Diana Edulji, the former India Women captain, has criticised the “discriminatory” attitude of the BCCI and said the board is not interested in running women’s cricket beyond paying “lip service”. She warned that the women’s game in India is in danger of dying out if the current situation persists.Edulji, one of India’s pioneering woman cricketers, was on the BCCI’s women’s committee and was also manager of the Indian Women team in 2009. It was a “dream” when the BCCI took over women’s cricket a few years ago – in line with ICC regulations – but now the bubble has burst.”The BCCI is running women’s cricket because they have to run it, because the ICC is now running both men’s and women’s cricket,” Edulji told ESPNcricinfo. “Otherwise, there is no women’s cricket. They cannot play under any other banner. I would say it is an insult to women’s cricket to be treated this way.”She was scathing about the gender-based double standards prevalent in the game’s administration. As an example, she spoke about how the India Women team preparing for the Women’s World Cup had been put up in a centrally-located but budget hotel before being shifted to the luxury Taj Mahal Palace hotel a couple of days ago.”I was driving and on Marine Drive I saw this whole bunch of red t-shirts coming. I realised it was the India Women team,” Edulji said. “They were walking from Sea Green [the hotel] to the Wankhede [Stadium]. I stopped my car, and the way they greeted me, I felt nice, but I also felt that this is the Indian national team, and they are walking on the street?”And where are they playing? Police Gymkhana, Hindu Gymkhana, Bombay Gymkhana? Would any men cricketers play there?”India’s international and domestic women cricketers had to make do with significantly lower match fees and other benefits, Edulji said, and combined with a sustained lack of exposure, there was little motivation to take up the game apart from pure love of the sport. “The players should be getting the maximum. The irony is, in women’s cricket it is the other way round; the selectors get the maximum, then come the match referees, and then come the players. So how are you going get girls to come into cricket? And what is the domestic match fee? Rs 2500 (US$ 47 approx). Where are you going to eat, if you stay in a four-star hotel? And for T20 it is even less, Rs 1250.”Despite consistently being among the top-ranked players in the world, Edulji said India captain Mithali Raj had little chance of being recognised in public due to the lack of visibility of women’s cricket in India. “I may be boasting. Still, when I go to movies or restaurants, I am still recognised. But I am sure if Mithali is with me, she won’t be recognised. It is sad. I still feel nice when someone comes up to me and introduces me to their children. And why shouldn’t these girls get the recognition? Jhulan [Goswami] is a Padma Shri [winner], she’s an Arjuna awardee, so is Mithali.”However, Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI’s chief administrative officer, said the board was giving women’s cricket adequate support. “Women’s cricket has come under BCCI’s wings in 2006. Since then, the board has done an excellent job with it,” he said. “We have extended the best of facilities to women cricketers. All the state associations have thrown open all their training facilities to the girls. Besides, virtually every team has all the requisite support staff, including a coach, a physio and a trainer.”All the girls are very happy with these facilities. The board is focussing on shorter formats for women’s cricket because almost all the international calendar revolves around T20s and ODIs. And the women’s committee’s suggestion of splitting the inter-state competitions into Plate and Elite group has been accepted. Next year onwards, top 10 teams will play each other, thereby increasing the level of competition.”

The Pakistan Super League, the country’s franchise-based Twenty20 tournament, has been postponed from its planned March-April schedule

Umar Farooq08-Feb-2013Pakistan board’s PSL press release

The PCB and PSL Management after thoughtful deliberations with stakeholders and considering the desire expressed by them to give more time to prepare to invest in the League, arrived at the following conclusions:
1. The concerns expressed by the stakeholders on tight timelines for submission of bids and leveraging of assets, hold merit.
2. Several requests are coming from other parties keen on picking up bid documents to become part of this extravaganza and hence more time given will benefit the League and all stakeholders.
3. While a lot of progress has already been made in getting tax exemption for PSL (broadcasters, franchise, players, investors) from the government, it seems that finalization of this approval would take some more time due to procedures involved at relevant authorities,and the bid process would already be concluded by the time tax exemptions are granted. This could impact upon the valuations done by various bidders.
4. Over 80 foreign players (and growing) have already signed to participate in PSL auction but the process of NOCs from the relevant boards is still underway and would require some time.
5. Some scheduling conflicts that arose after PSL dates were announced could result in potential star players missing out on the opportunity of participating in PSL.

The Pakistan Super League, the country’s franchise-based Twenty20 tournament, has been indefinitely postponed for the organisers to sort out logistical issues. The PSL, which is run by the Pakistan board, was supposed to be held between March 26 and April 7 in Pakistan but a PCB statement said the delay was to give investors more time to submit bids and also to avoid scheduling conflicts with other cricket tournaments.The decision was taken on Friday after PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf met the Pakistan interior minister Rehman Malik in Islamabad. The postponement wasn’t revealed in the press conference that followed the meeting but in a detailed press release that was subsequently issued. The PCB has formed a committee to look for a slot more feasible to the investors to reschedule the tournament.”The decision to move away from the planned dates of the PSL is an extremely difficult one but for the benefit of all stakeholders and the league,” PSL managing director Salman Sarwar Butt said. “The PCB management has decided to reschedule the event and move it to a period where there are fewer scheduling conflicts, and the stakeholders get enough time to develop their business plans.”The PSL business model – unveiled on January 10 – was expected to fetch the PCB “in excess of $100 million over the years.” It was to feature five teams and 23 matches, to be played at a single, as yet undisclosed, venue. The PCB had also announced the base prices of players at a proposed auction though they didn’t reveal the pool of players who had signed up for the tournament. The board also invited bids for the broadcasters and had been confident of lining up investors for the franchises within a month.”Over 15 potential franchise buyers, around 10 top broadcasters and various potential sponsors from large business houses have collected the bid documents and shown extremely keen interest in acquiring respective rights,” Butt said. “However, there are several other investors who would like us to give them more time for our various rights.”Launching the PSL wasn’t a straightforward business for the PCB as no international cricket has been played in Pakistan since a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus during a Test in Lahore in 2009, and the country is still struggling with its law and order situation. The PCB itself has been hosting home series away from home, mostly in the United Arab Emirates, and no country is ready to provide No Objection Certificates (NOC) to its players for featuring in the PSL.The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) had also raised concerns over the security situation in Pakistan and warned players against taking part in the PSL, calling it an unmanageable risk. The original schedule would have also clashed with the pre-poll campaigns ahead of general elections expected to be held in May.ESPNcricinfo understands that there were suggestions to stage the PSL outside Pakistan but the PCB decided to keep it in the country, in line with the league’s stated objective of “improving the image of the country and revival of international cricket”.”There is no way we are backing down from our major objective,” Ashraf said. “We are extremely encouraged by various stakeholders including the broadcasters and financiers from across the world and looking at the response it gives us a lot of confidence that our league is a success. We envisage that as suggested, the shift in our timelines will drive more interested stakeholders towards PSL and make this one of the most sought after league in the cricketing world.”

Mushtaq Ahmed, the former Pakistan legspinner, is on the verge of joining the Delhi Daredevils as a spin-bowling consultant for the 2013 IPL season

Umar Farooq11-Feb-2013

Mushtaq Ahmed, the former Pakistan legspinner, is on the verge of joining the Delhi Daredevils as a spin-bowling consultant for the 2013 IPL season. Mushtaq signed the year-long contract recently, and is now waiting for the final paperwork to be delivered.”I have been offered a one-year deal,” Mushtaq told ESPNcricinfo. “I have accepted it but the deal is yet to be finalised and is in process as written documentation is currently being exchanged.”After retiring from the game in 2008, Mushtaq has been the spin-bowling coach with the England team. The ECB employed him on a consultancy basis so he is free to work for other organisations when not busy with England.The Daredevils, who missed out on the finals last year after losing to Chennai Super Kings in the play-off, wanted to beef up their support staff. Before the auction, they had identified the lack of quality slow bowlers as a perceived gap in the squad. South African offspinner Johan Botha and Sri Lankan legspinner Jeevan Mendis were duly bought to join the unheralded Shahbaz Nadeem, the left-arm spinner, who was impressive last year.Mushtaq will pair up with Eric Simmons, the former South Africa bowler, who is the head coach at the Daredevils. He will also be the second Pakistan player to be involved in a coaching role in the IPL; Wasim Akram has been working with the Kolkata Knight Riders as a fast-bowling consultant since 2009.

Last season’s finalists have been off the boil in IPL 2025

Sreshth Shah02-Apr-20253:35

‘The latest Venkatesh Iyer should walk in at is No. 4’

Big picture: Rematch of the IPL 2024 finalThe last time Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) met, it was in the IPL 2024 final. But three games into IPL 2025, they are at the wrong end of the points table. SRH are eighth and KKR tenth, and the only team either of them have beaten is Rajasthan Royals, sandwiched in between at ninth.For defending champions KKR, their whole batting line-up has been fragile. Last season, their opening partnership set games up by averaging 43.9 at a strike-rate of 207. This season they are averaging 15.3 and striking at 100. The batters between Nos. 4 to 8 – which includes the retained quartet of Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell and Ramandeep Singh – are averaging 17.22 and striking at 117.3. They appear to have picked up a vulnerability to the short ball too. Nine of the 12 KKR dismissals to fast bowling this season are to balls pitched between the 8 and 10 metre mark or shorter.SRH have had poor powerplays with both bat and ball. The shots off Abhishek Sharma’s bat have sounded sweet but he has scored only 31 runs in three innings. Against Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals, their batters kept attacking even as wickets tumbled to finish with totals that turned out to be below-par. Their fast bowling was supposed to be an upgrade but they’ve not made an impact in the first six overs. Their powerplay economy (11.4) is the poorest among all teams this year, and even with the quality of Pat Cummins, Mohammed Shami and Harshal Patel, the economy rate (11.7) of their pace attack is in the doldrums. Only RR’s quicks (11.8) have fared worse.Although both teams are facing similar issues, their approaches remain different. Cummins said after the last defeat that SRH will not change their batting plan, while KKR mentor Dwayne Bravo said on match-eve their batters will have to move beyond being aggressive and be crafty. Thursday will show which philosophy succeeds.3:12

Cricinformed: Are Sunrisers selling themselves short?

Form guide

Kolkata Knight Riders LWL
Sunrisers Hyderabad LLW

Team news: No major injury concerns

SRH are expected to back their primary XII, but the type of pitch (more on that later) could dictate whether they play Adam Zampa, Wiaan Mulder, seamer Simarjeet Singh or spinner Zeeshan Ansari. Anrich Nortje, KKR’s fastest bowler, is still not match ready.Kolkata Knight Riders: (probable) 1 Sunil Narine, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Ajinkya Rahane (capt), 4 Venkatesh Iyer, 5 Angkrish Raghuvanshi, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Ramandeep Singh, 9 Harshit Rana, 10 Spencer Johnson, 11 Varun Chakravarthy, 12 Vaibhav AroraSunrisers Hyderabad: (probable) 1 Travis Head, 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Ishan Kishan, 4 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 5 Aniket Verma, 6 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 7 Abhinav Manohar, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Wiaan Mulder/Adam Zampa, 10 Harshal Patel, 11 Mohammed Shami, 12 Simarjeet Singh/Zeeshan Ansari

Big question

Adam Zampa made a return to the IPL on the back of great performances since 2024. In that period, his 50 appearances have brought 76 wickets at a strike rate of 14.3 and economy of 7.7. He is especially useful between overs 7-16 since 2024, where he has bowled 80% of all his overs. Is it time for him to be a permanent fixture in SRH’s line-up?

In the spotlight: Aniket Verma and Andre RussellNitish Kumar Reddy was SRH’s standout domestic player in 2024 and the team has found another exciting talent in Aniket Verma this season. Even with wickets tumbling, Aniket, bought for INR 30 lakh, has found a way to smash bowlers. His 13-ball 36 against LSG was a trailer of what would follow as he went on to hammer a 41-ball 74 against DC. Aniket has been among the most destructive players of spin in IPL 2025, hitting them for a boundary once every three balls, at a strike rate of 238. His 11 sixes against spin is second only to Nicholas Pooran’s 12. With KKR possessing Narine and Varun Chakravarthy in their bowling XI, will Aniket continue his dominance?2:47

Bangar: Don’t see any change in SRH’s approach

Since the end of IPL 2024, Andre Russell has scored only 586 runs in 41 T20 games at an average of 18.9. He also has just nine runs in two innings this IPL. Last season, Russell had given KKR power at the death, averaging 31.20 with a strike-rate of 185. His highest score in IPL 2024 of 64 not out came against SRH at Eden Gardens.

Pitch and conditions: Turn on the cards?

The surface at Eden Gardens has been in focus over the last week. The pitch that was used in the season opener against RCB backfired on KKR, with the captain Rahane asking for something slower that would suit the team’s spinners. Two pitches have been prepared for this fixture, both having very little grass, which suggests the team’s demand may well have been met.

Key Stats: SRH’s dependency on their openers

• KKR won all three games against SRH in IPL 2024: one league game, the first qualifier and the final. KKR have also won eight of the last ten matches against SRH.
• KKR have the second-lowest powerplay run-rate (7.8) this season, ahead of only CSK’s 7.4. They also have the joint worst powerplay bowling strike-rate of 54.
• Travis Head has the second highest strike-rate against fast bowling (206) since IPL 2024 (min. 100 balls faced). Abhishek Sharma has the best IPL strike-rate of 206 for the first ten deliveries of an innings (min. 75 balls)
• Heinrich Klaasen has never been dismissed by Sunil Narine in five IPL innings, scoring 34 runs off 22 balls. Against Varun Chakravarthy, Klaasen has scored 35 runs off 20 balls, but has been dismissed once.
• SRH have an 80% win record when both Head and Abhishek survive the powerplay. It drops to 71% when one of them is dismissed and dips to 17% when both are out.

Quotes

“The bowlers have an attacking plan, but also have a defensive plan. When we are under pressure, you will see our bowlers go to a defensive plan. But when we are also picking up wickets, we will continue to try and pick up more.”
“Our team is suited to play an aggressive style, but we don’t speak about 300 as an expectation that are put on us by other people. We try to play a positive brand of cricket. It’s a strength of ours and we try to double down on our strengths.”

أعلنت شركة تذكرتي المسؤولة عن حجز بطاقات دخول مباراة الأهلي والترجي المقبلة عن فتح باب الحجز منذ قليل.

ويستعد الأهلي لاستضافة نظيره الترجي في جولة الإياب من الدور نصف النهائي ببطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

مدرب الترجي يوضح لـ”بطولات” تغييرات الجهاز الفني قبل مباراة الأهلي

المباراة من المقرر إقامتها على ملعب استاد القاهرة في تمام الساعة العاشرة من مساء الجمعة المقبل.

وكان العامري فاروق نائب رئيس مجلس إدارة النادي الأهلي قد أعلن عن موافقة الأمن على حضور 10 آلاف مشجع، مشددًا على سعي الإدارة الحمراء لزيادة العدد.

العامري فاروق يوجه رسالة لفريق طائرة الأهلي ويعلق على ثلاثية الترجي

يذكر، أن الأهلي نجح في تحقيق الفوز على نظيره الترجي في مباراة الذهاب بثلاثة أهداف دون رد.

MatériaMais Notícias

Com 827 gols marcados em 380 partidas disputadas – 2,18 g/j -, o Brasileirão 2018 teve a pior média de bolas na rede desde 1990 – 1,89 g/j. E isso parece ter mexido com alguns dos principais clubes da Série A, que foram atrás de artilheiros para reforçar as suas equipes. Nomes como Gabigol, Pablo, Arthur Cabral e Neilton, que se destacaram na última temporada, mudaram de camisa em 2019. Do exterior, chegam ainda Mauro Boselli, ex-Léon, do México, e Yony Gonzalez, ex-Junior Barranquilla, da Colômbia, que também fizeram um bom ano. Após boa Série B, Ferrareis, ex-Figueirense, Gustavo Paredes, ex-Coritiba, e André Luís, ex-Ponte Preta, também ganharão uma chance na elite do futebol nacional.

Até o momento, o clube que mais ‘comprou gols’ para 2019 foi o Corinthians. Somados, os sete reforços anunciados até agora estufaram as redes 50 vezes no último ano. Destaque para Boselli, autor de 24. Quem subiu no ranking nos últimos dias foi o Flamengo. Com as chegadas de Gabigol, artilheiro do Brasil em 2018, e Arrascaeta, principal goleador do Cruzeiro, a equipe passou a ter a maior média, com três contratações que totalizaram 46 tentos na última temporada. Confira o ranking com os números dos reforços dos 12 principais clubes do país:
​
1º – CORINTHIANS – 50 GOLS

Dos 50 gols marcados pelos reforços do Corinthians em 2018, quase metade foi anotado por Boselli. O novo artilheiro corintiano balançou as redes 24 vezes no último ano vestindo a camisa do León, do México, dez a mais​ que André Luís, outro contratado que fez uma boa temporada atuando por Cianorte e Ponte Preta.

Os meias Richard, Sornoza e Ramiro, com 4 tentos cada, completam a lista de gols das novidades do Alvinegro, já que Michel Macedo e Gustavo Mosquito não balançaram as redes.

2º – INTERNACIONAL – 49 GOLS

Com cinco reforços confirmados até o momento, o Internacional é o segundo clube que mais ‘comprou gols’ para 2019. Além de Neilton, quarto maior artilheiro do Brasil em 2018 com 21 gols, o time apostou no jovem Guilherme Parede, revelação do Coritiba, que marcou 12 vezes na temporada e no retorno do ídolo Rafael Sóbis, que balançou as rede sete vezes com a camisa do Cruzeiro no último ano.

O Inter trouxe ainda para o seu elenco dois volantes. Um deles, autor de oito gols na temporada: Rodrigo Lindoso. O meia foi um dos destaques do Botafogo no último ano, e chega ao Colorado envolvido na negociação que levou Alex Santana para o Glorioso. Matheus Galdezani, que marcou uma vez pelo Atlético Mineiro, é outro que chega ao Sul.

3º – PALMEIRAS – 46 GOLS

Campeão brasileiro em 2018, o Palmeiras não se conteve apenas manter o elenco vitorioso da última temporada e foi atrás de reforços. O Alviverde já anunciou a chegada de cinco novos nomes para 2019: Arthur Cabral, Zé Rafael, Carlos Eduardo, Felipe Pires e Matheus Fernandes.

Do quinteto, quem mais vezes estufou as redes na última temporada foi o centroavante Arthur. Pelo Ceará, o atacante marcou 24 vezes, terminando 2018 como o segundo maior artilheiro do país, atrás apenas de Gabigol. Zé Rafael, com 13, também viveu um bom momento. Carlos Eduardo, seis vezes, Felipe Pires, duas, e Matheus, uma, também marcaram.

4º – FLAMENGO – 44 GOLS

O Flamengo pode não aparecer no top 3 do ranking, mas é o clube que contratou mais gols em média. Com apenas três reforços confirmados até o momento, o Rubro-Negro já trouxe para o seu elenco 44 gols marcados em 2018.

Nesta terça-feira, de uma só vez, o clube acertou as chegadas de Gabigol, artilheiro do Brasil em 2018 com 27 gols, atuando pelo Santos, e o ex-cruzeirense Arrascaeta, 11º no ranking de goleador do último ano com 15 tentos. Eles se juntam ao zagueiro Rodrigo Caio, ex-São Paulo, autor de dois gols.

5º – SÃO PAULO – 29 GOLS

Mesmo já contando em seu elenco com nomes de peso como Nenê e Diego Souza, o São Paulo foi atrás de novos reforços para o setor ofensivo. Além de repatriar o ídolo Hernanes, que marcou 4 vezes em 2018 com a camisa do Fortune, da China, o clube trouxe também Pablo e Biro Biro para o ataque.

Jogando com a camisa do Athlético, Pablo foi o 7º maior artilheiro do Brasil no último ano com 18 tentos. Com cinco gols em apenas 11 jogos pelo Shanghai, também chinês, Biro Biro também fez boa temporada. O lateral-direito Igor Vinícius é outro que estufou as redes, marcando duas vezes pela Ponte Preta. Willian Farias e Léo Pelé passaram em branco.

6º – VASCO – 21 GOLS

Mesmo contratando mais jogadores para o setor defensivo do que de ataque, o Vasco aparece bem colocado no ranking de gols marcados por seus reforços em 2018. Os oito anunciados até o momento estufaram as redes em 21 oportunidades, com destaque para Ribamar, autor de seis tentos.

Curiosamente, Bruno César, principal nome a chegar em São Januário, não marcou. Vindo de uma temporada de lesão pelo Sporting, o camisa 10 pouco atuou na temporada. Em contrapartida, Yan Sasse, jovem vindo do Coritiba, marcou cinco vezes. Os laterais Danilo Barcelos, com 4, e Cláudio Winck, com 3, também foram bem. Fellipe Bastos, Cáceres e Lucas Mineiro, com um gol cada, completam a lista.

7º – FLUMINENSE – 18 GOLS

Com Pedro machucado e as saídas de Marcos Júnior e Sornoza, o Fluminense começa 2019 com Yony González como esperança de gols. O colombiano foi um dos destaques do Junior Barranquilla na última temporada, marcando 11 gols em 51 jogos.

Quem também chega em alta é Mateus Gonçalves. Apesar da queda do Sport, o atacante foi bem nas partidas finais do time, marcando 3 gols no Brasileirão. No ano, foram 5 – atuou pelo Tijuana, do México, no 1º semestre. Bruno Silva, com dois tentos pelo Cruzeiro, completa a lista, já que Matheus Ferraz, Ezequiel e Luiz Felipe não anotaram gols em 2018.

8º – ATLÉTICO MINEIRO – 13 GOLS

Com Ricardo Oliveira, Cazares e Chará garantidos para 2019, o Atlético Mineiro se preocupou em reforçar o sistema defensivo. Por conta disso, até o momento, aparece mal posicionado no ranking. O clube tem quatro reforços anunciados até agora: dois zagueiros, um lateral e um volante.

No entanto, um dos defensores trazidos teve um bom desempenho em 2018. Pelo Botafogo, Igor Rabello marcou 5 gols na temporada, um a mais que Guga, destaque do Avaí na Série B, e dois a mais que Réver, que retorna ao Galo. O volante Jair, outro que surgiu bem no ano, marcou duas vezes pelo Sport.

9º – BOTAFOGO – 12 GOLS

Com dificuldades para definir seu ataque em 2018, o Botafogo parece que enfrentará o mesmo problema este ano. Com apenas quatro reforços anunciados até o momento, o clube, que perdeu Erik, ainda não contratou para o setor.

Dos novos reforços, quem marcou mais gols na última temporada foi Gustavo Ferrareis. Atuando pelo Figueirense, o meia balançou as redes 8 vezes. Alex Santana, que defendeu o Paraná, fez quatro, enquanto que o zagueiro Gabriel e o volante Alan Santos passaram em branco.

10º – CRUZEIRO – 4 GOLS

Sem Arrascaeta e Rafael Sóbis para a temporada, o Cruzeiro tem tido uma movimentação discreta no mercado até agora. Por enquanto, apenas o volante Jádson, ex-Fluminense, e o lateral Orejuela, ex-Ajax, estão confirmados como reforços do clube para 2019.

Da dupla, Jádson foi quem mais vezes marcou no último ano. Com a camisa do Tricolor Carioca, o jogador de 25 anos anotou 3 gols, enquanto que o colombiano marcou somente uma vez.

11º – GRÊMIO – 1 GOL

Com praticamente toda a base de 2018 mantida para este ano, somente com as saídas de Marcelo Grohe e Ramiro, o Grêmio é mais um dos grandes times que tem se movimentado pouco até o momento. O clube gaúcho anunciou apenas três novidades para 2019: o goleiro Júlio César, ex-Fluminense, o volante Rômulo, ex-Flamengo, e o meia Walter Montoya, ex-Cruz Azul.

Do trio contratado, o único que estufou as redes no ano passado foi o argentino. E isso aconeteceu em março. Em 27 jogos pelo Cruz Azul na temporada, Montoya anotou apenas um gol.

12º – SANTOS – 0 GOLS

Único dos chamados 12 grandes a não ter anunciado nenhum reforço para dentro do campo em 2019 – a única novidade é o técnico Jorge Sampaoli -, o Santos ainda se movimenta em busca de contratações.

Sem seu artilheiro de 2018, Gabigol, que acertou com o Flamengo, o Peixe começa a temporada ‘perdendo’ muitos gols e ainda sem reposição. Gigliotti, um dos desejos do Santos, acertou com o Toluca, e agora o clube segue em busca de um novo goleador.

After scoring a match-winning century for Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final, Unmukt Chand has said the domestic season has been a learning experience

George Binoy03-Mar-2013Since his return from a victorious Under-19 World Cup campaign in Australia, Unmukt Chand has been busy. He toured New Zealand with India A, toured South Africa with Delhi Daredevils, played a tour game against an England XI, played the BCCI’s Corporate Trophy for ONGC, and represented Delhi in the domestic season. He’s had to deal with a lot more attention and has appeared in his first TV commercial. Amid all this, Chand hasn’t lost the knack of scoring a hundred in a tournament final.After making hundreds in several Under-19 tournament finals, a run that culminated in a World Cup-winning century against Australia in Townsville, Chand did it again, for Delhi in the Vijay Hazare final in Visakhapatman. His 116 off 133 balls led Delhi to 290 for 9, 75 runs too many for Assam.All the knockout matches of the tournament were played in two venues in Visakhapatnam and most of the totals were low. In the quarter-finals and the semis, teams had passed 200 only in two innings. But Chand said the pitch for the final was better than previous ones.”We would have definitely elected to bowl if we had won the toss,” Chand said. “But the conditions were slightly different, it was not a sort of a weird track, not a treacherous track you can say, like we had in the previous games. The ball was coming a bit slow but I think it was a good batting wicket …”The century was Chand’s first in List A cricket since his debut in 2010, coming in his 23rd innings and it lifted his average to 32.60. “I hope to continue scoring hundreds and more importantly winning matches for my team,” he said. “I haven’t scored hundreds but I have been doing this [scoring runs] in the league matches as well. I realise I have the ability and just need to play my own game.”Chand’s Vijay Hazare hundred came after a poor Ranji Trophy season. Much was expected of him following his Under-19 success but he averaged 37, making 445 runs with one century in eight matches. He was Delhi’s third highest run-scorer but eighth on the list of their top averages. Having placed a premium on the Ranji Trophy, calling it a “cherished” tournament, Chand said it had been a learning experience.”All I can say is, I would have definitely wanted to score more runs in the Ranji. Though it happens you know, things don’t always go according to plan,” he said. “I learned a lot in this Ranji season. Failure teaches you a lot. Really happy that I was able to face such rough things as well, when I was not able to score. I hope to learn from the mistakes I made, become a better player.”Chand said he had learned to be more patient through the Ranji season and the one-day matches had taught him new aspects of temperament that needed looking after. His next challenge is the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, India’s domestic T20 tournament. And after that it’s the IPL, when the world will be watching.

Australia’s captain Michael Clarke has said that a defensive, time-wasting mindset never entered his thinking as India slowly cruised to a six-wicket victory that won them the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Mohali

Brydon Coverdale18-Mar-2013Australia’s captain Michael Clarke has said that a defensive, time-wasting mindset never entered his thinking as India slowly cruised to a six-wicket victory that won them the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Mohali. After Australia were bowled out in the second session on day five, it left India chasing 133 in a minimum of 27 overs and while Clarke could have employed delaying tactics to ensure Australia did not give India any extra time, his focus was firmly on pushing for victory himself.India’s innings began approximately half an hour before tea, meaning that even if Australia had used only their fast bowlers it would have been a struggle to bowl only the minimum 12 overs before the start of the final hour. Instead, Clarke rotated his bowlers quite normally and got through an extra nine overs, which meant that in the end India had 36 overs to chase their target. They got there in the 34th.A draw would have been nothing but a consolation for Clarke’s men, who needed a victory in order to stay alive in the series and retain any hope of keeping the Border-Gavaskar Trophy following their losses in Chennai and Hyderabad. Although India never looked in serious trouble, they did lose four wickets along the way and Clarke said breakthroughs were not only Australia’s only path to victory but the best way of restricting the runs.”We still believed that we could win the Test,” Clarke said. “We thought there were going to be opportunities to take wickets, knowing that India were going to have to score at a decent pace. In that first hour when we went out and bowled we could have taken as much time as possible, wasted time to slow the scoring and not bowl many overs because I knew once 3.30 came around, we had to bowl 15 overs in the last hour.”But I don’t think that’s the way we play our cricket. We try to win and unfortunately that wasn’t the case. We couldn’t get a draw, so we deal with a loss. But I think our players deserve a lot of credit for the way they tried their best. Our fast bowlers worked their absolute backsides off and we were very close to hanging on for a draw.”It was all about taking wickets. We had to try to win the Test match and even if you defend, the best form of defence is taking wickets. If you want to slow scoring whether it be in T20, one-day cricket or Tests taking wickets is the best way to slow the scoring and that was our goal, with 130 on the board you never know what can happen in this game but I think the boys showed a lot of fight and deserve credit for that.”Australia’s fight with the ball was worthy of credit but the lack of a big hundred from any of their batsmen in either innings was again costly. Australia’s first innings of 408 looked good until India posted 499, and the difference was that Shikhar Dhawan and M Vijay both passed 150 and put on a 289-run stand, while Australia’s innings featured four scores above 70 but none of them turned into triple-figures.Australia kept trying hard for wickets in India’s chase•BCCI

Conceding huge partnerships and failing to build their own have both been ongoing issues for the Australians in this series. In Chennai, MS Dhoni scored a double-century and put on 140 for the ninth wicket with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, which turned the match, and in Hyderabad Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara compiled 370 together. Australia’s highest stand of the series is 151 by Clarke and Moises Henriques in Chennai, and Clarke’s hundred there is Australia’s only one of the trip. India’s batsmen have made six tons.”Credit needs to go to the India batters, that’s for sure, and as a batting unit that’s what we’re trying to do as well,” Clarke said. “We’re making just as many fifties as India but nowhere near as many hundreds. We have to be more disciplined once we get to fifty, to stay nice and patient, swim between the flags I guess and go on and make a big score.”But I think their batters throughout this series have made the most of conditions. Again in their first innings they are making big scores. I think in the last two Test matches we’ve shown if we can break that partnership, we’ve bowled really well. Apart from the first partnership the other nine wickets fell for 210 runs for us, which was a really good sign for us. And it was similar in the second innings. It’s just breaking that big partnership that we need to keep working on.”This was the sixth consecutive Test Australia have lost in India and at 3-0 with one match remaining, the series has been by far the worst under Clarke’s leadership. Australia won 3-0 at home to Sri Lanka this summer after fighting hard against South Africa but losing 1-0, and Clarke said the team would need to find ways of handling foreign conditions and not just being a threat at home.”I think it’s probably a very fair indication of where both teams are at,” Clarke said of the 3-0 scoreline. “I don’t want to talk for India. But for the Australian team it’s probably a fair indication. We’re playing some really good, consistent cricket at home back in Australia, in conditions we’re very used to, very accustomed to, but we’re not performing as well as we’d like when we go overseas in conditions we’re not used to.”That’s an area we’ve spoken about as a group for a while now, over the past 12 months. We continue to work hard on that. As disappointing as it is that we can’t level the series now that we’re 3-0 down, I think the players individually and the team have learnt a lot over the first three Test matches. We’d love to go home with a win in this last Test in Delhi.”

Match facts

February 14-18, 2013
Start time 1030 local (0830 GMT)Mohammad Irfan is likely to make his Test debut•AFP

Big picture

Were Pakistan really Test-ready ahead of the Wanderers Test? Going by their first-innings capitulation for 49 – their lowest Test score – certainly not.When you’re up against the No.1 side in the world, you want to give your players enough time to acclimatise and adjust to the seamer-friendly conditions. A solitary warm-up game in East London wasn’t enough. With the first Test starting nearly three weeks after the India tour ended, there were suggestions that Pakistan could have arrived in South Africa earlier, and probably squeezed in another warm-up. Mohammad Hafeez had stated recently that Pakistan needed more Tests in their calendar to get some momentum going. For a team that last played a Test in July, their preparation ahead of the Wanderers was inadequate. They were caught short against the moving ball and the captain Misbah-ul-Haq said Dale Steyn was too much for his batsmen to handle.Their opposition in the warm-up between Tests – the Emerging Cape Cobras – may not have been the strongest, but it was an opportunity to rectify those technical glitches, and Younis Khan was the only batsman to score a fifty. The pitch at Newlands is expected to give Pakistan some relief, as it is expected to favour the batsmen more than the Wanderers strip did. What Pakistan need to show is resilience, and since Misbah took over, they’ve shown plenty of that.South Africa have no such concerns and will look to wrap up the series at their strongest home venue. Graeme Smith, who led South Africa to the top of the rankings, will be playing his 100th Test as captain of his country. Their decision not to rotate their bowlers, unlike Australia, indicated they’re hungry to close out the series as soon as possible. The early finish at the Wanderers gave them an extra day’s rest.

Form guide

South Africa WWWWD
Pakistan LDDLW

In the spotlight

Sarfraz Ahmed was preferred ahead of Adnan Akmal as the wicketkeeper for the Tests, for reasons not properly explained. Though his keeping was tidy at the Wanderers, he had a poor game with the bat, scoring 2 and 6. As the lone specialist keeper in the squad, coupled with the absence of the Akmal brothers, his place in the line-up doesn’t look in danger, but Pakistan will need better contributions from him as a lower-order batsman. It would be unfair to write Sarfraz off too quickly, since he had played just one Test prior to the Wanderers since his international debut in 2007. The forthcoming Tests present an opportunity to establish himself in the squad as the first-choice keeper.Robin Peterson was a forgotten man during Pakistan’s collapse for 49, because he wasn’t required. Though he got 10 overs in the second innings, he returned wicketless. He admitted that it can be lonely as a spinner in these conditions: “It’s no fun sometimes being the spinner in South Africa and you go through periods of play where you don’t even bowl.” He is unlikely to be made redundant in Newlands, though, with the pitch expected to give more assistance to the spinners compared to the one at the Wanderers.

Team news

There was bad news for Pakistan on the eve of the Test, with the left-arm seamer Junaid Khan in doubt as he is yet to recover from a thigh injury. Mohammad Irfan, the 7ft left-armer who toured India recently, was anyway in line for a Test debut after his seven-wicket haul in the warm-up. Pakistan’s coach Dav Whatmore hinted at playing an additional spinner, Abdur Rehman, which means Rahat Ali, who went wicketless in the first Test, may have to make way.Pakistan: (probable) 1 Mohammed Hafeez, 2 Nasir Jamshed, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Asad Shafiq, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Umar Gul, 9 Saeed Ajmal, 10 and 11 Junaid Khan/ Mohammad Irfan/Rahat AliSouth Africa will play an unchanged line-up.South Africa: (probable) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Alviro Petersen, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers (wk), 6 Faf du Plessis, 7 Dean Elgar, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Robin Peterson, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Morne Morkel

Pitch and conditions

The pitch was watered on Tuesday night and a fair amount of grass was shaved off. There are small hints of green and it looks the usual, good Newlands strip. It was expected to be a ‘grafting’ surface, something the batsmen should enjoy. There is a possibility of rain tomorrow so a delayed start is likely.

Stats and trivia

• Since their readmission to Test cricket, South Africa have a 17-3 win-loss record in Cape Town, with all three defeats coming against Australia. Since their last defeat to Australia in 2006, they’ve won seven out of ten Tests, and drawn the other three. Overall, South Africa have won 20 Tests here, six more than their next-best venue (The Wanderers – 14 wins)
• Jacques Kallis has scored 2158 runs in 21 Tests at Newlands, at an average of 77.07, with nine centuries in 33 innings. In his last six Tests here he has scored five hundreds, including his highest of 224 against Sri Lanka in 2012.
• Pakistan have lost to South Africa every time they’ve played in Cape Town: South Africa have won both Tests and all four ODIs.
• Dale Steyn is one wicket away from becoming the highest wicket-taker in Tests in Cape Town. Steyn is currently tied on 53 with Makhaya Ntini. While Ntini took his wickets in 13 Tests at an average of 29.09, Steyn has taken 53 in ten Tests at 20.98.

Quotes

“The more accolades there are, the more expectation there is on me. I woke up before the Wanderers Test at 4am dreaming I had got a pair.”
“I am really confident that these guys can fight back. Whenever we’ve had tough times, we have been able to come out of it.”
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Overseas player availability a key concern after league had to be suspended due to cross-border tensions between Pakistan and India

Danyal Rasool12-May-2025The PSL is likely to resume later this week with the PCB aiming to hold the remaining games in Pakistan. The league, which was postponed due to increasing cross-border tensions with India, has eight games left and the PCB, as well as several franchises, is eager to conclude the season as early as possible.The PSL held meetings with the franchises on Monday to discuss specific dates and venues. The most pressing issue is the availability of overseas players, with ESPNcricinfo understanding a significant number are unlikely to return. The asymmetry of player availability may also impact squads, with some franchises more confident about overseas players rejoining than others.To mitigate that, the PCB is also believed to be considering a replacement draft to make up the numbers. While the quality of players available for such a draft is a concern – the most in-demand players were already with the PSL or the IPL – it is likely to be a necessary step to fill the gaps. The logistics around production will also need to be sorted, with the contracts for broadcasting teams ending on 18 May, the date for the final before the league had to be suspended.Several stakeholders at the franchises ESPNcricinfo spoke to said that bringing foreign players back for the remainder of the season had been made difficult by the decisions compelled upon the PCB from the sheer volatility of the period leading to the league’s suspension. As tensions between India and Pakistan escalated, the PSL at one point went through three different options within 24 hours.The PCB initially considered moving the tournament to Karachi after the security situation around the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium became untenable, before announcing early on Friday morning that it would be held in the UAE. Later that day, though, with the IPL also suspended by this point, it was announced the PSL was being suspended indefinitely – a decision ultimately made on the advice of the Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.During this time, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi held a meeting with the overseas players. One franchise member told ESPNcricinfo the players were “in no frame of mind” to play at this point, with emotions running high. It was decided that evening to airlift the players to the UAE that night from an airbase.The conclusion of PSL 2025 will mark the end of the ten-year leases for the six franchises, with the contracts up for renewal and renegotiation. The current owners have right of first refusal, with several indicating a preference to purchase teams in perpetuity rather than operate on rolling long-term contracts.The PSL spilling into the last ten days of May is also expected to impact Bangladesh’s tour of Pakistan. Bangladesh were due to arrive on May 21 and play five T20Is starting on May 25, with the first two in Faisalabad and the remaining three in Lahore. The BCB said it was in “active and ongoing discussions” about the tour.