Chelsea have issued a statement defending Conor Gallagher after the midfielder faced heavy criticism when a video of him went viral on social media.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
The New York Yankees played—and won—on Opening Day with heavy hearts after the death of former Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner's 14-year-old son Miller, who tragically passed away after falling ill on a family vacation in Costa Rica.
Prior to the national anthem on Thursday, the Yankees honored Gardner's son with a moment of silence. After the Yankees' 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers, team captain Aaron Judge spoke to reporters and shared some heartfelt thoughts about how much Gardner means to him and the organization, adding that the former outfielder's family has been "on his mind."
"I got a lot of phone calls, texts from other guys that when we were young guys coming up—'What do we do? Do we reach out? What's going on?'" Judge said. "Just because of the way that Brett impacted all of our lives. He may not have been the big superstar with all the All-Stars and MVPs and this and that.
"But this guy was a leader of all of us. A second dad to some guys. He poured everything into every single guy. If you were having a tough time, he was always there for you to be someone to lean on, someone to joke on. His family—they've all been on my mind."
During the game, Judge also appeared to make a special tribute to Gardner when the Yankees fans affectionately known as the "Bleacher Creatures", chanted his name during the traditional roll call in the top of the first inning. When Gardner played for the Yankees, he would acknowledge the fans' chants with a flex move.
Over the last few years, Judge has been honoring Gardner by imitating the flex move when he's been in center field, the position Gardner played when he first made it to the big leagues with the Yankees.
On Thursday, Judge again paid tribute to Gardner with the move, this time from right field.
Gardner's son Miller passed away on the morning of March 21 after he had eaten at a restaurant and had fallen ill. Authorities in Costa Rica continue to investigate his death, but possible asphyxiation was ruled out as of Tuesday.
"We have so many questions and so few answers at this point,” Brett and Jessica Gardner said in a statement Sunday. "Miller was a beloved son and brother and we cannot yet comprehend our life without his infectious smile. He loved football, baseball, golf, hunting, fishing, his family and his friends. He lived life to the fullest every single day."
Contact has been made with Manchester United as West Ham chiefs eye up a late January move, with co-chair David Sullivan and manager Graham Potter tipped to oversee a busy end to the window in east London.
West Ham target last-gasp January deals in multiple positions
The Hammers are in active pursuit of a new striker, following long-term injuries to Niclas Füllkrug and Michail Antonio, but a fresh centre-forward option isn’t their only potential incoming before the deadline.
West Ham make late January contact to sign ex-Liverpool star on loan
The Irons are chasing late signings.
1 ByEmilio Galantini Jan 30, 2025
West Ham had a bid rejected for PSV Eindhoven star Ricardo Pepi (Fabrizio Romano), and could yet go back in with an improved winter bid (Rik Elfrink). The USA international, who’s bagged 18 goals already in all competitions this season, would be a stellar capture for Potter – but if they fail with another approach, it is widely believed that Brighton starlet Evan Ferguson is another primary target.
“The news has emerged last night that Ferguson’s move to Bayer Leverkusen may have fallen through due to Al Nassr choosing to sign Jhon Duran over their forward Victor Boniface,” said club insider ExWHUemployee on Thursday.
“If the club get this confirmed and are confident that his injuries are not long-term, then further negotiations with the hope of completing before Monday’s deadline will occur.
Chelsea (away)
February 3rd
Brentford (home)
February 15th
Arsenal (away)
February 22nd
Leicester City (home)
February 27th
Newcastle United (home)
March 10th
“West Ham are prepared to include an option or obligation to buy in the loan deal to try and get the deal over the line. Talks are continuing with Ferguson, they are going positively as the club tries to work towards a deal.”
Ferguson’s possible move to the London Stadium is looking well and truly on, as Sullivan seeks to back Potter with a centre-forward who can fill in for both Fullkrug and Antonio.
However, it is also believed that West Ham are targeting another centre-back before the deadline, with Brighton’s Adam Webster among West Ham’s defender targets for this window.
Now, the 30-year-old has been joined by United’s Victor Lindelof.
West Ham contact Man United over signing Victor Lindelof
According to journalist Graeme Bailey, writing for United in Focus, West Ham have contacted United over signing Lindelof in January – with the £120,000-per-week Swede out of contract this summer and potentially available for a cut-price fee.
The 70-cap international appears out of Ruben Amorim’s long-term plans, motivating the Irons to test United’s resolve with an enquiry and gauge whether a mid-season deal for Lindelof is possible.
However, Bailey reports that the former Benfica star has no interest in joining West Ham, and has made that clear to his representatives.
Given Lindelof’s torrid injury record lately, not to mention the fact he’s now entered the twilight phase of his career, you could make a case that this is arguably for the best – and there could be better options out there for Potter.
Chelsea have held talks with a forward’s camp over the possibility of a January transfer, as the player’s representatives look to secure him a move to the Premier League this month.
Enzo Maresca’s side are set to end 2024 on a slightly downward trajectory in terms of form, having lost their last two league games against Fulham and Ipswich Town, but it has been an excellent conclusion to the year overall when looking at the bigger picture.
£130k-per-week Chelsea ace wanted by manager and could leave on loan
Stamford Bridge exits are beckoning next month.
By
Emilio Galantini
Dec 28, 2024
Maresca has ushered in a promising new era at Stamford Bridge, and Chelsea look like firm favourites to seal a place in the Premier League top four by the end of this season and make a return to the Champions League.
|
Chelsea’s next Premier League fixtures |
Date |
|---|---|
|
Crystal Palace (away) |
January 4 |
|
Bournemouth (home) |
January 14 |
|
Wolverhampton Wanderers (home) |
January 20 |
|
Man City (away) |
January 25 |
|
West Ham (away) |
February 3 |
Only Liverpool and Tottenham have scored more goals in the top flight than Chelsea so far this campaign, and before their defeat to Fulham, they hadn’t lost a single Premier League game since late October.
Following Chelsea’s defeat to Ipswich, Maresca suggested that their slight slump in form this last fortnight has been down to general fatigue.
“I like to analyse game by game. I think tonight, when you create so many chances, you can probably do something better defensively but offensively, it’s not many things to say,” said Maresca after Chelsea’s loss at Ipswich.
“The Fulham game, I don’t think we played in the way we like to play; it was more up and down and that is not our football.
“Everton is a difficult game for everyone. We tried to win the game. Probably, also, December I think we played nine games. We started with the first five or six winning all the games but then we struggle a little bit finishing [the month].
“We probably also arrive at the end of the month feeling a little bit tired in general. We have finished the first part of the season, we are going to start the second part. We are happy with where we are but we know we can do many things better.”
Maresca already has real strength in depth, which has allowed them to operate with an ‘A’ and ‘B’ team across all competitions this season, but it is believed Chelsea could still be active in January.
According to The Boot Room and journalist Graeme Bailey, PSG forward Randal Kolo Muani and his team have approached the Stamford Bridge side over a potential winter move.
The £203,000-per-week France international has been told he’s free to depart by manager Luis Enrique, and Kolo Muani’s camp have held talks with Chelsea ahead of January, alongside other Premier League sides.
The former Eintracht Frankfurt star favours a move to England above all, and his camp are working to secure him a winter switch to the division. As things stand, it is thought that a loan move is the most likely scenario for him, even if PSG would prefer a permanent deal.
Birmingham City’s summer transfer window before the new League One season kicked off couldn’t have really gone any better, as plenty of deadwood was shifted on and a whole host of exciting gems were snapped up.
In total, there were a mammoth 17 incomings for Chris Davies to contend with, which included the dramatic return of Jay Stansfield to St. Andrew’s, alongside bold additions in the form of Tomoki Iwata and Willum Thor Willumsson.
All of those signings named have made the transition to the third tier look easy for the most part – with Stansfield bagging ten goals from 13 league clashes – but the Blues haven’t always been blessed with amazing luck when it comes to striking gold in the transfer department.
Every club up and down England is going to fall foul of some blunders when a window swings open, with Birmingham no exception to that rule whatsoever.
After all, Blues fans will still be haunted by the fact their club splashed out £2m on Sam Cosgrove back in 2021, only for the ex-Aberdeen man to flounder horrifically in his new location with zero goals tallied up from 17 dire appearances.
That isn’t the only time Birmingham have signed a striker who would then never live up to their hype, with Scott Hogan once a £12m buy for Aston Villa before joining their arch rivals, only for him now to be playing in League Two after bagging a lacklustre 36 strikes from 158 clashes.
There are no doubt more flops that have gone on to notably struggle at St. Andrew’s away from just these two strikers, with this player in question one that did shine in spurts in the West Midlands, but would again never feel worthy of his excessive fee.
Whilst not as extortionate as the mentioned Hogan deal, Ivan Sunjic would still cost a whopping £6.3m to obtain in the summer of 2019, with plenty then expected of the midfielder on his flashy arrival.
He would end up amassing 176 appearances in England, as his first season saw him score three times from 40 league games whilst his new employers just about survived in the Championship, which included this beauty of a strike being hammered home versus Derby County.
Yet, Birmingham fans would have been left wanting more from the Bosnia and Herzegovina international as his stay dragged on at the club, as Sunjic would end up accumulating just three more goals and six assists across the following three campaigns.
Labelled as “superb” by then Birmingham manager Pep Clotet during his first few months at the club, there will have been a disappointment in the air when the 28-year-old was just allowed to depart for nothing in the summer.
But, it did feel unlikely that Davies would want to keep the former £6.3m buy around, especially as he went about freshening up the camp for the more combative challenge of League One football.
He has since made the switch to Cyprus to line up for Pafos FC, who actually play in the Europa Conference League, with Sunjic showing off signs of his class for his new employers so far in league action.
|
Sunjic’s league numbers for Pafos (24/25) |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat – per 90 mins* |
Sunjic |
|
Games played |
13 |
|
Games started |
12 |
|
Goals scored |
2 |
|
Assists |
1 |
|
Accurate passes* |
31.4 (87%) |
|
Interceptions* |
2.6 |
|
Ball recoveries* |
6.8 |
|
Total duels won* |
4.1 |
|
Stats by Sofascore |
|
Whilst Sunjic aims to build on a promising start to life out in Cyprus, Davies will just be content with the options he has back in England in the midfield positions, feeling little to no regret that he can’t call upon the ex-Blues number 34.
Birmingham did used to fail in the market very frequently when it came to high-profile signings underwhelming, but in the here and now with Stansfield and many others, that narrative is changing.
Davies could already have his own Redmond in "excellent" Birmingham star
Birmingham City might not need to sign Nathan Redmond after all.
2
By
Kelan Sarson
Dec 19, 2024
And with that, Arsenal’s title bid may well be done. Mikel Arteta’s men are unbeaten across the last ten league outings but there have been too many laboured dis[lays with not much creativity.
Arsenal went into the break against Brighton leading 1-0 through the incredible Ethan Nwaneri who despite being 17 years of age, has the world at his feet with two Premier League goals already this term.
However, the Seagulls fought back and secured a 1-1 draw after Joao Pedro’s controversial penalty.
It was a bizarre one, truth be told. William Saliba and Pedro challenged for the ball, grazed heads and Anthony Taylor after a period of deliberation eventually pointed to the penalty spot.
Arteta and his team may well rue that moment but they just didn’t do enough in the final third themselves. A telling stat was the fact that Arsenal only had one shot on target in the second half.
With Tottenham Hotspur to come next week, it’s a huge north London derby. They do, at least, have Nwaneri at their disposal but they cannot rely on a teenager to keep them in the title race.
More players need to step up…
Arsenal's best players against Brighton
With Martin Odegaard on the bench because of an illness and Kai Havertz missing from the squad entirely due to the same reasoning, Arteta needed to find a creative or goalscoring spark from somewhere.
Gabriel Jesus has been the go-to man in recent months, scoring twice against Crystal Palace in the league and then bagging another against Brentford just a few days ago.
Nwaneri has been another surprise inclusion over the last two matches and boy has he delivered.
When Bukayo Saka’s hamstring injury was confirmed to be a lengthy one there were plenty of question marks surrounding that area of the pitch.
Gabriel Martinelli was tried down the right against Ipswich but that didn’t amount to much so Nwaneri came in to start on the right-hand side versus Brentford.
Arsenal immediately looked more fluid in attacking areas with the spritely teenager able to manoeuvre in 360 degrees with remarkable comfort and ease.
Well, Nwaneri made the biggest impact of all against Brighton on Saturday by scoring his second Premier League goal.
He raced onto the ball on the right-hand side, got away from the defence, into the penalty area and then buried an opportunity beyond Seagulls stopper Bart Verbruggen. It was a lovely goal and it was a moment that said to the rest of the Premier League that this boy is a special one.
Truth be told, it wasn’t the most complete of performances from the youngster who took a succession of poor corners and gave away the ball in tight spaces. That said, they needed a difference maker and without Odegaard or Saka on the pitch, he was it.
Minutes played
45
Touches
22
Accurate passes
8/8
Key passes
0
Shots
1
Crosses completed
0/4
Dribbles completed
1/3
Duels won
3/7
Tackles
1
So, where did it go wrong and who were the worst performers on the away team?
Performance in Numbers
Want data and stats? Football FanCast's Performance in Numbers series provides you with the latest match analysis from across Europe.
Arsenal's worst performers against Brighton
It’s fair to say this was not Arsenal’s day for a number of reasons.
Not only did the Brighton equaliser come about as a result of some bizarre officiating but they failed to create much in the second half either.
Whether the turning point was Martinelli being brought on for Nwaneri at the break is tricky to know but they lacked much fluidity after that moment with the likes of Jesus and former Brighton man Leandro Trossard isolated. As a result, they did not see much of the ball at all.
That said, it was in the deepest of midfield slots where the Gunners struggled the most.
With Odegaard only on the bench and Jurrien Timber suspended, it meant that Declan Rice was required further forward and Thomas Partey at right-back. As such, it was up to Jorginho to marshal the midfield in front of the backline.
Unfortunately, he didn’t do enough and was often overrun in midfield by the monstrous Carlos Baleba who seemed to have Jorginho’s number
The Italian is often a dependable figure, someone who evades the press well and breaks up play before passing the ball to more creative figures.
On this occasion, he wasn’t great at that. Jorginho was dribbled past twice and failed to make a single interception on the night. Unsurprisingly, he did little in the final third either, failing to have a shot and making just the one key pass.
Minutes played
64
Touches
46
Accurate passes
30/35 (86%)
Key passes
1
Crosses
0
Long balls
0
Shots
0
Dribbles
0
Possession lost
7x
Clearances
1
Interceptions
0
Tackles
2
Dribbled past
2
That part of his play doesn’t matter hugely considering the role he was playing in but the very fact that Arteta chose to take him off after just 64 minutes having had fewer touches than goalkeeper David Raya (58) said a lot.
Handed a 5/10 match rating by Football.London’s Tom Canton, he wrote of the former Chelsea midfielder’s display that there were ‘a couple of errors in the first half that nearly proved very costly’.
That rather summed it up for the Gunners who were left to rue what might well be the final nail in the coffin for their title charge this term.
They are now five points behind Liverpool who play tomorrow but they could extend their lead to eight with a game in hand.
Arsenal have had injuries this season, they’ve had bad luck with penalty decisions and red card but the biggest problem of all is that they simply haven’t been good enough to string together a really promising sequence of wins.
Barca want him: Arsenal may lose "sensational" ace for £0 in Ramsey repeat
Losing the incredible talent would be bad news for Arsenal.
1 ByJack Salveson Holmes Jan 2, 2025
كشفت تقارير صحيفة، عن تواصل النادي الأهلي، مع لاعبه السابق، من أجل العودة من جديد لصفوف القلعة الحمراء لتدعيم الفريق في الموسم الجديد، إلا أن قرار اللاعب جاء بالرفض والاستمرار مع ناديه الحالي.
الأهلي يواصل في الفترة الحالية، تدعيم الفريق بشكل قوي من أجل دخول الموسم الجديد للمنافسة على كل الالقاب المشاركة بها، أبرزها دوري أبطال إفريقيا، للحفاظ على مكانه بكأس العالم للأندية المقبل 2029.
طالع | بتحديد الأندية.. مواعيد مباريات الأهلي الودية في تونس
ووفقًا لصحيفة “اليوم” السعودية، “أحمد حجازي قرر الاستمرار مع فريقه الحالي نيوم في الموسم المقبل، رغم وجود تواصل حدث معه من جانب مسئولي النادي الأهلي خلال الأيام الماضية”.
واضافت: “أحمد حجازي استقر على التواجد مع فريقه الحالي، خاصة وأن عقده لا زال مستمرًا مع نيوم خلال الفترة المقبلة”.
وتابع: “أحمد حجازي لديه الرغبة في استكمال مشواره مع نادي نيوم، ولا توجد لديه أي نية في الرحيل عن الفريق خلال الفترة الحالية بصورة نهائية”.
وكان أحمد حجازي لعب في صفوف الأهلي في الفترة من 2015 حتي 2017 ثم رحل في مسيرة احترافية مع وست بروميتش ألبيون الإنجليزي وبعدها انتقل إلى اتحاد جدة ثم يتواجد حاليًا مع نيوم السعودي منذ الموسم الماضي.
وشارك أحمد حجازي في تأهل فريقه نيوم، إلى الدوري الدوري السعودي للمحترفين “دوري روشن”، بداية من الموسم المقبل 2025-2026.
India are set to host Australia for a five-match T20I series starting December 9. All five games in the 11-day tour will be played in Mumbai, with the DY Patil Stadium hosting the first two games before the action shifts to the Brabourne Stadium for the next three. The series recommences both teams’ lead-ups to the Women’s T20 World Cup next February.
Dec 9: 1st T20I, DY Patil Stadium Dec 11: 2nd T20I, DY Patil Stadium Dec 14: 3rd T20I, Brabourne Stadium Dec 17: 4th T20I, Brabourne Stadium Dec 20: 5th T20I, Brabourne Stadium
For Australia, this could be the first series where they will miss regular captain Meg Lanning – who opted to take an indefinite mental-health break – following their Commonwealth Games title win, which was where these two teams last met. With Rachael Haynes announcing her retirement, Australia don’t currently have a captain. Alyssa Healy was named vice-captain and with Lanning’s return still not confirmed, Healy could take over the reins for this tour.The Australian players will come into the series on the back of the Women’s Big Bash League, which will conclude on November 26. While some of the Indian players including Pooja Vastrakar and Jemimah Rodrigues decided to play in the WBBL, the likes of Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana pulled out to manage their increasing workload.The series will mark India’s return to the international circuit after their win against Sri Lanka to complete a successful Asia Cup campaign in October. They are scheduled to tour South Africa in the second half of January for a tri-series featuring West Indies, in the build-up to the Women’s T20 World Cup 2023.Australia last toured India for a limited-overs series in 2018 where they whitewashed the hosts 3-0 in ODIs before overcoming India twice in the tri-nation women’s T20 series.
Our pick of the best World T20 batting performances is heavy on semi-finals and finals performances
Kanishkaa Balachandran25-Feb-2016Marlon Samuels, 78 off 56 balls, West Indies v Sri Lanka, final, Colombo, 2012
West Indies, batting first, were crawling along at 32 for 2 after ten overs. Enter Samuels, who played the innings of his life, biffing Sri Lanka’s best bowler, Lasith Malinga, for three sixes in the 13th over and for a further 18 runs when Malinga returned for a new spell. West Indies posted a seemingly modest 137, thanks to Samuels’ onslaught, but it was a winning total.Alex Hales, 116 not off 64 balls, England v Sri Lanka, Chittagong, 2014
The target was a steep 190 and England were reeling at 0 for 2 at the end of the first over. A full-strength Sri Lanka attack wasn’t good enough to silence Hales, who bludgeoned 11 fours and six sixes. Three of those sixes came off one over from Ajantha Mendis that cost 25, decisively swinging the match away from Sri Lanka. It was England’s first T20 hundred and guided them home by six wickets.Michael Hussey, 60 not out off 24 balls, Australia v Pakistan, semi-final, Gros Islet, 2010
Chasing 192 for a place in the final, Australia looked out of it when they needed 34 off the last two overs. Their hopes rested on a set Hussey, batting on 24 off 14 at that point. He proceeded to take charge against Mohammad Amir, haring 16 off the penultimate over, and then launching a brutal onslaught on Saeed Ajmal in the 20th, smacking three sixes to clinch the unlikeliest of victories.Yuvraj Singh, 70 off 30 balls, India v Australia, semi-final, Durban, 2007
Yuvraj was in red-hot form coming into the semi-final, having hit Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over in the previous game. He tonked another five against Australia, including one off Brett Lee over square leg that proved to be the biggest hit of the tournament. India surged in the middle overs thanks largely to Yuvraj’s 21-ball fifty. It eventually took them to 188, and a 15-run win.Shahid Afridi, 51 off 34 balls, Pakistan v South Africa, semi-final, Trent Bridge, 2009
A refreshingly mature innings from Afridi: aggressive yet methodical, featuring eight fours and no sixes. South Africa pulled things back after the Powerplay, but Afridi didn’t let the pressure build on Pakistan, finding the gaps and pushing twos. He then tore into Johan Botha, hitting four fours in an over. He put Pakistan on course for a competitive 149 and later tormented South Africa with the ball, capping a fine day for him.
In the final, Pakistan were outclassed with the bat, outsmarted with the ball and outdone in the field
Danyal Rasool11-Sep-20223:18
Maharoof: ‘These young lions will be treated like heroes’
A tournament that began for Sri Lanka with tumult at home and turbulence in the UAE has ended with them taking home the Asia Cup trophy. Pakistan were the side at the receiving end of this thumping, outclassed with the bat, outsmarted with the ball, outdone in the field, and out-thought in the captaincy department by an electric Sri Lankan performance which wrapped up a commanding 23-run win.Bhanuka Rajapaksa formed the backbone of the Sri Lankan innings, rescuing his side from 58 for 5 with an unbeaten 45-ball 71 that saw them post 170. It was followed by a spirited showing in the field as Sri Lanka outmatched Pakistan’s intensity, with Wanindu Hasaranga and Pramod Madushan taking seven wickets between them during a listless batting performance.It had begun so smoothly for Pakistan, with Naseem Shah’s opening-over wicket appearing to set the tone for Pakistan. Haris Rauf was in similarly breathtaking form, never more so than during an extraordinary sixth over where he threatened the stumps nearly every ball. By then, both Pathum Nissanka and Danushka Gunathilaka had been accounted for, and Dhananjaya de Silva and Dasun Shanaka would soon follow.A revival led by Rajapaksa and Hasaranga helped Sri Lanka force themselves back into the game and a spirited finish ensured they’d post a competitive score. It was assisted by some ordinary ground fielding and catching by Pakistan; their best fielder, Shadab Khan, had a notoriously poor outing. Sri Lanka, by contrast, showed in the field how desperately they wanted this. Pakistan were stifled through the first half and then blown away in the second.The Sri Lanka players celebrate their victory•AFP/Getty ImagesBabar Azam’s side never quite sure how to pace their innings, with an unrelenting Sri Lanka refusing to let them grind through the gears. In the end, it was a mismatch between a side that had brought their A-game and one that never quite found theirs. Long before it became official, it was evident Sri Lanka would win their sixth Asia Cup trophy, capping a sensational tournament by saving their best performance for last.Naseem Shah’s first over
Whatever gift Shaheen Afridi possessed that got batters out in his first over seems to have been bestowed on Naseem in his absence. In a mesmeric start where the 19-year old found high pace almost right from the off, Kusal Mendis was done in for a golden duck by a near unplayable delivery. It made a beeline for the stumps, at searing speed, and the hapless Mendis could do little about it. The inswinger went through the gap between bat and pad, and uprooted off stump after clipping the thigh. It was Pakistani fast bowling at its scintillating best.The umpire’s call
First, there was a slice of luck, and then the glorious skill. Off the fifth ball of his innings in Rauf’s scintillating sixth over, the bowler sent down a near unplayable leg-stump yorker at the in-form Rajapaksa. The batter played all around it, with the ball crunching into his foot. The umpire deemed it not out, only to have his decision upheld by the barest of margins, with Hawkeye deeming it to be umpire’s call on impact. To the naked eye, it looked out from just about every angle.With Pakistan on top, it was a colossal moment in the final, and Rajapaksa wouldn’t let it go to waste. What followed was an innings of high class, that saw through a period of consolidation while Hasaranga at the other end took on a more proactive role. Sri Lanka were slowly chipping away at Pakistan, and without taking too many risks, Rajapaksa had brought up a 35-ball half-century.2:25
Maharoof: ‘Probably the best I have seen Rajapaksa bat’
Most memorable of all though, was the way he took on Naseem at the end, a bowler who had begun so sensationally in the Powerplay. A flick of the wrists deposited him over backward square leg in his penultimate over, before a four and a six off the innings’ final two balls ensured Sri Lanka had all the momentum with them at the break.The Sri Lankan first over
There might never have been a game that saw such a contrast at the start of each bowling performance. While Naseem was unplayable to begin Pakistan’s work, Dilshan Madushanka was anything but. It wasn’t until the sixth ball that the innings even began with the left-arm seamer starting off with a no-ball and following it up with four wides, one of which went down to the boundary for an extra four. Pakistan had nine to their name without a legal ball being bowled and a free hit to follow. But Madushanka would come back smartly to allow just three more through the over, and Sri Lanka ensured it was a blip rather than a harbinger of what was to follow.The entire second innings
There was so much to enjoy about Sri Lanka in the field it’s almost impossible to pick out individual moments. Madushan’s two-in-two to remove Babar and Fakhar Zaman set the tone. It also helped that an off colour Mohammad Rizwan never really figured out how to manipulate his innings according to the needs of the target.Shanaka was especially canny about using his bowlers, perhaps in stark contrast to Pakistan who mysteriously opted not to have Mohammad Nawaz bowl out his quote. Throwing the ball to the offspinner de Silva just as the left-hander Nawaz came in to bat at No. 5 proved a masterstroke, with a couple of sensational dives in the field saving valuable runs off the first two balls, followed up by four dot balls that saw the asking rate balloon to 14.Sri Lanka caught like a side possessed, too, whereas the only montage you could make of Pakistan’s fielding would be about their sloppiness. In the end, there was a yawning chasm between the performances the two sides put in, with the result a fair reflection.