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12Dec

Spurs have just found the new Eriksen & he's "going to be an elite player"

by h79snht.top Uncategorized

Tottenham Hotspur returned to winning ways on Tuesday night when they secured an impressive 4-0 win over Copenhagen in the Champions League, after their defeat to Chelsea at the weekend.

Thomas Frank’s side put in, arguably, their best performance of the 2025/26 campaign as they created a whopping eight ‘big chances’ to find the back of the net.

That is the most ‘big chances’ the Lilywhites have created in a single game under the former Brentford head coach, per Sofascore, and they did so despite going down to ten men when Brennan Johnson was sent off.

Spurs are yet to find consistency in their creative play in the Premier League, though, as they rank 12th for ‘big chances’ created (17) and 15th for xG (10.1), per Sofascore and FBref.

Frank needs to find a way for his team to create chances in the way that they did against Copenhagen on a regular basis in the Premier League to improve those rankings.

The North London outfit rarely used to have a problem with creating chances when they had Danish playmaker Christian Eriksen in their side.

Why Spurs need their next Christian Eriksen

The Lilywhites need their next version of the Denmark international, who is currently at Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga, because he provided a consistent creative presence in the middle of the park.

Signed from Ajax in 2013, Eriksen hit double figures for assists in four of his seven Premier League campaigns with Spurs, per Transfermarkt, which speaks to his consistency in the final third.

The right-footed playmaker produced 69 goals and 88 assists in 305 matches for the club in total before his departure in the summer of 2020. He offered a goalscoring threat to go along with his impressive creativity.

The former Manchester United central midfielder is, undoubtedly, one of the most creative players to have worn a Spurs shirt in the Premier League era.

Only Heung-min Son (71) has assisted more Premier League goals for Tottenham than Eriksen (63), but he played 107 more matches to assist eight more goals, per Transfermarkt.

Most Premier League assists in Tottenham history

Player

Assists

Heung-min Son

71

Christian Eriksen

63

Aaron Lennon

49

Harry Kane

46

Dele Alli

34

Robbie Keane

31

Gareth Bale

27

Erik Lamela

23

Dimitar Berbatov

22

Jermaine Defoe

22

Stats via StatBunker

Eriksen’s eye for a pass and ability to execute all kinds of passes made him a constant threat with the ball at his feet and a joy to play with for any forward with intelligent movement, because they knew that he would be able to find them.

The Danish maestro had the quality to create high-quality chances on a regular basis, as evidenced by his impressive assist haul for the club, and that is what Spurs need in the Premier League in the present day.

Frank, though, does have a player within his Tottenham squad who has the potential to be Eriksen 2.0 for the Lilywhites this season, and beyond.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

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Dutch attacking midfielder Xavi Simons put in an impressive performance against Copenhagen in the Champions League on Tuesday night, and showed that he does have the quality to be the club’s next Eriksen if he can add consistency to his performances.

Why Xavi Simons can be Tottenham's new Christian Eriksen

The Netherlands international created three ‘big chances’ in the first half of the 4-0 win, the most by any Spurs player in a Champions League match for the best part of a decade.

Per Sofascore, the former RB Leipzig star ended the night with four key passes, three ‘big chances’ created, and one assist in 61 minutes of action, before he was withdrawn after Brennan Johnson’s red card.

The Dutchman registered his assist by playing a brilliant through ball for Johnson to race onto and slot into an empty net after dribbling past the goalkeeper.

After the win over Copenhagen, Spurs writer and content creator Mitch Fretton claimed that Xavi is “going to be an elite player for Tottenham”, and it is hard to disagree with that assessment, despite his rocky start in the Premier League.

The £52m signing from RB Leipzig has yet to set the world alight since his move from Germany, as he has produced no goals and one assist in the top-flight so far.

25/26 Premier League

Xavi Simons

Percentile rank vs AMs

xG

0.28

Bottom 20%

Goals

0.00

Bottom 3%

Shots on target

1

Bottom 13%

xA

0.60

Top 46%

Assists

1

Top 46%

Chances created

6

Top 49%

Stats via FotMob

As you can see in the table above, Xavi has yet to provide consistent quality in the final third in the Premier League, but his performance against Copenhagen was a glimpse at what he can produce at his best.

The 22-year-old star assisted 11 goals in 48 matches for PSV and racked up 24 assists in 78 appearances for RB Leipzig, per Transfermarkt, which shows that he has provided consistent quality as a creator for his previous clubs.

Xavi also scored 22 goals each for PSV and RB Leipzig in that time, before his move to Spurs, and can offer a threat as a scorer as well as being a creator when he is on form.

Frank will now be hoping that his brilliant creative display against Copenhagen will allow him to kick on and make an impact in the final third on a consistent basis.

Related As good as Simons: 8/10 star had his "best performance in a Spurs shirt"

Spurs put in their best display under Thomas Frank yet against Copenhagen in the Champions League.

Posts ByDan Emery Nov 5, 2025

If the Dutch playmaker can replicate the level of consistency he showed at PSV and Leipzig, Spurs could unlock their next version of Eriksen in the middle of the park.

12Dec

USWNT 2026 TV schedule: Fixtures, results, live stream & how to watch the U.S. women's team

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

A complete guide to the United States' year, including fixtures in qualifying for the 2027 Women's World Cup

When South Africa and India went off the scale

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

A remarkable ODI played out in Raipur when conditions, injuries and two teams who did not want to give up went head-to-head

Alagappan Muthu04-Dec-20254:31

Gaikwad: I decided I’d try to be consistent in any game this year

Arshdeep Singh didn’t look back. He had done his bit – secured a false shot from Quinton de Kock – and just kept on jogging through. Wake up babe, a new celebrappeal just dropped.A few hours later, the India left-arm quick coaxed another mis-hit. And this time he whipped right round to see if the catch would be taken. On his face was a rare kind of anxiety. On a scale of 1 to 10, it was just north of seeing three dots appearing and disappearing while texting your crush.Arshdeep was on his haunches when Ruturaj Gaikwad did his part and ended Marco Jansen’s stay at the wicket. This game was no longer fun.Signs of South Africa going on to complete the joint-highest chase by any team against India in India began to show up in the 28th over. Rohit Sharma spent more time in Harshit Rana’s ear than at mid-off where he was supposed to field. In the 30th over, he went up to Rohan Pandit, who was making a big step up on Wednesday, umpiring in an India ODI for the first time. Those other four matches in Dubai between USA, UAE and Nepal can’t have possibly prepared him to deal with one of the biggest names in cricket expressing abject displeasure about the condition of the ball.Related

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Markram ton trumps Kohli, Gaikwad centuries for nervy win
Stats – Kohli with back-to-back tons again; SA ace record chase

Pandit went to Rod Tucker, who officiated the 2019 World Cup final, for a little help and he had zero sympathy for India’s plight. Even when India did eventually get a drier Kookaburra, it was whacked straight out of the ground. This game was now just cruel. On a scale of 1 to 10, it was just short of doing a simple stretch at the gym and hearing a very loud rip.”Even scoring 350 is very difficult when batting first,” Gaikwad said at the post-match presentation. “There’s moisture in the wicket in the first ten overs and the ball doesn’t come onto the bat that well. After 34 overs, there’s only one ball and the wicket also slows down, so it’s not easy to hit.We scored 350 in the last match, 360 in this match, so there’s an improvement of ten runs. Any more improvement you probably cannot pre-decide. You can think you will score 380-400, but the opposition is also good, they have got good bowlers. So you cannot have that gameplan.”Conditions did change, as Gaikwad said. The toss did matter, as KL Rahul said. Dew made run-scoring easier, as Aiden Markram said. But through it all an Indian side without Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer and Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj kept fighting. A South African side also skewered by injury refused to go away. Tony de Zorzi actually thought he could get the last 31 runs off 31 balls on one functioning leg. One attempt, hopping between the wickets, showed that though he was brave he was being foolish. He ended up watching the rest of the chase from the dugout, still kitted from head to toe.”I feel at phases we bowled really well,” Gaikwad said. “I think first 10-15 overs we bowled really well but after that there was obviously huge amount of dew and because of that the spinners were slightly out of the game and I think after that I feel every South African batter who ever came in chipped really well, played really well. So I think lot of credit goes to them, they batted really well and hats off to them.” He left out the part where the match-winner who went on to make 110 was dropped on 53.Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram were crucial in South Africa’s series-levelling win•BCCIUntil Wednesday, there had only been seven successful chases of even 300-plus scores against India in India. Keeping it there required an enormous effort from the hosts. Some of them came away a little worse for wear. Prasidh Krishna, whose role in the middle overs is to hit the deck, wasn’t getting any purchase. Still the team insisted that he keep trying and he would now hope they see his figures – 15.4 overs for 133 runs – with some leniency.South Africa running down 359 required a lot of composure. By the end, there were echoes of not one but two hall-of-fame finishes. The equation reading 27 off 30 took the mind back to Bridgetown. Keshav Maharaj’s appearance with the series on the line punched a hole straight through to Chennai 2023. The man still has ice in his veins. He was leaving balls in the 48th over, confident in his judgment that Rana’s bouncers were too high and would be called wide.In these situations, Indian cricket grounds become impossible engines. The silence in them turns deafening. This game – sandwiched between a seminal Test series result and T20 World Cup prep – had no business being this dramatic. On a scale of 1 to 10, it was everything.

12Dec

Bumrah's magic seals opening-day honours for India

by csb10.top Uncategorized

It was pitches in 2015-16, it was the tosses in 2019-20, but India took the pitch and the toss out of the equation in dismissing South Africa for 159 on the first day of the 2025-26 series. The visitors won the toss on a decent batting surface at Eden Gardens, raced away to 57 for 0 in 10 overs, but then became victims of Jasprit Bumrah’s 16th five-wicket haul and excellent support work from Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj. India, with a new No. 3 in Washington Sundar, were 37 for 1 in 20 overs possible before stumps.Guilty of playing too little bowling in the past, India went in with six of them as Washington moved to No. 3, making room for Axar Patel in the XI. For a while, as Siraj struggled for rhythm and Axar was taken down, it seemed India would need all the bowling they could muster.However, Bumrah had been excellent at the other end. Out of those 57, he had conceded only nine runs in five overs. He pushed himself for two more overs in that first spell, and produced two near unplayable deliveries. He went round the wicket to swing one in to Ryan Rickelton and then nip it away a touch to take the off stump. In his next over, he got Aiden Markram with one that kicked off a length. Bumrah ended his spell with figures of 7-4-9-2 out of a score of 62 for 2.Related

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It might not have been an unplayable pitch, but it had enough to keep bowlers interested. Kuldeep found that with some quick turn in his first spell. Accordingly, he and Shubman Gill went for a backward short leg as opposed to one in front of square. In no time he had Temba Bavuma edging one there for a sharp catch for Dhruv Jurel, who handed over the big gloves to the returning Rishabh Pant but retained his spot in the XI on the back of a century against West Indies and two against South Africa A.Tony de Zorzi and Wiaan Mulder somehow saw South Africa through to lunch, but immediately after they had to face the double trouble of Bumrah and Kuldeep. In just six overs, both had been sent back for an addition of just 15. Mulder, who got off the mark with a reverse-sweep off Kuldeep, fell lbw on the same shot for 24. De Zorzi got a similar delivery to the one that Rickelton did, but this one nipped in and beat him on the inside edge.The ball had just started to reverse for Bumrah, and Siraj took over to continue the nightmare for South Africa. Kyle Verrreynne’s big back lift was always an invitation for Siraj, who eventually hit him pad first right in front. In the same over, he hit the top of off of Marco Jansen.Axar Patel, 3-0-20-0 in his first spell, now returned to find some turn. With his long arms and low release creating an extreme angle, Axar becomes dangerous once he gets one to turn. He now had Corbin Bosch playing for the non-existent turn and had him lbw with what proved to be the last ball before tea.Jasprit Bumrah is congratulated by his team-mates after completing his five-for•Getty Images

Tristan Stubbs, the specialist batter, didn’t farm strike and left the two spinners Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj at the mercy of Bumrah, who had them both in one over to go level with BS Chandrasekhar on five-fors and into India’s top five. It consigned South Africa to their second-lowest score against India in the first innings of a match.Batting wasn’t quite straightforward for India either, which is where South Africa dearly missed Kagiso Rabada, who was out with a rib injury. In fading east Indian light, Jansen was on the money but couldn’t quite find the length with which he could threaten the stumps. He still got the wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal on the cut.KL Rahul and Washington had to be watchful with little to gain really. In the brief period of spin possible, Maharaj came close to bowling Rahul, and Harmer showed he was a much-improved bowler from the one that toured India in 2015-16. That Bumrah five-for began to look even more important with a few puffs of dust towards the end of the day.

12Dec

مواعيد مباريات برشلونة في شهر ديسمبر 2025.. تعزيز صدارة الليجا

by h79snht.top Uncategorized

يستعد فريق برشلونة، بقيادة المدرب هانز فليك، لخوض عدة مباريات في إطار منافسات بطولة الدوري الإسباني ودوري أبطال أوروبا، خلال شهر ديسمبر 2025.

ويحتل برشلونة صدارة الدوري الإسباني في الوقت الحالي برصيد 34 نقطة، بفارق نقطة واحدة فقط عن ريال مدريد صاحب المركز الثاني.

اقرأ أيضًا | هاجمه ريال مدريد.. حكم مباراة برشلونة وأتلتيكو مدريد في الدوري الإسباني

في حين أن برشلونة لديه 7 نقاط فقط ويحتل المركز الثامن عشر في جدول دوري أبطال أوروبا، مرحلة الدوري، ويواجه صعوبة بالغة في التأهل المباشر إلى دور الـ16. مواعيد مباريات برشلونة في شهر ديسمبر 2025

برشلونة وأتلتيكو مدريد، مباراة مُقدمة من الجولة التاسعة عشر من الدوري الإسباني، يوم الثلاثاء 2 ديسمبر 2025، 10 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، 11 بتوقيت السعودية.

ريال بيتيس وبرشلونة، الجولة الخامسة عشر من الدوري الإسباني، يوم السبت 6 ديسمبر 2025، 7:30 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، 8:30 بتوقيت السعودية.

برشلونة وآينتراخت فرانكفورت، الجولة السادسة من دوري أبطال أوروبا، يوم الثلاثاء 9 ديسمبر 2025، 10 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، 11 بتوقيت السعودية.

برشلونة وأوساسونا، الجولة السادسة عشر من الدوري الإسباني، يوم السبت 13 ديسمبر 2025، 7:30 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، 8:30 بتوقيت السعودية.

فياريال وبرشلونة، الجولة السابعة عشر من الدوري الإسباني، يوم الأحد 21 ديسمبر 2025، 5:15 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، 6:15 بتوقيت السعودية.

12Dec

'Decisive' Leroy Sane earns Julian Nagelsmann's praise as Germany coach's controversial challenge reaps rewards from Galatasaray winger

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Leroy Sane earned praise from Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann after starring in the four-time world champions' hard-fought 2-0 win over Luxembourg in a 2026 World Cup qualifying match on Friday. Nagelsmann had earlier issued a public warning to former Bayern Munich and Manchester City winger that he could lose his place in the national if he did not perform consistently.

Sane picking up form for Galatasaray

Sane, who moved to the Turkish Super Lig to join champions Galatasaray from Bayern Munich this summer, was off to a slow start in the new league but with time, he has started to adjust to the new set-up and is now slowly regaining his form. In 15 matches across all competitions in the 2025-26 campaign, the former City star has scored three goals and has as many assists.

Speaking to recently, Sane shared about his initial struggles in Turkey, saying: "I had to settle in first. I had an adjustment period, so things didn't quite go as planned on the pitch at the beginning. I had to get to know my teammates, and they had to get to know me, how to interact on the pitch, how to play together. That took a little while. But now, in the last few games, I'm very happy with my performances and how I've played. I want to carry this momentum forward and keep going."

AdvertisementGetty Images SportNagelsmann praises Sane

After an impressive show in the World Cup qualifier on Friday – where Sane provided the assist for Nick Woltemade's opening goal before feeding Ridle Baku with a pass just outside the box from which the full-back set up the Newcastle star for his second of the night – Nagelsmann told : "He had two good actions that led to two goals. He had a few moments in the first half. He played a good game, had two decisive actions, and that's what it's all about in the end."

Sane, in turn, told the media: "I'm happy that I was able to repay Julian's trust to some extent. We had very good talks. Julian knows how I tick. That's normal, that's football, it's part of the game. I can't complain, I can only do my own thing. The World Cup is my big goal."

Nagelsmann's public warning for Sane

Sane's starring role comes in response to a public discussion around his role in the team following his decision to leave the Bundesliga for the Super Lig. National team manager Nagelsmann had warned Sane publicly that he needs to be outstanding for Galatasaray to hold on to a place in the squad.

"If we had six or seven players to choose from in that position, then it would be significantly more difficult for him," he told reporters. "He knows that there aren't an unlimited number of opportunities to prove himself at the national team level. I told him that openly. Profile-wise, he has everything we need in that position. That's why he has this opportunity now. His scoring rate and performances have improved significantly compared to the beginning, both in the Super Lig and in the Champions League. But he still has steps to take to improve even further – both here and at the club."

Following his warning, Nagelsmann received criticism from several personalities in German football, but the 38-year-old defended himself, saying: "I didn't do this for fun. It was discussed with him. I know what he's capable of and I want him to bring what he's capable of onto the pitch. Leroy knows what is required and he also knows that there are not countless opportunities left to prove himself at the national team level, at least not under my leadership. I didn't use the phrase 'last chance' either. I said that he doesn't have countless chances anymore. That's a fact."

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Getty Images SportGermany eye World Cup berth

The 2014 World Cup winners will now aim to secure a berth in the flagship competition in North America next year. A win over Slovakia on November 17, with whom they are tied on points, would secure them a direct qualification, although a draw will also suffice as Germany have a better goal difference.

12Dec

موعد والقنوات الناقلة لمباراة الاتحاد والدحيل اليوم في دوري أبطال آسيا.. والمعلقين

by h79snht.top Uncategorized

يخوض فريق الاتحاد السعودي مواجهة قوية أمام نظيره الدحيل القطري، مساء اليوم الإثنين، ضمن منافسات بطولة دوري أبطال آسيا.

وتقام المباراة بين الاتحاد والدحيل على أرضية ملعب عبد الله بن خليفة بالعاصمة القطرية الدوحة، في إطار منافسات مرحلة المجموعة من دوري أبطال آسيا.

يدخل الاتحاد السعودي مواجهة الدحيل وهو يحتل المركز السادس في ترتيب مجموعته بدوري أبطال آسيا للنخبة برصيد 6 نقاط جمعها من انتصارين وخسارتين بعد مرور أربع جولات.

ويطمح الاتحاد إلى تحقيق الفوز ورفع رصيده إلى 9 نقاط، لتعزيز فرصه في المنافسة على التأهل، خصوصًا بعد النتائج المتقلبة التي شهدها خلال الفترة الماضية في البطولة القارية.

طالع.. فيديو | الهلال يفوز على الغرافة بثنائية ويواصل تصدر دوري أبطال آسيا

أما الدحيل القطري فيدخل اللقاء محتلاً المركز السابع بالمجموعة برصيد 4 نقاط فقط، وذلك بعد فوزه في مباراة واحدة وتعادله مرة وخسارته في مباراتين، ويأمل الدحيل في الاستفادة من اللعب على أرضه وبين جماهيره. موعد مباراة الاتحاد والدحيل في دوري أبطال آسيا

تقام المباراة بين الاتحاد والدحيل، اليوم الإثنين في تمام السادسة مساء بتوقيت القاهرة، الساعة السابعة مساء بتوقيت مكة المكرمة والدوحة. القنوات الناقلة لمباراة الاتحاد والدحيل في دوري أبطال آسيا

تنقل مباراة الاتحاد والدحيل عبر قنوات ” beIN SPORTS 2 HD “، وقناة “الكأس 5”. معلقو مباراة الاتحاد والدحيل في دوري أبطال آسيا

ويتولى الثنائي المعلق حفيظ دراجي، وخالد الحدي، مهمة التعليق على أحداث المباراة.

ويُمكنكم متابعة أحداث مباريات اليوم لحظة بلحظة من مركز المباريات من هنــــا

12Dec

Dhruv Jurel: too good to keep out, too good to just keep

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

He has made himself impossible to drop, pushing India towards the rare move of picking him as a non-keeping middle-order batter

Karthik Krishnaswamy11-Nov-2025It was clear even in January 2020 that Dhruv Jurel had big ambitions.Watch this video, produced during that year’s Under-19 World Cup in South Africa. “I just want to be a successful cricketer,” he says. “I want to play 200 Test match[es] for my India.”He seems to say these words with no thought of how outlandish they must sound coming from anyone, let alone someone who had played no senior cricket at that point. Or with no thought given to the hurdles in front of him, including Rishabh Pant, older than Jurel by only three-and-a-half years and by then already looking set for a long and extraordinary career.A year-and-a-half into his international career now, Jurel has played seven Tests, and all but one of them has come in the forced absence of Pant. This, typically, is life for the wicketkeeping understudy. Keeping is a specialist job, and for much of cricket’s history it was unusual for regular keepers to be good enough with the bat to play Test matches consistently as pure batters.Related

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It’s become a lot more common in recent times, of course, and Test teams now routinely line up with one keeper who keeps and one or even two who don’t. On Friday, South Africa are likely to line up at Eden Gardens with a keeping keeper in Kyle Verreynne and a non-keeping keeper in Ryan Rickelton.India, however, haven’t had much of a history of non-keeping Test keepers. Of the 13 India players who have kept wicket in 10 or more Tests (this weeds out specialist batters who have occasionally done the job, like Vijay Manjrekar and KL Rahul), only two have played as specialist batters in non-emergency situations (such as the crises of unavailability that led to Wriddhiman Saha’s debut and Jurel’s appearance in Perth last year): Budhi Kunderan (in three Tests, with Farokh Engineer keeping) and Dinesh Karthik (in seven, with MS Dhoni keeping).And both Kunderan and Karthik opened the batting when they played alongside another keeper. Stopgap or otherwise, and with or without the big gloves, keeper as opener is certainly an authentic Indian-cricket tradition.All this to say, then, that Jurel, against South Africa on Friday, could go where no India Test keeper with a career of any real length (sorry, Madhav Mantri and Chandrakant Pandit) has gone before: starting a Test series as a non-keeping middle-order batter, ahead of specialist contenders within the squad. And if it happens, it will happen because Jurel has made himself near-impossible to leave out.On September 15, before India A’s first unofficial Test against Australia A, Jurel had one century in 25 first-class games, and an average of 47.34. It was a record befitting his status as a keeper-batter of immense potential, but even if he had shown signs of an uncommonly good eye, technique and temperament, there was, as yet, not a lot of evidence to force India to pick him ahead of B Sai Sudharsan or Devdutt Padikkal or Sarfaraz Khan or a host of other candidates in a specialist middle-order role.Since then, Jurel has rattled off 140, 1, 56, 125, 44, 6*, 132* and 127* in five first-class games — two Tests against West Indies (in the first of which he scored that 125) sandwiched between India A matches against Australia A and South Africa A. His first-class average has jumped to 58.00.Gloves or no gloves, Dhruv Jurel has proved himself to be handy in the field•PTI How do you leave out someone with that record, in this form, who has already shown multiple times that he looks entirely at home in Test cricket? This is someone with a match-turning, Player-of-the-Match performance on a tricky, low-bounce pitch in just his second Test. Someone who, in his most recent match, scored a day-one century on a greentop against South Africa A when no other India A player — their XI included Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Padikkal and Pant — went past 24. Someone who had done the same sort of thing for India A — twin half-centuries when none of his team-mates scored one in either innings — at the MCG last year.India must have come very, very close to the conclusion that you don’t leave out such a player, in fact, and that you find any possible way to pick him. And they probably don’t have to think too long or hard about how they can do this, because there is a fairly obvious way, and a fairly obvious player to leave out.During the Tests against West Indies, Nitish Kumar Reddy looked like a luxury player India picked because they could afford to pick him — not so much for his utility for the immediate task at hand but for helping him grow into the game-changing player they believe he can become. India could afford, in that series, to pick an allrounder who is, at his present stage of development, a sixth bowler and, for all his batting promise, a No. 8 behind Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar who are far more accomplished with the bat at present.Jurel, except in one innings when India promoted Reddy to give him batting time, batted above all three allrounders during the West Indies series, and looked a natural fit in that position. Now, even with Pant back in their XI, there is every chance India will want the batting edge Jurel gives them over this current, work-in-progress version of Reddy, because South Africa’s attack is nothing like the severely depleted West Indies bowling they just faced.Kagiso Rabada is an elite fast bowler with the experience of two previous India Test tours. Keshav Maharaj is one of the world’s best fingerspinners and Simon Harmer a hugely experienced one, and both arrive with more subcontinent know-how than they did in 2019-20 and 2015-16 respectively. Senuran Muthusamy was a debutant and far more of a batter than a bowler when he last toured India, but now he’s fresh off a Player-of-the-Series performance in Pakistan.Jurel could be starting the Test series as a non-keeping middle-order batter, ahead of specialist contenders•Getty ImagesWho would you pick between Jurel and Reddy, against that attack, when you already have five bowlers?The question, however, isn’t quite as simple as that, because there’s a specialist batter in India’s squad, and that batter, Devdutt Padikkal, has been in pretty good form too, notwithstanding two lean games against South Africa A.Since his return from a hamstring injury suffered during the IPL, Padikkal has scored a 150 against Australia A and a 96 for Karnataka against Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy, and if an average of 38.40 across six first-class games in this period doesn’t look flash, there’s one mitigating factor in that he batted at No. 3 or No. 4 in all his innings, and typically faced a newer ball than Jurel had to.And if you put aside the question of current form, there’s the fact that the selectors and team management have long viewed Padikkal as the next batter in line for a middle-order role. Does a run of inspired form from another candidate change that view? And does that question become more awkward if that candidate is the reserve wicketkeeper?

“To select him now as a specialist batter in a Test XI that also includes Pant is another leap of faith, but it can’t be a particularly difficult one to make”

The answer, in normal circumstances, would be yes, it would be terribly awkward. But present circumstances are far from normal. Jurel isn’t on a random burst of inspired form; he’s showing India the run-scoring ceiling that everyone who has tracked him since his junior days has believed him capable of.Right through his career, people with a deep understanding of the game have looked at Jurel and seen a talent worth fast-tracking. Rajasthan Royals picked him in their XIs, or as an Impact Player, when they already had two keeper-batters as good as Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler, and did this when he had only played three previous T20 games.When he was first picked for India A, Jurel had only played 12 first-class games, and scored just one century. Three first-class matches later, he was in India’s Test squad. Then he spent two Tests on the bench before India gave him his cap and left out KS Bharat, who had been in and around the squad as reserve keeper for close to five years.So many leaps of faith, and so far, Jurel hasn’t once given the wise heads who have made them any reason to doubt their judgment. To select him now as a specialist batter in a Test XI that also includes Pant is another leap of faith, but it can’t be a particularly difficult one to make.

12Dec

One Photo Perfectly Depicts Wild Range of Emotions in Shocking Ending to Game 6

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Those three words were shouted in living rooms and typed out in group chats all over the world Friday night in the closing moments of the Dodgers’ 3–1 win over the Blue Jays in Game 6 of the World Series.

Trailing by two runs at Rogers Centre, the Blue Jays nearly completed a comeback in the bottom of the ninth. With a runner on first base and nobody out, Addison Barger smacked a gapper to left-center field for extra bases. It would’ve easily scored pinch-runner Myles Straw from first, but the ball got wedged in between the warning track dirt and the padded wall. It was ruled a ground-rule double, putting Straw at third and Barger at second.

The Blue Jays didn’t end up scoring a run. Tyler Glasnow got Ernie Clement to pop out, and Andrés Giménez lined into a double play with outfielder Kiké Hernández doubling off Barger at second base to end the game.

In the blink of an eye, Toronto went from likely making it a one-run game with nobody out to, whoops, three outs and we’re heading to Game 7.

In all the chaos, Getty Images photographer Mark Blinch caught the perfect snapshot from the perspective of the outfield. In one frame, Betts is pictured flying through the air into the outstretched arms of Hernández, and infielder Miguel Rojas is in the dirt looking like he can’t believe what he just witnessed. Meanwhile, Barger is on second base, realizing his baserunning mistake just cost the Blue Jays a chance to tie or walk-off winners in Game 6.

The Dodgers forced a Game 7 with their 3–1 win over the Blue Jays on Friday night. / Mark Blinch/Getty Images

They say a photo is worth 1,000 words? This one might be worth 1,000 emotions.

Following that wild ending, the Dodgers and Blue Jays will run it back Saturday night for a winner-take-all Game 7—MLB’s first in the World Series since the Nationals defeated the Astros in 2019.

First pitch for Game 7 is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET at Rogers Centre.

12Dec

Mets Pitcher Hit Randy Arozarena in the Head on First Pitch of Little League Classic

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

The Little League Classic is meant to be a wholesome event, but Sunday's clash between the New York Mets and Seattle Mariners got off to quite the opposite start.

The very first pitch of the game from Clay Holmes ran up and in, catching Mariners leadoff hitter Randy Arozarena right around the head.

Karl Ravech had barely even finished introducing the game by the time Holmes's pitch clipped Arozarena as the Little League Classic was off to a rather awkward start.

"… on , and he gets drilled by Holmes, right off the bat," said Ravech.

Some words were exchanged between the two teams but Arozarena eventually took first base without incident and play resumed. The outfielder was able to remain in the game.

That certainly wasn't the first pitch fans in Williamsport were anticipating on Sunday evening.

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