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O meia Raphael Veiga, do Palmeiras, foi convocado mais uma vez para a Seleção Brasileira nesta sexta-feira (18), na lista que marcou a primeira convocação de Fernando Diniz no comando da Seleção Brasileira.

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+ Veja tabela e classificação do Brasileirão-2023 clicando aqui

Veiga foi o único jogador do Palmeiras lembrado por Diniz, enquanto Weverton e Rony, que fizeram parte da última lista, não foram convocados dessa vez.

Fernando Diniz conhece o futebol de Raphael Veiga há muito tempo e tem uma grande importância na carreira do atual camisa 23 do Verdão.
Diniz comandou Veiga no Athletico-PR, em 2018, na primeira grande temporada de Raphael Veiga como profissional, quando ele acabou campeão da Copa Sul-Americana, como protagonista do Furacão.

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Raphael Veiga fará parte do grupo que irá disputar os dois primeiros jogos das eliminatórias para a Copa do Mundo de 2026, diante de Bolívia, no dia 8 de setembro, em Belém, e contra o Peru, quatro dias depois, em Lima.

+ Da Pompéia para Kumasi, Palmeiras lança documentário emocionante sobre torcida do Verdão em Gana

É previsto que o meia se apresente no dia 4 de setembro (segunda-feira) e retorne ao Verdão no dia 13. De acordo com a tabela do Brasileirão, ele não irá perder partidas.

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PalmeirasRaphael VeigaSeleção Brasileira

América striker Henry Martín has overcome the knee sprain that has kept him sidelined since Matchday 8 against Chivas. But while he has returned to light training, he is still not fully recovered or match-fit – and therefore will not be included in the squad for Saturday’s clash with Cruz Azul. The Águilas will look to stay near the top of the Liga MX table.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Martin's return is getting closer

  Henry Martín has endured the toughest year of his professional career – and one of his worst semesters – having played only six matches so far: three in the Apertura 2025 and three in the Leagues Cup, without scoring a single goal.

  The América captain was seen training on the field this week, a positive sign in his recovery process. But he will still not be part of André Jardine’s squad for Saturday’s match against Cruz Azul at Estadio Olímpico Universitario.

Advertisement

• Getty Images Sport
  

  When could Martín make his comeback?

  After facing Cruz Azul, América will enter a busy week with a midweek fixture at home against Puebla next Tuesday – the tentative date for Henry’s possible return. However, the final decision will be made on Monday. If he is not yet ready, the club plans to hold him out until Friday, when the Águilas visit Mazatlán.

• AFP
  

  América’s absences for the Clásico Joven

  For the Clásico Joven, América will be without Martín, José Raúl Zúñiga, Isaías Violante and Dagoberto Espinoza, while Alejandro Zendejas remains doubtful. 

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  Who’s available for André Jardine’s squad?

  Álvaro Fidalgo, Allan Saint-Maximin and Sebastián Cáceres have all recovered after missing or being subbed off in the last match against Santos. Jonathan Dos Santos is also ready to go.

  Meanwhile, Luis Ángel Malagón, Kevin Álvarez, Israel Reyes, Ramón Juárez, Alexis Gutiérrez, and Érick Sánchez are expected to be available after returning from international duty with the Mexican national team.

Menon, 48, played for Singapore and held coaching roles with various international teams including Chile, Botswana and Indonesia

ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-2025Arjun Menon, Cricket Malawi’s operations director, has died aged 48. Police are reported to be investigating the circumstances of his death in Blantyre, Malawi’s financial and commercial capital, on Sunday.Menon played for Singapore and held coaching roles with various international teams including Chile, Botswana, Indonesia and Singapore before taking on the Malawi role in 2020.”As Cricket Malawi, we are devastated by this loss because Arjun did so much to the our transformative agenda,” Vivek Ganesan, the president of Cricket Malawi, told . “All the successes we have so far are attributed to him. This is a very painful loss.”Dr. Henry Kamata, CEO of the Malawi National Council of Sports, also conveyed his condolences in a statement. “Arjun was a dedicated coach and a passionate advocate for the development of cricket in Malawi,” he said. “His contributions to the sport were immense and far-reaching, playing a pivotal role in the growth and success of the Malawi cricket team on regional and international platforms.”His commitment, professionalism, and vision were truly inspirational, and his loss is a devastating blow to the sporting fraternity in Malawi and beyond.”During Menon’s tenure, the Malawi men’s team were runners-up behind Tanzania in Group A of the T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Africa Qualifier in September 2024. The Under-19 women’s team, meanwhile, topped Division 2 of the 2025 Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier, gaining entry to Division 1 where they achieved a seventh-place finish.

Despite only winning one of their last six fixtures, Leeds United are in a strong position in the Premier League with double the points of 18th-place Burnley.

However, unless they get back to winning ways, they will be dragged into the relegation battle. Ahead of their clash with Tottenham, Daniel Farke spoke to the media about his team’s season and preparation for the game.

The conference came with bad news for Leeds fans, with confirmation that both Dan James and Wilfried Gnonto will be unavailable. Additionally, goalkeeper Lucas Perri is back in team training, but the game against Thomas Frank’s side comes too soon for him to be available. James is the more severe of the three injuries, with the Welshman expected to be out until after the November international break.

All three players will be big losses for Farke against Spurs. However, the Leeds boss seemed positive going into the game, due to players “stepping up when needed”. Another reason Farke may be happy is that he knows the fans will soon receive news that will bolster their spirits.

Leeds set to unveil new contract

Leeds are preparing to announce a new contract for 16-year-old talent Harry Gray. Gray is highly rated by the club and is currently developing well as a forward, having represented Leeds at youth level and once at senior level with a four-minute cameo against Stoke in the Championship. Gray has also impressed at national youth level, where he has represented the England Under-17s on five occasions, scoring once.

Journalist Graham Bailey revealed the news that Gray would imminently have a contract announcement: “Leeds are very excited with Harry Gray. His new deal is done. They’ll be announcing that next week. They are very excited by that internally, obviously.”

However, despite the new contract, it may be a while before Gray is seen in the senior team, and he almost certainly won’t face his brother Archie Gray when Leeds play Tottenham on Saturday.

Gray's route to the first team

Ahead of the season, The Athletics Beren Cross predicted Gray to be Leeds’ “breakout player”. Cross stated that Gray could start putting in performances this season despite his age and emulate strikers like Harry Kane and Michael Owen.

Despite the hype and positive contract news, Leeds fans will have to wait to see Gray’s Premier League debut, as, in his pre-match press conference, Farke confirmed that the 16-year-old was suffering a minor issue with his hip.

The other concern is that Gray plays up front and Leeds brought in two new strikers this summer, making him fourth in the pecking order behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Lukas Nmecha and Joel Piroe.

The good news for Gray is that none of these players have hit the season running, so if he continues to perform well in training and stay fit, Farke may try him up front at some stage in the season.

Even if Gray’s appearances are sporadic this season, at 16 years old, he has plenty of time ahead of him to develop and earn his place in the starting 11.

Xavi Simons is a player who has arrived at the club with huge expectations after the Tottenham Hotspur hierarchy forked out £52m for his signature this summer.

The Dutch international is seen as a huge talent for the immediate and long-term future in North London as the Lilywhites look to reach the next level under Thomas Frank.

Their Europa League triumph last campaign no doubt aided their chances of landing the 22-year-old, who was firmly on Chelsea’s radar before his big-money transfer.

Supporters will no doubt be hoping he can help catapult the club up the Premier League table in 2025/26, after registering a measly 15th-place finish under Ange Postecoglou.

Frank has no reason to be unhappy with the board, especially after their investment during the off-season, hopefully replicating the success of one player from their local rivals.

The suffering Martin Odegaard has inflicted on Spurs

Martin Odegaard, who currently plies his trade for local rivals Arsenal, has been a player who has constantly impressed against Spurs – often causing the fanbase numerous moments of torment.

In his eight outings against the Lilywhites, the Norwegian international has been on the winning side on six separate occasions – subsequently achieving a 75% win rate.

He’s also scored twice and registered an assist, subsequently having a bearing on the result in 50% of the triumphs for Mikel Arteta’s side in the North London Derby.

There’s no denying that the supporters of Spurs will wish that they could have their own version of the star within the side, especially given the suffering he’s placed upon them in recent years.

The summer addition of Simons could certainly help Frank’s hopes of landing a top-level attacking midfielder, but it’s likely that he will need time to bed in to life in England.

However, the hierarchy may have made a mistake in allowing one other former player to depart the club, given his impressive form since moving away from the Lilywhites.

The former Spurs star who could’ve been their own Odegaard

Over recent seasons, Spurs have spent hefty sums on attacking talent to try and bolster the options in the final third – but not all of their investments have paid off.

Bryan Gil cost a fee in the region of £25m back in the summer of 2021, with real expectations that he could provide needed quality off the left-hand side, along with Heung-min Son.

However, the Spaniard only made 43 senior appearances for the Lilywhites, failing to score a single goal and subsequently returning to his homeland and rejoining his former side, Girona.

The 24-year-old wasn’t the only promising talent to join Spurs from LaLiga, with attacking midfielder Giovani Lo Celso moving in a £27m transfer back in January 2020.

Lo Celso racked up 90 appearances over a three-year spell in North London – scoring a crucial goal against Manchester City a couple of years ago, which helped the side claim one of their famous results against Pep Guardiola’s men.

Whilst he racked up 10 goals for the club, it wasn’t enough to keep him in the first-team plans of Postecoglou, resulting in the Argentine making an £8m transfer back to Real Betis in the summer of 2024.

However, since his move back to Spain, the 29-year-old has once again recaptured his best form, leading to FBref labelling him as a similar player to Arsenal star, Odegaard.

When comparing their respective stats from the 2024/25 campaign, Lo Celso massively outperformed the Gunners captain in key areas – highlighting the mistake made in allowing him to depart last summer.

The former PSG star, who’s been labelled “incredible” by journalist Noah Trister, posted a higher goal and assist rate per 90, along with a better shot on target accuracy rate – showcasing the clinical edge he possesses in front of goal.

How Lo Celso & Odegaard compared in 2024/25
Statistics (per 90)	Lo Celso	Odegaard
Games played	25	30
Goals & assists	11	11
Goals & assists per 90	0.68	0.43
Shot on target accuracy	52%	31%
Key passes made	2.7	2.4
Passes into final third	5.5	5.1
Take-ons completed	1.3	0.9
Crosses completed	5.9	3.3
Fouls won	3.9	0.9
Stats via FBref

He also registered more key passes per 90 (2.7) and more passes into the final third per 90 (5.5), subsequently having the creative nature the hierarchy were frantically searching for all summer.

Lo Celso’s dominance over Odegaard is further demonstrated by his higher tallies of crosses per 90 and take-ons completed – numbers which make him a more all-round talent when in possession and breaking the lines.

The decision to offload the 29-year-old for just £8m now appears to be one that the club will love to regret, especially given his remarkable form for Betis over the last few months.

Simons desperately needs to live up to his mammoth price tag in the near future, with the Lilywhites board potentially allowing their answer to Odegaard slip through their fingers for a minimal fee.

It's not Kudus: Spurs sensation could become their best forward since Kane

Tottenham Hotspur may have hit the jackpot on one talent who could emulate Harry Kane’s success.

By
Ethan Lamb

Sep 18, 2025

Nottingham Forest have failed to arrest their slump in form and Fabrizio Romano has now revealed the steps Evangelos Marinakis will take over the international break at the City Ground.

Nottingham Forest suffer defeat at Newcastle United

Ange Postecoglou has found himself in a frustrating position since taking over from Nuno Espirito Santo and now has the unwanted record of going seven matches without a win in charge.

Newcastle United away was always a tough encounter to walk into after a 3-2 defeat at home to FC Midtjylland in the Europa League, and goals from Bruno Guimaraes and Nick Woltemade condemned the Tricky Trees to another defeat under the former Celtic boss.

Post-match, Postecoglou refused to back down despite growing speculation that he could be set for a swift exit, stating: “If people want to make an assessment of me after three and a half weeks in which I’ve had six or seven games, there’s nothing I can do about that.

“But at the same time, there’s nothing wrong with things being tough. That’s okay. I’ll say it a million times, I did have an option. I could have been sitting on the couch watching the game today and not be in the middle of it. I’d rather be, much rather be… I love a fight. So it’s a fight, so it’s a struggle – so what? That’s okay.”

Evangelos Marinakis won’t hesitate to relieve Postecoglou of his duties if results don’t improve, as he has already shown this term with Nuno, albeit you get the impression that the international break has come at a good time for all parties.

Murillo repeat: Nottingham Forest now eyeing 2026 move to sign Brazil int'l

The Midlands club are already thinking about reinforcements.

ByTom Cunningham Oct 6, 2025

With the pause in the Premier League season now upon supporters, they have gained some insight on the direction Nottingham Forest’s owner could take amid their questionable run of results.

Marinakis plans crisis talks with Ange

Writing in his letter for GIVEMESPORT, Romano confirmed Marinakis will look to clarify why Nottingham Forest aren’t claiming results since Postecoglou’s appointment in the East Midlands.

He explained: “Marinakis wants to clarify with Ange and understand why this is not working. So for sure there will be discussions about his impact at the club.”

Ange Postecoglou’s Nottingham Forest results

Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest

Swansea City 3-2 Nottingham Forest

Burnley 1-1 Nottingham Forest

Real Betis 2-2 Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest 0-1 Sunderland

Nottingham Forest 2-3 FC Midtjylland

Newcastle United 2-0 Nottingham Forest

Ultimately, Postecoglou hasn’t been able to find a winning formula since taking over at the Tricky Trees, which is a major cause for concern amid their poor start to the season.

However, his spells at Celtic and Tottenham Hotspur illustrate that sometimes, hardship comes before success is found. The 60-year-old has won six trophies since 2022, potentially offering scope for a little more leeway to get things right.

One thing is for certain, he must deliver sooner rather than later, otherwise Marinakis will be left with no choice but to pull the trigger and hire a replacement.

Rishabh Pant was focused on capitalising on his good start, which he hadn’t been able to do successfully in the previous matches in IPL 2025, on his way to 118 not out off 61 balls against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the last league match of the season. But, despite putting up 227, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) went on to lose the match, which Pant said was a result of them not being able to play “40 overs of good cricket”.”Definitely, I was feeling well with each and every match”, Pant said on the broadcast after the match. “But sometimes, it just doesn’t come off. But today, I made sure that if I’m starting well, I should make a big one, like all the experienced players do; learning from the best always – whenever you get a start, try to make it [as] big as possible.”Pant has had an underwhelming season with the bat, coming into the game with just 151 runs in 12 innings. He said he made a conscious choice to hit straight, something he was unable to do earlier in the season.Related

• Pant points to 'gaps' created by injuries after LSG's playoff hopes end

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“I was trying to play the field, how they were going to bowl on this wicket, so definitely that [hitting straight] was something I kept in mind,” he said. “Just playing through the line, just looking for the gaps, kept it very simple, and played every ball with the same intensity throughout the innings.”LSG’s inexperienced bowling attack was taken down, with Will O’Rourke and Shahbaz Ahmed going for 113 runs in seven overs. Unforced errors in the field and a back-foot no-ball from Digvesh Rathi, which offered a life to Player-of-the-Match Jitesh Sharma, all added up and took away the advantage that LSG carried into the chase.”Eventually, you have to play 40 overs of good cricket, 20 overs will definitely not save you in a T20 game, and that’s been our story,” Pant said. “There were lot of injury concerns before the tournament, you can see that that is something that hurt us going through the season.”LSG finished seventh on the points table with six wins in 14 games. Pant did note positives with the ball but conceded that they let games slip.”There have been some special bowling performances also,” he said. “Digvesh Rathi is one of them, Avesh [Khan] bowled some crucial overs. Akash Singh and Akash Deep also did. Like I said, we have been getting chances, but we wouldn’t be [weren’t] able to maintain it for a longer period of time and that is just costing us the match.”

Over the last 25 years, Leeds United have cashed in on a number of star players, most recently after failing to secure immediate promotion back to the Premier League.

The Whites have done deals with the likes of Barcelona, Manchester City and Manchester United, but who is Leeds’ most expensive departure of all time?

Here is a look at Leeds United’s most expensive sales in their history, as per Transfermarkt, with a detailed look at the top 10.

1

Raphinha

£55m

Barcelona

2022

2

Kalvin Phillips

£45m

Man City

2022

3

Georginio Rutter

£40m

Brighton

2024

=4

Archie Gray

£30m

Tottenham

2024

=4

Rio Ferdinand

£30m

Man Utd

2002

6

Crysencio Summerville

£25m

West Ham

2024

=7

Tyler Adams

£20m

Bournemouth

2023

=7

Luis Sinisterra

£20m

Bournemouth

2024

9

Chris Wood

£15m

Burnley

2017

10

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink

£12m

Atletico Madrid

1999

11

Ross McCormack

£11m

Fulham

2014

12

Jack Clarke

£10m

Tottenham

2019

13

Jonathan Woodgate

£9m

Newcastle

2003

14

Glen Kamara

£8.4m

Rennes

2024

=15

Robbie Keane

£7m

Tottenham

2002

=15

Lewis Cook

£7m

Bournemouth

2016

=15

Alan Smith

£7m

Man Utd

2004

18

Ronaldo Vieira

£6.2m

Sampdoria

2018

=19

Robbie Fowler

£6m

Man City

2003

=19

Fabian Delph

£6m

Aston Villa

2009

Here’s a detailed look at the top 10 Leeds United sales… 10 Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink £12m to Atletico Madrid, 1999

Leeds United was Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s first taste of English football, with the Dutch forward joining from Boavista in 1997.

Hasselbaink finished as the joint Premier League Golden Boot winner in his second season, and after a dispute over a new deal, was sold to Atletico Madrid for £12m, with the club making five times the fee they paid for the striker.

9 Chris Wood £15m to Burnley, 2017

Striker Chris Wood arrived at Elland Road from Leicester City in 2015 and enjoyed two solid seasons with the club, scoring 30 goals in all competitions during the 2016/17 season.

His displays caught the eye of Burnley, and the lure of Premier League football persuaded Wood to move to Turf Moor, resulting in the Whites making a healthy profit following his £15m move.

8 Luis Sinisterra £20m to Bournemouth, 2024

Luis Sinisterra was one of a number of players who exercised their relegation loan clause to leave Elland Road in 2023, returning to the Premier League with Bournemouth.

Jaidon Anthony moved to Leeds on loan from the Cherries, and in February 2024, Sinisterra’s move to the south coast was made permanent for a £20m fee.

7 Tyler Adams £20m to Bournemouth, 2023

Weeks before Sinisterra joined Bournemouth on loan, holding midfielder Tyler Adams had swapped Elland Road for the Vitality Stadium in a permanent transfer, reportedly worth in excess of £20m.

The USA international’s one campaign in West Yorkshire ended in relegation, but Leeds did make a small profit on Adams, while his sale also kept the club in line with FFP.

6 Crysencio Summerville £25m to West Ham, 2024

After starring in the Championship and winning the league’s Player of the Year award in 2024, it was no surprise that Leeds’ failure to win promotion back to the top flight resulted in Crysencio Summerville’s exit.

Leeds signed Summerville from Eredivisie giants Feyenoord for a fee believed to be just over £1m, resulting in a huge profit when West Ham triggered an exit clause that cost the Hammers £25m.

5 Rio Ferdinand £30m to Man Utd, 2002

Defender Rio Ferdinand was Leeds’ record departure for 20 years after he joined rivals Manchester United in 2002 for what was a mind-boggling £30m.

Signed from West Ham in 2000, Ferdinand went from strength to strength at Elland Road, and following Leeds’ financial troubles, the Red Devils took advantage and made him the most expensive British footballer in history at the time.

4 Archie Gray £30m to Tottenham, 2024

Academy graduate Archie Gray only made his senior debut for Leeds at the beginning of the 2023/24 season, and less than 12 months later, he was joining Spurs in a big-money £30m deal.

Gray starred in midfield and at right-back in the Championship and was another who had a release clause triggered after Leeds lost at Wembley to Southampton in the play-off final.

3 Georginio Rutter £40m to Brighton, 2024

Like Summerville and Gray, Georginio Rutter also left Leeds in 2024 and was another who had a release clause activated after the club’s failure to win promotion.

Brighton triggered the clause with hours to spare, with the Whites making a profit on the fee they paid Hoffenheim in 2023. Rutter’s £40m sale was the largest sum they received that summer.

2 Kalvin Phillips £45m to Man City, 2022

Academy graduate Kalvin Phillips was transformed by Marcelo Bielsa, becoming a key cog in the Argentinian’s Leeds side between 2018 and 2022.

The holding midfielder even went on to star for England and helped Leeds to the Premier League, which resulted in Manchester City and Pep Guardiola taking Phillips to the Etihad for £45m. However, Phillips held the record as Leeds’ biggest departure for just 11 days…

1 Raphinha £55m to Barcelona, 2022

Leeds United’s most expensive sale of all time is Raphinha, who is also arguably the most talented player the Whites have had this millennium.

Signed from French side Rennes on deadline day in 2020, Raphinha helped Leeds finish ninth in their first season back in the Premier League and almost single-handily kept Leeds up in 2022 before sealing his dream move to Camp Nou following a £55m transfer.

The teams have begun disbanding with immediate effect, with travel back home being arranged for foreign players

ESPNcricinfo staff09-May-2025

The PSL is not moving to the UAE anymore•PCB/PSL

The remainder of PSL 2025 has been postponed indefinitely. The PCB cited the “worsening of the situation” at the Pakistan-India border as the reason, saying the board had acted on advice from the Pakistan prime minister Shahbaz Sharif.The board said it had “sincere regard for the mental well-being of participating players and the sentiments of our foreign players, and we respect the concerns of their families who want to see them back home” and that was considered when making the decision.The development came less than 24 hours after the PCB had announced that the remaining eight games of the PSL would be played in the UAE, without specifying the dates or the venues, with the expectation that it would take about a week to resume.Overseas players as well as Pakistani players who currently hold visas to the UAE were scheduled to leave on Friday night, with the remaining visas being applied for over the weekend. That, however, has changed, and the teams have begun disbanding with immediate effect, with travel back home being arranged for foreign players.There is no word yet on when, or if, the remaining games will be played. The postponement came hours after the IPL was temporarily suspended owing to the tensions between the two countries.The PSL held an emergency meeting in Islamabad on Thursday, and involved the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi meeting with foreign players, who overwhelmingly expressed a desire to relocate the league to the UAE.”The PCB recognises the efforts and support of its partners, franchises, participating players, broadcasters, sponsors, and organisers in having ensured the smooth conduct of the tournament thus far, however; cricket while being a unifying force and a source of joy, must take a respectful pause…” the PCB statement said.

Between them, Hardik and Santner bowled just four overs, possibly because of Shreyas Iyer’s presence in the middle

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jun-20252:30

Why didn’t Hardik and Santner complete their quota of overs?

In the end, Mumbai Indians’ (MI) 203 was not even enough to take the Punjab Kings (PBKS) chase into the last over. And that could well have been because of a couple of errors in judgment on the part of Hardik Pandya and the MI think tank in crunch moments in the IPL 2025 Qualifier 2. Why didn’t Hardik himself bowl more than the two overs he did? Why did Mitchell Santner bowl just two overs? Why did Reece Topley bowl the 13th over?All this is in hindsight, of course, and while Santner being kept away because spin-destroyer Shreyas Iyer was batting might make sense, Hardik not bowling after the tenth was a puzzle.”First of all, Hardik, Santner and [Jasprit] Bumrah were going to be the three main bowlers, who had to bowl 12 overs together,” Varun Aaron said on ESPNcricinfo’s Time Out show. “But Hardik and Santner have just bowled two overs each. I don’t know why Hardik didn’t bowl four overs in this game. This wicket, he has bowled so much on this wicket playing for GT, he had to bowl four overs.”Related

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Hardik bowled the eighth over, giving away just two runs and picking up the wicket of the big-hitting Josh Inglis. The tenth went for 17. Nothing Hardik bowled was further up than a length, and five of the 12 balls he bowled were pace-off. He seemed to be doing the right things even if Iyer and Nehal Wadhera got runs off him in that second over.”He looked very difficult to get away, especially in his first over,” Aaron said. “Yeah, he went for a few in his second, but he should have still persevered because his plans were right, and he executed them really well: back of length, bouncers, slower bouncers…”Tom Moody, Aaron’s fellow panelist, felt that Trent Boult dropping Wadhera off the last ball of what turned out to be Hardik’s spell might have forced a change of plan.”Hardik should have had a two-for. That second over, that catch that you’d expect Trent Boult to take 99 times out of 100. He fresh-aired it. Not even a firm glove on it,” Moody said. “He should have bowled. He was executing what was required on that surface. And that was an opportunity that was missed. He should have had a two-for, and I agree, he should have come back and grabbed the bull by the horns, and said, ‘right, okay, I’m going to bowl in here’.”1:26

Moody: Dhir should be batting ahead of Hardik

If Hardik had bowled more, Topley, playing his first game of the season after two months of bowling in the nets, might not have come on for a third over – the 13th – and been carted for 19 runs, mainly by Iyer.”Topley looked like a bowler that was conditioned for nets but way off the mark for real, high-pressure, competitive cricket,” Moody said. “That’s what he was missing. It’s very hard to come from being on top of your game, feeling you’ve got rhythm, bowling good areas in the nets, to suddenly transferring that to a pressure-game situation.”It might have been the over that turned the game, Iyer’s hat-trick of sixes bringing the required run rate from 11.87 after the 12th to 10.85 after the 13th.Moody: ‘Hardik didn’t back Santner because of Shreyas’ presence’Santner finished a high-scoring IPL 2025 with an economy rate of 7.92. On Sunday night, his two overs went for 15 runs. He didn’t bowl anymore. Iyer is a great hitter of spin and Wadhera, the other batter for a large part of the chase – they added 84 for the fourth wicket – is a left-hand batter, making it an unfavourable match-up for Santner. But still…3:14

Rapid Fire review – Shreyas Iyer’s hat-trick of sixes turned the match

“I mean, you can look at it in different ways. I think Hardik looked at it because we knew that there were a couple of match-ups against Nehal and he didn’t want to get the game away from him,” Mahela Jayawardene, the MI head coach, said at the press conference after the game. “Then after that just the game went away from him because they had those two big overs [the 14th, from Boult, went for 14 runs]. After that he was a bit hesitant to bring Mitch back again.”There’s lots of ifs and buts – we could have done this, we could have done that – but I think when we executed those things in the past, it has worked for us and gone our way and today it didn’t. So I think the game is such that you have to make some decisions and sometimes it goes, sometimes it doesn’t, so we will reflect on that, have a debrief.”It wasn’t just Wadhera. Iyer was perceived as a danger for Santner too, Moody suggested.”[Hardik] needed to back Santner. I felt that he didn’t back Santner because of Shreyas’ presence at the crease. Because he is such a good player of spin, [Hardik] felt that Shreyas may take to him,” Moody said. “But I’d be backing the bowler. Santner is a very crafty bowler. International pedigree. He’s been there and done that in those moments. Back him!”