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When Deepak Chahar speared in a yorker to dismiss Aminul Islam, he, in one go, became the first Indian man to complete a T20I hat-trick, collected the best ever figures in a men’s T20I, and sealed a 30-run win against Bangladesh to close out the three-match series.Despite the presence of dew in Nagpur, which negated the effect of Chahar’s primary weapon – swing – he was still more than a handful for the Bangladesh batsmen with his incisive bowling, earning him 14 dots from his 20 deliveries.Here’s how ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentators recorded his wickets:2.4 Chahar to Liton Das, OUT, 2.5 Chahar to Soumya Sarkar, OUT, Chahar on a hat-trick12.6 Chahar to Mohammad Mithun, OUT, 17.6 Chahar to Shafiul Islam, OUT, 19.1 Chahar to Mustafizur Rahman, OUT, slapped straight to deep point and that’s a fifth for Chahar. He becomes the fourth Indian to pick up a five-for in T20Is. You’ll look at the replays and say some of those wickets came when batsmen were looking for big shots, but hey, a five-for is a five-for. India one strike away from a series win.19.2 Chahar to Aminul Islam, OUT, he’s got a hat-trick!! Deepak Chahar has the best figures ever in T20Is. 6 for 7. How incredible is that? You wanted a proper fast bowler’s wicket? There you go, he says. Spears in a yorker, and flattens the off-stump. Just for those in doubt, the hat-trick has been spread across two overs. What a win, India take the series 2-1.

BCCI president also confirms that day-night Tests would be played in every home series going forward

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2021

Tickets for the third India vs England Test, a day-night affair to be played with the pink ball in Ahmedabad from February 24, are already sold out, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly confirmed on Tuesday.”Ahmedabad is totally sold out, the day-night Test match, because it’s the first game there after a long period of time,” Ganguly told Star Sports in an interview. “So, happy to see normalcy back. It’ll be fantastic, it’s sold out. I speak to Jay [Shah, the BCCI secretary] who’s very keen on these Test matches. Just for him also cricket is coming back to Ahmedabad after six-seven years because they built the new stadium, and I’ve told him we’ve set an example with pink-ball Test last year in Calcutta [Kolkata], so it cannot go beyond that and we want to see every seat and stand full. And that’s what it is, the tickets have gone, as well as for the T20s [which will follow the Tests].”We wanted them (fans) back. We could have had them in the first Test in Chennai but we decided to go with the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, who said let’s see how it goes for the first one because it’s our first game after a long time and we’ll open it up for the second [Test for fans].”The renovated Sardar Patel Stadium is now the world’s largest cricket amphitheatre with a seating capacity of over 110,000, but is expected to fill only to 50% of the capacity, just like the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai for the second Test, because of concerns around Covid-19. Although the Indian government, in its directive issued in late January, had allowed outdoor sports events to have full-capacity crowds, the BCCI has decided to ease that measure by restricting the spectators at the venues during the England series to 50%.Ahmedabad last hosted international cricket in 2014 – an ODI between India and Sri Lanka – and will also host the fourth India vs England Test from March 4 and all five T20Is on March 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20 before the three ODIs are played in Pune.Ganguly also confirmed that day-night Test matches would be played in every home series going forward. “Absolutely. One Test a series is ideal. Every generation goes through changes, pink ball is one of the main changes for Test match cricket, and to keep Test match cricket alive,” he said. “I think with Ahmedabad packed stadium in the next week will be another great sight for everyone.”I know the Gujarat Cricket Association will add a bit more to the cricket, not just with the game but a lot of other things around the game. It’s going to be a great Test match for everyone.”There are also plans for spectators for the 2021 IPL, which the BCCI is hoping to host in India, and not in the UAE like in 2020. “This year is going to be big as well because of what it is,” Ganguly said. “We’ll see whether we can get the crowd back into the IPL, it’s a decision we’ll have to take very shortly. But it’s going to be another great tournament.”On the personal front, Ganguly, who had been hospitalised twice in Kolkata last month, said he was “fit and fine” and back at work. His bout of ill-health had coincided with part of the Indian team’s historic Test series win in Australia. “I think Australia was remarkable,” he said. “That’ll always be very, very special. What they did in Australia gave all of us goosebumps. To watch that fight on the last day in Brisbane was remarkable.”

Usman Khawaja and Marcus Stoinis have returned – at least loosely – to the national team fold after being named in a 26-man preliminary squad for Australia’s proposed white-ball tour of England in September.Test batsman Travis Head has also been named in a white-ball squad for the first time since he missed selection for the 2019 World Cup, while Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe and Daniel Sams make their first appearances in a senior training group, likely to be seconded to the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane next month before a cut-down group is conveyed to the UK.Khawaja and Stoinis were the two most high-profile names to lose their national contracts after falling out of favour last summer, though it had been made clear in Khawaja’s case at least that he remained a likely top-order replacement in the event of injuries to the likes of David Warner, Steven Smith or the limited-overs captain Aaron Finch.The selection chairman Trevor Hohns outlined the fact that a larger than usual squad would need to be sent should the tour go ahead, given the fact it will not be possible to send replacement players in the event of injury or illness. England are currently playing the West Indies in a biosecure “bubble” in the time of Covid-19 and similar arrangements are being worked through for an Australian tour.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“This preliminary list covers the contingencies of playing one-day internationals and T20 internationals in bio-secure hubs with the likely prospect of not being able to bring in replacements should the tour proceed,” Hohns said.”The preliminary list includes several exciting young players who have recently excelled at state level and in the BBL. These emerging players are among those we would like to develop further as we believe they have a bright future in Australian cricket. The preliminary list also has a view towards the upcoming T20 World Cup and in the longer term the 2023 World Cup.”Ben Oliver, Cricket Australia’s head of national teams, said that negotiations with the ECB and the Australian and British governments were continuing with any potential quarantine requirements for the players on return to Australia, which currently has closed international borders, a key issue.”There’s a lot of complexity around the tour and international cricket at the moment, but we’re doing everything we can to make sure we give that tour the best chance possible to proceed,” he said. “We take the quarantining environment very seriously and it’s important that we understand that fully before a decision on the tour is made.”Obviously for elite cricketers, elite athletes generally, the ability to train and stay fit and keep ticking over is an important factor. The health and safety of players and staff and the public health component is most critical. The quarantine arrangements aren’t confirmed. They obviously exist in terms of general international travel at the moment so that’s something we’re working through.”‘[It’s] at the start of our home summer so we are interested to understand how we navigate that. Equally we are fully supportive of the quarantine requirements that are in place across Federal and State and Territory Governments and our obligations around that from a public health perspective. We’re having constructive conversations with government agencies and particularly the ECB.”Oliver also confirmed that Hohns would continue as selection chairman for the forthcoming summer, after his previous contract ended earlier this year. “We’re moving forward with our selection panel as it was at the end of last season,” he said. “The panel is really focused on the challenges of the upcoming 12 months. We have some interesting challenges as we swap between formats and different tours that players are going to be involved in. Trevor is committed through this season.”In addition to the UK tour, originally slated for July, CA has also postponed a Test tour of Bangladesh and a limited-overs visit by Zimbabwe. Neither of the latter two series have as yet been rescheduled.

A new football style team manager will take overall charge of all aspects of the team, appointing coaching staff and captains

Liam Brickhill04-Aug-2019Ottis Gibson will not be South Africa’s coach for the team’s tour of India starting in September, with his tenure coming to an end and CSA not giving him an extension, while also announcing sweeping changes to the way the national men’s team will be run.A statement released by CSA suggested that an interim captain could be named for the tour of India, which means South Africa could also be preparing to not have Faf du Plessis continue as captain in all three formats. Du Plessis, incidentally, was named one of CSA’s Cricketers of the Year at an awards ceremony on Saturday night.As part of the restructure, a new football-style team manager will take overall charge of all aspects of the team, appointing coaching staff and captains. The coaches, medical staff, and the administrative staff will all report directly to the manager, who in turn will report to the director of cricket, working under the chief executive.The CSA board of directors approved the new structure at its meeting last week. The restructure includes the appointment of the position of director of cricket. Cricket South Africa’s manager of cricket pathways, Corrie van Zyl, will assume the position of acting director of cricket until the position is filled formally. This effectively means that all cricketing decisions within the system will be managed by van Zyl in the foreseeable future. In the meantime, CSA will advertise the positions of director of cricket, team manager and convener of selectors.

@MrODGibson gonna miss you coach. Have spent a lot of time together over the last 18 months and you become a friend of mine. You are a great man . Thank you for everything that you have done. We appreciate you. pic.twitter.com/Y0f5iyJzum

— Faf Du Plessis (@faf1307) August 4, 2019

Gibson’s is not the only high-profile exit from the camp. Dr Mohammed Moosajee, whose tenure comes to an end in September too, expressed his wish to not be considered for another term as team manager and team doctor, which the board accepted, bringing an end his 16-year involvement with South Africa.”I would like to thank Ottis Gibson, other members of the team’s current senior management, and our long-serving team manager, Dr Moosajee, for their national service to South African cricket,” CSA chief executive Thabang Moroe said. “I must stress that the new structure was not a rash decision. It was taken after much deliberation by the Board, taking all the factors into consideration about the current state of our cricket and also the plan that we need to get to within the timelines we have set.”This change will herald an exciting new era for SA cricket and will bring us into line with best practice in professional sport.”Also on the way out is Linda Zondi, the convener of selectors. Zondi, who was part of the selection panel that picked the Under-19 World Cup-winning squad in 2014, had been a selector since 2013, becoming convener in 2015. Media manager Lerato Malekutu has also resigned her position after nine years in a media role within the team.The reshuffle will also affect assistant coach Malibongwe Maketa, and batting and fielding coaches Dale Benkenstein and Justin Ontong respectively, with CSA announcing that members of team management, including the various assistant coaches, will not be retained as part of the new plan.

Opener Philip Salt scored his second successive century to put Sussex in a good position on day one of their Specsavers County Championship match against Glamorgan at Hove.Having made 122 against Northamptonshire last week, Welsh-born Salt reached the fourth hundred of his career in the final over of the day when he collected his 12th boundary courtesy of a bad mis-field by Charlie Hemphrey at mid-off.But two balls later Salt lost concentration and was caught behind cutting at Dan Douthwaite for 103, made off 105 balls with 12 fours and three sixes. Sussex were 208 for 5 at stumps, a lead of 22.Sussex have struggled to get good starts this season but Salt, who was called into England’s T20 squad earlier this month, gave the innings a solid platform by putting on 85 with Luke Wells in 15 overs.Wells reached 30 but failed to control his hook shot when Douthwaite dug one in short then Glamorgan took three wickets in ten balls to reduce Sussex to 126 for 4. Australian leg-spinner Marnus Labuschagne picked up Harry Finch and Stiaan van Zyl with his first two deliveries as Finch missed a long hop and van Zyl was beaten by a googly. Timm van der Gugten then returned to the attack to bowl Laurie Evans via an inside edge.But Sussex skipper Ben Brown, who also made a century last week, and Salt took Sussex into the lead with a stand of 82 in 17 overs.Salt wasn’t the only opener to prosper with Glamorgan’s Nick Selman carrying his bat for the second time in his career. The 23-year-old was left unbeaten on 76 when Glamorgan, who have only won once in the Championship at Hove since 1975, were dismissed for 186 in 55.2 overs.Sussex’s seamers dominated apart from a period either side of lunch when Selman and Graham Wagg added 72 in 22 overs for the seventh wicket. Wagg contributed 44 before he was caught behind to give Chris Jordan, who regularly got the ball to bounce disconcertingly off a good length,his third success.Jared Warner, who was making his first-class debut after joining on loan from Yorkshire, polished off the tail to finish with 3 for 35 leaving Selman, who passed 2,000 first-class runs when he reached six, high and dry.Glamorgan had won the toss but were soon struggling at 44 for 4 after Mir Hamza and David Wiese took two wickets each with the ball. Hamza’s late movement was too good for Hemphrey and David Lloyd while Wiese found some extra bounce to unseat Labuschagne before angling one across Billy Root’s defences.When Jordan replaced Wiese, he picked up Kieran Carlson with his sixth delivery and Glamorgan were 102 for 6 when Douthwaite was bowled via an inside edge. Wagg and Selman showed what was possible once the ball lost its initial hardness, but Salt ensured it was a tough day for the visitors.

Feyenoord boss Arne Slot has confirmed that he will take over from Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool coach.

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Slot confirms takeover from KloppFeyenoord send emotional tributeKlopp to leave Liverpool after nine yearsWHAT HAPPENED?

Earlier this year, Klopp announced that he would be leaving Liverpool after nine seasons at the helm of the club. The Merseyside club had initially targeted Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso, however, after he decided to remain with Die Werkself for another season, Liverpool shifted their focus towards Slot and have already signed a contract with the Dutchman to take over a coach this summer. Feyenoord also posted an emotional tribute to the departing coach ahead of their final match of the season.

AdvertisementWHAT SLOT SAID

Speaking with the media, Slot said [via ESPN]: "I can confirm that I will become the trainer there next year.

"Until now I was not thinking about this being the build up to my last match, but that starts coming now. At the beginning of the week you are thinking about training and those kind of things. But the feeling gets stronger now. That is why I'm a little bit late now [for the news conference], because I wanted to say goodbye to some people personally and take time for them, more then just shaking hands.

"So yeah, the feeling grows. I understand that good results help, but it is very nice to feel that people really are thinking it's a pity that I'm leaving. You can say that with words, but you can feel it if people truly think that way. That does mean a lot to me."

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Slot has been compared with Klopp in terms of his playing style and bringing the Dutchman over to Anfield will cost Liverpool close to £13m ($16m) to be paid as compensation to Feyenoord as per reports. The 45-year-old won the Eredivisie last season with the club and ended this season in second place behind title winners PSV.

WHAT NEXT FOR SLOT?

The Dutchman will lead Feyenoord at De Kuip on May 19 for the last time as they take on Excelsior before Slot says his goodbyes to the Feyenoord faithful.

Emma Hayes isn't optimistic about Chelsea's WSL title chances in their battle with current leaders Manchester City.

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Hayes rates WSL title chancesChelsea battling with Man CityGoal difference could be decisiveWHAT HAPPENED?

Hayes suggested there is now only a "small chance" that the Blues will finish 2023-24 as WSL champions, having gone into the campaign chasing a fifth successive league crown.

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Chelsea trail Manchester City by six points but have two games in hand – against Liverpool this week and later Tottenham in the final week of the season – that could eradicate the gap. But City's superior goal difference, seven better than Chelsea's as it stands, still gives them the advantage. The Blues must also ensure there is no hangover from the disappointment of their Champions League semi-final defeat to Barcelona on Saturday.

WHAT HAYES SAID

Speaking at a press conference ahead of Wednesday's clash with Liverpool, Hayes said: "We are not in the driving seat, we don't have the goal difference, we have to catch up. We've always known we were going to be playing catch-up. It's not anything we haven't prepared for."

DID YOU KNOW?

Manchester City are hoping to win their first WSL title since 2016 and only their second overall since joining the league a decade ago. Gareth Taylor's team have bounced back in a big way since finishing fourth last season and have put themselves into position by winning 14 successive league games since November.

Jesse Lingard has had a difficult start to life in Korea, but he received a warm welcome from Seoul FC fans on his return to the touchline.

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• Spell in Korea blighted by injury
• Returned to sidelines after surgery
• Seoul fans went wild for ex-Utd star

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Lingard has only made three appearances for the K-League side so far, most recently being forced onto the sidelines after having surgery for a knee injury. After completing the procedure, he was filmed walking along the touchline earlier this week, where it seemed that FC Seoul fans were still extremely excited by his presence at their club.

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• IG: jesselingard
  

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  Lingard joined Seoul in February but has struggled to make his mark so far, with his coach even questioning his role in the team at one point. The former United midfielder seems determined to make things work in Korea, though. A recent Instagram post read: "Sometimes you end up in places you never thought you'd be in, to develop strength you never thought you had." He'll hope the latest injury setback is just another strength-building exercise.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  In March, Lingard suffered yet another blow when his manager Kim Gi-dong came out with some jaw-dropping quotes about the 31-year-old midfielder. "I've been thinking a lot about removing Jesse," said Kim. "I don't think a player who doesn't run for a few minutes is a football player. If he doesn't fight, and doesn't run better than the player who runs for 90 minutes?"

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India women wrapped up a dominant tour of Sri Lanka with a 51-run victory in the final T20I in Katunayake. The victory meant India won the series 4-0, with the second game in Colombo being washed out. They had also won the preceding three-match ODI series 2-1.Early on, the Sri Lanka bowlers validated their captain Chamari Atapattu’s decision to field first by dismissing both India openers, Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj, inside the first five overs to reduce them to 30 for 2. That left the onus on the in-form Jemimah Rodrigues, coming into the match on the back of successive half-centuries, to repair the innings, and she once again did the job, joining hands with captain Harmanpreet Kaur to put on 75 for the third wicket. However, once Sri Lanka found a way past the duo, with the wicket of Rodrigues for 46, the end was swift as India lost their last eight wickets for 51 runs. Harmanpreet was the eighth batsman dismissed, for 63 off 38 balls – an innings that contained three fours and five sixes. As was the case when Sri Lanka batted, spinners did the bulk of the damage, with the offspinning duo of Shashikala Siriwardene and Inoshi Priyadarshini snaring three wickets each.Sri Lanka lost Atapattu on the fourth ball of their chase and never quite recovered. Anushka Sanjeewani (29), Siriwardene (22) and Oshadi Ranasinghe (22) got the starts, but Sri Lanka needed them to stay on and steer the chase. The hosts also did not help themselves with three run-outs, including that of Priyadarshini, who was the last batsman dismissed as Sri Lanka crashed to 105 all out. Poonam Yadav was the most successful bowler, picking up 3 for 18 in four overs. Deepti Sharma, who opened the bowling, and Radha Yadav grabbed two wickets each from their respective three overs.

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider returned to the mound Tuesday after a lengthy stay on the injured list, but things didn't go all too well for him in his first start since April 16.

Strider surrendered four earned runs, six hits and one walk while striking out three batters across 4 1/3 innings during the team's 5–3 defeat against the Washington Nationals. He didn't have his best stuff throughout his outing, and he acknowledged as much after the game.

During his postgame media address, Strider candidly reflected on his outing, taking ownership for his lackluster performance and how that impacted his team.

"I don't enjoy failing, and certainly not at the expense of the team. We sent a pretty good guy [Bryce Elder] down [to Triple A] that was supposed to pitch in my spot. That's not lost on me. It's kind of the nature of the game. I think it's important to have that perspective when the goal is to win. That takes 26 guys. The guy who's starting on the mound is a big component in coming out and winning every day, so if I can't be better, I don't need to be out there. I think everybody has that mentality at any position. I'm going to have to work to be better," Strider said, via Justin Toscano of

"I certainly want to play, but I take no joy in not giving us a chance. If I don't feel like I can provide for the team, then I don't take much pleasure in losing games for us," he added.

Strider enjoyed a sensational 2023 season, during which he finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting and made the All-Star team. That season, he struck out a league-best 281 batters and owned a 3.86 ERA. Injuries have derailed him a bit of late, however, keeping him sidelined for all but nine innings of the 2024 season and again impacting him at the start of the '25 campaign.

Considering his dominance in previous years, Strider knows he's not living up to expectations on the mound, and offered some rather harsh self-assessment of his performance.

Strider's next scheduled start is slated for Sunday, May 25 against the San Diego Padres.