Bangladesh made only 139 after being reduced to 0 for 2 in the first innings, and Sri Lanka won with 32 balls to spare

Karthik Krishnaswamy13-Sep-20251:53

Maharoof: Nissanka one of the best openers in the world

They were locked 8-8 in T20Is in the decade leading up to this match, and all signs pointed to the first close contest of this Asia Cup after it kicked off with four mismatches. It was a bit of an anticlimax in the end, however, with Sri Lanka brushing Bangladesh aside by six wickets, with 32 balls remaining.Given the high stakes of this group-of-death contest, Sri Lanka got everything they wanted from it: two points and a massive net-run-rate boost. Bangladesh, who had already copped criticism for taking 17.4 overs to chase down 144 against Hong Kong, now face an uphill task to qualify for the Super Four.Sri Lanka dominated the match from its extraordinary start – Nuwan Thushara and Dushmantha Chameera bowled back-to-back wicket maidens with the new ball – to its breezy finish, with Bangladesh only really competing during an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 86 between Shamim Hossain and Jaker Ali.That partnership, which began at 53 for 5, gave Bangladesh some sort of total to bowl at. Very quickly, though, Pathum Nissanka’s fluency and Kamil Mishara’s power made it look like no sort of total. Nissanka scored 50 off 34 balls and became the quickest Sri Lankan batter to 2000 T20I runs, while Mishara finished unbeaten on 46 off 32.

0 for 2 in two overs

Sri Lanka found new-ball swing after they chose to bowl, but that couldn’t have been the only reason why Tanzid Hasan and Parvez Hossain Emon struggled to the extent they did. There were signs that this was a slightly two-paced pitch when Tanzid kept failing to find the middle of the bat – or the gaps – in the first over (though two of the mishits were off full-tosses), before Thushara swung his sixth ball through his gate as he attempted a get-out-of-jail drive on the up.1:14

Maharoof: Bangladesh have been lacking in major tournaments

The second-over contest between Chameera and Emon was similar, though it only lasted four balls. This time, the on-the-up drive ended up as an outside edge to the keeper, with the ball swinging less than the batter expected. With Chameera rounding off the over with a pair of dots to No. 4 Towhid Hridoy, the scoreboard was an extraordinary sight: 0 for 2 in two overs.

Hasaranga returns with a bang

Bangladesh sank deeper into misery in the fifth over when Hridoy was run out going for a sharp and needless third run, but Litton Das made sure they didn’t let Sri Lanka have it all their own way. When they tried to slip in a quiet over from their fifth bowler Dasun Shanaka, Litton went after him – after edging his first ball just short of a diving fly slip – and hit him for three fours in the sixth over.That did not signal a shift of momentum, though, as Wanindu Hasaranga, who had missed Sri Lanka’s recent tour of Zimbabwe with a hamstring injury, came on in the eighth over and made an almost instant impact, trapping Mahedi Hasan lbw with his second ball, a trademark wrong’un.Wanindu Hasaranga delivered a deadly opening spell•Asian Cricket Council

He came close twice more with the wrong’un. Litton, given out on-field, successfully reviewed an lbw decision against him, with the inside edge coming to his rescue. Then Jaker, beaten comprehensively while defending off the front foot, was saved by the bails staying put after the ball brushed the off stump.Hasaranga did get a second wicket, two balls later, with Litton gloving an attempted reverse-sweep to the keeper.

Shamim and Jaker lead rescue act

Bangladesh’s sixth-wicket pair came together at 53 for 5 in the tenth over, and walked off together at the end of the innings with unbeaten 40s to their name. That both went at strike rates in the 120s, and both struggled to find the boundary for long stretches – including a barren spell of 21 balls – indicated both the excellence of Sri Lanka’s defensive bowling, particularly that of Chameera whose yorkers achieved a rare level of precision in overs 18 and 20, and the two-paced nature of this Abu Dhabi surface.Shamim hit the only six of Bangladesh’s innings, a pick-up shot over midwicket off Matheesha Pathirana in the 19th over, and that shot and Pathirana’s figures – 0 for 42 in four overs – indicated that batters could feed off pace on the ball in these conditions.

Nissanka and Mishara show off extra gear

Both these teams have had well-documented issues with their T20I scoring rates in recent years, but Sri Lanka have been trendsetters in this format in previous eras. And Nissanka and Mishara showed that that spark might still endure.Pathum Nissanka and Kamil Mishara gave Sri Lanka a big win•Associated Press

Off just the fourth ball of his innings, Nissanka played what was unarguably the shot of the match up to that point, a resounding pulled six, well in front of square, off Mustafizur Rahman. And after Mustafizur hit back by nicking off Kusal Mendis, Nissanka and Mishara continued to pepper the boundary in a way Bangladesh had struggled to do throughout their innings.This was partly down to Bangladesh bowling short balls far more frequently than Sri Lanka had, but Mishara also dispatched them with an easy, stand-and-deliver power that Bangladesh cricket has traditionally struggled to produce. None of this may have come to pass, however, had Mahedi held on to a chance at mid-on when Shoriful Islam got a short ball to get big on Mishara; he was batting on 1 off 7 at that point, and the pitch was still looking two-paced.That spilled chance seemingly transformed the conditions too, with Mishara spanking the luckless Shoriful for 6, 4, 4 off the last three balls of the over. Nissanka, at the other end, sashayed this way and that to manipulate length and line, and timed the ball with a fluency that no one else from either side matched.These two put on 95 in just 52 balls, and Sri Lanka could have finished things off even quicker, but they lost 3 for 18 in a 17-ball spell late in the game when they had the result all but sewn up.

Who is going to be the new Celtic manager? Well, who knows!

Martin O’Neill remains in caretaker charge for now, having been parachuted in following Brendan Rodgers’ shock resignation, winning three of four matches in charge to date, that Europa League hammering at the hands of Midtjylland the only blot on his copybook.

With no obvious front-runner for the job, and given that we’re in the middle of the season, could a left-field appointment be required?

Well, this was the case back in the summer of 2021 when, after seeing their Premiership streak of nine in a row come to an end, Ange Postecoglou was appointed completely out of nowhere, having only ever worked in his native Australia and Japan beforehand.

Despite this, and the widespread ridicule when he arrived in Glasgow, Postecoglou would go on to win five trophies across his two seasons in charge, thereby remaining, possibly, the most popular Celtic manager of modern times.

So, could another lesser-known name become the next Postecoglou, emphasising that he is the outstanding candidate for the vacancy, as opposed to the other front-runners?

Kieran McKenna to Celtic latest

Ever since Rodgers resigned, Kieran McKenna has been one of the names most frequently mentioned in terms of becoming the new Celtic manager.

As reported by Ewan Murray of the Guardian, he is a ‘leading candidate’ with the Ipswich Town boss boasting ‘longtime admirers’ on the Celtic board, while Sky Sports add that he is one of the names near the top of the club’s shortlist.

However, any approach would not be straightforward.

The 39-year-old is under contract in Suffolk until 2028 and Ipswich would surely demand a sizable compensation fee if they’re going to allow their most prized asset to depart.

Manager Focus

Who are the greatest coaches in the land? Football FanCast’s Manager Focus series aims to reveal all.

McKenna, in his first-ever head coach role, worked miracles at Portman Road, guiding the Tractor Boys to back-to-back promotions, going from EFL League One to the Premier League in double quick time, the first time Ipswich had competed in England’s top-tier since 2002.

However, his team did really struggle to compete at the top level, winning just four Premier League matches all season, relegated with a whimper.

Right now, Ipswich are seventh in the EFL Championship, hammering Swansea 4-1 on Saturday, thereby sat just outside the play-off positions,

Before moving to Suffolk, McKenna worked as an assistant manager to José Mourinho and then Ole Gunnar Solskjær at Manchester United, so has some experience at an elite level, but many supporters remain unconvinced, so should the Celtic hierarchy target a more left-field coach who could be their new Postecoglou?

Celtic should appoint the new Postecoglou

According to a report by TEAMtalk on Wednesday evening, Wilfried Nancy, a man supporters may be very unfamiliar with, has been ‘officially invited’ for talks with the Hoops over the Parkhead vacancy.

It’s further reported that the Celtic board are ‘very keen’ to interview Nancy and could complete a deal by January should compensation be agreed, with the season in America, where he manages Columbus Crew, set to end this month.

So, who is he? Well, the Frenchman was named 2024 MLS coach of the year, but that does not begin to tell his story.

His first head coach role was with CF Montréal, staying in Québec for two seasons, before spending the last three years at Columbus Crew, enjoyed huge success in charge of both, as the table below documents.

First and foremost, if you’re not dialled into MLS, we’re guessing you’re probably not, it’s really difficult to properly put into words how impressive an achievement it is to finish 3rd in the overall standings, and second in the Eastern Conference, with Club de Foot Montréal.

Owner Joey Saputo essentially does not care about the team, meaning Montréal have one of the lowest budgets in Major League Soccer, finishing 28th, out of 30, this year, showing that Nancy can seriously elevate an underperforming side.

In Canada, Nancy succeeded Thierry Henry, after he resigned, and the Arsenal legend spoke glowingly about his former assistant during CBS’ Champions League coverage.

Nevertheless, Nancy’s true success has come since moving to Columbus Crew, winning MLS Cup at the end of his first year and then Leagues Cup last season, also leading the Black and Gold to the club’s first-ever CONCACAF Champions Cup Final, ousting two Mexican heavyweights along the way, before defeat to Pachuca.

The Crew’s 2025 season is now over, dumped out of the MLS play-offs by local rivals FC Cincinnati at the weekend, which may make him available, so could he soon swap Ohio for Glasgow?

Well, he has certainly earned rave reviews, with Joe Lowery praising his “patient possession” style of play which he believes is “so much fun to watch”, while Tom Bogert describes the Crew as “attractive” to watch and “courageous” on the ball.

Meantime, former USA striker Herculez Gomez notes that Nancy is “immensely respected”, adding that his style of play is “so pleasing to the eye”, boasting a clear philosophy featuring both possession and high pressing, comparing him to Paris Saint-Germain boss Luis Enrique.

Well, another high-profile manager that sounds reminiscent of is, well, Postecoglou and his now infamous, certainly in Premier League circles, Ange-ball.

As already mentioned, Postecoglou was a lesser-known name in British and European football prior to his arrival in Glasgow but, as he likes to remind everyone, he wins everywhere he goes, joining with a J League, multiple A-League titles and an AFC Asia Cup to his name, among other honours.

Well, the same can be said of Nancy, who created something of a dynasty in MLS, something that is so tough to do in a league that is so parity-focused.

Thus, just like Postecoglou, Nancy has the personality, the playing style and the will to win to succeed at Celtic, seemingly making him the ideal candidate to come in and lead the Hoops to a fifth successive Premiership title.

Upgrade on Nancy: Celtic considering move for "unbeatable" 4-2-3-1 manager

Celtic are considering a move for this 4-2-3-1 manager who would be an upgrade on Wilfried Nancy.

2

By
Dan Emery

Nov 12, 2025

They sealed their spots by making it to the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Region Division One Qualifier

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Sep-2025

Zimbabwe and Namibia have sealed their places in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier early next year in Nepal, where ten teams will compete for four spots in the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup in England in June and July. Neither Zimbabwe nor Namibia have ever qualified for a women’s World Cup in any format in the past.They join Bangladesh, Scotland, Ireland, Netherlands, Thailand, Nepal and USA, who have already made it to the global qualifying tournament. The tenth and final team will come from the East Asia-Pacific regional qualifier, which begins in Fiji on September 9.Zimbabwe qualified by beating Uganda in the first semi-final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Region Division One Qualifier in Windhoek on Thursday. Namibia beat Tanzania in the second semi-final to book their spot. They will contest the final of the Africa regional qualifier on September 6.The T20 World Cup qualifier comprises ten teams divided into two groups of five each. The top six teams then make it to the Super Six stage, before the final. The tournament begins on January 12 and ends on February 2. The matches will be held at the Lower Mulpani Cricket Stadium and the Upper Mulpani Cricket Stadium in Kathmandu.The T20 World Cup in 2026 will have 12 teams participating for the first time in the history of the tournament, up from ten teams in 2024. New Zealand are the defending champions, having beaten South Africa in the final in Dubai last year.

With only nine Premier League wins under his belt as a manager in the top flight, it’s fair to say Daniel Farke has his work cut out for him right now to arrest the current Leeds United slide.

With four defeats from their last five league clashes, Leeds now sit just one point above the depressing relegation zone, as Sean Dyche’s equally relegation-troubled Nottingham Forest sucked the Whites deeper into the relegation pit by beating them 3-1 at the City Ground before the international break.

Yet, despite the West Yorkshire outfit hanging on for their lives, and Farke’s wretched record in the top division, it appears as if the ex-Norwich City boss will be kept on, for the time being at least.

Surely, though, if the results continue in their gloomy downward trajectory, the plug will have to be pulled.

But, until then, the under-pressure German has some big decisions to grapple with to try and save his job in the long run.

Decisions Farke needs to make to save his job at Leeds

Sack season is also in full swing now in the Premier League, with bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton Wanderers getting rid of Vitor Pereira recently, after extending a vote of confidence his way.

Farke will hope he doesn’t follow Pereira in being the next managerial casualty, with the German now facing the decision to make a number of changes to his regular starting lineup.

One of those includes dropping the likes of Brenden Aaronson if he is to remain in the Elland Road dug-out moving forward.

Unfortunately, Farke does appear to be staunchly loyal to certain members of his camp, even when they’re obviously falling below their expected standards, with Aaronson selected now by the German a high 59 times, to hit-and-miss results.

Only one of his ten goals for the West Yorkshire giants under Farke has fallen in the Premier League, and with both Daniel James and Wilfried Gnonto waiting in reserve, switching out the ex-Union Berlin playmaker for either the Welshman or Italian could seriously boost the relegation-threatened side in attack.

Farke might also help the wins to start flowing if he selects Lukas Nmecha as his sole striker more often, heading into crunch games this November and December, with the ex-Wolfsburg striker stylishly putting away a goal against Forest, which is his second for the club already, despite only amassing 279 minutes of total league action.

The German will also know he needs to change up his defence, with Jaka Bijol receiving plenty of pelters for his recent performances.

However, Farke didn’t exactly help out his tiring defence at the City Ground.

Bielsa signing must be given the boot by Farke

Another compelling argument to get rid of Aaronson from the first team picture, away from his hot-and-cold reputation, is the fact that he’s a remaining relic of the dismal 2022/23 squad that was relegated to the Championship.

The only other dire member of that team that featured against Dyche’s hosts was Jack Harrison, who is somehow still getting minutes under Farke, many years on from his Leeds peak.

25/26

11

0

22/23

40

6 + 10

21/22

38

10 + 2

20/21

37

8 + 8

19/20

49

6 + 8

18/19

42

4 + 4

Indeed, looking at the data above, it’s clear that the former Manchester City youth product was a dependable first-teamer many moons ago at Elland Road, with an impressive collection of 66 combined goals and assists for the Whites.

Leeds managerial great Marcelo Bielsa even once hailed Harrison as a “big influence” during his heyday down the left channel.

But, right now, the 28-year-old needs to be put out of his misery, on his subdued return to the Whites first team fold, after a two-season-long loan stay at Everton.

Last time out versus Forest, when strangely placed into the side at left-back, Harrison would clatter into a Forest shirt late on, clumsily, to gift Elliot Anderson his game-clinching penalty.

Moreover, away from that moment of stupidity, the below-par number 20 still manages to pocket a steep £90k-per-week salary at the Premier League newcomers, despite having no goals or assists to shout about this season from 11 forgettable outings.

Recent reports have also suggested that Harrison could be sold in January if Leeds can win themselves some more reinforcements in attack.

Still, if Farke wants to send out a message that he isn’t going to stand by and watch standards slip, he will try to offload the shoddy winger in the transfer window, anyway, as he attempts everything in his power to keep his precarious position.

He's got a "bit of Bielsa": Leeds could sack Farke for "mental" 4-3-3 coach

A Bielsa-style change of manager could keep Leeds in the Premier League

ByJoe Nuttall Nov 12, 2025

She has always been a matchwinner, but with the addition of her early intent, she has leveled up once more

S Sudarshanan12-Mar-20256:16

Mithali Raj: Harmanpreet finds a way to score against Giants

Harmanpreet Kaur is among the few batters in the women’s game who do not need a free hit to get going. When she got one in Mumbai Indians’ (MI) opening match of WPL 2025, she took full toll. She waltzed down the track and smacked Radha Yadav over the long-off boundary for a 74-metre hit. It was just the ninth ball Harmanpreet had faced; little did we know it was a sign of things to come.Ever since Harmanpreet’s international debut in 2009, her strokeplay has attracted attention. Her unfettered bat-swing is a thing of beauty and there is something alluring about watching her play without the stress of keeping up with the chase. Her confidence, and the fact that she comes through more often than not, makes it seem like the bowlers are under ten times more pressure.However, with captaincy comes responsibility, so much so that batters sometimes end up curbing their attacking instincts far too much. It seemed to be the case with Harmanpreet in recent times. In the aftermath of India’s early exit from the T20 World Cup in 2024, focus shifted to the shots she can play to why she wasn’t playing them. Her first-ten-ball strike rate in T20Is had fallen to 83.56 in 2024, her lowest in three years.Related

• A Harmanpreet masterpiece blows Delhi Capitals away

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• Harmanpreet: 'If a player can handle the pressure in the WPL, they can handle it anywhere'

• Priya Mishra spins her way into the spotlight

Like India, MI rely hugely on Harmanpreet, and Nat Sciver-Brunt. The team’s results often mirror the duo’s performances, which does explain Harmanpreet’s safety-first approach with the bat and that method did deliver them a WPL trophy – MI won the inaugural season – but it wasn’t entirely foolproof.MI narrowly missed out on a spot in the final in 2024. That five-run defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the eliminator hurt her. She scored a 30-ball 33 and fell leaving MI needing 16 off 12. The remaining batters could not get those runs.Only a game before that, Harmanpreet had found herself in a similar situation, but that time she had escaped, thanks to some sloppy fielding from the opposition. MI needed 91 off 36 balls against Gujarat Giants (GG) to make the playoffs; Harmanpreet was on 20 off 21 before she was dropped. She blasted 95 not out off 48 balls to take MI over the line. Harmanpreet’s method of taking it deep was seemingly counter-productive, especially if she fell before landing the killer blow.Harmanpreet was dejected after MI’s loss in last season’s WPL eliminator•PTI Ahead of WPL 2025, Harmanpreet and Devika Palshikar, MI’s batting coach, had a chat about changing her approach. The conversation stemmed from the narrow defeat that ended their campaign last season, and the idea was for Harmanpreet to attack from an early point, but not recklessly. It is still a work in progress – and therefore liable to backfire – but there is no denying that it is making one of the world’s most dangerous batters dangerous again. Her first-ten-ball strike rate in WPL 2025 is 122.58, which is a massive jump from 93.98 in 2024 and 73.68 in 2023.That six off Radha was the earliest point Harmanpreet has hit one in the WPL. In the same game, she hit the first four balls of the 11th over, bowled by Annabel Sutherland, for 4, 4, 6, 4 but was out on the following delivery.Aggression like this always has a trade-off. In the first two seasons of the WPL, when Harmanpreet took fewer risks, she was dismissed inside 20 balls five times in 16 innings. She has already matched that now in 2025. But her team is still in the playoffs and she is their third-highest run-getter. The price she is paying seems to be worthwhile.”We’re finding her much better this season,” Palshikar said after Harmanpreet’s Player-of-the-Match effort against GG in Mumbai earlier this week. “If you remember last year’s Eliminator, which we lost by five runs, it was a close game. We had a long chat then and before starting this season that one of Nat and Harman should be there throughout the innings. She practises a lot against spin also and pace also. It is a very focused practice, where she knows she needs to be there till the end. She is finding ways to do that and that’s why you can see a major difference in her batting.”Looks like Harmanpreet is trying to do both but with an increased focus on getting off the blocks quickly. She has always been a matchwinner. But this season, she has been pushing herself even harder, testing the limits of her talent, and it has led to a situation where one of the world’s best hitters has realised she doesn’t really need to hold back like she did before.

The effect of the return of saliva and reverse-swing is there to see: fuller lengths have been more economical than shorter lengths for the first time in this decade this IPL

Karthik Krishnaswamy17-Apr-20251:38

Bishop: We saw the best of Starc tonight

“Why don’t they just bowl yorkers?”It’s a refrain you might hear from a disgruntled uncle watching fast bowlers get walloped in the end overs of a T20 game. You even hear it from TV commentators sometimes.The yorker remains the hardest ball for most batters to hit, but it’s one with a low margin for error. Err with your length a little bit, and you’re delivering two of the easier lengths for batters to hit: full-tosses and half-volleys.And over the years, events around white-ball cricket have made it harder and harder for bowlers to trust their yorkers. With the use of two new balls in ODIs, and the ban on the use of saliva to shine the ball brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, reverse-swing began to go out of the game.Related

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Samson on Starc: 'One of the best guys around in the world'

It’s coming back now, though, at least in the IPL, where saliva is legal again. Mohit Sharma believes it’s contributing to the ball reversing in 70% of games in IPL 2025, and Delhi Capitals’ (DC) match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Wednesday night was certainly one of them.The ball showed signs of reversing as early as the fifth over of RR’s innings, when Mohit swerved two yorkers into Sanju Samson, with replays suggesting that the ball swung against the orientation of the seam, which was canted towards slip. This early reverse has happened in other games too – for example, in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on April 12, when Eshan Malinga got the ball to reverse consistently, starting from the seventh over.Wednesday’s most dramatic moments of reverse came late in the game, though, when Mitchell Starc swung the contest in DC’s direction over the course of three overs. First, with RR needing 31 off 18, the left-arm quick conceded just eight runs in the 18th over and dismissed half-centurion Nitish Rana with a wickedly tailing yorker; an inside edge off the next ball saved Shimron Hetmyer from being bowled by a similar delivery. Then, with RR needing nine off the last over, Starc forced the game into a Super Over, curtailing Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel with ball after ball speared into the base of the stumps and landing there or thereabouts with late bend in its path.Quite naturally, DC entrusted Starc with the Super Over, and once again he showed an unwavering faith in the yorker. Despite bowling a no-ball when he cut the return crease while going round the wicket to the right-handed Riyan Parag, he kept RR to 11 runs, and induced enough panic for them to lose both their wickets to run-outs with a ball left unused. DC chased down their target in just four balls, and a match that had seemed lost was theirs, moving them back to the top of the IPL table with five wins from six games.Mitchell Starc induced enough panic for Rajasthan Royals to lose both their Super Over wickets to run-outs with a ball left unused•BCCIHere’s how much Starc swung the old ball: 1.2 degrees on average across the 18th and 20th overs, and 1.8 degrees in his Super Over (old balls are used for Super Overs, with the fielding captain allowed to choose from a box of used balls). He had bowled the first and third overs of RR’s innings and swung the new ball just 0.8 degrees.When you’re as quick as Starc and as good at executing the yorker as he is, the decision of what option to go for at the death becomes far easier to make when the ball is reversing.”I’ve played long enough that everyone pretty much knows what I’m going to do,” Starc said while receiving the Player-of-the-Match award. “If I can execute more often than not, it’s going to be okay.”I mean, you could play that [20th] over ten more times and do ten different things and it might be ten different results, so as I said, a bit of luck goes a long way, and fortunately I executed well enough to get us to a Super Over and then, yeah, we were on the right end of it.”It also helped Starc that left-hand batters Rana and Hetmyer were on strike for eight of his 12 balls across the 18th and 20th overs, which made his stock ball, swinging into the batter from over the wicket, an easier one to execute and set a field to.1:16

Pujara surprised by RR’s Super Over line-up

Starc was surprised, then, that RR chose to send out Hetmyer as one of their openers in the Super Over, and had another left-hand batter, Yashasvi Jaiswal, at No. 3.Starc’s problems came when the right-handed Riyan Parag came on strike. He went around the wicket and bowled that back-foot no-ball – he also erred in line with that ball, bowling wide of off stump with four of his five boundary fielders out on the leg side. Having given away five runs without bowling a ball, he overcompensated with his line off the next ball, with a brush off Parag’s pad stopping it from becoming a leg-side wide. An attempt to steal a leg bye, however, resulted in the first of two run-outs off successive balls.”Yeah, I was probably a little surprised they had left-handers with the ball tailing in and my angle,” Starc said. “Probably got two [balls] wrong there and obviously stepped on the wide line a bit, so yeah, I may even have got away with a couple there, but we obviously had the batting depth to chase the runs, so yeah, solid win in the end.”In his press conference after the match, Rana spoke of the difference that the return of saliva had made to the game.”The difference that comes from applying saliva, the reverse-swing that we got to see from Starc – obviously the credit goes to Starc, but the saliva makes a lot of difference,” he said. “We didn’t use saliva at all in the last two-three years, and we didn’t do this type of batting even in the nets, because reverse-swing had completely gone away from cricket, whether it was red ball or white ball. Suddenly, if someone can execute 11 yorkers in 12 balls at a 145 [kph] pace, then you have to give Starc the credit.”

“Getting reverse-swing is one thing, but executing it is very important. It was reversing, but at that time, under pressure, he [Starc] was executing it. I was just reminding him to be clear with his plans, and trust himself. I was getting the same response: ‘Don’t worry, skip. I’ll do it’Axar Patel

While acknowledging the role of saliva in the return of reverse, DC captain Axar Patel also highlighted the lack of grass on the pitches used in the IPL, which accelerates wear and tear on the ball.”Because we can use saliva this season, and since there isn’t much grass on the surface, you can get the ball to reverse,” Axar said in his post-match press conference. “I feel it’s fair for bowlers, given how the grounds are, and how batsmen’s bats are, and how runs keep flowing.”We’re getting 180-190 scores, and it’s fun when that happens, because it’s competitive cricket, and it’s not as if there’s nothing in it for the bowlers. So I feel we’re able to get reverse-swing because of the use of saliva.”And getting reverse-swing is one thing, but executing it is very important. It was reversing, but at that time, under pressure, he [Starc] was executing it. I was just reminding him to be clear with his plans, and trust himself. I was getting the same response: ‘Don’t worry, skip. I’ll do it’.”ESPNcricinfo’s data bears out the effect that the return of saliva and reverse-swing have had on the end-overs yorker in the IPL. While the overall economy rate of fast bowlers in the death overs has continued its season-by-season increase, the fuller lengths (full-toss, yorker, full) have become more economical than the shorter lengths (length, short-of-good length, short) for the first time in this decade.This could mean that batters are getting better at handling shorter lengths at the death; it could also, of course, just be the effect of reverse-swing encouraging bowlers to attempt yorkers more often and set fields accordingly, leading to shorter lengths suffering greater punishment. Or it could be a combination of the two.In any case, successive matches in Delhi have shown the value of the newly re-weaponised yorker, swinging games away from chasing teams in dramatic fashion. First it was Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah for Mumbai Indians (MI) against DC; now it’s Starc for DC against RR. Given that batters are still getting used to all this, we could yet see a few more end-overs heists before the pendulum swings back.

James Maddison dressed his eldest son, Leo, up in a Jude Bellingham Real Madrid kit. In a pair of wholesome snapshots taken at home, Maddison's boy throws his arms wide in pure, unfiltered delight while wearing a blue Real Madrid third strip, complete with the midfielder’s name and the iconic No.5 plastered across the back.

• A kit rooted in history

  The shirt Maddison’s son proudly wears is Real Madrid’s 2025-26 third strip. It arrives in a luxurious shade of blue, decorated with clean white accents that mirror the freshly installed seating at the renovated Bernabeu. The fabric itself carries subtle contours that mimic the stadium’s interior, a quiet tribute woven directly into the garment. Inside the collar rests a sentence etched into Madrid folklore: "90 minuti en el Bernabeu son molto longo." Those words, spoken by club legend Juanito to an Inter defender during the 1984–85 UEFA Cup semi-final, serve as a warning to opponents: "90 minutes in the Bernabeu feels like a lifetime."

  The colour calls back to the 2013–14 season, the year Real Madrid clinched La Decima, their historic 10th European crown. It is a kit steeped in heritage, and now, thanks to Maddison’s son Leo, it has already found one of its most enthusiastic ambassadors.

  Maddison added a mischievous caption to the images: "Wise choice, son." While Bellingham reposted the story in his account and wrote: "Leooo😍💙".

  @madders Instagram

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• Bellingham’s England story takes another twist

  While Maddison’s social-media moment was light-hearted, Bellingham’s recent weeks with the national team have felt more intense. The Madrid midfielder was left out of England’s October plans while recovering from shoulder surgery, a spell that allowed speculation around his temperament to bubble up again as Thomas Tuchel seeks to build a harmonious squad ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Tuchel eventually restored him to the team for November’s fixtures against Serbia and Albania. Bellingham started the second of those matches but left without the shirt he wore, having swapped it with Inter defender Kristjan Asllani as he walked off the pitch. The decision triggered debate as many questioned the need for a shirt swap mid-match rather than waiting for the final whistle.

• Midfielder defended from recent criticism

  Last month, England midfielder Danny Murphy was quick to dispel any notion that Bellingham’s character should be questioned.

  Speaking to GOAL, Murphy said: "I find the narrative around his character and any problems a little bit strange because when I have watched England – I have watched them a lot at tournaments and watched him closely, he is, by far, the best character on the football pitch when England play, in terms of producing big moments, grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck, leaving everything out there.

  "If you could have 11 Jude Bellinghams, you would win most tournaments. The element of not talking to the press or not doing interviews or the odd swear word or rant or a little bit of what some people would call arrogance, that is what creates the player on the pitch. They are just rumours because a lot of the feedback from the players – Jordan Henderson recently said how much he likes him and how great a character he is – I think some of it has been exaggerated.

  "From a footballing perspective, we have a much better chance of winning the World Cup if he is in the team. I don’t mean just in the squad, I mean in the team. He is a phenomenal talent. We should be – as pundits, fans, press – building him up, applauding him and being thankful that we have got him, not trying to pull him down because he is the best one we have got. He is the game-changer in our side. He is the one that can make things happen. He’s just a phenomenal player."

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  What comes next for Bellingham?

  Bellingham has been a key figure for England for several years. He has become a talisman at Real Madrid. And now, even Premier League stars like Maddison find their children choosing his name on the back of their shirts. With the 2026 World Cup looming, Bellingham will be central to England’s ambitions. Shirt swaps, debates and social-media storms won’t change that.