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The South Africa captain’s composed fifty and his gutsy call to bowl Maharaj proved to be the difference in a nervy win

Firdose Moonda16-Nov-20254:55

Philander: ‘On that surface 123 was like 350-400’

Sometimes a captain gets a feeling of what to do. With tea looming at Eden Gardens on a tense day three, Temba Bavuma had one of those times.India needed 47 runs with three wickets in hand. In reality, they had only two because of Shubman Gill’s injury-enforced absence. Left-hand batter Axar Patel was on strike. He had 10 runs off 12 balls and looked steady but not particularly dangerous. Aiden Markram’s three overs had cost just five runs and he had burgled a wicket, so it seemed sensible to keep him and build pressure. Bavuma had a different idea.Despite the risk that would come from turning the ball into Axar, Bavuma turned to his left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj. Immediately, it looked like a stroke of genius.Axar could not resist the offer and slog-swept Maharaj to deep midwicket, where Ryan Rickelton was positioned for that shot. But looking into the sun and with spectators in the background potentially blurring his view, Rickelton lost the ball. What could have been a catch became a boundary and suddenly, Bavuma’s decision looked like a tactical blunder, especially with so few runs to play with. It got even worse when Axar hit Maharaj for two sixes in the next three balls and shaved off a third of what India needed in four balls and wasn’t done.Related

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Axar went again off the fifth ball, another slog sweep, but he top-edged it. The ball hung and then dipped through the Kolkata air for the longest few seconds of the last three days.Bavuma sprinted from midwicket to almost long-on and initially looked like he had run too far. The ball was almost behind him when, looking back, he got his self-labelled “small hands” to it and held on by his fingertips. “There’s not much time to think during those moments. The ball went quite high, so I was just trying to make sure that I caught the ball,” Bavuma said after the match.When he did, Bavuma also proved his own plan, which seemed to be unravelling over the previous four balls, right. How had he felt in the moment when Axar was attacking? “You try and keep to your wits. The decision [to bowl Maharaj] stays a decision. It doesn’t change because of the way the guy is batting,” he said. “I knew there was sense behind the decision, so at no point did I second-guess the decision.”That was the way Bavuma played for most of this match.After his first-innings dismissal for 3, when he fell to Kuldeep Yadav’s leg-side trap, Bavuma rewrote his role in the game with a match-winning second-innings 55 not out, which showed a level of self-assurance of a player at his peak. No other batter made more than 39 in the match as variable bounce and, what Bavuma called, “spin that was a little bit on the extreme side yesterday” planted confusion through their game plans. “He went against the grain of everybody else in the match,” Shukri Conrad, South Africa’s coach, said.One of the biggest differences between Bavuma’s innings and everyone else’s was the way he absorbed pressure in the early stages. He scored just four runs off the first 23 balls he faced, and 17 of those deliveries were from the spinners, who were brilliant in squeezing South Africa. “You feel suffocated as a batter but Temba was comfortable. I don’t think anybody’s ever happy to be suffocated but he was comfortable that if he stuck to his game plan, knowing he was going to get beaten by balls on the outside, but as long as he didn’t get beaten on the inside, he knew he could bat through this,” Conrad said.Bavuma explained that given the conditions, he had to rely on the blueprint that is built around the block more than usual. “I found it a bit tricky to trust the bounce of the wicket. Some balls were bouncing nicely, others were squatting, so that was a bit tricky, which made cross-batted shots a bit harder but I always back my defence. My game is that simple. I try to play around my defence,” Bavuma said.2:08

Philander: Conrad’s done himself justice as South Africa coach

In total, he defended 59 of the 136 balls he faced, and the bulk of that was on the second evening, when some of South Africa’s shot selection left much to be desired. While Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs were done by lack of turn, Wiaan Mulder and Tony de Zorzi by extra bounce, Markram swept straight to short leg and Kyle Verreynne and Marco Jansen got slog sweeps horribly wrong. Bavuma was on 29 off 78 balls overnight. His only two aggressive shots were a sweep off Ravindra Jadeja and a backfoot punch off Kuldeep Yadav that went for four.The sweep came out a few more times on the third day, when Bavuma had to drag South Africa to a defendable total and could not have done it without support from Corbin Bosch, with whom he added 44 for the eighth wicket. Their approach on the third morning was to “just try and play what’s in front of me and try not to have too many preconceived ideas”, Bavuma said.That mindset brought what Conrad called a “calmness” to South Africa overall because they know that even though Bavuma is as likely as anyone to get a ball he can’t keep out, he very seldom gives his wicket away and works for every run. Bavuma created his own opportunities to accumulate singles (33) and twos (3) by playing with soft hands and setting off for his runs quickly, often just as he had hit the ball. “The fact that he’s been here before might also have given him that bit of confidence,” Conrad said.But being in India before was also humiliating for Bavuma, especially his most recent visit in 2023, at this very ground. Eden Gardens was where he finished the ODI World Cup as the only member of the top five not to score a century and where he played in the semi-final with a hamstring injury. He hasn’t hidden away from what he called his own “poor record” in the country and had come on this Test tour determined to improve on that and prove himself in these conditions. Now, South Africa are unbeaten in 11 Tests under his captaincy.That he has achieved something special was evident when the almost 40,000 people who came to watch the match on Sunday gave him a standing ovation when he reached his half-century. Though they were stunned into silence by his catch later on, it was clear that the Kolkata faithful appreciated South Africa’s efforts, and Bavuma may well have won them over. “It was crazy. Obviously the crowd cheers quite loudly when India has done something good but it gives us energy and keeps us connected to the game. As much as it spurs on the Indian team, it also has a positive influence on us,” Bavuma said.And sometimes when you have a feeling that things are going your way, you end up with a result like South Africa’s.

It was just under nine months ago that Scottish champions Celtic were pushing Bayern Munich close in the Champions League play-off round, with a fluid, fearsome forward line of Daizen Maeda, Nicolas Kuhn and Jota causing all sorts of problems at the Allianz Arena.

To witness the extent of the drop off since then is quite remarkable, a fact most recently exposed during Thursday’s dismal defeat away to FC Midtjylland, with Martin O’Neill’s side looking simply inferior to their Danish hosts.

From the highs of that night in Munich, the Hoops have since sunk to notable lows against the likes of Kairat and in midweek, with the recent Europa League outing seeing O’Neill deploy a forward line of Johnny Kenny, James Forrest and Sebastian Tounekti.

Injury has no doubt been a factor in that decline, although so too has recruitment, with the transfer business having been simply erratic at Parkhead following Brendan Rodgers’ return in the summer of 2023.

With January on the horizon, the Glasgow giants face a pivotal month in the market to try and arrest this ongoing decline, albeit with the first port of call settling on who will be the man at the helm by the time that winter window comes around.

Latest on Celtic's manager search

The abrupt nature of Rodgers’ shock resignation has no doubt put the Celtic hierarchy on the back foot, with it unlikely to be a smooth process trying to appoint a permanent solution mid-season.

That fact led to the decision to parachute in O’Neill – and Shaun Maloney – for this recent quartet of games, although the midweek trip to Denmark highlighted the need to make a decision, one way or another, on Rodgers’ long-term successor.

There remain suggestions that O’Neill and Maloney could stay put until the end of the campaign, although the wisdom in that decision remains to be seen, with the previous move to bring Neil Lennon back to the club having ultimately ended in disappointment.

Manager Focus

Who are the greatest coaches in the land? Football FanCast’s Manager Focus series aims to reveal all.

A fresh start and a fresh face, it would seem, is in order, with the standout name write now appearing to be that of Bodo/Glimt boss Kjetil Knutsen, amid recent reports regarding the 57-year-old’s interest in the vacancy.

Indeed, as per transfer insider Graeme Bailey, the Norwegian coach would be interested in taking over at Parkhead, albeit with the major caveat being that he wishes to see out his current side’s Champions League campaign.

With the new Swiss format ensuring that fixtures stretch into January and potentially even February, should the Eliteserien outfit secure a place in the play-offs, that would require a lengthy wait for Knutsen to eventually arrive.

Of course, having a sense of patience could be wise if he is deemed to be the perfect candidate, although amid their current slump, the Hoops don’t appear to have the time to wait around.

Why Celtic could be facing an Eddie Howe repeat

The summer of 2021 remains a real Sliding Doors moment for those at Celtic, with the club in the midst of a pivotal period having witnessed rivals Rangers wrestle back the title under Steven Gerrard, resulting in Lennon’s second departure from Parkhead.

As early as March and April 2021, reports emerged that the Premiership side had settled on a successor in the form of ex-Bournemouth boss, Eddie Howe, with the Englishman deemed to be the clear favourite for the role.

Advanced talks had taken place, although after something of a three-month back and forth, it was confirmed that Howe would not be the next man in the dugout, with the current Newcastle United boss later admitting that issues over bringing his backroom staff with him were a key factor in that eventual snub.

Fortunately, having put all their eggs in Howe’s basket, Celtic’s backup option proved to be something of a hidden gem, with Ange Postecoglou swiftly quashing the doubters by winning five domestic trophies over the next two seasons, while implementing a glorious brand of attacking football.

Would the club have such luck again, if they could not get their preferred target this time around, however?

Days in charge

750

Games

113

Wins

83

Draws

12

Losses

18

Players used

53

Points per game

2.31

Trophies won

5

There does appear to be shades of the Howe about this Knutsen interest, with the Scandinavian coach having long been linked with the post, stretching back to the summer of 2023, prior to Rodgers’ return.

Much like Howe at Bournemouth – where he guided the Cherries from the fourth tier into the Premier League – Knutsen has done a fabulous job at his current side, notably steering Bodo/Glimt into the semi-finals of the Europa League last term, prior to securing Champions League qualification this time around.

With four league titles under his belt for the Arctic Circle side, he has undoubtedly done a “magnificent” job over the past few years – in the words of former Bodo/Glimt sporting director, Aasmund Bjorkan – although Celtic can’t afford to be strung along as they seemingly were with Howe.

If Knutsen does demand to see out his continental run this season, then the Hoops may well need to seek out an alternative option, rather than enduring another period of uncertainty over the next few months.

With the upcoming international break providing the perfect time to finally nail down a permanent replacement for Rodgers, Celtic can’t be dictated to again, as they were with Howe.

Even in their current state, the former European champions are a historic and attractive destination. Celtic waits for no one.

Manager who loves Celtic now in "driving seat" for permanent Parkhead job

He’s won 10 trophies during his career.

ByCharlie Smith Nov 8, 2025

It’s understood his vision did not align with that of head coach Justin Langer and team owner Sanjeev Goenka

Nagraj Gollapudi18-Sep-20256:17

‘Zaheer’s vision wasn’t bought by LSG leadership group’

Lucknow Super Giants’ team mentor Zaheer Khan has parted ways with the franchise after just one season. ESPNcricinfo has learned Zaheer informed LSG of his decision on Thursday.It is understood that the primary reason for Zaheer quitting is that his vision for the franchise did not align with that of head coach Justin Langer and team owner Sanjeev Goenka. While Zaheer’s relationship with captain Rishabh Pant remained strong, he was affected by the thought process that played a role in LSG sliding down the points table in the second half of IPL 2025.Zaheer had joined LSG in August 2024, filling the vacancy left by Gautam Gambhir’s exit after IPL 2023. Zaheer had been with Mumbai Indians from 2018 to 2022 and agreed to a two-year contract with LSG, taking charge of scouting, planning and strategy.Related

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After making the playoffs in their first two IPL seasons in 2022 and 2023, LSG did not reach the knockouts in the last two seasons. In 2025, they finished seventh with six wins from 14 games. It was a season of contrasting halves: LSG had five wins in their first eight matches but only one in the last six. Of the eight games they played at their home ground, the Ekana Stadium, they won only two.LSG had made headlines at last year’s mega auction when they bought Pant for INR 27 crore (USD 3.2 million approx.), making him the most expensive player ever in the IPL. The team was built around him, but Zaheer put in place building blocks he felt were needed to grow stronger every season. Despite there being a lot of chatter about Pant opening the batting, Zaheer spoke to the wicketkeeper-batter early on and told him that the better strategy would be for Mitchell Marsh to open with Aiden Markram. That strategy, Zaheer impressed on both Pant and the leadership group, would reduce the burden on their best batter, Nicholas Pooran, who was the No. 3.The role clarity allowed the batters to play with freedom and perform consistently. Markram had never opened in the IPL before, while Marsh, despite having been in the IPL for more than a decade, had never made a major impact. The move worked: Marsh was the fifth highest run-getter in IPL 2025 with 627 runs at a strike rate of 163.70, Pooran made 524 runs at 196.25, and Markram 445 at 148.82.

The leadership has plotted and planned and pulled off some extraordinary things of late, the enormous weight of the missing trophy evident at every stage of their run

Sidharth Monga19-Mar-20253:33

Aakash Chopra: India have now moved far ahead of other teams

India needed to lose control.It’s not that they were a bad team. They had lost just three matches in the last two ODI World Cups. Two matches in the last two Champions Trophies. Three matches in the last two T20 World Cups.This was an enviable record, but also a record that kept India from pushing the boundaries of what this extremely talented side was capable of achieving. Then came the early exit at the T20 World Cup of 2021. It brought about a reset in the leadership – they perhaps would not have had the freedom to challenge the batters had India made another semi-final.One of the effective tools used by the management to get the point across was control percentages when attacking. They were unusually high. It told the batters two things: they were not attacking enough good balls, and they were not giving the opposition chances when they attacked. There was clear room for more risks.Related

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The intent changed to an extent, India began to put up above-par scores in bilateral series, but as the 2022 T20 World Cup approached, the ideal combination became elusive. Jasprit Bumrah was injured beforehand, and Ravindra Jadeja joined the list as India went to the dress rehearsal, the Asia Cup in the UAE.As Hardik Pandya’s fitness could not always be relied upon, Rohit Sharma, the new captain, wanted to play two spinner-allrounders to provide for contingencies. The injury to Jadeja denied him that experiment. Axar Patel took Jadeja’s place when Rohit wanted him for the slot that they kept trying to fill with Washington Sundar and Deepak Hooda. With Kuldeep Yadav still only coming back from injury, they settled on R Ashwin as the spinner for left-hand batters. They didn’t make it to the final of the Asia Cup.By the time India reached Australia, sans Bumrah, their other main death bowler, Harshal Patel, coming back from injury, had completely lost form. In an ideal world, they would have played Harshal at No. 8 and Yuzvendra Chahal, Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh as bowlers who couldn’t bat. Bumrah could be replaced with Mohammed Shami, but Harshal’s replacements couldn’t bat, which meant India had to sacrifice the wristspinner.

The intent had to be initiated by players whose places in the side were certain and not by those who would be disposed if they failed in pursuit of quick runs. Too much of that had happened in the past. It also meant that the combinations and tactics had to be much better

Again, whenever the stakes grew or whenever the conditions were tricky, the batters fell back to the default options. It happened against South Africa in Perth, and it was repeated against England in the semi-final when India fell woefully short. The Adelaide semi-final was stark. England handcuffed them with spin. They just had the wrong guys batting together all through the start and the middle. At the end, did we see Rohit wipe a tear or two?The revival would have to start with Rohit. The feedback the leadership got from the players was that they needed the leaders to first walk the talk. That meant the intent had to be initiated by players whose places in the side were certain and not by those who would be disposed if they failed in pursuit of quick runs. Too much of that had happened in the past. It also meant that the combinations and tactics had to be much better. For example, there was no way Rohit and Virat Kohli should bat together for too long outside the powerplay.With the onus on himself, Rohit doubled down on his need for depth, the 8-6 formula. He wanted to play every game with eight batters and six bowlers so that the batters could be freed, so that they had options to counter match-ups.India have achieved the cheat code of three allrounders in the XI whenever Hardik Pandya is fit•CREIMASA sting operation on the then chairman of selectors brought into the frame Ajit Agarkar. Now the team management included three men who could healthily challenge each other without any mistrust: Agarkar, Rohit and coach Rahul Dravid. Tough calls were now taken and explained properly to the players. Shubman Gill replaced Shikhar Dhawan in ODIs even though the players still rated Dhawan highly. KL Rahul was trusted as the middle-order rock. He and Shreyas Iyer were given until the last possible moment to prove their fitness for the ODI World Cup.The intent began to bleed into the ODIs as well. India were a solid ODI team previously too, but you could close your eyes and predict a score of 51 for 1 in the powerplay, and you wouldn’t be off by more than 2%. It worked great when the top three scored all the runs, but it didn’t give the others any breathing space when they went to bat. Rohit became the intent bunny in ODIs as well.It was a rained-out match where the teams shared points, but in Pallekele in the Asia Cup, the leadership knew the team had turned a corner. In an eerie resemblance to the T20 World Cup match against Pakistan, India lost the early wickets of Rohit and Kohli to Shaheen Shah Afridi as the ball moved around in humid conditions. Even at 66 for 4, Ishan Kishan and Hardik counter-attacked. India went on to score 261 for 8. When they came up against Pakistan next, they all went hammer and tongs to end with 356 for 2.Quality was meeting intent in the batting. Kuldeep was back to his best, and Bumrah was fit. Everything was looking great, but then Axar got injured again. Axar as the second allrounder had been in India’s plans for a while as they knew the next two World Cups would be in India and the West Indies, both places where they could afford to play two spinner-allrounders. Kuldeep’s return meant they had a spinner to take the ball away from left-hand batters unlike Chahal earlier.2:43

Harbhajan Singh: 2027 World Cup might be too far for Rohit Sharma

This combination of unique circumstances would let India achieve the cheat code of three allrounders in the side whenever Hardik would be fit. They tried to promote Axar in the batting order every now and then, notably against Pakistan in Melbourne and once in an ODI loss to West Indies in July 2023. In Axar’s absence, though, India relied on Shardul Thakur to be the eighth batter.When Hardik went down during the ODI World Cup, India had to leave Thakur out for a more specialised bowler in Shami. Only Rahul and Kohli will know if that lack of depth played a part in their back-to-default conservatism in the World Cup final in Ahmedabad, where, throughout the tournament, there were clear signs that batting becoming much easier under lights.This was only their fourth defeat in the last three ODI World Cups, but one that stung them the most. They had played fearless, attractive and dominant cricket to get to the final. Their narrowest wins were by four wickets and 70 runs. The defeat in the final left everyone too shocked to react, let alone analyse or think of the next World Cup, barely six months away.The T20I captain, Hardik, was injured with no timeline for a return. The ODI captain hadn’t played a T20I since the Adelaide debacle two years ago. The coach’s tenure was over, and he was happy to walk away without a world title. The selectors now had to take the less-than-ideal route of selecting the captain first and then the team. Not least because the captain could convince the coach to come back for one last ride. Had any of the three men been different, the band wouldn’t have come back together.1:21

Is Shreyas now India’s most reliable ODI batter?

Now, finally, the blueprint of eight batters and six bowlers could be put in place. Everyone was fit, and the West Indies pitches always have some grip. Except that the selectors wanted an offspinner-allrounder in the squad because they envisaged the XI would include Jadeja this allrounder. Rohit and Dravid pressed for Axar because they wanted to go with Jadeja Axar.With Shivam Dube’s emergence and the Axar gambit, Rohit and Dravid had enough options to deny oppositions a match-up at both ends. They could split right-hand batters, they could split those who struggled against spin, they had six bowlers plus Dube to choose from. As some of us suspected before, and the rest of us have learned since, this was still not India’s optimal T20I XI. Even if you disregard the belated emergence of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal was clearly the best opener out there at that time, and a left-hand batter to boot.Even at 34 for 3 in the final, India could pair Kohli up with Axar and Dube, and give India a target to bowl to. India were either due some luck or used up a year’s worth in the climax of that match – a six goes out of the ground and the replacement ball reverses, David Miller mistimes a full toss even when hitting downwind – but now they finally had a trophy to show for their processes and their dominance.The enormous weight of the missing trophy became apparent only during the celebrations back in Mumbai. Deep inside, the players and the management knew they were an exceptional side with two exceptional campaigns behind them, but they still felt what they felt: horrible after Ahmedabad, overjoyed after Barbados.In the following months, the Test transition arrived in earnest, but the T20I and the ODI sides remain formidable. The new management not only carried forward the Hardik-Jadeja-Axar cheat code, but they were shrewd enough to change the Champions Trophy squad at the last moment to include another wicket-taking spinner because they knew all their matches would be played on a tired Dubai square that had just hosted a T20 tournament. There is no evidence to suggest India would not have won even if they were playing on 350 pitches, but the Dubai conditions did make their job easier.Now, India are a team that have lost only one match in their last three ICC tournaments. From 2013 Champions Trophy onwards, they have missed out on the knockouts of only one of the 11 ICC tournaments. Of the other ten, only four have been semi-final defeats.Moments after winning this year’s Champions Trophy, Rahul perhaps summed up the reasons behind this dominance best.”It’s just pure skill and the way we’ve all played our cricket growing up,” Rahul said with unusual clarity for such a heady moment. “We’ve had to face a lot of challenges. We’ve had to face pressure from the time we held the bat and from the time we decided to be professional cricketers. I think it’s just the first-class cricket, BCCI, how they’ve groomed every player, every talented player that comes around. They’re giving us opportunities and platforms to showcase our skills and to put ourselves under pressure and keep challenging ourselves and getting better.”The leadership needs to already start thinking of the next two years if they want to continue celebrating•ICC via Getty ImagesThe talent pool is vast and, consequently, the pressure they face at every step on the way to the top is immense. That is also perhaps why they hold onto their places at the top a little too tightly. That is why the leadership constantly needs to keep making them feel secure enough to keep pushing their boundaries.There is still one final step to go to earn comparisons with the best-ever sides. If they can defend their T20 crown next year, India will be regarded as the best T20I side of all time. They will start as the favourites for it, but this dream team with all kinds of cheat codes will not be easy to replicate in the 2027 ODI World Cup, a title only Kohli among the current players has won. Compare this to the Australia of 1999 to 2009: they always had a well-rounded ODI attack to outperform their opposition in conditions as diverse as South Africa in 2003, India in 2006, the West Indies in 2007 and South Africa again in 2009. They also almost always had at least two allrounders who almost never broke down. Even they have never been able to crack both ODIs and T20Is at the same time.India will not magically find a strike bowler with the batting ability of Brett Lee or Andy Bichel. That means at any given point of time only three of Kuldeep, Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammed Siraj and Shami can play. Axar and Jadeja, if the latter is still around, won’t make for an optimal combination on your usual South African tracks. Hardik’s body is what it is. Gill, Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and Rahul form a formidable batting core even if Rohit doesn’t make it, but some work will be needed to attain this kind of balance in South Africa.There has been cause aplenty to celebrate over the last two years, but the leadership needs to already start thinking of the next two years if they want to continue celebrating. With all the talent in the country, it won’t take much to remain very good, but excellence is what they want to continue aiming for.

Arsenal summer signing Eberechi Eze has opened up to former team-mate Adebayo Akinfenwa on the latest episode of GOAL’s Beast Mode On podcast and lifted the lid on his new life with the Gunners. The England international has explained which Arsenal player has impressed him the most so far and revealed what it's like to work with manager Mikel Arteta.

GOAL’s Beast Mode On Podcast, hosted by Adebayo Akinfenwa, welcomes guest Eberechi Eze to talk about life at Arsenal following his big-money move to the Emirates Stadium this summer from Crystal Palace.

Eze has joined a host of new recruits in north London in a squad packed full of talents and admits there's one player in particular who has caught his eye at the club. The England international has also revealed he's thriving playing in an environment when all the players are eager to improve.

Eze thriving at Arsenal after summer move

Eze swapped Crystal Palace for Arsenal in a £60 million move as part of a big-spending summer by the Gunners who also brought in stars such as Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke, Martin Zubimendi and Cristhian Mosquera. The winger has gone on to feature regularly for Mikel Arteta's side and appears to have settled into life quickly with the Gunner, scoring twice already in the Premier League. Eze has now opened up on his journey to becoming an Arsenal and England star.

AdvertisementGOALEze lifts lid on 'special' Arsenal team-mate

Speaking exclusively to GOAL's Beast Mode On podcast, Eze said: “Everyone is sort of what you expect them to be. The expectation of all the players is high. I'll say one player who has gone even beyond the high expectation I already had – because I'd heard good things about him – was Jurrien Timber. He's a special player and a special guy. 

“I think for me, in an environment of people and you have a culture that is geared towards improving, these guys all want to improve. So for me it's a pleasure to be part of it and to see guys like him who perform the way they perform, who carry themselves the way they carry themselves. It’s inspiring, for sure.”

Getty Images Sport'Incredible' Arteta creating 'special place' at Arsenal

Eze also spoke about working with Arteta. The Arsenal boss currently has his team four points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table also topping the standings so far in the 2025-26 Champions League.

Asked what it’s like working under the Spaniard, Eze said: “He’s incredible. Attention to detail, how much I’m learning so fast, the type of player I know I’ll become (under him), the culture he’s created… It’s a special place to be right now, for sure.”

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Through seven innings of their game against the Seattle Mariners Thursday, the New York Yankees' chances looked bleak. Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo was dominating—holding his opponents hitless.

And then, with no warning, the Yankees awoke.

New York topped Seattle 6–5 Thursday in a dramatic 10-inning contest ended by designated hitter Aaron Judge's walk-off sacrifice fly. The nature of the Yankees' turnaround—going from hitless through eight innings and down by five or more runs to victors—had not been seen in Major League Baseball since 1977.

In that instance, the Pittsburgh Pirates weathered seven hitless innings from Montreal Expos pitcher Wayne Twitchell to turn their own 5–0 deficit into a 6–5 win.

In addition to Judge, New York's comeback was aided by three RBIs from catcher Austin Wells and a pinch-hit home run from Giancarlo Stanton.

If the Yankees want to rescue their flagging American League East hopes after a mediocre stretch, there's no better place to start.

Tottenham Hotspur have struggled with two major issues in the Premier League this season, with the centre-forward area just one department that has been called into question.

Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani have often shared the responsibility at the top end of the pitch, but neither of whom have been able to nail down the position as their own.

The Brazilian international may have scored in the previous clash with Manchester United, but he’s often failed to deliver when called upon, as seen by his tally of just four goals to date.

However, the midfield area has also been one of concern for Thomas Frank, with the Dane yet to establish his best partnership in the middle of the park.

Joao Palhinha has arguably made himself one of the first names on the teamsheet, with his tally of 49 tackles won in the Premier League this season the highest of any player in the division.

Despite the performances of the Portuguese international, he’s not been able to find a regular partner at the base of the side – but one player shouldn’t operate in the role alongside him.

How Bentancur compares to other midfielders in the PL in 2025/26

Over the last few years, midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been a key member of the first team squad, racking up 130 appearances for Spurs in the last three seasons.

The hierarchy forked out a fee in the region of £21.5m for the Uruguayan’s signature in January 2022, a bargain fee given his extended stint in North London.

However, despite starting eight matches in the Premier League this season, the 28-year-old has fallen way below the standards many expect from him, given his previous performances.

Such displays have led to calls from the supporters for Bentancur to be dropped, with his underlying stats from the ongoing campaign further showcasing his lack of impact in 2025/26.

He’s only completed 86% of the passes he’s attempted, whilst only achieving a total of 1.1 long balls per 90 – with the latter ranking him in the bottom 15% of all players in the division.

The Uruguayan has only created 0.6 chances per 90, ranking him in the bottom 25% of all players in the division – something which is vital alongside a ball-winner like Palhinha.

Given the Portuguese international’s ability to break up the play, it’s handed Bentancur the responsibility to help transition the play, but he’s been unable to do so – as seen by the aforementioned figures.

Out of possession, the former Juventus star has also massively struggled to make a positive impact, which has no doubt led to the supporters’ recent frustrations.

He’s made just 0.5 interceptions per 90 – ranking him in the 25th percentile – whilst also being dribbled past 0.6 times per 90 – the highest of any midfielder in the Spurs squad.

Palhinha has massively dominated Bentancur in the ball-winning department, with the former of the duo winning nearly three more tackles per 90 in 2025/26 at present.

The Spurs star who can end Bentancur’s Spurs career

Bentancur’s decline at Spurs has been a difficult one for the supporters to watch, especially given the heights he’s previously achieved during his time in North London.

However, his recent performances in the current season highlight his drop-off in form, with Frank needing to consider alternative options in the middle of the park.

Youth has emerged in such an area, with the likes of Lucas Bergvall and Pape Sarr both staking their claims for regular starting roles in the years ahead for the Lilywhites.

The latter of the pair started in the draw with United on Saturday afternoon, whilst the Swede has missed the last two outings after suffering a concussion against Chelsea.

Sarr even completed the most passes of any player in the contest last weekend, showcasing that he already has one up on Bentancur with his talents with the ball at his feet.

However, Frank already has another talented teenager on his hands in the form of Archie Gray, with the midfielder deserving of more time in the first team setup.

The Lilywhites faithful likely raised eyebrows when the hierarchy forked out £40m for his signature last summer, after just one previous season as a professional at Leeds United.

No doubt the deal was one for the future, after joining Spurs at 18, but he was catapulted into the limelight under Ange Postecoglou last season due to the injury crisis in North London.

Gray ended up making 46 appearances across all competitions last season, with many of which coming at centre-back and full-back – roles which are somewhat unfamiliar to the teenager.

Games played

46

Minutes played

3243

Pass accuracy

89%

Dribbles completed

58%

Tackles won

50%

Aerials won

50%

Interceptions made

1.8

Recoveries made

3.6

He still managed to thrive in 2024/25, even registering numerous impressive figures such as 89% passes completed and 1.8 interceptions made – both of which were higher than Bentancur.

However, since Frank’s arrival in the off-season, the 19-year-old has struggled for consistent first-team action – only making six appearances across all competitions, with two of which coming in the Premier League.

He’s only been rewarded with a single start to date, with Frank often overlooking his ability to thrive under his guidance – something which has been a mistake to date.

Gray is a player who possesses huge potential, even being labelled a “future £100m CM” by Ben Mattinson, with many analysts believing in him more than his current manager.

As previously mentioned, his figures from the last campaign highlight the talent he possesses, but ultimately, he’s been unable to replicate such levels given his lack of first-team action.

Between now and the end of the season, Frank desperately needs to hand Gray more consistent minutes to allow the youngster to reach his full potential in North London.

Any consistent spell for Spurs could certainly spell the end for Bentancur at the club, with the manager needing to offload the Uruguayan to allow Gray to match the expectations placed upon him after his mammoth transfer.

Kudus upgrade: Spurs to make club-record offer for "world-class" £70m star

Tottenham Hotspur look set to make a huge move in January for yet another big-money attacker.

1 ByEthan Lamb Nov 11, 2025

You can put it down to his high-risk, high-reward approach – which Gambhir endorses – and you can put it down to the high-pace attack he was facing. But saying Samson has a problem on the pull is quite a leap

Karthik Krishnaswamy03-Feb-20251:27

Should India be worried about Samson?

When does a coincidence become a pattern, and when does a pattern become a problem? Where on that sliding scale does Sanju Samson’s series against England belong? Five innings, five dismissals to Jofra Archer, Saqib Mahmood and Mark Wood, all five times playing the pull shot: coincidence, pattern, or problem?Before we try to answer that question, it’s worth noting Gautam Gambhir’s words from Sunday night, after India had wrapped up the series 4-1 win with a brutal, 150-run win at the Wankhede Stadium. It’s worth noting them in full.”That’s the kind of T20 cricket we want to play. We don’t want to fear losing a game of cricket,” Gambhir told the host broadcaster. “We want to play high-risk, high-reward cricket. And these guys have adopted that ideology, that policy really well. And I think the ideology of this T20 team is based on selflessness and fearlessness. And I think in the last six months, these guys have done it day in, day out.Related

Gambhir on India's approach: 'Want to try for 250-260 regularly'

Suryakumar: 'I want to have selfless cricketers in my team'

Samson of 2024 meets Rohit of 2013

“We want to try and get to 250-260 regularly. And in trying to do that, there’ll be games where we’ll get bundled out for 120-130. And that is what T20 cricket is all about. And unless and until you [play] that high-risk cricket, you won’t get those big rewards as well. Most importantly, I think we’re on the right track. Come those big tournaments, we want to still continue playing this way and we don’t want to fear losing anything.”High risk, high reward. Back in the not-too-distant past, when India hadn’t fully embraced this philosophy, Samson was often held up as a poster boy of high risk, high reward, as the kind of player the team management wasn’t showing enough faith in. Then, over the course of the last two T20I regimes, under Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma and then Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav, Samson has made his way up the ranks. He was a member of India’s World-Cup-winning squad last year, and has become, since the retirements of Rohit and Virat Kohli, something of a fixture at the top of the order.Vindication came late last year with three hundreds in five innings, one against Bangladesh at home followed by two away in South Africa. Then he ran into England, and Archer and Wood.Samson ended 2024 with 111, 107, 0, 0 and 109*. He has begun 2025 with 26, 5, 3, 1 and 16.1:05

Manjrekar: Talents like Samson should be allowed a long patch of failures

Now this sort of sequence is par for the course in T20, where outcomes exhibit a high degree of variance, particularly among batters who play in a high-risk, high-reward way. Good teams understand and accept this. High risk won’t always bring high reward at an individual level, but collective reward is a likely outcome if a deep, skilful and powerful line-up embraces this approach.Enough T20 has been played, watched and analysed now for the wider commentariat to be able to understand the probablities, but much of the discourse around the format continues to exhibit a curious cognitive dissonance: we want high risk, high reward, and we think we understand the trade-offs involved, but we continue to ask batters to make consistent scores.Samson has spent most of his career battling this dissonance.If there’s a difference between earlier criticisms of Samson and what he’s facing now, it’s that his recent dismissals have all come off the same sort of shot against the same sort of ball – surely there’s an issue here.Is there, though? Samson has never previously had much of an issue with the short ball – it wasn’t that long ago that his ability to put away the short ball formed the crux of media critiques of India selecting Shreyas Iyer ahead of him. In the last three seasons of the IPL, Samson has only been dismissed four times in 55 balls while pulling or hooking fast bowlers, and his strike rate of 272.72 while playing those shots is the sixth-best among the 36 batters who have scored at least 100 runs with those shots.

We want high risk, high reward, and we think we understand the trade-offs involved, but we continue to ask batters to make consistent scores.

On the tour of South Africa in November, Samson attempted nine pulls or hooks against fast bowlers, and hit five of them for six. Those nine balls brought him 35 runs without dismissal.During the England series, those shots brought Samson four dismissals in 12 balls. High risk, high reward, high variance. And any batter who tends to pull from down to up – Rohit is the prime example – goes through periods of hitting everything for six and periods of hitting everything straight to boundary fielders.The eagle-eyed among you will have noted that it’s four dismissals rather than five, and that’s because ESPNcricinfo’s scorers recorded Samson’s dismissal in Rajkot as coming off a slog rather than a pull. It’s all subjective, but there’s a good case for applying the slog label to that shot: he had moved to the leg side to try and create room, and was aiming down the ground rather than square.Samson’s high-risk, high-reward approach has found acceptance under coach Gambhir•PTI This tendency to aim down the ground with a flat bat has got Samson in trouble previously too, when he’s either tried to fetch the ball from well outside his eyeline or found the ball climbing higher than expected. His dismissal off Hardik Pandya in the 2022 IPL final came off a similar sort of shot. Slog or pull? Either way, it’s a shot Samson often attempts, sometimes to his detriment, showing both the level of ability and belief he has and his willingness to take on high risk.And just as a pull can sometimes be a slog, one pull isn’t necessarily the same as another. In the first two T20Is, Samson’s dismissals came when he got himself into an awkward position deep in his crease, still side-on to the ball with his hips closed-off and with little room to deal with Archer’s pace off the pitch.In the fifth T20I, Samson pulled Archer for two sixes in the first over, getting right across his stumps and past the line of the ball. Wood then dismissed him in the next over, and while Samson hadn’t taken that big step across, he had shifted his weight onto the back foot well in time to be able to swivel through the hips. He middled this pull, and might have picked up six more runs if he’d been able to place it a few yards either side of the fielder at deep-backward square leg.It wasn’t his day, though, and it wasn’t his series.It was an outlier of a series in another way too. Few attacks in the world boast the wealth of genuinely quick, hit-the-deck options that England can call upon when Archer and Wood are both fit. If there was ever an attack that could test Samson in this particular way, it was this one. He tried to come up with ways of dealing with this mode of attack as the series went on, and Mumbai suggested he may have found one.Or not – who can say? Another series against this attack may well cause Samson more discomfort. But how often is he going to face an attack like this? How often does any top-level T20 batter come up against an attack that matches up this well against their vulnerabilities? Samson’s series against England was, in all kinds of ways, the perfect storm.Five innings, then, and five dismissals to the pull (or variants thereof). This was probably more pattern than coincidence, but it’s quite a leap to suggest there’s any long-term problem here.

Lionel Messi was asked for a selfie by his own team-mate during Argentina's latest camp, while he swapped shirts with a rival that he nutmegged on two occasions while helping to deliver a 2-0 victory over Angola. The eight-time Ballon d’Or showed once again before and after that contest why he remains a star attraction, with everybody wanting a piece of him.

Will Messi play at the 2026 World Cup? No decision made as yet

Messi, much like eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo, is aware that he cannot go on forever. He has signed a new three-year contract at MLS side Inter Miami, taking him through 2028, but has hinted at international retirement being close.

He has earned 196 caps, scoring 115 goals, but is yet to decide whether he will form part of a World Cup title defence next summer when FIFA’s flagship event heads to the United States, Canada and Mexico. The expectation is that he will grace that tournament.

AdvertisementGettyStarstruck! Panichelli asks for selfie with Messi

Coaches and colleagues are, however, looking to make the most of every opportunity that they get to work with the all-time great. For Argentina new boy Joaquin Panichelli – who made his senior debut against Angola – that means getting a picture with the GOAT when the chance presents itself.

He has told of working with Messi: “I grew up watching him, for so long. To be here, to see him in person. Not only him but all the superstars here, it's really great. It's still a football team, it's football, and I tried to be prepared and do my best. I asked him for a photo; it was really nice to be able to share these moments with him.”

Panichelli added on making his bow against Angola, with the nine goals that he has scored in France for Strasbourg this season earning the 23-year-old his big break: “It's a dream come true to be here, and today I got to play some minutes. It's an incredible joy to be here and get some playing time. I consider myself more of a centre-forward. I feel I have the qualities and I can do it well. I'm tenacious; I like to fight and tackle.”

GettyShirt swap: Which Angole star landed Messi's jersey?

Panichelli was one of several debutants in a friendly clash with Angola, as Kevin Mac Allister – the brother of World Cup-winning Liverpool star Alexis – Maximo Perrone and Gianluca Prestianni also earned their first caps.

They got the opportunity to rub shoulders with Messi prior to seeing the Inter Miami superstar replaced as Lionel Scaloni rang the changes. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner was on the pitch long enough for one lucky opponent to claim a notable memento.

Angola captain Fredy Ribeiro made sure to land Messi’s fabled No.10 jersey, with a shirt swap taking place after they had exchanged nutmegs during the opening 45 minutes of a contest that took place at the Novembro Stadium.

Ribeiro told : “I swapped jerseys with him at half-time. I'll keep it for my kids. It's something they'll cherish. They asked for a photo, and I brought them a jersey! He nutmegged me twice, but then I nutmegged him. Two against one.”

He went on to say of the game itself, which saw Messi and Lautaro Martinez find the target: “Very difficult. They have a lot of quality, you can see it in their starting eleven . We tried to do good things and I think we had some positives. I believe we showed a good image to the world, but Argentina's quality is very different.”

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International retirement: When will Messi bow out with Argentina?

Argentina have wrapped up qualification for the 2026 World Cup, with the defending champions expected to go well again regardless of whether Messi is involved or not. They would prefer to have their talismanic captain on board, with one last dance against Ronaldo being mooted.

Messi will likely bow out of international football after that competition, with more historic achievements having been achieved when representing his country. He has already taken in a final outing on home soil, with his wife and children in attendance, and is assured of a place among the sporting immortals.

Exciting finish with Lancashire could be in prospect after rain wipes out much of day three

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay10-Sep-2025An exciting finish could be in prospect on the final day of the Rothesay County Championship between Kent and Lancashire at Canterbury, after the hosts reached 206 for 5 at stumps, a lead of 215.Although rain wiped out much of day three, with only 38.3 overs bowled, Jaydn Denly hit 74 as Kent built their lead, before Mitch Stanley helped rein them in with 2 for 56.With Ben Compton not expected to bat Kent are effectively six down and the game looks fascinatingly poised going into day four.Kent resumed with a lead of 105, on 96 for 0, with Denly on 55 and Ben Dawkins on 35.Dawkins had added just a single when he edged Will Williams to Keaton Jennings at first slip, but the players went off for rain at 10.56 am and six overs were lost.When play resumed Tom Bailey sent Denly’s off stump flying, but a further downpour resulted in an early lunch, with the score 131 for 2.After a two-and-a-half-hour delay, play resumed and George Balderson, switching to the Pavilion End, had Joey Evison caught behind for 26.Joe Denly, in as a concussion sub for Tawanda Muyeye, cracked Stanley for six over midwicket to take Kent to 170 for 3 at tea, but he rarely looked comfortable and was caught behind for 19 after flashing at the same bowler.Stanley then had Harry Finch lbw for 4 before the rain returned at 5.12 pm. With no prospect of a resumption, play was abandoned for the day, with Ekansh Singh unbeaten on 30 and Mo Rizvi, who’s on a pair, on nought not out.