All posts by h716a5.icu

As Tottenham Hotspur and manager Antonio Conte cope over a ‘very serious’ injury to defender Cristian Romero, the boss has confirmed that he will also be without midfielder Giovani Lo Celso.

The Lowdown: Spurs injury scares…

Since the September international break, a torrid period for Spurs given the amount of problems suffered by then-manager Nuno Espirito Santo, you could forgive any fan for loathing that time of the calendar.

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That period alone saw Oliver Skipp, Ryan Sessegnon, Steven Bergwijn and Son Heung-min return from duty with problems as South American trio Lo Celso, Romero and Davinson Sanchez also had to train in isolation abroad (The Evening Standard).

The last international break in November was just as unlucky for Spurs, with star summer signing and Serie A MVP award-winner Romero returning with a hamstring injury having played for Argentina.

Lo Celso also flew back to north London available, and while Conte continues to sweat over his centre-back, it appears that he will also be without the 25-year-old for the clash against Brentford tonight.

The Latest: Pre-Brentford injury news confirmed…

Speaking to the press, Conte confirmed that he expects Lo Celso back after their clash with the Bees. The Italian explained (via football.london):

“Giovani Lo Celso, like Cristian Romero, they were injured with the national team. For sure it was a pity but Giovani’s situation is much, much better than Romero.”

“My expectation is to see him the day after we play against Brentford. He’s started to work, to work on the pitch. For sure Giovani is another player we need to try to exploit, to exploit him. He’s a good player and now I want to work with him.”

The Verdict: Big miss?

Lo Celso can often turn on the style at international level, as evident by Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni even calling him ‘one of the best’ in world football. Former Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho has also heaped praise on him, branding the former Real Betis and Paris-Saint Germain star a ‘fantastic player’ (Sky Sports).

However, you could make the case that he is yet to fully realise his potential at club level, with Spurs insider John Wenham even branding the player a ‘passenger’ after Lo Celso’s Premier League outing in the regrettable 3-0 defeat to Man United at the end of October (Football Insider).

He is quite clearly a mixed bag with ability on the right given day, but as Conte seeks to guide Spurs back up the Premier League table, the 52-year-old could have used Lo Celso as an option at least.

In other news: Eight players now safe from Spurs axe after impressing Conte behind the scenes, find out more here.

Shane Watson’s 59 helped Australia set up an imposing target of 257, before he took a wicket and a catch as the 113-run win was sealed

Brydon Coverdale at the MCG07-Feb-2010It has taken Shane Watson eight years and dozens of medical appointments to reach his hundredth one-day international but he made sure the moment was extra memorable with a Man-of-the-Match performance in Australia’s crushing defeat of West Indies. Watson’s 59 helped Australia set up an imposing target of 257, before he took a wicket and a catch as the 113-run win was sealed.”It’s a really special moment to be able to get 100 games,” Watson said. “It’s something that seemed a long, long way off the last couple of years. To be able to play 100 games and then contribute the way I did today is always nice as well.”The victory continued Australia’s unbeaten run this summer, having succeeded in every match against Pakistan. Their only blemish was the drawn Adelaide Test against West Indies and with four ODIs and two Twenty20s remaining against Chris Gayle’s men, their sights are firmly set on an undefeated home season.”Of course [it’s on our minds],” Watson said. “It was at the start of the summer as well from the Test matches, Ricky talked to us about it at the start of the summer to really do everything we possibly can to go through winning every single game. Unfortunately we weren’t able to do that in the Adelaide Test but throughout the rest of the Tests and one-dayers we’ve played some really good cricket.”Australia’s clinical effort has given West Indies a serious challenge to level the series in Adelaide on Tuesday but the performance of Kieron Pollard was one positive for West Indies. Pollard’s career-best 3 for 45 was instrumental in stopping Australia push on towards 300 and then he top scored with 31 in the chase.Pollard came in with the score at 4 for 44 and together with Lendl Simmons, tried to revive West Indies’ hopes of victory. He holed out to long-on off Nathan Hauritz but Gayle said he had been impressed with the maturity shown by Pollard, 22, who thrived during his stay with South Australia in the Big Bash.”The last couple of days I’ve seen Pollard he looked a different sort of player,” Gayle said. “He looks a more confident players going into these games. I’m happy with his performance but disappointed the way he got out. That was a crucial wicket for us. He was the one guy who was looking to give us the best chance to take us home there.”I think [he has matured], definitely. He seemed a bit more calm to me, the way he went about his batting his selection was spot on. We lost him at a crucial time but I’m sure he’ll get better, no doubt about it. He’s definitely a good prospect to have in the team.”Despite the quick turnaround, Gayle was confident his men could bounce back in Adelaide. They are still searching for their first ODI victory against Australia since 2006.”Not the sort of start we wanted in this ODI series,” Gayle said. “The damage already done so it’s back to square one. We’re looking forward to Adelaide now so hopefully we can square the series and get back in the series as quickly as possible.”

Everton have made another significant step in the construction of their new Bramley-Moore Dock stadium after the sand infill process was completed.

What’s the story?

The Toffees are set to depart their spiritual home of Goodison Park from the 2024/25 season onwards as the club looks to modernise their stadia in order to keep up with football’s elite.

And their ambitious riverside project has reached another milestone this week, with The Athletic’s Patrick Boyland revealing the latest update.

He tweeted: “Everton confirm that the sand infill process at Bramley-Moore Dock has now been completed. Another milestone for stadium project”.

Everton fans will be excited

News that the construction process is making significant strides and is all going to plan will leave the Everton fans feeling extremely excited.

Fellow Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur opened their magnificent new arena in 2019, allowing them to compete financially with the sport’s heavyweights, something the Toffees will be hoping they can do too in the near future.

And a report in the Liverpool ECHO went into more detail regarding the sand infill process that Boyland highlighted.

“A three-month process to bring in 450,000 cubic metres of sea-dredged sand is now complete with all the water displaced to form a solid bed on which the 52,888 capacity stadium can now be built with the first skeletons of the stands due to go up next year ahead of a scheduled 2024 opening,” it read.

“The dock infill, which forms a key part of the enabling works, has seen a dredger called ‘The Shoalway’ painstakingly make more than 130 round trips over 20 miles out into the Irish Sea to collect sand.”

With the new stadium expected to deliver a $1 billion boost to the city’s economy, and provide up to 15,000 jobs for local people, this latest revelation will delight fans of the club and local residents alike.

This comes in a week where things are beginning to look rosier for the Toffees again.

Although Marcel Brands has left, Everton secured their first win since September against Arsenal on Monday and now appear to be making significant strides in improving themselves both from a football club and business standpoint.

Farhad Moshiri is carrying out a careful review of the behind the scenes structure and that, coupled with a first win in months, the transfer window being on the horizon and a new stadium to boot suddenly makes this a more exciting time to support the Goodison outfit.

And, in other news…Forget Coleman: Rafa must seal EFC move for £25m “warrior” with “outstanding quality” 

In a summer of big one-day wins, Australia saved their heftiest victory for last.

The Bulletin by Brydon Coverdale at the MCG19-Feb-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJames Hopes provided some highlights with a 24-ball half-century•Getty ImagesIn a summer of big one-day wins, Australia saved one of their heftiest victories for last. After Ricky Ponting, James Hopes and Shane Watson set up a daunting 5 for 324, Doug Bollinger continued his torment of Chris Gayle and the West Indies top order crumbled – again – to leave the crowd in no doubt about the approaching result less than five overs in to the chase.The 125-run triumph maintained Australia’s chances of going through the summer undefeated in all forms of the game, with two Twenty20s against West Indies all that remain. Already they have equalled their effort of 2000-01, the only other home season when they did not lose a Test or ODI. Back then the team boasted Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Mark Waugh, and faced West Indies and Zimbabwe.The developing Australia of this summer will be extra pleased with their record, although their opponents Pakistan and West Indies have been weak. Here West Indies dropped five catches and for the third time in the series they were three down by the end of the fifth over. Little wonder that at the end of a string of such one-sided contests, only 15,538 fans turned up – the fewest ever for an ODI between the two teams at the MCG.Those who did attend saw Bollinger snuff out West Indies’ chances when he picked up Gayle’s wicket for the sixth time in seven matches this summer. The only Test or ODI in which he failed to do so was the Sydney wash-out, when West Indies batted for six balls. Two top-edged sixes from Gayle were followed by a leading edge to cover and Bollinger had two wickets having trapped Travis Dowlin lbw from the second ball of the chase.Ryan Harris added Narsingh Deonarine, who played on for 4, and Wavell Hinds, who gave Steven Smith his first ODI catch. Kieron Pollard’s 45 featured two sixes but when he holed out to Smith in the deep off Hopes, all that was left for the crowd to look forward to was Smith’s maiden wicket, an lbw against Denesh Ramdin, and a fighting 47 not out from Darren Sammy. Still, they had been treated to some exciting strokeplay during the Australian innings.Ponting and Watson built the platform with half-centuries before Hopes and Adam Voges blasted them past the 300-mark in the final stages. Their 82-run partnership in 7.1 overs featured superb placement from both men, especially Hopes, who struck ten fours and found the gaps with ease. He made his third ODI half-century and took only 24 balls to do it, giving him the fifth-quickest one-day fifty by an Australian.Hopes finished unbeaten on 57 while Voges remained not out on 45. Hopes was put down at long-on by Hinds late in the innings and it continued a woeful fielding effort from West Indies. The selectors also made the strange decision to make no changes to the side that lost in Brisbane, despite the strike bowler Kemar Roach being passed fit.It meant that the openers Watson and Brad Haddin were confronted with medium-pace new-ball offerings and they enjoyed hitting through the line, down the ground and over the top. Dwayne Smith and Ravi Rampaul obliged by serving up half-volleys and both men watched sixes sail back over their heads.Watson in particular butchered the bowling and he brought up his half-century from 49 balls with perhaps the best of his three sixes, a searing pull over wide midwicket off Sammy. Two deliveries later Watson tried to work a Sammy full toss into the same region and was taken at deep midwicket for 51. Haddin was the quieter partner but still struck two sixes in his 42-ball 32 before he played on trying to pull Pollard.Michael Clarke and Ponting calmly compiled a 104-run stand that included a couple of sixes but mostly consisted of push-and-run play with the field back. Ponting fell on 61 from 55 balls when he tried to glide Pollard through the vacant cordon and managed only to find the wicketkeeper’s gloves. Clarke’s 58-ball 47 ended when he miscued a pull off Rampaul and skied a catch to mid-on, where Deonarine barely clasped the chance.Deonarine had already dropped Ponting on 47 at square leg when the batsman’s sweep off Nikita Miller stayed a bit low. Ponting was given another life on 55 when Hinds’ throw missed with Ponting a long way out of his ground. Haddin also enjoyed two breaks. On 7, Dowlin dropped a sitter at second slip before two balls later the bowler Smith couldn’t quite hold on to a flat-batted smash back at him. Watson was also grassed on 29 when he flicked Smith to short fine-leg, where Rampaul missed a chance he should have taken.It all combined to mean another easy win for Australia. Gayle predicted at the start of the series that West Indies would beat Australia 4-1; they lost 4-0. But they did win the tosses 4-1.

A major claim has emerged on Lille centre-back Sven Botman, regarding Newcastle United’s interest in his services…

What’s the talk?

Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed that the Magpies are ‘seriously interested’ in the defender and that he is at the top of their wishlist heading into January. Italian giants AC Milan are also said to be keen on the Dutchman, who had three other sides in talks to sign him in the summer.

He Tweeted: “Newcastle are seriously interested in signing Sven Botman in January. He’s top of the list – but still waiting to know Lille position/price tag. AC Milan are keeping tabs on Botman situation too #NUFC #Lille Sevilla, Wolves & Atalanta were in talks to sign Botman last summer.”

Delight

This major claim from Romano, that Botman is top of the club’s wishlist, will surely leave Newcastle fans feeling delighted. It shows that the ex-Ajax man is a serious target for the Magpies and indicates that he could be a player they are willing to actively pursue upon the opening of the transfer window next month.

Eddie Howe’s team are currently 19th in the Premier League table and staring down the barrel of relegation as it stands. They have only kept one clean sheet all season and lost 4-0 to Leicester at the weekend, highlighting the defensive frailties that have been causing them issues all year and showing why fans will be buzzing that PIF are working hard to bolster the ex-Bournemouth man’s options in that department.

The 21-year-old colossus has been in fine form for Lille and could be a top addition to Newcastle’s squad. He has averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.96 this season, impressing on Sunday with a score of 7.3 against Lyon in Ligue 1 for his side. He made five clearances, one block, two tackles and two interceptions to help his team keep a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw.

Last term, he averaged a score of 7.08 as Lille kept 20 clean sheets in his 37 appearances. This, along with his form this season, shows that he has the ability to perform to a high standard in a defence capable of keeping clean sheets at the top level, which is another reason why Newcastle fans will be delighted with the news of the club’s interest in signing him.

AND in other news, NUFC heading for disaster on “embarrassing” 30 y/o dud, Howe once locked him in a room…

Sialkot Stallions breezed through Faisalabad Wolves to lift the RBS Twenty20 Cup at the National Stadium

Cricinfo staff07-Mar-2010
ScorecardSialkot Stallions celebrate their five-wicket win in the RBS Cup final•Shakir KhiljiSialkot Stallions confirmed their status as the pre-eminent Twenty20 side in the land, beating Faisalabad Wolves at a packed National Stadium in Karachi to lift their fifth consecutive RBS Twenty20 Cup.A raucous 30,000-plus crowd – thousands of fans were left outside the stadium trying to get in and roads leading up to the stadium were choked full – turned up to watch what should have been a tense encounter between the two best sides in the country, but once Sialkot’s opening bowlers had crippled Faisalabad’s start, the result was never in doubt, the defending champions ultimately cruising to a five-wicket win.Having won the toss and chosen to bat, Faisalabad’s troubles began early, the in-form and ever-dangerous Asif Hussain inside edging Asif onto his stumps. That set the tone for an exemplary spell from Asif, honing in on a typically difficult length and getting the usual cut. He was unlucky not to get at least one more wicket, eventually conceding only nine runs in his four overs.The pressure paid off at the other end, Mohammad Salman and Ali Waqas falling in quick succession to Abdul Razzaq, both to poor shots; Waqas had been lucky to survive that far, given not out for a clear edge off Asif. Nineteen for 3 after four overs meant Faisalabad were desperately looking towards man of the moment Mohammad Hafeez to come through.Hafeez had been outstanding in the semi-final with the tournament’s first hundred and looked set for another big hand when lofting two big sixes over the on side off a Razzaq over. But just when things were looking up, misfortune struck. Khurram Shehzad patted a stroke back to Abdur Rehman, who had just come on to bowl. Smartly Rehman turned the ball back on to the non-striker’s stumps, with Hafeez, backing up, well short.That turned the innings and Rehman trapped Shehzad off the last ball of the same over with a lovely arm ball. The arm ball struck again in his next over, Zeeshan Butt sent back this time, caught brilliantly by Shoaib Malik at cover diving to his left.At 56 for 6, Sialkot were right on top and the fall of wickets suffocated the opposition – they managed only one boundary in the next four overs. Misbah-ul-Haq tried to steer his side to some kind of total and with Shahid Nazir at least ensured they didn’t lose more wickets. But he fell eventually, trying to cut loose and holing out to deep midwicket off Sarfraz Ahmed for 27. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan uprooted Mohammad Talha’s middle stump with a yorker in the final over as Faisalabad ended with an unsatisfactory 109. That they didn’t get bowled out was the only saving grace.Imran Nazir began the chase like he wanted to finish it off in five overs, hitting a four and a six off the first two balls. But as is often the way with him, the cameo was shorter than it was sweet and he was back in the pavilion after the third ball, spooning it straight to cover.Mansoor Amjad fell the next over to spark a little hope in Faisalabad, but Rana, fresh from a near-hundred at one down, pinch-hit his way to 27 with five fours and a six. Even when Malik fell to leave Sialkot 56 for four, the result wasn’t really in doubt, so strong is their line-up. Razzaq, who joined them this season after snubbing his home team Lahore, continued his contributions, smacking four consecutive fours off Talha to hasten the victory march.The only blip came by way of some crowd trouble in the 15th over when Hafeez threatened to take his team off the field after some bottles were thrown from a boisterous crowd. He didn’t go off and soon after, Adeel Malik, Shoaib’s younger brother, sealed the deal with a succession of boundaries to maintain Sialkot’s supremacy in this format. With the team that they have, the PCB may well rue their decision to not allow a local team to represent Pakistan in the Champions League.

Having joined West Ham United in what was a £17.5m deal back in the summer of 2018, hopes for the then-28-year-old Andriy Yarmolenko were extremely high at the London Stadium.

Indeed, the Ukraine international had highly impressed during his time with Dynamo Kyiv, scoring a whopping 137 goals and registering 90 assists over his 340 appearances for the Premier Liga side, as well as bagging six goals and six assists over just 26 appearances during a season-long stint at Borussia Dortmund – before making the move to East London.

However, despite now being in his fourth season at West Ham, the £3.6m-rated forward has played a total of just 69 games for the club, something which has largely been down to a succession of serious injuries.

As a result, it has been reported that David Moyes could be looking to move the £115k-per-week man on in the January transfer window, something that would appear to be an incredibly wise move by the 58-year-old Scot – particularly if he manages to bring in one of his own reported targets in the shape of Jonathan David.

Moyes can finally axe Yarmolenko by signing David

Indeed, there is no comparison between the respective player’s returns in recent seasons, but, to illustrate a point, they are as follows.

Over Yarmolenko’s 23 Premier League fixtures in what was undoubtedly his best campaign since joining West Ham, the 32-year-old scored five goals, registered one assist and created six big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.1 shots and making 0.9 key passes per game.

These returns saw the player who Declan Rice once dubbed “special” earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.85, ranking him as the Hammers’ 13th-best performer in the top flight of English football that time around.

For comparison, over David’s 18 Ligue 1 appearances this season alone, the £45m-rated LOSC Lille forward has already scored 11 goals and created three big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.9 shots and making 0.9 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the player who John Herdman dubbed “fearless” and Hein Vanhaezebrouck labelled a “phenomenon” average a SofaScore match rating of 6.97, ranking him as the French side’s fifth-best player in the league this term.

As such, the numbers very much speak for themselves, and it is clear that Moyes should do all he can to axe Yarmolenko this January, and subsequently put the forward’s huge wages towards landing the 21-year-old David.

In other news: ExWHUemployee drops update on “Van Dijk-like signing” that’ll have WHU fans buzzing

New Zealand dismissed their highly-fancied opponents for 231 and then finished at 19 for 1 as they dream of levelling the two-game series

The Bulletin by Peter English26-Mar-2010New Zealand 19 for 1 trail Australia 231 (Katich 88, Vettori 4-36, Southee 4-61) by 212 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Daniel Vettori had plenty to cheer on the opening day•Getty ImagesDaniel Vettori experienced the perfect start to his 100th Test after taking four wickets, running out Ricky Ponting and watching his side ruffle Australia. New Zealand dismissed their highly-fancied opponents for 231 and then finished at 19 for 1 as they dream of levelling the two-game series.Tim Southee accepted extra responsibility to back up his captain after the hosts picked two spinners and he provided a clever performance with 4 for 61. But the star was Vettori, who earned more worthy plaudits in a praise-heavy week, with 4 for 36 off 19.3 overs.New Zealand benefited from a series of errors from the most qualified Australian batsmen and then swept through the lower order in an unusual performance from the visitors. Simon Katich tried to hold the side together with 88, but when he fell two overs before tea, popping a catch off Vettori to short leg, his side was 180 for 5.After the interval the wickets continued to spill, with New Zealand at one stage capturing three breakthroughs in eight balls. Southee, who had already dismissed Shane Watson (12) and Michael Hussey (22), was on a hat-trick after Brad Haddin popped a simple caught-and-bowled chance from the last ball of his 16th over and he followed up by having Marcus North lbw for 9. In between Southee’s blows, Vettori had watched Mitchell Johnson push a catch to bat pad.Ryan Harris wasn’t bothered by the prospect of being the third departure in a row and flicked a four to midwicket. However, Harris soon became Vettori’s victim, lbw playing back on 10, and when the captain bowled Doug Bollinger Australia had lost 7 for 59. There was some help for the bowlers from the surface but not much bounce, and it wasn’t to blame for the situation.Vettori was disappointed to lose the toss but his mood improved with each Australian wicket and by the end of the day he didn’t want anything altered. Well, he would have wished Tim McIntosh defended to Doug Bollinger in the opening over of the reply instead of shouldering arms and being bowled. But when BJ Watling (6) and Mathew Sinclair, who was 8 in his first Test innings in two years, made it stumps it became a minor blemish.The touring batsmen were over-generous and probably complacent after their dominant 10-wicket win in Wellington, but they now face a fight to sweep the two-match series. Watson, Ponting and Michael Clarke were wasteful with their wickets while Hussey, Katich and Haddin were heavily at fault in their exits. New Zealand welcomed all the lapses and Southee was the pick of the fast men as he moved the ball in the air and off the pitch.In the morning Southee was lucky Watson (12) was in an overly aggressive mood, with the batsman’s adventurous pull ending in a catch at mid-on for Brent Arnel. In the middle session Hussey left after a similar departure to last week in Wellington, driving at a wider offering from Southee and being caught behind.Vettori is celebrating his milestone on his home ground and was originally hoping to bowl in the fourth innings, but was forced instead to bring himself on in the 13th over. There was turn from his first delivery and he was responsible for slowing Australia with his impressive control, allowing less than two runs an over and only three fours.Katich had been in charge of steadying the situation until he popped a strangely simple catch to Watling to give Vettori his first success. Mostly Katich was watchful and industrious, chipping and flicking his score along, and he brought up his half-century with a glance for four.Jeetan Patel, the offspinner, kept busy and gained the wicket of Clarke (28), who was caught at long-on after misjudging an attempt to clear the rope. Arnel had a mixed return and started well, but he delivered the most eventful over of the day, which contained four fours, a single and a failed referral from an lbw appeal against Hussey.Ponting knew the situation would be difficult after winning the toss, but did not expect such severe damage. He was run-out for the second time in two Tests after risking a single to Vettori at mid-off and was beaten by the direct hit. It was the 13th time Ponting had been dismissed that way, making him the most run-out batsman in Tests. It is not the sort of record Ponting craves, but he will be more concerned by his side’s predicament.

With 2021 quickly winding down, it’s time to look back on what has been a very impressive year indeed for West Ham United.

David Moyes’ side produced a superb Premier League campaign last season to break up the so-called ‘big-six’ and finished in a Europa League spot, ahead of the likes of London rivals Arsenal and Spurs.

The Hammers have since followed that up with an equally impressive start to the current season, establishing themselves as contenders once again for a European place – this time perhaps for a chance in the Champions League.

However this season ends, West Ham fans will no doubt look back fondly on the entirety of 2021, and here on FFC, we’ve decided to create a bumper quiz for the most passionate of supporters to sink their teeth into.

With 15 questions to answer, can you somehow manage to get 100% and prove that you’re a REAL West Ham fan?!

Have a go below!

Mumbai Indians, already in the semi-finals, sent a strong message to their rivals by crushing second-placed Bangalore, whose net run-rate also took a beating

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran17-Apr-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
JP Duminy’s quickfire 42 powered Mumbai to 191•Indian Premier LeagueRoyal Challengers Bangalore’s final league game was delayed by an hour due to a couple of low-intensity blasts outside the stadium. The organisers decided to go ahead with the match, and spectators were ushered into the stands amid heightened security.Once the match began, Mumbai Indians, already in the semi-finals, sent a strong message to their rivals by crushing second-placed Bangalore, whose net run-rate took a beating but remained just high enough to make them favourites for a semi-final spot. Mumbai also brushed aside any criticism about them being overly reliant on orange-cap holder and captain Sachin Tendulkar, whose rare failure didn’t prevent the table-toppers from amassing 191 on a greenish track.Ambati Rayudu has been the best of the ICL returnees this season, and added to his growing reputation with another power-hitting cameo that jumpstarted Mumbai after a dawdling start. Kieron Pollard briefly showed why he was so sought-after during this year’s auction, after which JP Duminy’s clinical finishing silenced the home crowd, as it had when he lashed an unbeaten 99 in the Champions League.Needing to score at nearly 10 an over from the outset, Bangalore were rarely in the chase, plodding to 12 after three overs and losing both openers on 34 in the Powerplay. There was still hope for a deep Bangalore batting line-up, but once Harbhajan Singh removed both Kevin Pietersen and Rahul Dravid in quick succession, the required-rate spiralled above 13. That proved too much even for the home side’s biggest hitters, Robin Uthappa and Ross Taylor, both of whom were foxed by slower ones, and Bangalore’s focus shifted to reducing the margin of defeat and keeping their net run-rate from slinking too low.Bangalore’s best phase of the match was the Powerplay after choosing to bowl. Tendulkar walked out with his fourth opening partner in four matches, Ryan McLaren, but the new combination could only squeeze 30 runs in six overs off the home side’s quick bowlers. McLaren made slow progress and Tendulkar wasn’t at his best either, falling just before the end of the Powerplay to a low catch by Ross Taylor at deep square leg.It was in the ninth over that Mumbai switched to top gear. Rayudu launched an onslaught on Pankaj Singh, preferred again to Praveen Kumar, lashing 22 off the over to boost the run-rate to a more Twenty20 level. He benefited from Bangalore’s clumsy catching, when Vinay Kumar palmed an overhead chance over the rope at long-on.A couple of quiet overs followed before Rayudu decided to take on the tournament’s most economical bowler, Kumble. He clubbed consecutive sixes over long-on off the Bangalore captain, and backed that up with a couple of fours against Kallis, before a sharp, short delivery forced him to offer a return catch.Despite that sustained hitting, the crowd wasn’t expecting a target near 200 after the sluggish Mumbai start. But Pollard, who murdered the Delhi Daredevils attack in his previous match, continued in the same vein, slamming three consecutive sixes to round off a forgettable day for Pankaj. Kumble, though, made it a short stay for Pollard by tricking him with a quicker delivery, trapping him lbw.Bangalore thought they had got rid of the danger man but Duminy continued his love affair with the Chinnaswamy Stadium with a controlled cameo. He started by thumping Kevin Pietersen over long-off and then caned Kallis’ length deliveries for 19 runs in the 18th over. A boundary each in final two overs pushed him to 42 off 19, and Mumbai had taken 113 off the final nine overs.