game-time and further his development.

In a recent report from The Sun, it’s claimed that the teenager is on Southampton’s shortlist as they desperately look to bolster their attacking ranks; and after raiding Chelsea’s academy to sign Tino Livramento and Dynel Simeu last year, the Saints have been backed to pull off a similar move by tempting Delap into a south coast switch in the coming months.

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The Latest: Barclay backs Southampton links with Delap

Barclay has suggested that Delap could be the perfect fit for Hasenhuttl’s plans at Southampton, given the Saints’ previous raids for young prospects from the Premier League’s top brass.

Wnd when asked whether he thought he could see any parallels in their swoops for the aforementioned ex-Chelsea youngsters, he told GiveMeSport: “Yeah, definitely. They’ve targeted Chelsea’s academy in recent history with great success, with obviously Livramento being the standout one, Broja as well.

“Dynel Simeu, who went on loan to Carlisle and did well, although he’s not been as much of a standout player; he was signed more for the B team but is another player they signed from that club’s academy.

“And I think we’ve talked about Tino Anjorin as well as another possible target in the future. So, they’ve looked at that area.”

The Verdict: Perfect replacement for Long

With veteran striker Shane Long set to depart St Mary’s upon the expiry of his contract next month, Delap could be viewed as the ideal candidate to take the Irishman’s place in the squad, either on a temporary or permanent basis.

The Winchester-born talent, who was once dubbed a “special” player by City manager Pep Guardiola, has been in excellent form in Premier League 2 this season. With eight goals and two assists in just ten appearances at that level, as per Transfermarkt, he has shown just how prolific he can be in the final third regardless of his age.

After a disappointing 15th-place finish in the top flight this season, the possible addition of someone like Delap up top could be just what Southampton need if they are to start making a serious push towards a top-ten finish next time around.

In other news… a talkSPORT reporter has made this huge Saints transfer claim involving one of their summer targets

Newcastle United reportedly now ‘want’ to sign Jules Kounde in what would be a club-record move this summer.

The Lowdown: January bid

As per Mundo Deportivo (via Sport Witness), the St. James’ Park faithful ‘offered’ Sevilla as much as €70m (£59.3m) to try and sign Kounde in the January transfer window, but a move never materialised.

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That would have been a club-record deal, and now it seems they are going to try their luck again in the summer.

The Latest: Wanted

According to Mundo Deportivo (via Sport Witness), the North East club still ‘want’ to sign Kounde, and are now a ‘rival’ to FC Barcelona for his signature.

However, the La Liga giants cannot afford to pay his €90m (£76.3m) release clause, which could well open the door for the Tynesiders.

The Verdict: Difficult

With teams like Barcelona weighing up a move for Kounde, there is no doubt that he will be a wanted man this summer, and so the Magpies may find it difficult to persuade him to join without any European football to offer.

Dubbed ‘world-class’ by former Tottenham Hotspur and England international goalkeeper Paul Robinson, the France international has played in the UEFA Champions League this season, and will be next term should Sevilla get a point in their last match of the league campaign.

Nonetheless, he is only 23 years of age, and may not feel like a move to the Toon suits him at this stage of his career.

In other news, find out which £36m-rated star NUFC could now sign for free here!

Bob Willis’ passing was mourned around the cricketing world and beyond, with everyone having a story to share from their time with him

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Dec-2019Legendary England pace bowler Bob Willis’ passing at the age of 70 had the cricketing world in mourning.

Incredibly sad to hear the news about Bob Willis. He was a true great, generous in sharing his knowledge about the game and a lovely man. RIP Bob x pic.twitter.com/HYJbLlQJRZ

— James Anderson (@jimmy9) December 4, 2019

Gutted to hear the news of Bob Willis passing. A lovely person with a great humour who was so proud of England cricket. Legend.pic.twitter.com/g4AQcnRK4n

— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) December 4, 2019

Willis’ magnum opus, his 8 for 43 in the 1981 Headingley Test, was recalled with great fondness.

Such sad news regarding the legend Bob Willis
An icon of the game I love,growing up as an 11 year old watching big Bob running down the hill 8/43 at the home of cricket Headingley
I’ll miss you Bob
A glass of red will be raised tonight

— Darren Gough (@DGoughie) December 4, 2019

Rivals and mates alike joined in in paying tribute.

Such a sad time for cricket fans all around the world. Rest In Peace Bob.

You shall be remembered forever for what you have done on the pitch! #BobWillis pic.twitter.com/kpv5BsCyyL

— Sir Vivian Richards (@ivivianrichards) December 4, 2019

Just saw the news on Bob Willis and very sad indeed. Had the pleasure of working with him for @SkyCricket and off air I just loved listening to his great stories on how they played the game back in the day. RIP Great man#onceabearalwaysabear

— Allan Donald (@AllanDonald33) December 4, 2019

Waking to the sad news of the passing of the great Bob Willis. Red wine and story time Smithy’s will never be forgotten Bob. Wonderful man to work with and one champion of a bowler. RIP #BobWillis Thoughts with Lauren and the family..

— Simon Doull (@Sdoull) December 4, 2019

View this post on Instagram

Such sad news. Bob was an English legend, inspired a generation of fast bowlers around the world & was a good bloke. RIP mate #bobwillis #RIPBob #englandcricket #FBC

A post shared by Glenn McGrath (@glennmcgrath11) on Dec 4, 2019 at 1:29pm PST

“A remarkable human being.” Bob, you were truly one of the greats of this beautiful game. R.I.P. #BobWillis pic.twitter.com/Or6WE1qxa8

— Brian Lara (@BrianLara) December 5, 2019

One of the great characters of the game with a wicked sense of humour. He was Mr Verdict. God bless his soul #RIPBobWillis pic.twitter.com/p1dkLK0lpR

— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) December 5, 2019

Had the absolute pleasure of spending time with Bob Willis over the years. A lovely man.
A very sad day. Deepest sympathies to all his family and friends.
RIP.

— Jason Gillespie (@dizzy259) December 4, 2019

Bloody sad day to hear of the passing of Bob Willis! My heart goes out to his family and Team mates! #headingley81 @BeefyBotham

— Dean Jones AM (@ProfDeano) December 4, 2019

And it wasn’t just cricketers, nor just sportspersons. Everyone had a Bob Willis memory to share.

Oh no, not Bob Willis… what joy he gave, and what a marvellous man. That 8 for 43. Used to lunch with him occasionally to talk cricket, Wagner and Bob Dylan, his three great passions.

— Stephen Fry (@stephenfry) December 4, 2019

RIP Bob Willis never imagined when I was growing up watching him destroy the Aussies in 1981 that many years later he’d teach me how to play bridge in a Spanish golf clubhouse after torrential rain had cancelled our round! Absolute gent and thoughts with his family

— Matt Le Tissier (@mattletiss7) December 4, 2019

June is the month for the men in charge of cricket teams to throw the towel in

Andrew Fidel Fernando29-Jun-2017The vacancy
Having this month elbowed Graham Ford out of his job, SLC are on their tenth head coach in seven years. As Nic Pothas’ position is only temporary, the board may soon begin searching for a more permanent appointment. The Briefing has taken the liberty of drawing up an advertisement, which the board is welcome to use:ESPNcricinfo LtdThe power move
One month after Ramachandra Guha resigned from the BCCI’s Committee of Administrators, lambasting the “superstar culture” within the organisation, Anil Kumble has parted ways with the national team, thanks in part to disagreements with Virat Kohli.Kumble, though a superstar himself, was not in this instance as monumental a figure as the present India captain.If the BCCI want a coach who is not just a player patsy, they might need to hire someone who has an even bigger name than the men within the team. The question is: is the cricket world ready for Coach Kardashian?The pitch problems
England had issues with their pitches in the past six weeks. Having been blown away on a Lord’s greentop by South Africa in the approach to the Champions Trophy, they were stunned on a used Cardiff surface by Pakistan, in the semi-final. On both occasions the state of the pitch came into focus. Eoin Morgan criticised the Lord’s pitch directly, and after Cardiff, said the surface was “too much of a jump” for a team that had played their most recent match at bouncier Edgbaston.England were the tournament favourites, and looked just about unbeatable until they were waylaid by the Cardiff clay. The whole situation calls for an Andy Flower-era 2013-14 Ashes cookbook-type fix, whereby the team can specify exactly how many blades of grass should remain on the surface, how much sun, in nanoseconds, the pitch should get before the game, and the optimal body-fat percentage of the groundsman who sits in the heavy roller that packs down the soil.AB de Villiers: unhappy camper•Getty ImagesThe zombie
For the last few months, one of the best players in the world, and maybe the greatest batsman of his generation, has plodded around cricket fields a little dead in the eyes. AB de Villiers hasn’t played a Test since January 2016 and, at only 33, is now talking about trimming his cricket commitments with a view to retiring in 2019.Maybe it’s South Africa’s Kolpaxodus, or perhaps he is just bored of dominating the best attacks the planet has to offer. Whatever the case, international cricket needs to have him in it, and the cricket world might do well to find out whatever it is that will cheer de Villiers up.The shock Champions Trophy triumph
The 2017 Champions Trophy gave the cricket world a surprise that brought unspeakable joy to tens of millions: the Google Doodle stick-cricket game.Now Google has a long history of producing great doodles unexpectedly, but even by those standards, this was a stirring achievement. Many were left elated by their new high scores, though in parts of the world, others have also been saddened at the number of work hours lost.The riposte
The Women’s World Cup has broken new ground with its visibility and popularity this year, and hopes are high the tournament can inspire a new generation of cricketers. It might also have brought an end to a long-time bugbear of women cricketers around the world – the query about which male cricketer is their favourite. Before the tournament began, India captain Mithali Raj dispatched the question like a long hop to the boundary, when she responded: “Do you ask the same question to a male cricketer? Do you ask them who their favourite female cricketer is?””Congratulations, chaps. You’re now going to be ignored and belittled in a whole new way!”•Peter Della PennaThe young sensation
Hasan Ali and Ben Stokes may have lit up the Champions Trophy, but the best performance of the month might have come in St Lucia, where Rashid Khan claimed 7 for 18 in what was frankly a ridiculous spell of legspin bowling. Two wickets came from his first two balls, and by the time he completed his fourth over, he already had a five-for. With Afghanistan’s schedule about to become a lot busier over the next few years, Rashid could have the honour of becoming the first player from his nation to be accused of putting IPL commitments over national duty.The new cousins
Ireland and Afghanistan have been granted Test status this month, which is an affirmation of their readiness for the rigours of cricket’s toughest format.Are Afghanistan and Ireland ready, however, for the paternalistic manner in which they are about to be covered by the global cricket media? Are they prepared for hand-wringing editorials about whether Test cricket is besmirched by their presence in it, every time they suffer a collapse? Are they ready to be treated like weird relatives by the established cricket nations, who will make excuses not to tour them, and invite them over only sparingly?Over the past four decades, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh all went through stages of being treated like cricket’s nuisance, rather than embraced and uplifted for the wider benefit of the sport.Welcome, Ireland and Afghanistan, to a whole new world of dysfunction. Get through the hard years, put in your time, and with a little luck, you will be able to be condescending towards Nepal, Scotland or Netherlands someday.

Kamindu Mendis can bowl orthodox left-arm spin. He can bowl right-arm offspin as well. He is also a handy batsman. And his unique skills were on show against Pakistan in Mirpur

Vishal Dikshit in Mirpur03-Feb-2016On the first ball of the 18th over in Sri Lanka Under-19s’ chase against Pakistan Under-19s, in Mirpur, left-handed batsman Kamindu Mendis attempted a reverse sweep off left-arm spinner Ahmad Shafiq and it fetched him three runs. That was not the first time Mendis had switched hands or his stance or his style of playing – whether during the day or his career.When Pakistan were batting, Mendis was brought on to bowl in the 27th over with two right-handed batsmen in the middle and he started with some orthodox left-arm spin. After a run-out in that over, left-handed batsman Salman Fayyaz took strike. Mendis then switched to right-arm offspin.”I practice with both arms but I bowled with both arms [in a match] for the first time in Under-17 against St Joseph’s College two years ago,” Mendis said after the match. “I took four wickets in that match.”The junior Sri Lankan selectors first spotted him and his unique skill about a year ago in school cricket and held several trials before picking him for the home Youth ODIs against Pakistan last October. “He does it very well and he’s just 16 years,” junior selector Ranjan Paranavitana told ESPNcricinfo. “And he can bat at any position…it’s an added factor for Kamindu.”Mendis first started practicing with both arms in the nets at the age of around 13 when his coach Dhanushka Dhinagama came up with the idea. The plan was simple – turn the ball away from the batsman. And that’s what he did today too – left-arm orthodox against right-handed batsmen and right-arm offspin against left-handed batsmen.”When two left-handed batsmen are batting, we have to use two offspinners,” Paranavitana explained. “When Kamindu is bowling he can bowl to both kind of batsmen.”Mendis is also aware that he is not the first Sri Lankan to try it out. Hashan Tillakaratne, a part-time offspinner, had done so in the 1996 World Cup in a league match against Kenya. Defending 398, Sri Lanka had the match in the bag when Tillakaratne came on to bowl the last over of the innings and bowled left-arm orthodox spin and right-arm offspin. Even though Mendis was not even born then, he has played with Tillakaratne’s son who happens to be a chinaman bowler.Naturally a left-hander, Mendis is more of a classical spinner compared to the spinners of this age and era. Right arm or left arm, he flights the ball and often pitches it up to tempt batsmen to drive with a slip in place. In Sri Lanka’s 23-run loss to Pakistan, Mendis bowled only four overs without any success and conceded 21 runs.Mendis took to cricket because of his cricket-following father and represents Richmond College in Galle, like his captain Charith Asalanka. And the two recently made their List A debuts together for Galle Cricket Club. Mendis and Asalanka, in fact, have been playing together since the Under-13 level.Mendis is one of the youngest members of the squad and likes to call himself a batting allrounder. It was his batting that proved more handy on Wednesday when he hit 68 runs at No. 3, even as the rest of the batsmen did not provide substantial support. In a chase of 213, Mendis took his team closer to 150 with a patient knock, which lasted nearly two hours, before holing out to long-on. Sri Lanka then lost their last five wickets for 32 runs.”My idea was to play 50 overs but I played a poor shot and got out,” Mendis said. “So I think I should do less mistakes and do well in remaining matches.”The other young and promising allrounder in the team is Jehan Daniel, the only player younger than Mendis in the squad, and assistant coach Avishka Gunawardene said the idea to pick them early was to hone them for the next Under-19 World Cup.”That is the plan in our mind,” Gunawardene said. “In every Under-19 tour we are planning to have 16 or 17-year-old guys go on the tour so they can play for a couple of more years in Under-19 and take over when the senior guys go. That has been the plan in the system.”I think Sri Lanka’s school cricket structure is really good, it is one of the best in the world. That is the backbone of Sri Lankan cricket. So until they come out of school, they hardly play first-class cricket.”Mendis bats left-handed, can he bat right-handed too?”Can’t bat with both hands (laughs) but I can reverse sweep,” and he used quite a few of them after the 18th over too.

A look back at the key numbers from MS Dhoni’s Test career, as batsman, captain, and wicketkeeper

S Rajesh30-Dec-2014Most Tests as keeper-captain |60 The number of Tests in which MS Dhoni captained India, the highest among all Indians, and sixth among all captains. It’s also easily the highest for a wicketkeeper – the next best is Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim, with 19 matches as captain.294 Test dismissals for Dhoni, the fifth highest among all wicketkeepers, and the best for an Indian by far: the next best is Syed Kirmani’s 198 dismissals in 88 matches.27 The number of Tests India won with Dhoni as captain – the next highest for India is Sourav Ganguly with 21. Only six captains won more Tests than Dhoni did.21 The number of home Tests India won under Dhoni, which puts him fourth in the all-time list – only Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh captained in more home wins. The next best for India is Mohammad Azharuddin with 13 wins. However, in overseas Tests India won only six out of 30 under Dhoni, and lost 15. In contrast, India won 11 out of 28 overseas Tests under Ganguly, and five out of 17 under Rahul Dravid. Since the 2011 World Cup, India lost 13 out of 18 overseas Tests under Dhoni, winning only one and drawing four.9 Number of dismissals Dhoni affected in his last Test (eight catches, one stumping), which is the highest for an Indian wicketkeeper. There are five instances of eight dismissals by an Indian wicketkeeper, of which Dhoni was the protagonist three times. In Test history, there are only four instances of wicketkeepers affecting more than nine dismissals in a Test.38 The number of stumpings by Dhoni, which is the joint third highest in Test history, along with Kirmani. Only Godfrey Evans (46) and Bert Oldfield (52) have more stumpings.224 Dhoni’s score against Australia in Chennai last year, the third best ever by a wicketkeeper in Tests. Only Andy Flower (232* against India in 2000) and Kumar Sangakkara (230 versus Pakistan in 2002) have made bigger scores. Before Dhoni’s double-century, the highest by a wicketkeeper for India was Budhi Kunderan’s 192 against England in 1964.Most runs as a Test wicketkeeper |4876 Runs that Dhoni scored in Tests, which is the third best for a wicketkeeper, after Adam Gilchrist (5570) and Mark Boucher (5515). Among Indian wicketkeepers it’s easily the best, well clear of Kirmani’s 2759 and Farrokh Engineer’s 2611. He averaged 38.09, the best among Indian wicketkeepers who played more than three Tests, while his six Test hundreds is three times the next best for India.47.21 Dhoni’s batting average in Tests in Asia. In 72 innings he scored six hundreds and 18 fifties. He played exactly 72 innings outside Asia as well, but didn’t manage a single hundred, and averaged 29.79. His highest outside Asia was 92, at The Oval in 2007.3454 Runs scored by Dhoni as Test captain, which is the highest among Indian captains. Sunil Gavaskar is next, with 3449 runs in 47 Tests as captain, while Azharuddin made 2856 runs in 47 matches. Dhoni averaged 40.63 as captain; when not captain, his average dropped to 33.06.2871 The Test runs Dhoni scored from the No. 7 position, the highest for India at that slot; Kapil Dev is next with an aggregate of 2861. No other Indian batsman has scored more than 800 runs from that position.15 The number of overseas Tests India lost under Dhoni. Only Stephen Fleming (16 losses from 42 Tests) and Brian Lara (16 losses from 20 Tests) have lost more overseas games as captain.78 Number of sixes Dhoni hit in Tests. Among Indians only Virender Sehwag, with 90 sixes, has more.22 The number of century partnerships that Dhoni was involved in. His most prolific partnerships came with VVS Laxman: in 27 stands they aggregated 1361 runs, at an average of 56.70 runs per completed partnership, with three century stands. Laxman was the only partner with whom Dhoni put together more than 1000 runs. Of the four double-century partnerships he was involved in, two were with Laxman.2 Number of Man-of-the-Match awards Dhoni won in Tests. Both were against Australia – in Mohali in 2008, and in Chennai in 2013.

Plays of the Day from the IPL game between Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders in Raipur

Devashish Fuloria01-May-2013The diamond duck
Gautam Gambhir is not a slow runner between wickets, but his poor judgment of a run has often ended his or his partner’s innings. Today, he paid the price for a bad call. The second ball of the match from Irfan Pathan hit Manvinder Bisla on the pad and dropped in front of the batsman. Gambhir, however, started charging towards the striker’s end and Bisla responded belatedly. Pathan got to the ball quickly and flicked it on to the stumps to catch Gambhir short by a big margin. It was Gambhir’s eighth run out in the IPL, his 15th in Twenty20s, and it earned him his first diamond duck in T20 cricket.The celebration
Before the start of the match, brothers Irfan and Yusuf Pathan were seen sharing a laugh, but once on the field, they got on with their jobs. Yusuf, who came in early, was in a hurry to maximise the Powerplay score. He smoked a six off Morne Morkel in the sixth over but when he tried to repeat the shot, it went high instead of long. Really high. Irfan, at square leg, had to run backwards while keeping an eye on the swirler. All this while, captain Mahela Jayawardene, possibly not expecting the catch to be completed, had a neutral look on his face. But Irfan stretched his hands out, wrapped his palms around the ball but didn’t celebrate the outstanding effort. His team-mates, though, came charging towards him in delight, their reactions more in line with the quality of that catch.The catch
Kolkata Knight Riders had already been stung by some excellent work in the field by Daredevils and were tottering on 50 for 4 in the ninth over. At that stage, Jacques Kallis, who was left with the responsibility of reviving the innings, got a harmless delivery outside off, which nine out of ten times he would have crashed to the boundary. The shot, when it left the bat, seemed to be one of those 90 per cent success-rate hits, but Ben Rohrer at point leapt high in the air, intercepted the ball with his outstretched left hand and plucked it out of nowhere.The drop
Daredevils had set the benchmark in the field by converting half-chances into wickets, but Knight Riders started in a completely opposite fashion. Brett Lee was generating pace and movement and he got Virender Sehwag to play a loose drive in the air. The ball flew straight to Gambhir, who had placed himself at short cover for the shot, at a comfortable height, but the captain was off balance and ended up fluffing it.The heavy bail
For the second time in the day, the ball hit the stumps and the bail didn’t budge. It had happened when Shikhar Dhawan was batting against Mumbai Indians in Hyderabad and it happened again in Raipur, to a 145 kph delivery from Morne Morkel. Rajat Bhatia was struggling to deal with the pace and was beaten by a delivery that straightened past his bat, then flicked the off stump en route to the keeper. The noise was loud enough for everyone in the field to notice, but surprisingly, the bail didn’t even wobble in the groove.

ESPNcricinfo presents plays of the day from Cardiff where Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell piled on the runs

ESPNcricinfo staff29-May-2011Shock of the day
It happened on six occasions in the course of this winter’s Ashes, so it’s not as if the sight is completely alien to Test-match viewers. Nevertheless, the dismissal, in the 97th over, of Alastair Cook for 133 still came as quite a shock – not least to Sri Lanka’s bowlers, who had hardly induced so much as a play-and-a-miss in the course of his 251-stand with Jonathan Trott. Farveez Maharoof, playing his first Test since November 2007, extracted a touch of lift outside off, and for once Cook’s cut shot let him down, as Prasanna Jayawardene reached to his left to intercept.Shot of the day
Kevin Pietersen was, in Cook’s words, feeling a bit of “pad-rash” by the close of day three, having been sweating in the hot seat throughout Cook and Trott’s alliance. But when Ian Bell’s turn came to bat, he showed no signs of similar anxiety. He got himself off the mark with a cool-as-you-like dab for two, then strode out of his crease to the left-armer Rangana Herath, and stroked him up and over the sightscreen at the River Taff End.Sight of the day
Midway through the afternoon session, a man in a skin-tight yellow morph suit decided to go for a jog round the perimeter of the ground. He demonstrated a serviceable bowling action as he skipped along the seating at midwicket, and later bowed to a posse of nuns down at third man. It was, by common consent, a more memorable passage of play than anything produced by the unquestionably admirable Trott.Comic fielding of the day – 1
It would be harsh to suggest that Sri Lanka’s fielding standards went to pieces in the course of England’s innings, because their bowlers forced so few chances that no-one was properly tested. Nevertheless, early in Bell’s innings, the substitute fielder Suraj Randiv suffered a moment to forget, when his despairing dive towards the rope turned into an anti-athletic belly-flop on the quick-drying and, consequently, un-slide-friendly outfield.Comic fielding of the day – 2
Sri Lanka showed there were several ways of diving too early. If Randiv showed the head-first method to get a close look at the ball dribbling past, Maharoof demonstrated the slide like a footballer desperately trying to keep the ball in play. He slid to a stop well before the trickled past him to the boundary.Non-milestone of the day
With the play meandering, the main interest after Trott reached his double-century surrounded whether Bell could post his 13th Test century before stumps. He needed two off the final over, and Eoin Morgan turned over the strike after three deliveries. Bell blocked the first ball, before the crowd cheered as Dilshan tossed one down the leg side past the keeper. Bell started to sprint, and as he completed the runs he looked hopefully at the umpire, who raised his hand to signal byes, much to the crowd’s disappointment.