Bayern Munich claimed a 2-1 victory over Grasshopper Zurich in their final pre-season friendly of the summer, with Harry Kane appearing off the bench.
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Former Manchester United player Eric Bailly is returning to La Liga after rejecting a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia.
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Jude Bellingham is reportedly ahead of schedule in his recovery from shoulder surgery, with a new return date being set for the Real Madrid star.
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Juventus have reportedly reached agreement for an initial loan move for RB Leipzig's Lois Openda after failing to sign Randal Kolo Muani.
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Lautaro Martinez etched his name in the Argentina history books following his cameo against Venezuela.
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Also: Is it time for Gambhir to drop down Daredevils’ order? And Yuvraj to drop out of Kings XI’s line-up all together?
Dustin Silgardo24-Apr-20183:24
Where do Delhi Daredevils go from here?
Why is everyone praising R Ashwin’s captaincy?Well, first, he put his captaincy in the spotlight by saying he was going to be unpredictable. Second, he’s taken a team that finished eighth, eighth and fifth in their last three IPL seasons to the top of the table, and his decisions have had a lot to do with that success.Defending just 143 against Delhi Daredevils, he started off with a great Powerplay. Kings XI are one of only two teams this season to concede at less than eight runs per over in the first six. While Sunrisers Hyderbad, the best bowling team in the Powerplay, have relied on the excellence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Billy Stanlake up front, Ashwin has changed it up between spin and pace depending on the opposition. Daredevils had Gautam Gambhir, who is striking at just 70.00 against pace this IPL, and IPL debutant Prithvi Shaw opening, so Ashwin smartly opened with seamers Ankit Rajpoot and Barinder Sran and then brought in Andrew Tye in the fourth over. He bowled out Rajpoot, whose economy rate is 7.72 in the first eight overs of IPL games compared to 12.33 in the death, at one go. By the end of the sixth over, the seamers had struck three crucial blows.ESPNcricinfo LtdWhat starting with pace also did was keep the dangerous Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Ashwin himself for the middle order. In that middle order were two batsmen with poor strike rates against spin: Daniel Christian (102.33) and Rahul Tewatia (119.00). Between them, they faced 17 balls of spin for just nine runs, which took the momentum out of Daredevils’ innings.What is going on with Daredevils?It looks like it will be another disappointing season for Daredevils, who haven’t finished higher than sixth in the IPL since the 2012 season. They are rock bottom and need to win most of their remaining eight games to stand a chance of qualifying for the playoffs.So what has been going wrong? It’s difficult to pinpoint Delhi’s weaknesses as both their batting and bowling have struggled. Their batting is in the bottom three in the Powerplay and middle overs, while their bowlers have been the most expensive among all teams in the Powerplay.
Delhi Daredevils: 19
Chennai Super Kings: 16
Kings XI Punjab: 15
Kolkata Knight Riders: 15
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 15
Mumbai Indians: 14
Rajasthan Royals: 14
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 13
The losses have pressured them into changes, and they have used 19 players already this season, three more than any other team. They’ve tried seven different batsmen in the top three, three Indian seamers and three Indian spinners. For the game against Kings XI, they made five changes. Liam Plunkett and Avesh Khan came in and took five wickets between them, but Plunkett’s inclusion meant Jason Roy had to be left out, and his replacement, Prithvi Shaw, could not kick on after a brisk start.Another problem for Delhi has been that their two most expensive overseas recruits, Glenn Maxwell and Chris Morris, have not fired. Maxwell has just one score of note, which came in a losing cause, and Morris is yet to have a match-winning performance with either bat or ball.Should Gambhir move down the order?According to ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats – ESPNcricinfo’s new set of metrics to make sense of numbers in the shortest format – Gautam Gambhir has cost his team 40.61 runs this season due to his slow strike rate. He is striking at just 96.59, thanks mainly to his struggles against pace bowling. What hurts Daredevils is that batsmen such as Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Glenn Maxwell, all of whom strike at over 135, are given less balls to get going because they come in after a slow start. Gambhir has always played the anchor role – his 4217 IPL runs have come at a strike rate of 123.88 – but with teams scoring more in the Powerplay than in any previous edition, that role may no longer be a valuable one.Is it time to dump Yuvraj?Yuvraj Singh has two unwanted records this IPL. Among batsmen who have faced 40 balls or more, he has the highest dot-ball percentage (58.92%) and the worst strike rate (89.28). According to Smart Stats, he has cost Kings XI 22.87 runs, and his scratchy 14 off 17 balls against Daredevils contributed to a below-par total.ESPNcricinfo LtdYuvraj has really struggled to middle the ball; out of the 56 balls he’s faced, he has controlled less than 60%. He’s also chosen to play defensive shots 23.21% of the time, surprising for the T20 format.The struggle has not been surprising. Since January 2016, Yuvraj’s strike rate in T20s is 117.73, well below par. Kings XI have not yet used Manoj Tiwary, whose strike rate in the same period is 134.88, and may consider bringing him in for Yuvraj for their next game.
The 23-year-old has been consistently outstanding for the Red Devils since her move from Brighton, but its yet to translate to the international stage
On Sunday, Sarina Wiegman will be watching on as the two best English centre-backs of the 2024-25 season go head-to-head in the Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley, in a clash between Manchester United and Chelsea. Both have captained their sides to extremely impressive seasons, with United back in the Champions League and the Blues looking to complete just a second-ever treble. But only one looks set to feature prominently as the Lionesses head to Switzerland to defend their European Championship title this summer.
That is Millie Bright, who has not received anywhere near enough praise for her performances this season. The Chelsea skipper has taken full advantage of her first injury-free campaign in three years, forming a strong partnership with Nathalie Bjorn that has laid the foundation for a season that has already returned a League Cup and a sixth-successive Women’s Super League title.
On the other side, meanwhile, is Maya Le Tissier. Arguably among the top three players in her position in the WSL this season, alongside the Chelsea duo, her form at United is made all the more impressive by the fact it has come in her first year as the club’s captain, an honour she has fully earned despite only celebrating her 23rd birthday last month. And yet, to the surprise of many, her chances to showcase that level with Wiegman’s England have been rather limited.
The English giants started the season with one win in four WSL games and a shocking loss at Bayern Munich, but the Dutch coach got them back on track
When Arsenal took on Bayern Munich in their first match of this season's Champions League group stage, they looked anything but contenders for the trophy. As former Chelsea star Pernille Harder ripped through the Gunners fragile defence to bag a magical hat-trick in a 5-2 demolition, you would've been hard-tasked in finding anyone who believed the English side could, just seven months later, reach the final of this competition. And yet, that is where Arsenal are, gearing up to face Barcelona in the showpiece event on Saturday.
It's an even more remarkable turnaround when one considers that, less than a week later, head coach Jonas Eidevall stepped down from his role. It came amid poor form in general, with the Gunners winning just one of their first four Women's Super League fixtures, and as the belief in Eidevall's ideas among the players was visibly fading. In stepped his assistant, Renee Slegers, for what most imagined would be a short interim stint.
Except it wasn't. As each week passed, Slegers' stock grew impressively, owing to an 11-game unbeaten run that featured 10 wins. It culminated in her deservedly earning the job on a permanent basis in January – and the honeymoon period didn't end there. In the four months since, the 36-year-old has continued that in Europe in particular, to guide Arsenal to a first Champions League final since they won this competition in 2007.
She has completely and utterly turned the Gunners' season around – but how?
New Zealand captain Southee says the tall quick “has a good chance” to make his Test debut
ESPNcricinfo staff12-Feb-20240:45
Rookie O’Rourke excited to be around the Blackcaps
New Zealand captain Tim Southee has indicated that uncapped quick William O’Rourke has “a good chance” to make his Test debut on Tuesday, when they host South Africa for the second Test in Hamilton.In the opening Test in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand fielded a three-man pace attack instead of their usual four, featuring Southee, Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson. With Hamilton expected to offer a little bit more pace and bounce, and seam-bowling all-round option Daryl Mitchell ruled out, it will be a toss-up between Neil Wagner and O’Rourke for the fourth quick’s spot.”There’s a good chance, he’s in the 13,” Southee said of O’Rourke. “Neil’s been around the group as well and been a great performer for us for a long period of time.”It’s great to have those decisions to be made. Will’s an exciting talent and has had a little taste of international cricket, and I’m sure he has a bright future in the highest level as well.”Related
Mitchell ruled out of second South Africa Test and Australia T20Is
O’Rourke made his international debut during the home ODI series against Bangladesh last December. He picked up five wickets in three matches. Southee said that at 6’4, O’Rourke is a “big and tall guy” very much like Jamieson.”His strengths are obviously his height and ability to extract bounce,” Southee said. “Being a big, tall guy he’s not too dissimilar to KJ [Jamieson]. He’s got skills with the ball as well. He’s got the tools to be a very good bowler and someone who I’m sure will thrive at this level.””Will’s probably played a bit more cricket than I had [at his age],” he added. “He’s got a great head on his shoulders.Will O’Rourke has the ability to generate steep bounce•Getty Images
“He’s a pretty mature guy from what I’ve seen of him. He’s had a little taste already, so he knows what to expect, but you just enjoy it and stick to what you’ve done that has got you here.”Wagner played his previous Test almost a year ago, in Christchurch against Sri Lanka. The 37-year-old has featured in 63 Tests and taken 258 wickets.”It’s not just Neil, it’s any guy who misses out, it’s not a nice place to be,” Southee said. “You want to be out there, representing your country, but the reality is it’s professional sport, and there’s only 11 guys that can go out and play the game.”Usually, [coach] Gary [Stead] will break the news and then I’ll follow up with a bit of chat as well. It’s not the nicest part of the job, but the guys are pretty understanding.”That apart, Southee also confirmed that Will Young will start in place of Mitchell, who is recovering from a longstanding foot injury. Young has played 13 Tests and scored 582 runs, including six half-centuries.”We will have another look tomorrow, but with Daryl Mitchell not being here, Will Young will slip into the middle order. We’ll decide on the final make-up of the bowling attack in the morning, after one final look at the wicket.”You look at the balance you need across the five days and make a decision according to that.”New Zealand lead the two-match series 1-0, after beating South Africa by 281 runs in the opener.
Arsenal’s pursuit of Swedish striker Viktor Gyokeres has hit an impasse, with discussions over the transfer structure reaching a frustrating deadlock. Talks with Sporting Lisbon have made little headway in recent days, resulting in growing despondency among those closest to the player.
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