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Kuldeep Yadav could feel the pressure of bowling to MS Dhoni on Wednesday evening. Despite being a spinner, Kuldeep was picked by Gautam Gambhir to bowl the 18th over of Rising Pune Supergiant’s innings with Dhoni and Steven Smith in a partnership of 35 runs from 21 balls. One batsman had regained his touch of smashing sixes in the end overs and the other has not gone out of form since landing in India for the Test series.”If you are a spinner there’s always pressure on you,” Kuldeep said after the match. “As a spinner, I believe that you can put the opposition under pressure by picking wickets. Like in the last over I took two wickets and they were under pressure. Bowling the 18th over is always tough; the captain needs to believe in you for that.”Kuldeep’s first ball to Dhoni in the match, in the 16th over, had been pulled for a flat six over midwicket. In the 18th over, Kuldeep deceived Dhoni with a googly. Dhoni stepped out to get to the pitch of the ball, but it turned away, beat his bat and was stumped.”Bowling to Dhoni is always challenging and I could feel the pressure,” Kuldeep recalled. “But I wasn’t scared that he would hit me for a six or a four. I flighted the ball and I was focused on getting him out.”Three balls later, Kuldeep had Manoj Tiwary on strike, Rising Pune’s best batsman this season in terms of strike rate (with at least five innings). Kuldeep had conceded only three runs in four balls until then in the over and he had Tiwary stumped even though the batsman did not step out to hit him. Kuldeep bowled another googly, Tiwary leaned forward to tuck the ball to the leg side with the spin but the ball went the other way and Tiwary’s back foot was outside the crease.Kuldeep, however, said the conventional legspinner was still his stock delivery as he used the wrong’un and the flipper mainly to get wickets.”It (googly) is only a variation and you can use it in T20s to confuse a batsman when he is attacking,” he said. “But I really believe in my chinaman bowling rather than the wrong’un and flipper. I back my stock ball more and I’m mainly a chinaman bowler; the wrong’un is a variation you use to pick wickets or stop the runs. But my main delivery is chinaman delivery. Obviously, the wrong’un gets you wickets and the batsmen keep wondering if the ball will come in or go out, they find it difficult to pick, especially the overseas batsmen. So if you dismiss Indian batsmen like that, it’s a big boost for confidence.”Kuldeep has so far gone wicketless in just one match this IPL and has collected eight wickets, joint with team-mates Nathan Coulter-Nile and Umesh Yadav, who have had the advantage of a pacer-friendly relaid pitch at Eden Gardens.Kuldeep has had an impressive run since the beginning of the domestic season. He was the highest wicket-taker and the leading run-scorer for Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy; he topped the wicket-takers charts in the Duleep Trophy too, with 17 wickets in three matches, and he shone on his Test debut with 4 for 68 against Australia in Dharamsala.”If you play the entire season and you’re highest run-getter or the highest wicket-taker, it becomes easier to play on the next level because of the momentum you are carrying,” Kuldeep said. “If you aren’t playing domestic cricket you might lack in some places. I’ve played Duleep Trophy, one-dayers, T20s, India A, so this season has been really helpful for me which is why I have a lot of confidence.”Knight Riders will play their next match against Delhi Daredevils on Friday.

Leeds United could be set to pounce on a manager, and have been captivated by one man in particular.

What's the latest on Daniel Farke to Leeds United?

That's according to journalist Phil Hay, who took to Twitter to issue an update on the Whites' search for someone to fill their dugout vacancy. With the 49ers' takeover of the club having been completed, it seems their first port of call will be to find the man to lead them into the future.

Writing on Twitter, The Athletic correspondent claimed that Farke had "impressed" during initial discussions."

Could Daniel Farke get Leeds United promoted?

As is the way with any new manager that enters their dugout, the frame for success is to emulate Marcelo Bielsa by taking the Yorkshire outfit back to the big time.

Previously, they had waited 16 years for someone to propel them out of the Championship, and having returned there now following their recent relegation, the plan will be to avoid another lengthy absence.

It seems that this has greatly factored into the thinking of the new ownership, who have prioritised a promotion specialist in an effort to avoid the pitfalls of the previous regimes.

Farke spent four years at Norwich City, and although he may have overseen a relegation with the Canaries, few in the last decade have managed to keep them afloat in the top flight for longer than a few seasons.

The former Borussia Mönchengladbach boss, who prefers to wrap his philosophy in a 4-2-3-1 formation, has earned the bulk of his acclaim for his work in the 2020/21 campaign as the second-top scorers and second-best defence in the division.

Finishing first and losing just nine games from the 49 played all year, his 2.04 points-per-match average was more than enough to secure a comfortable promotion just one season after Leeds had done the same.

However, that wasn't the only time he secured a pathway into the top flight with the East Anglia club, having also won the Championship in 2018/19, beating the Whites to first place and automatic promotion by 11 points.

Jurgen Klopp even sought to laud the 46-year-old by claiming: "I like Daniel a lot, he's a really good guy. He's a world-class coach, and is doing a really good job."

Although his most recent venture in his homeland also resulted in a sacking, he remained aligned to the "brave, creative and easy on the eye" style that he had promised.

As a club that have been somewhat devoid of that under Jesse Marsch, Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce, perhaps now this promotion specialist who knows the Championship so well could boldly lead them back to the big time.

Steven Gerrard could prove to be an unpopular choice as Leeds United's new manager among supporters, according to journalist Ryan Taylor.

Is Gerrard a front-runner for Leeds job?

The 43-year-old had an unsuccessful spell at Aston Villa earlier in the season, eventually being replaced by Unai Emery, who has ultimately showed him up with a much improved run of results.

Since then, Gerrard has been out of management, instead doing some punditry, but he has emerged as one of the favourites to become Leeds' next boss.

The Whites continue to look for the perfect man to come in and turn their fortunes around, with Championship football coming their way in 2023/24, following a bitterly disappointing Premier League campaign that culminated in relegation.

Gerrard is far from guaranteed the Leeds job, but he is certainly in the conversation, and it is an appointment that could split opinion, should it end up coming to fruition.

Is the jury out on Gerrard to Leeds?

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Taylor admitted that Gerrard's failed spell at Villa could make him an unpopular choice, even though he sees benefits behind the appointment:

"I do think Gerrard would be a decent fit. I know that might not be popular among some supporters because of what happened at Villa, but I think it's a different kind of job now. It's a project and something to build.

"I know that was the case at Villa, but their squad was so strong that it's not entirely surprising where they ended up finishing, although I know Unai Emery has done a great job.

"When Gerrard went to Rangers, he built, reasonably, from scratch. I think that's the sort of environment he would be walking into at Leeds as well, so I quite like those appointments. I think Ruben Selles would be a good option as well, but I've not seen any kind of links to Leeds."

There is understandable trepidation when it comes to Leeds potentially appointing Gerrard, given the manner in which things petered out at Villa, following a fairly promising start.

He is yet to properly prove himself in the Premier League or the Championship – he did win the Scottish Premiership title with Rangers, in fairness, which was a great achievement – so it would be more risky than someone like Daniel Farke or Scott Parker, both of whom have achieved that goal, both earning promotion from the latter.

That being said, Gerrard is still a young manager who could end up having a bright future in that aspect of football – his legendary status as a player is undisputed, but that doesn't automatically make you a great boss – so bringing him in certainly wouldn't be a disaster.

Tottenham Hotspur could be set to pounce on the uncertainty of a Premier League rival, finding the perfect man to fill their managerial vacancy.

What’s the latest on Julen Lopetegui to Tottenham Hotspur?

That’s according to 90min, who noted late on Wednesday that Daniel Levy’s interest in Ange Postecoglou reportedly had Celtic worried. However, deeper in the report they outline another option that the club could take.

Upon a shortlist containing many high-profile names, it is thought that, with Julen Lopetegui’s future at Wolverhampton Wanderers in doubt, the Lilywhites could pounce. They have been alerted to his possible availability after a fine debut campaign in England.

Having moved to Molineux with the promise of hefty financial backing, the club have since reneged, leaving the Spaniard reportedly unsure if he can continue with the club ahead of what will likely be a barren summer.

How good is Julen Lopetegui?

Whilst Unai Emery might steal the headlines for his work elsewhere in the Midlands, propelling Aston Villa into European football, what the former Real Madrid boss did for the Old Gold has been similarly impressive.

With a far worse squad that sat rock bottom of the Premier League table, the 56-year-old would record ten wins from 27 matches to guide them to comfortable safety in the end. Having got a tune out of some lacklustre starters, it is no surprise he is keen to transform a squad that could have easily fallen to the drop last term.

His appointment rightly drew excitement, with journalist Nick Emms even writing:

“Excited to watch Wolves today, the Lopetegui era should be amazing to watch. A truly world-class coach, who should get them back to where they deserve to be”.

These accolades are gained through years of experience, having overseen periods with Sevilla and the Spanish national team alongside Los Blancos, winning a Europa League with the former.

However, given Spurs’ last venture in appointing a former Wolves boss, it would be no surprise if Levy was somewhat hesitant, let alone the fanbase, who campaigned against appointing Nuno Espirito Santo.

The Portuguese boss was a name that few supporters in north London expected to do well, and after a 17-game spell where he would win just five league games, his time in the dugout was cut short.

His boring, turgid football was uninspiring and frustrating, despite having previously been seen as a hero at his old club for earning them promotion from the Championship.

Whilst Lopetegui has achieved similar status for retaining their place in the top flight, his pedigree should ensure that a similar fate does not befall him should he choose to tread that same path.

His possession-dominant 4-3-3 system favours attacking football anyway, so at the very least there would be a break from monotonous viewing in this part of north London should they swoop for him.

Who will Colin Bell pick in his final squad? GOAL takes a look…

The South Korean national women's team is set to play in their fourth FIFA Women's World Cup finals in July, which will be held in Australia and New Zealand.

Their best finish was in the 2015 edition when they reached the round of 16 but were beaten 3-0 by France.

They qualified for the 2023 Women's World Cup by virtue of making it to the last four of the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup. In fact, they surpassed the qualification standard and made it to the final of the continental competition but lost 3-2 to China to finish as runners-up.

In 2023, they have not been able to hit the top gear as they have won only two out of five matches. They lost all three matches against England, Belgium and Italy respectively in the Clark Cup before returning to winning ways against Zambia at home in April

They have been drawn in Group H in the Women's World Cup along with South Korea, Colombia, Morocco and Germany.

Who can Ian Bell pick in the World Cup squad? GOAL takes a look…

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  GOALKEEPERS

  Kim Jung-mi is the number one choice between the sticks for South Korea. She was the preferred shot-stopper during the Clark Cup friendlies in Europe and also had the gloves during one of the friendlies against Zambia.

  She has more than 130 caps to her name and there is little doubt that Bell trusts her skills under the bar. Barring any injury concerns she should have the gloves in Australia.

  Yoon Young-geul, the 35-year-old keeper of Swedish side BK Hacken is another experienced candidate and is a solid backup keeper. While the third spot can go to Suwon UDC's young keeper Kim Kyeong-hee.

  Name	Club
  Yoon Young-geul	Incheon Hyundai SRA
  Kim Jung-mi	BK Hacken
  Kim Kyeong-hee	Suwon UDC
  Ryu Ji-soo	Seoul WFC

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  DEFENDERS

  Bell sets his defence up according to the strengths of the opposition. While he mostly likes to field a three-woman backline, sometimes he can shift to a more traditional four players in defence.

  The three central defenders are most likely to be Kim Hye-ri, Lim Seon-joo, and Hong Hye-ji. The first two are counted among the most experienced candidates in the squad and boast of having more than 100 caps. Meanwhile, 26-year-old Hong is following in the footsteps of his senior colleagues and has established herself as an integral part of Korea's defence.

  If one of the three is unavailable or injured, then Shim Seo-yeon or Kim Yun-Ji is called upon to fill in the vacancy.

  Whereas, if Bell shifts to a back four, which is rare, then among the three centre-backs two are chosen, while Choo Hyo-Joo and Jang Sel-gi are the two full-backs. And in the other case, Choo & Jang are deployed as the right and left wing-backs.

  Name	Club
  Choo Hyo-joo	Suwon UDC
  Hong Hye-ji	Incheon Hyundai SRA
  Shim Seo-yeon	Suwon UDC
  Kim Hye-yeong	Gyeongju KHNP WFC
  Kim Yun-ji	Suwon UDC
  Lim Seon-joo	Incheon Hyundai SRA
  Jang Sel-gi	Incheon Hyundai SRA
  Kim Hye-ri	Incheon Hyundai SRA
  Kim Jin-hui	Gyeongju KHNP WFC
  Lee Soo-in	Korea University-Sejong
  Jeong Yu-jin	Changnyeong WFC
  Lee Young-ju	Madrid CFF

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  MIDFIELDERS

  Bell usually has three midfielders at the centre of the park to complement his two advanced wing-backs. While two of them are likely to position themselves right before the central defenders to plug in the gaps, one of them will have the license to join the attack.

  The manager has plenty of quality at his disposal and he usually likes to shuffle the pack. Cho So-Hyun and Ji So-yun are the two most experienced players with close to 150 caps each and they are the two preferred options at the centre of the park.

  They are mostly joined by Son Hwa-yeon of Incheon Hyundai SRA in an advanced role. Whereas, Jang Yu-bin of Seoul WFC is an upcoming talent whom Bell likes to introduce in the latter stages of the game and she will be the one to look out for in Australia.

  Name	Club
  Bae Ye-bin	Uiduk University
  Chun Ga-ram	Hwacheon KSPO
  Park Ye-eun	Brighton & Hove Albion
  Park Hye-jeong	Sejong Sportstoto
  Ji So-yun	Suwon UDC
  Cho So-hyun	Tottenham Hotspur
  Jang Chang	Incheon Hyundai SRA
  Lee Min-a	Incheon Hyundai SRA
  Park Ye-na	Mungyeong Sangmu
  Kim Seong-mi	Incheon Hyundai SRA

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  FORWARDS

  Bell is spoilt for choices when it comes to selecting his forwards. Jung Seol-bin might be given the responsibility to lead the lines. The 33-year-old plies her trade with Incheon Hyundai SRA and has 22 international goals in her career.

  Meanwhile, Brighton's Lee Geum-min acts as the perfect foil for Jung. The Brighton forward scored five goals in two matches against Zambia in April and will hope to bring her best form in the tournament.

  Park Eun-sun is another option and she has the experience to make a difference at the highest stages. On a few occasions, Bell has used Park & Jung as two strikers upfront with Lee operating from a bit deeper position.

  Name	Club
  Son Hwa-yeon	Incheon Hyundai SRA
  Choe Yu-ri	Incheon Hyundai SRA
  Park Eun-sun	Seoul WFC
  Jang Yu-bin	Seoul WFC
  Seo Ji-youn	Gyeongju KHNP WFC
  Jung Seol-bin	Incheon Hyundai SRA
  Lee Eun-young	Korea University-Sejong
  Jeon Eun-ha	Suwon UDC
  Moon Mi-ra	Incheon Hyundai SRA
  Hyun Seul-gi	Mungyeong Sangmu
  Jeon Yu-gyeong	Changnyeong WFC
  Ko Min-jung	Uiduk University
  Lee Jung-min	Gyeongju KHNP WFC
  Kang Chae-rim	Suwon UDC

Centuries from Mark Cosgrove and Mark pettini saw Leicestershire enjoy a healthy opening day in the Specsavers County Championship at Wantage Road

ECB Reporters Network13-Aug-2016
ScorecardMark Cosgrove kept Leicestershire on top•Getty ImagesCenturies from Mark Cosgrove and Mark Pettini saw Leicestershire enjoy a healthy opening day in the Specsavers County Championship at Wantage Road. The pair helped the visitors recover from 61 for 3 to close 330 for 5.Cosgrove, Leicestershire’s captain, made his fourth century of the season and steered his side out of trouble with a stand of 281 for the fourth wicket with Pettini, whose own hundred was his second of the campaign.After tea, Cosgrove flicked a boundary to reach three figures in 167 balls, taking him over 900 Championship runs in the season. But he fell for 111 trying to pull Azharullah – he only found mid-on – shortly before the second new ball.Pettini was very patient after the second break but eventually seized on the chance to twice pull Richard Gleeson into the leg side fence to raise his hundred in 189 balls.The pair saw Leicestershire take control of the day in the afternoon session where they added 151 runs in 36 overs. It was fairly unspectacular with few memorable shots, yet exactly what the visitors were looking for having won the toss.Northamptonshire toiled as their early success was undone but did respond with the second new ball with Gleeson removing Niall O’Brien lbw for 5 and 78 runs came in 32 overs of the final session.Before then, Cosgrove, first to his half-century, in 90 balls with eight fours, found good touch having survived two loose hooks that fell short and then wide of long leg. He was joined by Pettini, whose own fifty took 85 balls and nine fours – the last of which a thick outside edge to third man.It was frustrating for Northants who were in control in the morning session with three wickets for Ben Sanderson reducing Leicestershire to 61 for 3.Fresh from a 10-wicket haul at Swansea, Sanderson picked up wickets in three consecutive overs in the middle of an 11 over spell from the Wantage Road end. All three came in similar fashion with straightening deliveries to take outside edges behind the wicket.First Paul Horton, after five boundaries, edged to Adam Rossinton at first slip, Angus Robson – after a very patient 10 in 56 balls – got a thicker edge to Rory Kleinveldt at third, before Neil Dexter received Sanderson’s best delivery, a lifted that took the shoulder of the bat to wicketkeeper David Murphy.

Former Sri Lanka batsman Thilan Samaraweera has been working with some Australia Test players ahead of their tour to Sri Lanka, in his brief consulting stint at Australia’s National Cricket Centre in Brisbane

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jun-2016

Former Sri Lanka batsman Thilan Samaraweera is working with some Australia Test players ahead of their tour to Sri Lanka, in his brief consulting stint at Australia’s National Cricket Centre in Brisbane.Samaraweera has been hired as a consultant for the academy from June to August. Though his role is not specifically geared towards preparing Australia Test players for the forthcoming tour, he has already begun to work with Adam Voges, Shaun Marsh, and Jackson Bird, as they prepare for the tour.”At the moment I’m involved with the National Cricket Academy in Brisbane,” Samaraweera said. “I’m working with a few Test players who are not involved in that West Indies tri-series. They are just coming here to train.”Samaraweera, who lives in Melbourne, said he was unlikely to accompany the Australia team on their Sri Lanka tour, and that he was also working with Australia’s A team players. He had had a previous stint at the academy, ahead of the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh earlier this year, which the Australia Under-19 side eventually withdrew from.Cricket Australia has also prepared two turning pitches at the academy in order to emulate Sri Lankan conditions. It is on these surfaces that Samaraweera has been working with the Test players.”I’ve had a hit on the spin wicket here and it’s very good – very similar to what you get on the subcontinent and it was a challenging net session,” Marsh said. “Samaraweera was throwing a few offies as well, and it’s been really good to chat to him and get a bit of an insight into the sort of conditions we’ll be facing in the next couple of months. He’s been helping with advice on how to play spin, he’s good to chat about that with.”Hiring coaches accustomed to local conditions isn’t a new concept for Australia. S Sriram, the former India batsman, was consultant of the A team for their tour of India in 2015 and the senior squad for the World T20 in 2016, Muttiah Muralitharan, the former Sri Lanka spinner, was roped in to work with the spinners during Australia’s Test tour of UAE in 2014. Allan Donald, in April this year, was appointed as the team’s fast bowling mentor for their tour of Sri Lanka.Australia arrive in Sri Lanka in early July, well ahead of the first Test, which begins in Pallekele on July 26.

A first century of the season for James Hildreth, that great, overlooked west country run-gatherer, provided Somerset supporters with something to clutch to their breasts on what was an otherwise trying day

Alan Gardner at Taunton03-May-2016
ScorecardJames Anderson took three wickets in an over to put Lancashire in control•Getty Images

A first century of the season for James Hildreth, that great, overlooked west country run-gatherer, provided Somerset supporters with something to clutch to their breasts on what was an otherwise trying day. Nearly three games in and this is beginning to look like another difficult Championship campaign. Hildreth was last out for 130 and, facing a first-innings deficit of 180, Somerset were duly asked to bat again.Lancashire have played the percentages well throughout this match and their performance in the field, with plenty of runs on the board, was textbook. Three wickets in five balls after lunch from James Anderson was like a punch to gut of the Somerset innings and although they didn’t quite double over and sink to the ground – mainly thanks to an eighth-wicket stand of 139 between Hildreth and Jamie Overton – there was enough impetus to Lancashire’s efforts to give them a reasonable chance of pulling off victory on the final day.The surface for Taunton’s first home game of the season has played more like one prepared in August. Safer to bat on than a bank vault for the first two days, Lancashire’s attack then produced the tools needed to crack it open: Anderson, Neil Wagner and Kyle Jarvis bowling in bursts as Simon Kerrigan wheeled away from the River End. The grubbing delivery from Jarvis that wrecked Craig Overton’s stumps suggested things could get even more difficult for Somerset.They would have been far worse were it not for Hildreth’s 36th first-class hundred. The time has passed when he was mentioned among England possibles – there are still questions about how the Test XI will line up against Sri Lanka later this month, yet Hildreth has not entered the debate – but he drove, cut and pulled smoothly during an innings that only offered one chance, a sharp one to midwicket that Alviro Petersen put down diving to his right.

Division One ‘closest thing to Tests’ – Wagner

Neil Wagner, Lancashire’s New Zealand international bowler, has praised the quality of competition in the top tier of the Championship. After a hard-fought day in which Lancashire gave themselves a chance of making it back-to-back wins on their return to Division One, Wagner said the changes to regulations that have seen better-quality pitches produced around the country meant that it was the next best thing to playing at Test level.
“Division One county cricket is the closest you get to Test cricket,” he said. “I think the quality of cricket and cricketers is that good, it’s all-round tough cricket that you have to play – especially with the wickets as they are at the moment, they are quite flat, quite tough and hard graft. As bowlers it’s quite testing and that’s where your big characters have got to stand up.”

Keeping him company for much of the afternoon was Jamie Overton, who has a reputation as a lusty hitter but, despite getting off the mark with a pulled six over midwicket off Wagner, was considerably more circumspect in compiling a fourth first-class fifty, from 89 balls. He was out to his next delivery, from Wagner, who had done admirably in attempting to get his bouncer high enough to hit the 6ft 6in Overton in the head and had also seen him edge short of slip on 17.Impeded by Monday’s rain and a slow outfield, which is still bedding in after new drainage was installed, Lancashire took the best part of two days to amass 493 for 9 declared. That effectively took the win out of the equation for Somerset but the way in which they pitched headlong into a mid-afternoon collapse would have been worrying for the new captain, Chris Rogers, and director of cricket, Matthew Maynard, in his second season at the club.Somerset have found themselves similarly off the pace in opening fixtures at Chester-le-Street and The Oval, though they escaped with draws in both. The same result ought to be achievable here but it would not do much to reduce the chuntering among those meandering away down St James Street come Wednesday’s close.The situation had looked brighter in the morning, even though Marcus Trescothick departed tamely to a return catch from Jarvis’ first ball. Rogers produced his first half-century since signing for Somerset and he could walk off to a backdrop of contented applause with his side 101 for 2 at lunch. But things then quickened up rather suddenly after the interval, and not to the home crowd’s liking.Anderson, as wily with the ball as he is unsubtle in discourse with opposing batsmen, prised out Rogers after a 107-ball stay. The delivery may have stopped a little but, facing a 7-2 off-side field and Anderson bowling round the wicket, Rogers could not stop a defensive push looping to one of the catchers positioned in the covers. There was no David Saker to point to on the balcony, as Anderson did after they came up with a plan for Rogers at Trent Bridge in 2013, but it was another example of how exacting a bowler he has become.He was soon on a hat-trick, Roelof van der Merwe extending his limp run with the bat by playing all around a straight one, and although Peter Trego negotiated the delivery securely enough, he was gone two balls later, Alex Wharf slowly raising the finger to complete a car-crash slide from 102 for 2 to 102 for 5.Ryan Davies, a former England U-19s wicketkeeper with a previous first-class best of 17, twice drove Anderson sweetly down the ground – which did not pass without comment from the bowler – and played neatly enough for 45 minutes, until he decided to rush at Kerrigan and was stumped well out of his crease. Craig Overton fell shortly after and, at 150 for 7, Somerset’s chances of batting out the day seemed remote. That they were asked to have another go, with Tim Groenewald facing one final over from Anderson, only made it more galling.

How Shahid Afridi and Kamran Akmal bludgeoned the Indian attack into submission

On the ball with S Rajesh and Arun Gopalakrishnan14-Jan-2006If the two Ys ensured a fantastic start to the series for Pakistan, then the two As were responsible for converting that start into a mammoth total and completely battering the Indian attack on the second day. Shahid Afridi and Kamran Akmal were together for just 21.3 overs, but during that period added an incredible 170 runs, that’s a small matter of 7.9 runs per over.Afridi, with his seven sixes – including four in an over off Harbhajan Singh – stole the show, but Akmal wasn’t far behind. In their stand, Afridi’s contribution was 88 off 61 balls, while Akmal scored 80 off 68. In the end, Akmal’s century came off 81 balls, just three more than Afridi needed. The Manhattan below shows just how the partnership flourished, and how the Indians were completely powerless to stop the deluge.Rahul Dravid tried all the bowlers at his disposal, but none had any success at staunching the runs. Among those who bowled at least ten deliveries to each batsman, Anil Kumble was the most economical (that’s strictly in context): his 25 balls to Afridi went for only 23, though Akmal carved him for 45 from 33. Conversely, Harbhajan suffered badly against Afridi (59 from 39), but was relatively better against Akmal (15 off 15). As for the medium-pacers, neither Irfan Pathan (27 off 23 against the two) nor Ajit Agarkar (23 off 14) made the slightest impression.

Casemiro will forever be in Cristiano Ronaldo’s debt as his former Real Madrid and Manchester United team-mate gave him “loads of titles and goals”.

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Brazilian moved to Madrid in 2013Won several honours alongside PortugueseBriefly reunited at Old Trafford in 2022WHAT HAPPENED?

The Brazil international midfielder moved to Santiago Bernabeu in 2013, with CR7 very much the star attraction in the Spanish capital by that point. Casemiro would go on to savour La Liga, Champions League and Club World Cup glory alongside Ronaldo.

AdvertisementGettyWHAT CASEMIRO SAID ABOUT RONALDO

The pair were briefly reunited at Old Trafford in 2022, prior to Ronaldo’s stunning release as a free agent, and they will always boast a close bond. Casemiro has told United’s of Ronaldo: “He gave me loads of titles and goals. So, it’s a pleasure to talk about Cris. In my generation, he was top three in the world. Without a doubt, he’s one of football’s all-time best.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Casemiro has also been discussing the midfield stars that influenced him growing up, with Red Devils legend Paul Scholes and ex-Real Madrid player and coach Zinedine Zidane among his favourites. The South American said: “Those two definitely marked an era, specifically Paul Scholes, who played here. I think he’s one of the best footballers to look up to. And Zidane due to his talent, especially.”

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(C)GettyImagesWHAT NEXT FOR CASEMIRO?

Casemiro is still on United’s books, with his contract due to run until 2026, but questions have been asked of the 32-year-old’s future as he has less of an influence on Erik ten Hag’s side and the Red Devils prepare for a big summer of comings and goings now that Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s partial takeover of the club has been completed.