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Both these teams began their IPL 2020 campaigns against each other, and in some ways how they began is how their tournament has gone. The Royal Challengers Bangalore pulled off a win on the back of their bowling, having first put up a competitive score. The Sunrisers Hyderabad looked like they were making smooth progress in their chase, until a middle-order collapse did them in.At the other end of the league phase now, both teams find themselves with different equations. The Royal Challengers haven’t yet secured qualification but are still second on the points table. One win will take them through. The Sunrisers, on the other hand, need to win both their remaining games. They’ll be a bit more confident of doing that, because a match earlier, they had needed to win three in three – and against the top-three teams. The Delhi Capitals have been knocked off quite spectacularly, and the Sunrisers have to do the same against the Royal Challengers now.For the Royal Challengers, there might be a hint of worry given that they have lost two on the bounce, to the Chennai Super Kings and then the Mumbai Indians. Their batting didn’t show up in either game, emphasising the importance of AB de Villiers in the line-up. Whenever he has fired, the Royal Challengers have looked powerful. When he hasn’t, the batting has not been able to break free into impregnable totals territory for the most part.

In the news

• The Royal Challengers will be waiting on Navdeep Saini’s fitness status. The fast bowler had split the webbing of his right hand in the loss to the Super Kings. Not having Saini available forced quite a few changes for their game against Mumbai. The Royal Challengers had to bring in Dale Steyn to cover for Saini, but that also meant Moeen Ali having to sit out. Shivam Dube was brought back for Ali. Steyn didn’t have a great game against Mumbai, so Isuru Udana might come back instead of Steyn if Saini continues to be unavailable.
• The Sunrisers’ swap of Jonny Bairstow for Kane Williamson led to Wriddhiman Saha being pushed into the opener’s slot, but a circuitous route yielded a bountiful result, as Saha tore apart the Capitals, who have among the IPL’s best bowling attacks. Historically, Saha’s best position in the IPL has been to bat in the powerplay, and with Baistow not having fired as expected, Saha’s success at the top has lent much greater stability to the Sunrisers middle order with Williamson in there. The New Zealander was sorely missed when the Sunrisers crashed to a 12-run defeat against the Kings XI Punjab chasing only 127 for victory. Incidentally, the Sunrisers had crashed to a similar defeat in their first match against the Royal Challengers in IPL 2020 too, losing by 10 runs. Williamson had been absent from the XI then too, due to injury.

Likely XIs

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Josh Philippe, 2 Devdutt Padikkal, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 AB de Villiers (wk), 5 Gurkeerat Singh Mann, 6 Shivam Dube/Moeen Ali, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Isuru Udana/Navdeep Saini, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Yuzvendra ChahalSunrisers Hyderabad: 1 David Warner (capt), 2. Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Manish Pandey, 4 Kane Williamson, 5 Vijay Shankar, 6 Abdul Samad, 7 Jason Holder, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Shahbaz Nadeem, 10 T Natarajan, 11 Sandeep Sharma

Previous meeting

It was both teams’ first match of IPL 2020, and the Sunrisers were 121 for 2, needing 43 runs in 4.5 overs with Bairstow on song, when Yuzvendra Chahal wrecked the middle order. Inexperience played a part in the collapse, as Sunrisers subsided to 153 all out, having lost a chase they looked in control of for large parts.The Sunrisers had gone with Mitchell Marsh as their fourth overseas player then, and he pulled up short without completing an over and hobbled out to bat at No.10. They’ve covered for Marsh with Jason Holder now, and they’ve got Williamson fit again.

Strategy punt

• Outside of the IPL, de Villiers has had a lot of success against Rashid Khan. But in the IPL, where Rashid has bowled to de Villiers as part of a generally strong bowling attack, it is the legspinner who has come out on top, with de Villiers taking only 17 runs off 16 balls and dismissed twice. Rashid has also had the better of Virat Kohli, with the Royal Challengers captain having taken 18 runs off 18 balls while being out once. Keeping Rashid for the men who will bat at No.3 and No.4 might be a good move for the Sunrisers.
• David Warner began IPL 2020 by batting conservatively, looking to play through the innings. While he did get 283 runs in his first eight matches, they came at a strike rate of 121.88, and a Smart Strike Rate of 116.83. In his last four games though, Warner has spoken about going “old school” and reverting to his attacking ways. His strike rate has gone to 167.03 and his Smart Strike Rate has shot up to 203.03, meaning Warner is effectively scoring almost twice as fast as he was. The quick scoring hasn’t come at the expense of runs: Warner has 152 runs in his last four games, and a much higher average (50.67 to 35.50). Continuing to be aggressive at the top seems to be the way to go for Warner.
• So how do the Royal Challengers counter Warner? Deploy Washington Sundar. He has a couple of factors going for him: he’s going to turn the ball away from Warner, he’s capable of adjusting line and length later than most bowlers, and he’s already bowled extensively in the powerplay this IPL and been among the most economical bowlers in the competition. Warner hasn’t been dismissed by Sundar, but he has taken only 22 runs off him from 22 balls faced – and it’s 20 off 20 in the powerplay. Keeping Warner quiet in the powerplay will be a significant advantage in itself, and could affect how the rest of the Sunrisers batting goes, much as it did before Warner rediscovered his free-stroking avatar.

Stats that matter

• None of these teams have gone through a season with an all-win record against the other when they’ve played at least two games, splitting wins each time. They played each other thrice in 2016, with Sunrisers beating the Royal Challengers in the IPL final.
• Of the ten IPL 2020 games played at Sharjah so far, the split between winning batting first and second is five-five. However, the last four matches at Sharjah have been won by the chasing team, with dew playing a more prominent role as the tournament has gone on too.
• Kohli has played 14 matches against the Sunrisers. He made more than 40 in six of his first seven games against them, but in the latter seven games, he has gone past 40 just once.

Shane Watson has announced his retirement from all cricket, bringing an end to a nearly 20-year career during which he was of the world’s premier white-ball allrounders. Watson had already retired from international cricket in March 2016, and had only been playing in overseas T20 leagues since his retirement from the Big Bash League (BBL) last year.Now he has confirmed that the IPL game between the Chennai Super Kings and the Kolkata Knight Riders in Dubai on October 29 was his last game at senior level. Watson made 14 to close out a season in which he scored 299 runs for the Super Kings at an average of 29.90 and a strike rate of 121.05.”It all started out as a dream, as a young kid, saying to my mum as I watched a Test match as a five-year-old, ‘I wanna play cricket for Australia.’ And now as I officially announce my retirement from all cricket, I feel crazily lucky to have lived out my dream, and then some,” Watson said on his YouTube channel . “It really does feel like the right time. Knowing that I’ve played my last game of cricket, ever, for my beloved CSK, who’ve been so incredibly good to me over the last three years. To think that I’m finishing up my playing days as a 39-year-old after all of my injury setbacks that I’ve had along the way, I feel so ridiculously fortunate.”Shane Watson clips one to fine-leg•BCCI

Watson’s international record is immense. He is somewhat underrated as a Test cricketer given an excellent record for an allrounder who often opened the batting: 3731 runs at 35.19, including four hundreds, and 75 wickets at 33.68, including three five-wicket hauls.But it’s as a white-ball cricketer that he’ll be best remembered. In ODIs, he scored 5757 runs at 40.54 and a strike rate of 90.44, and made nine hundreds, in addition to taking 168 wickets at 31.79. He was part of two World-Cup winning Australia sides, in 2007 and 2015, and was a powerhouse performer in the Champions Trophy, winning the Player-of-the-Match award in the finals of both the 2006 and 2009 tournaments.In T20Is he made 1462 runs at a strike rate of 145.32, and took 48 wickets while maintaining an economy rate of 7.65. He was the Player of the Series in the 2012 World T20 in Sri Lanka, where he topped the run charts with 249 at a strike rate of 150.00, and finished second on the wickets charts with 11, while conceding 7.33 runs per over. He remains one of only eight allrounders to have achieved the double of 10,000 runs and 250 wickets across the three international formats, which is a remarkable achievement given that his career was often interrupted by injuries that, over time, brought down his bowling workload considerably.Watson has been a mainstay in T20 leagues around the world ever since winning the Player of the Tournament award in the inaugural IPL season in 2008, when his all-round contributions – 472 runs at a strike rate of 151.76, and 17 wickets and an economy rate of 7.07 – powered the Rajasthan Royals to the title. After playing 78 games for the Royals from 2008 to 2015, he played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore for two seasons before being signed up by the Chennai Super Kings in 2018.He ended that season with one of the most famous innings of his franchise career, an unbeaten 57-ball 117 that helped the Super Kings cruise through a chase of 179 and win their third IPL title.Apart from the BBL and the IPL, Watson has also been a regular presence in the Pakistan Super League, the Bangladesh Premier League and the Caribbean Premier League.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca says he left Cole Palmer out of the Europa Conference League squad to protect him.

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• Palmer not in Conference League squad
• Can be put in after league phase
• Maresca says it is to protect youngster

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Maresca sparked confusion when Palmer's name was left out of the list of Chelsea players for the group phase of the Europa Conference League this season. The Blues' most influential player played almost every game last season and is being wrapped in cotton wool by his manager in an effort to keep him fit.

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  WHAT MARESCA SAID

  Speaking ahead of Chelsea's match against Gent, Maresca said: "We played some games without Cole, but sure and for us, Cole is something extra that you need. We also need to think a bit to protect some players. They need that. There is a reason behind it and I think Cole needs to be protected."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Thankfully for Chelsea, there is time to edit their squad when the initial phase of the competition ends in January. This means – if he wants to – Maresca can include Palmer for the knockout stages, providing the Blues get there.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA AND PALMER?

  With Palmer watching from the stands for Chelsea's match on Thursday, he will be refreshed and ready to go for their match against Nottingham Forest on Sunday. The 22-year-old scored four times against Brighton last weekend and will be hoping to replicate that feat this weekend.

BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Alan Hutton has sent a message of sympathy to one Tottenham player, after news he's set to be axed this summer.

Tottenham players who could leave or be sold

Many members of the Spurs squad are not totally safe from the transfer list, with reliable insider Paul O'Keefe claiming the Lilywhites are open to offers for more than 10 players over the coming months.

Levy has already made Tottenham move for club's "vital" £34 million star

The north Londoners want defensive reinforcements.

ByEmilio Galantini May 23, 2024

Indeed, Bryan Gil, Giovani Lo Celso, Troy Parrott, Joe Rodon, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Richarlison, Tanguy Ndombele, Sergio Reguilon, Japhet Tanganga, Manor Solomon, Djed Spence, Yves Bissouma and Emerson Royal have all been named as players up for sale at Spurs in the last few months, via rumours in the press.

Tottenham finished 2023/2024 in fifth, qualifying for the Europa League, but a stronger end to the Premier League campaign could've seen them get back into the Champions League and cap off what was a positive debut season for Postecoglou as manager.

Sheffield United 0-3 Tottenham

Tottenham 0-2 Man City

Tottenham 2-1 Burnley

Liverpool 4-2 Tottenham

Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham

They just missed out on that coveted fourth-placed finish to Aston Villa, with Postecoglou later admitting that Spurs need multiple transfer windows to reach the required level to compete for major honours.

"It takes time, players evolve, some move out, because by the time you hit the sweet spot where you’re ready for success, even some of the ones who are key now may not be there," said Postecoglou on his evolving Spurs squad.

"It’s a constant reinforcement of your squad and trying to fill those gaps in. We’ve had two windows to start the process. It’s going to take us multiple windows to get to that point. If we get our windows right and I think we’ve been really good so far… I think the business we’ve done so far has been excellent, but we’re going to have to be that good all the time pretty much if we’re going to bridge that gap."

According to Fabrizio Romano, another player who is set to be sacrificed is defender Ryan Sessegnon. The injury-hit left-back has endured a nightmare time with hamstring problems since his move to Spurs in 2019, and chairman Daniel Levy has elected not to activate the one-year extension option in his contract, which expires on June 30.

Hutton sends message to Sessegnon as Tottenham exit beckons

Now, BBC pundit Hutton has sent a message of sympathy to Sessegnon after news he'll leave Tottenham.

“As a player, I feel for him,” Hutton said to Tottenham News.

“He’s been really unlucky because the injuries that he has had are incredible. He’s not really had that opportunity to really go and show what he is about. I played against him when he was at Fulham and I thought he was outstanding from full-back. He was really energetic, he could get up and down, he could score the odd goal and he had everything in his locker.

“It’s just not worked out for him, unfortunately. I can’t remember what they paid for him but £20million rings a bell so of course, within that and his wages they have put a lot of money into him but it’s just not worked out.

“They won’t get a fee because his contract has run out and his future doesn’t look like it will be there so sometimes it is just one of those things in football where it just hasn’t worked.”

اعترف رئيس أحد الأندية التركية بحلمه في التعاقد مع النجم المصري محمد صلاح، من صفوف ليفربول، من أجل تدعيم الفريق.

وينتهي العقد الحالي للنجم المصري مع ليفربول، في صيف 2025، أي نهاية هذا الموسم.

ولم يتوصل محمد صلاح، حتى الآن، إلى أي اتفاق مع مسؤولي ليفربول بشأن توقيعه على عقد جديد، ما يعني رحيله مجانًا نهاية الموسم الجاري.

ويستقطب محمد صلاح اهتمامًا كبيرًا من عدة أندية، خاصة في الدوري السعودي، إلى جانب ارتباطه بـ برشلونة وباريس سان جيرمان.

اقرأ أيضًا.. تقارير تثير خيبة أمل جماهير ليفربول بشأن تجديد عقد محمد صلاح

وصرّح حسين يوجيل رئيس نادي بشكتاش التركي بأنه يحلم بالتعاقد مع النجم محمد صلاح لتدعيم صفوف الفريق التركي.

وقال يوجيل، في تصريحات نشرتها وسائل إعلام تركية عديدة: “ستكون هناك بالتأكيد صفقات، سنتعاقد مع لاعبين أو ثلاثة، سنقوم في الغالب بضم لاعبين شباب”.

وأضاف: “لدينا مشاكل في مركز الظهيرين والأجنحة، سنركز عليها، لن نقدم عرضًا من أجل تاليسكا في يناير”.

واختتم: “ما أريده هو التعاقد مع محمد صلاح، من أجل مركز الجناح الأيمن لدينا، ولكن هذا هو مجرد حلمي بالطبع”.

Enlarged training group serves as reminder that sport is a brutal business

George Dobell29-May-2020

Jamie Porter can consider himself unfortunate to have missed out on England’s enlarged squad•Getty Images

One day in the summer of 1987, Paul Smith found himself in the England dressing room at Edgbaston during a rain break.Smith, a Warwickshire player, was 23 at the time. He had scored 1,500 first-class runs as an opening batsman the previous season and, as a bowler, had been dubbed “the fastest white man in the world” by Bob Willis. He had, he thought, a decent chance of a call-up as England started to contemplate life after Sir Ian Botham.But then he heard Micky Stewart, the England coach at the time, list some of the issues facing his team. And one sentence, in particular, put him back in his place with a jolt. “The problem is, we just don’t have any allrounders,” he recalls Stewart saying.It was a moment of crushing disappointment. A moment when all the hopes and dreams of recent months suddenly seemed foolish and naive. A moment when the door to the England team seemed to have been slammed in his face.There will be a host of England-qualified cricketers feeling the same way today. For as much as it has been encouraging for the likes of Laurie Evans and Richard Gleeson to win inclusion in this extended training group, it is probably the omissions which tell us most. Not to be in included among the 55 – that’s five teams – really does seem like a knockout punch.ALSO READ: Who are the new names in the England frame?The absence of Alex Hales’ name that will draw the most attention. And it’s true that, on form, he should be there. But Eoin Morgan, England’s limited-overs captain, made it clear on Wednesday that there would be no imminent return.Many might think missing a World Cup – and such a World Cup – was punishment enough. It now seems Hales will miss the T20 one as well. But Morgan has earned the right to lead the limited-overs teams as he sees fit and clearly feels the culture he has inculcated requires further entrenchment. And it is true, it is not so long since some cricketers seemed more motivated by thoughts of their next night out than training or even playing for their country. The treatment of Hales provides a sobering reminder of the consequences and will serve as a deterrent.There’s still a way back. He could win a recall in 2021, if he continues to score heavily and maintain a clean disciplinary record. He really is very good. But he’s 31 now. And some of those who have taken advantage of his absence, notably Tom Banton, are every bit of 10 years younger. That’s an uncomfortable equation for Hales.There’s probably no way back for Liam Plunkett. He is now 35 and, in the year leading into the World Cup, clearly struggled to redress a notable drop of pace. As England look to challenges ahead, conditions in which his cutters may find little grip and that drop in pace might be punished, it is clear they have decided to move on. It’s not necessarily wrong, but it is ruthless.Jake Ball, Liam Plunkett and Alex Hales have all been excluded from England’s training group, three years after playing in the Champions Trophy semi-final•Getty Images

Plunkett really was terrific in that World Cup. England won every match in which he played and, lest it be forgotten, he claimed three wickets – including that of Kane Williamson – in the final. Indeed, it’s probably no coincidence they lost only six of his final 57 ODIs. Maybe, in time, he will reflect that bowing out of international cricket in that Lord’s final was better than doing so in an empty Ageas Bowl in September. Either way, it to be hoped this ending does not leave a sour taste in a mouth that was full of champagne not so long ago.Whatever happens, Hales and Plunkett and even Gary Ballance, who seems destined for a Ramprakashian second half of his career, can console themselves with the memories of many fine days in the sun wearing an England shirt. It has to end sometime and it nearly always ends badly.Jamie Porter and Sam Northeast do not even have that consolation. Porter’s frustration, in particular, is understandable. He was told, in the summer of 2018, that he would play Test cricket at some stage that year. But James Anderson refused to age, Chris Woakes and Sam Curran offered better batting options and Porter fell back among the pack.