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During the course of the series, Da Silva has been part of many crucial partnerships to help West Indies out of the woods

Mohammad Isam12-Feb-2021When he was asked about the key factors behind their stunning win in the first Test in Chattogram, West Indies coach Phil Simmons highlighted the importance of partnerships, among the first things he mentioned. Certainly, the batting partnerships have been West Indies’ biggest weapon in this series, and the common name in many crucial stands has been Joshua Da Silva.Da Silva added 99 for the sixth wicket with Jermaine Blackwood in the first innings in Chattogram, which helped West Indies get past the follow-on score.After Kyle Mayers and Nkrumah Bonner stitched together 216 in the second innings, Da Silva and Mayers added 100 for the sixth wicket to take the side to the cusp of victory. One might say that Da Silva’s contribution was only 20, but with Blackwood having got out shortly before, a wicket at that stage would have brought Bangladesh back into the game.On Friday, in the first innings of the second Test in Dhaka, Da Silva top-scored with 92, and as much as he felt miserable to miss out on a maiden Test century, he once again showed the way of combining with other batsmen to put the pressure back on the opposition. He was involved in an 88-run sixth-wicket stand with Bonner, which again got West Indies out of the woods when they had been reduced to 178 for 5 on the first day.But what has perhaps changed the complexion of the game was his 118-run seventh-wicket stand with No. 9 Alzarri Joseph. A developing allrounder, Joseph contributed 71 runs in the partnership and as much as that hurt Bangladesh’s footing in the game, Da Silva’s presence at the other end ensured the bowlers had nowhere to go for a considerably long time on the second day.Joseph offered an interesting insight into how Da Silva guided the partnership, by breaking down their task into the blocks of ten runs. According to Joseph, Da Silva has been a seasoned presence at crease despite playing only his third Test.Joshua Da Silva and Alzarri Joseph mixed caution with aggression in perfect measure during their stand•AFP / Getty Images”[Da Silva’s] encouragement to build partnerships, to look at small totals, every ten runs, start over from zero again to score another ten runs, and again another ten runs, and in a matter of no time, we had an 80-run partnership.”When I came to the crease, it was just to bat some time and support Josh at the crease. Josh has been batting really well. It is only his third Test and he is showing real maturity with the bat and also behind the stumps. His game is coming along really well.”At least during the course of this tour, Da Silva has improved from a rookie who was dropped from the ODI side after two single-digit scores to a reliable batsman in the Test side.Things that have stood out in his batting are his soft hands while defending the ball, as well as the use of the depth of the crease while cutting or pulling the spinners. Da Silva said that he has been working on this aspect with the batting coach Monty Desai.”I have always been a good player of spin, so I adapted my game to lower wickets. It is a little similar to home but in a different situation, so I am playing my part. I try to pick the line and length as early as possible. I worked with Monty, our batting coach, on moving forward and back positively and making that decision early.”Resuming the day on 22, Da Silva hit several punches off the back foot through the off side, as well as collected plenty of runs by gliding the ball behind point. It forced the Bangladesh spinners to bowl more at the stumps, and that gave Da Silva the opportunity to play the pulls and sweeps. He even brought out the reverse sweep a couple of times.Da Silva is among a group of young cricketers that the West Indies team management has been carrying around during the pandemic. He went to England to play the two practice matches, and even kept wickets during the Manchester Test after Shane Dowrich got injured. He made his Test debut in the subsequent New Zealand tour, where he showed his temperament with a second-innings fifty.Da Silva gives West Indies an interesting little conundrum when Dowrich becomes available in the near future. Certainly, a competition for the wicketkeeping spot will strengthen the Test side.Da Silva’s batting improvement also means he has a chance of playing only as a batsman, too. His ability to put together partnerships, particularly in a tour where he had to learn on the fly, is going to work in his favour in the coming months.

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O Palmeiras perdeu a primeira final do Paulistão 2024 por 1 a 0 para o Santos, neste último domingo (31), na Vila Belmiro e deu adeus a uma invencibilidade que duravam 20 jogos e mais de quatro meses.

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➡️ Tudo sobre o Verdão agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso novo canal Lance! Palmeiras

O cenário vivido na Baixada Santista neste final de semana não é algo muito desconhecido dos palmeirenses, que já se acostumaram a reverter dois placares adversos nos últimos dois campeonatos paulistas.

Em 2022, o Verdão de Abel Ferreira chegou invicto na final, mas acabou perdendo a primeira final por 3 a 1 para o São Paulo, no Morumbi. Na volta, goleada histórica por 4 a 0 no Allianz Parque e título garantido.

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Já no ano passado, o Verdão também chegou invicto na decisão, mas acabou sendo surpreendido pelo Água Santa e também perdeu por 2 a 1 a primeira final. Na volta, outra goleada por 4 a 0 e o 25º título Paulista garantido.

Agora o Palmeiras contará com a força de sua torcida para reverter o resultado e não perder o título dentro de casa para um rival histórico.

A derrota no primeiro jogo da final vai atrapalhar o planejamento da comissão técnica para a estreia da Libertadores, na quarta-feira (3), diante do San Lorenzo, na Argentina, uma vez que Abel Ferreira deve poupar alguns titulares para a decisão do Paulista.

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is a happy man after his side swept past Club Brugge in the Champions League, extending their 100 per cent record in Europe.

Arsenal cruise to 3-0 win over Club Brugge

The Gunners have now secured maximum points from their opening six fixtures, establishing a three-point cushion at the summit of the league phase standings.

Goals from Noni Madueke (2) and Gabriel Martinelli ensured Arsenal maintained their remarkable momentum in Europe’s elite competition, having already beaten the likes of Bayern Munich and Atlético Madrid this season.

Madueke opened the scoring with a spectacular 25-yard thunderbolt midway through the first half, with the England international then doubling his tally just two minutes after the restart.

Martinelli added further gloss to the scoreline eleven minutes later, curling a delightful effort from the edge of the penalty area into the corner.

Standout attacker 'will soon sign' for Arsenal with talks in 'full swing'

He’s been in fine form this season.

ByEmilio Galantini 5 days ago

The Brazilian winger has been in sensational form throughout the European campaign, becoming the first Arsenal player to find the net in five consecutive Champions League matches.

Mikel Arteta fielded a makeshift defensive partnership of Christian Norgaard and Piero Hincapie, with William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Jurrien Timber and Cristhian Mosquera all unavailable through injury.

Despite the enforced reshuffle at the back, Arsenal barely looked troubled defensively.

David Raya registered his fifth clean sheet of the competition, with the Spanish goalkeeper proving instrumental throughout Arsenal’s unbeaten European run.

The victory represented a perfect response to Saturday’s disappointing defeat against Aston Villa, which ended an 18-match unbeaten streak across all competitions.

Arsenal looked sharp from the opening whistle and never allowed their Belgian opponents any genuine attacking rhythm.

To make the evening that much better, Wednesday night marked an emotional return to the field for £265,000-per-week striker Gabriel Jesus.

Jesus made his first Arsenal appearance in 332 days after being sidelined for 11 months with an ACL injury, entering as a substitute and nearly capping his comeback with a goal.

The Brazilian struck the crossbar late on after receiving a clever pass from Ethan Nwaneri, but Jesus was ultimately denied what would have been a fairytale moment for him.

Mikel Arteta praises 'special' Gabriel Jesus and makes Arsenal prediction

Speaking in a post-match press conference after Arsenal’s routine win, Arteta reserved special praise for Jesus.

The Spaniard predicts that he will have a crucial role to play in their quest to win a first league title in 22 years, claiming that Jesus brings ‘something else’ to his Arsenal team and has a ‘really special’ quality.

Arteta also suggests that Jesus has been seriously impressing in training.

The 28-year-old was heavily linked with a return to Brazil, potentially in January, but Jesus himself has denied reports of a potential winter exit.

The former Man City striker has confirmed that he wants to return to Palmeiras one day, though it makes ‘no sense’ to leave N5 right now.

It will be interesting to see how Arteta fits Jesus into a side absolutely stocked full of attacking talent, but Arteta is thrilled to have him back in contention.

Boston Red Sox pitcher Walker Buehler and manager Alex Cora were both ejected from Tuesday's game against the New York Mets in the top of the second inning after losing their cool following a heinous call from home plate umpire Mike Estabrook.

When pitching to Juan Soto, Buehler threw a pitch that was practically right down the middle of the zone. Soto took the pitch as Francisco Lindor was attempting to steal second base, however, Estabrook ruled it a ball because catcher Carlos Narvaez jumped to his feet in an effort to mow down Lindor.

Buehler was irate that Estabrook ruled the pitch a ball, and rightfully so, but he took things a bit too far when angrily protesting the decision from the home plate umpire.

Have a look at Buehler's meltdown on the mound:

Lip readers won't have to work too hard to decipher what Buehler shouted at Estabrook, as it was immediately clear that their verbal exchange was anything but friendly.

After Buehler was tossed, Cora came out from the dugout to give the umpiring crew a piece of his mind. It didn't take too long for him to follow in Buehler's footsteps on a one-way trip to the locker room, though he didn't leave the field before airing out his grievances.

Buehler pitched 2 1/3 innings in Tuesday's game before his ejection, after which he was replaced by Brennan Bernardinho.

After a generally productive international break for many of Rangers’ stars, can they bring this form back to Glasgow?

John Souttar, Liam Kelly and Connor Barron were all part of the Scotland squad that remarkably qualified for a first World Cup in 28 years, while Nicolas Raskin started both of Belgium’s matches as they booked their spot in North America, thrashing Liechtenstein in the midfielder’s hometown of Liège.

On Tuesday, striker Bojan Miovski scored his ninth goal for North Macedonia, albeit there was little cause for celebration given that his team were demolished 7-1 by Wales in Cardiff, their heaviest defeat for two and a half years.

While Miovski being back among the goals is undoubtedly good news for Danny Röhl, he does need to improve his performances on the domestic stage.

Rangers' lack of attacking firepower

While many supporters would blame now-dismissed manager Russell Martin’s ineptitude, the club’s poor recruitment over the summer is surely the key factor behind their underwhelming form this season.

This is most abundantly clear in attacking areas where, despite being a goal machine during his two seasons at Aberdeen, Miovski has netted only twice since joining Rangers from Girona for £2.6m in August.

Meantime, Youssef Chermiti has scored only once for the club so far, despite arriving from Everton for £8m, potentially rising to £10m with add-ons, thereby making him the club’s most expensive signing of the post-liquidation era, surpassed only by Tore André Flo’s move in 2000.

This is in complete contrast to last season when Rangers’ top three scorers, namely Cyriel Dessers, Václav Černý and Hamza Igamane, bagged 63 goals between them across all competitions, which represented 55% of all goals the club netted.

With the trio having all departed, new manager Röhl requires the attacking players he has inherited to step up and start contributing, something one “huge talent” in particular is yet to do thus far.

Thelwell signing has been a bigger waste than Chermiti & Miovski

In the summer, Rangers spent around £30m on 13 new recruits, including splashing a reported £5m to sign Thelo Aasgaard from Luton Town.

Upon his arrival, Scottish football analyst Kai Watson labelled him a “technical dribbler” who “loves to take on opponents and get shots away”, while journalist Jamie Allen asserted that he was a “huge talent”.

However, supporters have not seen very much of that thus far, with Aasgaard’s most noteworthy contribution being that red card he received during the League Cup semi-final defeat to Celtic at Hampden.

The table below underlines the fact that Aasgaard has not performed as expected to date. Aasgaard’s statistics are not terrible when compared to his Rangers teammates, ranked second for shots, first in terms of shots on target as well as in the top four when it comes to successful dribbles per 90.

Aasgaard Rangers statistics

Stats

Aasgaard

Rangers rank

Minutes

1,041

9th

Goals

1

7th

Assists

1

8th

Shots per 90

1.7

2nd

Shots on target per 90

1

1st

Big chances missed

2

2nd

Accurate passes per 90

19.2

12th

Key passes per 90

0.8

8th

Successful dribbles per 90

1.4

4th

Average rating

6.76

8th

Stats via Transfermarkt and SofaScore

Ultimately, however, he has scored only one for the club to date, on target against Dundee United last month, registering his first assist at Dens last time out, albeit scorer Djeidi Gassama did do most of the work.

This lack of end-product has seen his estimated market value, as recorded by Football Transfers, drop to around £3.4m, well below the fee Rangers paid to sign him.

Meantime, the Merseyside-born winger has been on fire for Norway, scoring four times in 24 minutes as his national team demolished Moldova 11-1 at the Ullevål in September, having marked his international debut with a goal in the reverse fixture in Chișinău back in March.

Thus, with Norway back at the World Cup for the first time since France ’98, Aasgaard will certainly be included in Ståle Solbakken’s squad that travels to North America next summer, but he’ll be desperate to improve his club form before then.

In Glasgow, Aasgaard has started three of Danny Röhl’s six matches in charge, but was introduced off the bench during the last two against Roma and Dundee.

With Röhl having switched to a 3-4-2-1 formation, there is one fewer attacking position up for grabs, and Aasgaard so far is not doing enough to suggest he should be ahead of Gassama, Miovski, Chermiti, Danilo or Mikey Moore in the pecking order.

Considering he cost £5m, surely Sporting Director Kevin Thelwell envisaged that the Norwegian would be a guaranteed starter, but this is certainly not the case. Considering he was a player that Martin pushed to sign, it isn’t ideal when the manager is sacked after just 15 matches in charge.

Thus, while Chermiti and Miovski have established themselves as key figures in Röhl’s team, one could certainly argue that Aasgaard has been the biggest waste of money from last summer.

Related Rangers star looks set to become Ibrox's new Hamza Igamane under Rohl

As Rangers seek to replace Hamza Igamane, who has been on fire for Lille, which “exciting” forward, not Youssef Chermiti, could replicate his success?

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Warwickshire win with three balls to spare after Jake Lintott’s quickfire 50 and contributions from Kai Smith, Rob Yates, Zen Malik and Hamza Shaikh

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay17-Aug-2025Warwickshire 310 for 7 (Lintott 50, Yates 47) beat Somerset 309 for 8 (Lammonby 100, Rew 81) by three wicketsTom Lammonby’s maiden List A century was not enough to save Somerset from a three-wicket Metro Bank One-Day Cup defeat by Warwickshire at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.The hosts posted 309 for 8 after losing the toss, opener Lammonby scoring 100 from 111 balls, with nine fours and two sixes. James Rew contributed 81, while younger brother Thomas made a rapid 41.In reply, Warwickshire reached 310 for 7 with three balls to spare, Taunton-born Jake Lintott ensuring victory with a quickfire 50 after important contributions from Kai Smith (45 not out), Rob Yates, Zen Malik and Hamza Shaikh.Somerset, who created a party atmosphere by arranging several events to mark their 150th anniversary season, made a solid start to their innings, Lammonby and Archie Vaughan taking the score to 42 in the 11th over before the latter was bowled for 20 attempting to drive a ball from Michael Booth.It was 69 for 2 when Lewis Goldsworthy was also bowled trying to slog-sweep Taz Ali in the young leg-spinner’s first over. But Lammonby was already looking in dangerous form as he moved confidently to a half-century off 65 balls.At the halfway stage of their innings, Somerset were 102 for 2. It was then that Lammonby and James Rew began to cut loose, the two left-handers delighting home supporters with some glorious stroke-play on both sides of the wicket in a partnership of 143 in 21.2 overs. Both cleared the ropes in the same over from off-spinner Yates.Skipper Rew cruised to a 46-ball fifty, with five fours and two sixes before Lammonby reached three figures with a single to the leg side off Oliver Hannon-Dalby. It was an innings of numerous sweetly-timed cover drives and very few errors.The scoreboard read 212 for 3 in the 38th over. Without a run added Lammonby top-edged a pull shot off a slower-ball bouncer from Ed Barnard to be caught at short fine leg. Rew quickly followed, bowled aiming across the line to a ball from Booth having faced 69 deliveries, and Somerset’s hopes of reaching 300 looked in jeopardy.They got there thanks to some quality hitting from Thomas Rew, including two reverse-swept sixes in the same Ali over, and a career-best 30 not out from Alfie Ogborne off just 16 balls. Josh Thomas, Ben Green and Jack Leach fell cheaply, but JT Langridge cracked 11 off four balls to end the innings with a flourish.Warwickshire’s reply had reached 36 when Ogborne struck with the last ball of the sixth over, Barnard pinned lbw on the back foot for 14.Batting was looking straightforward in the bright sunshine as Yates and Malik brought the hundred up in the 17th over. Yates had moved comfortably to 47 off 52 balls when caught behind looking to drive Green, who struck again soon afterwards when Malik offered a low return catch, having hit six fours and a six in moving smoothly to 44.It continued to be Lammonby’s day when his left-arm seam accounted for Alex Davies, who edged a pull shot through to wicketkeeper James Rew having made 17. At halfway in their innings, Warwickshire were 144 for four.Shaikh and Smith looked to be tilting things the way of the visitors with a solid half-century stand, but Shaikh became their third player to fall in the forties when caught behind off Langridge to make it 205 for 5 with the required run-rate around eight an over.Vaansh Jani pulled a flat six off Ogborne, who responded by having him caught by the diving James Rew in the same over. That brought in Lintott, who wasted no time clearing the ropes off Green.Smith was content to play a supporting role in a match-clinching stand of 65 in 8.1 overs, which saw Lintot race to a maiden List A fifty off 34 balls, with seven fours and a six, before falling with just two runs needed.

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Parte da torcida do Palmeiras apontou as escolhas de Abel Ferreira na escalação como o principal motivo pela eliminação diante do Boca Juniors, na semifinal da Copa Libertadores. Sem Dudu, lesionado, o treinador repetiu a escalação utilizada na Bombonera e o Verdão apresentou os mesmo problemas ofensivos.

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+ Você quer trabalhar no seu clube do coração? Matricule-se no curso Gestor de Futebol e entenda como!

Na entrevista após o jogo, o treinador deixou claro que não abre mão de suas convicções e diz preferir perder com suas próprias ideias. O Lance! listou outros momentos em que Abel Ferreira tomou decisões equivocadas que acabaram tendo efeito negativo no Palmeiras. Veja abaixo!

LIBERAR MERENTIEL AO BOCA

Emprestado pelo Palmeiras ao Boca Juniors, o atacante Merentiel teve papel importante na classificação dos argentinos, tendo em vista a assistência para o gol de Cavani no Allianz Parque. O atacante foi liberado ao Boca no começo do ano com o aval de Abel Ferreira, que justificou o empréstimo pela antiga regra da CBF, que limitava os clubes a utilizarem apenas cinco estrangeiros em uma partida. Em contrapartida, Abel optou pela permanência de Flaco López, que não conseguiu se firmar no ataque alviverde.

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TRÊS ZAGUEIROS NA COPA DO BRASIL DE 2023

Na partida de ida das quartas de final da Copa do Brasil, contra o São Paulo, Abel Ferreira mudou completamente o esquema do Palmeiras, colocando Gustavo Gómez, Murillo e Luan para atuarem em um sistema de três zagueiros. O rival foi superior no Morumbi e largou em vantagem no confronto graças ao gol de Rafinha.

CAUTELA COM ENDRICK

Desde a lesão de Dudu, Abel Ferreira mudou o sistema tático do Palmeiras, colocando Artur na ponta esquerda e Mayke na ponta direita, sendo que Endrick vinha pedindo passagem para ocupar a vaga do camisa 7. A cautela do treinador com a maior revelação da base palmeirense vem desde o ano passado, e Endrick poderia ser mais utilizado por Abel.

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+ Saiba quanto o Palmeiras vai deixar de faturar pela eliminação na Libertadores

GUSTAVO GÓMEZ COMO LATERAL-DIREITO

Na partida contra o Atlético-GO, pelo Brasileirão de 2022, Abel Ferreira escalou Gustavo Gómez como lateral-direito, já que Marcos Rocha estava suspenso. O zagueiro paraguaio já exerceu tal função no Milan e marcou dois gols na partida contra o Dragão, mas o rendimento dele na posição não agradou a torcida.

Liverpool are looking to retain their Premier League title and are now set to try and enact an intriguing deal at Anfield that could see a versatile star arrive.

Liverpool prepare for return to action against Man Utd

The international break may still be ongoing, but the Reds are verging towards a return to action against Manchester United in a fixture that will evoke plenty of emotions as they aim to get back on track.

Arne Slot has had to suffer an unusual sequence of three consecutive losses, though club football’s recent pause has enabled some much-needed time to reset at Anfield.

Despite a poor run of form, Michael Owen has backed Mohamed Salah to rediscover his mojo after the international break, claiming his recent displays are merely a bump in the road.

He said cited via The Mirror: “In terms of their forwards, going through them individually. Mo Salah’s obviously not going through his best of patches now, but you can never write him off. He’s still fit and healthy and injury-free and been top of his game for years. There’s no doubt, surely in anybody’s mind, that he’ll be banging him in again soon.”

However, defence could continue to be an issue for Liverpool after Ibrahima Konate pulled out of France’s squad due to a muscle problem, joining Giovanni Leoni on the sidelines.

Ultimately, it remains to be seen whether the Reds can recover after a bruising period. They started the campaign well, but a series of late winners masked the inconsistency in their early performances.

Either way, Liverpool are a side with character in abundance and would appeal to anyone, so it is no surprise to hear that they are now in the market to secure the signature of a premium French talent.

Liverpool vying to sign Tylel Tati

According to CaughtOffside, Liverpool are among a clutch of clubs eyeing FC Nantes defender Tylel Tati, who is capable of operating at the heart of the backline, left-back or as a defensive midfielder.

Known for sliding into a full-back position when the natural wide players in Nantes’ backline invert, he is a versatile presence who could resemble the style of full-backs deployed by Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, given he is more of a dominant ball-winner than a wide player by trade.

£870m release clause: Chelsea join race to sign "top class" Liverpool target

The Blues are looking to sign a new defender, following an injury crisis at centre-back.

ByDominic Lund Oct 12, 2025

Reflected in the fact he has won 12 duels and made six interceptions this season, per Fotmob, the 17-year-old is also being eyed by the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion and Aston Villa in England.

Making his breakthrough this term, Tati has managed to add six senior appearances to his tally and is growing in stature on the field, showcasing his qualities as a rare commodity amid his existence as a left-footed central defender.

Scouts have been sent to watch the youngster by Liverpool, who have clearly been doing their work on him in the background, and he could well be the next cog in Slot’s machine if all goes to plan.

RCB are expected to be without Tim David, but Josh Hazlewood is back

Vishal Dikshit26-May-20251:24

Chance for Pant to open?

Big Picture: Will LSG spoil RCB’s party?Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) need not have watched the game between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Monday with a calculator in hand to see what kind of margin they need for Tuesday to finish in the top two for a straight shot into the IPL 2025 final. No matter what the result on Monday night, RCB just need to win their last league game against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to reach 19 points that will guarantee them a place in qualifier 1, whether they finish on top or second.If LSG win on Tuesday, though, RCB will finish third and play in the eliminator, like they did last year and bowed out of the tournament after a loss to Rajasthan Royals (RR).Related

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Injury scare for Tim David ahead of playoffs

What might scare RCB a little is that the teams eliminated from the playoffs race have been beating the teams that have made it to the playoffs over the last four days. It was LSG who started that trend by taking down the table-toppers Gujarat Titans (GT) with a match-winning century from Mitchell Marsh. Nicholas Pooran’s return to runs after a slump in between also bodes well for LSG, and so does the bowling of 6’4” fast bowler Will O’Rourke, who has bagged four wickets in his two showings so far, after he came on as a replacement for the injured Mayank Yadav.The day after LSG’s last game, RCB had their four-match winning streak broken by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Even though one loss doesn’t make or break a team’s confidence, RCB suffered a blow in that clash when their middle-order basher Tim David hurt himself while fielding in the deep, and is unlikely for Tuesday.RCB will, however, be boosted by the return of their ace fast bowler Josh Hazlewood, who stayed back in Australia for his shoulder rehab when the IPL had resumed, and has joined the team ahead of the last league game.Form guideRoyal Challengers Bengaluru LWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Lucknow Super Giants: WLLLLIn the spotlight: Josh Hazlewood and Rishabh PantThere are not many overseas bowlers who have taken IPL 2025 by storm, but Josh Hazlewood is among the small bunch. His metronomic bowling style married with the T20 weapons of hard lengths, pace variations and yorkers make him one of the most feared fast bowlers in the competition. He is a potent weapon in both the powerplay and the death overs, and RCB will look to bank heavily on him, on both Tuesday and in the playoffs, before he heads to London for the WTC final.0:58

Moody: RCB need to move on from this loss quickly

Rishabh Pant is having his worst IPL season, be it in terms of runs, strike rate or average. In his last game, however, Pant gave glimpses of Pant of the old when he hit two sixes with his usual physics-defying positions he gets into by the time he finishes his shots. It could be because LSG had been eliminated from the playoffs, and we saw a carefree Pant with a nothing-to-lose attitude. LSG will hope he bats more like that on Tuesday, and he will hope he gets some more runs before flying out to London for the Test series as vice-captain.Team news and likely XIIsRCB will be forced to make a couple of changes. Hazlewood’s return to the XI will be in place of Lungi Ngidi, who misses the last league game to fly back home for WTC final preparations with his national side.The big miss will be David, who had scored 42 runs off 20 deliveries he faced in their last two games. RCB may not have a like-for-like replacement for him if he’s unavailable, but they do have Liam Livingstone and Tim Seifert who was brought in as replacement for Jacob Bethell for the remainder of the tournament, just like they have Blessing Muzarabani for Ngidi. Both Seifert and Muzarabani have joined the squad. Their captain Rajat Patidar was only fit to bat in the last game, and he could continue to be their Impact Player if he has still not recovered to field.Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 1 Phil Salt, 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Mayank Agarwal, 4 Rajat Patidar, 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Romario Shepherd, 8 Krunal Pandya, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Yash Dayal, 12 Suyash SharmaThe main change LSG could make is bringing back Digvesh Rathi, who missed the last game because of his one-match suspension. If their opener Aiden Markram has returned home to prepare for the WTC final, LSG will need a new opener. Will Pant move up the order again? They may also want to give chances to more players on the bench such as batter Matthew Breetzke, wicketkeeper-batter Aryan Juyal, batting allrounder Yuvraj Chaudhary, bowling allrounder Rajvardhan Hangargekar and batting allrounder Arshin Kulkarni who still haven’t played a game this season, and Himmat Singh hasn’t batted even once despite getting two matches this season.Lucknow Super Giants: 1 Matthew Breetzke/Aiden Markram, 2 Mitchell Marsh, 3 Nicholas Pooran, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Ayush Badoni, 6 Abdul Samad, 7 Himmat Singh, 8 Digvesh Rathi, 9 Avesh Khan, 10 Akash Deep, 11 Will O’Rourke, 12 Akash SinghThe big questionPitch and conditionsIt’s going to be a mixed-soil pitch for Lucknow’s last game of the season, made up of red and black soil. That’s usually a batting-friendly track. The last game played on that strip was between LSG and CSK when the hosts were restricted to 166 and MS Dhoni had taken CSK home. It’s expected to be extremely hot in Lucknow on Tuesday, with temperatures going over 36 degrees Celsius, and a good amount of humidity too to make it more sultry. There is no rain in the forecast.Stats and trivia RCB will have to find a way to stop LSG’s overseas batters from hitting sixes: Marsh has struck the second-most sixes in the powerplay so far whereas Pooran has the most in the middle overs Will RCB be brave enough to bowl Krunal Pandya to Pooran? Because Pooran also holds the record of most sixes against spin in this IPL, at 25, with 15 being the second-best. Pooran has hardly faced Krunal so far, having scored 25 off his 15 balls so far in the IPL without being dismissed yet RCB could become the first time in the history of the IPL to win all their seven away games, if they bag another W on Tuesday Virat Kohli is 24 away from 9000 runs for RCB overall, in the IPL and Champions League T20 combined

Sultans might have felt their 185 would be enough on a tricky surface, but Mitchell and Raza finished the chase with an over to spare

Rvel Zahid27-Apr-2025Multan Sultans’ disorder with the ball at the death took the game away from them as the dynamic Lahore Qalandars duo of Sikandar Raza and Daryl Mitchell put together a quick 89-run stand to take their team to victory, and the second spot on the PSL 2025 table.After Qalandars asked Sultans to bat, their seamers didn’t allow the openers Mohammad Rizwan and Yasir Khan get away in the powerplay, which ended with 39 runs on the board and Yasir’s wicket. Rizwan had to graft his way through, and for the longest part, couldn’t really shift gears as he needed to.Tom Curran’s slow deliveries created enormous problems for the Sultans batters. He got the better of Shai Hope in the 11th over with a ball that nipped back in sharply and went through the gate, leaving Sultans at a precarious 70 for 3.That’s when Kamran Ghulam joined Rizwan and, finally, there was some impetus to their innings. They found boundaries at regular intervals and that lifted them to a competitive total. Haris Rauf conceded 20 in the last over, which pushed the total to 185. Rizwan batted through the innings to finish on 76 off 48 balls, while Ghulam scored his 52 not out off just 31 balls, scoring at 167.74.On a pitch where the ball was not coming onto the bat too well, it seemed enough.Kamran Ghulam gave Multan Sultans a late lift-off•PCBQalandars started their pursuit with clear intent and launched an onslaught from the get-go. Mohammad Naeem fell cheaply, but Abdullah Shafique, at No. 3, played free-flowing cricket from the moment he walked out. His flick off Mohammad Hasnain in the seventh over was a thing of beauty, impeccably timed with poise and class. The platform was set for the middle-order chasing stars Mitchell and Raza, who propelled their side to a position of dominance even though Mitchell took his time to gauge the conditions.At the end of the 12th over, the game hung in balance as Ubaid Shah foxed Shafique, luring him to chase a delivery in the channel that rose more than he expected. In the same over, he got Sam Billings miscuing to deep backward square to go for a three-ball duck.But there was no panic. Raza was in his element and seemed to infect Mitchell, who hadn’t been too quick with his run-scoring till then.They hit eight sixes between them in their stand that went into the 19th over, taking 14, 11 and 18 in overs 13, 14 and 15 to put the equation in Qalandars’ favour. In the end, it was a stroll to the target as they targeted Ubaid and Akif Javed in the 18th and 19th overs respectively. Mitchell fell for a 38-ball 64 but Raza finished the job with an over to go, ending with 40 not out in 21 balls.It was a familiar story for Sultans, who are struggling to put up well-knit efforts consistently, which is why they find themselves stuck at the bottom of the table. With their fifth defeat, they are on the brink of elimination and have entered the must-win territory with four games remaining.