Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will maintain their ultra-aggressive batting approach from last season, head coach Daniel Vettori has said ahead of their IPL 2025 opener against Rajasthan Royals in Hyderabad.”Whatever ground we go to, we have an understanding that the batting team is going to be aggressive,” Vettori said. “The only thing that can mitigate that is the pitch, but most times, the pitches in IPL are very flat.”When you come to these grounds, you know exactly what to expect. You know how the batsmen are going come against you. It’s quite…..maybe not fun is the right word, it’s a good challenge for a bowling group to try and work their way through that.”That’s what Pat [Cummins, the captain] addressed the bowling group the other day. He said the expectation is on the batters to do all the work, score the runs and the bowlers can sort of feed into that. If we get those days to make it all work, it’s going go a long way in us winning games. The onus on batting group to score runs and for the bowlers to be able to mitigate that.”Vettori expressed excitement about the expectations surrounding the team and hoped they could replicate the intensity that took them to last year’s final.”Expectations bring some excitement,” he said. “Expectations are built around the performances of last year and the quality of the team we’ve been able to put together at the back end of last season and into the auction.”As a franchise, we’re really excited about the season because we have that foundation from the five players [Cummins, Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Reddy, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma] we retained and how well they performed last year, hopefully we have the squad to perform as well this year if not better.”Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, who claimed the second-highest run tally for an opening pair last year, will continue at the top for SRH. Vettori also welcomed Ishan Kishan into the side, calling him a “huge addition”.”Don’t think we’ll be changing the opening combination, Ishan complements them as well as anyone,” Vettori said. “He has a similar stye of game, left-handed, the ability to take on all types of bowlers. We’re very lucky to have him part of the squad to complement those two, then have Nitish and Klaasen and few of our younger batters to be able to come into the squad as well. We look at that as a huge addition to the team.”Vettori was pleased to see a fit-again Cummins and Nitish, with Cummins recovering from an ankle issue that forced him to miss the Champions Trophy. Meanwhile, Nitish, one of their breakout stars from IPL 2024, comes back following a rehab from a side strain that kept him out of action for a month.”They’ve come through their training sessions really well,” Vettori said. “They had injuries around January, it’s been an extended period since they played but they’ve also had time to recover. When they play as much cricket as they do, it’s sometimes nice to be able to get the chance to refresh.”Both of them are eager and excited about the season. That’s a great position to have. Sometimes when you come into the IPL, it’s the end of a very long season, players can be slightly jaded, but those two are very keen to go.”Cummins will lead a strong pace battery that has two other prolific performers in Mohammed Shami and Harshal Patel – bowlers who won the purple cap in IPL 2023 and 2024 respectively.”Shami two years ago was purple cap winner, Harshal [won it] last year – they are two big additions,” he said. “We know it is big shoes to fill from Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar] and Nattu [T Natarajan] – stalwarts of the Sunrisers, who mean much to the franchise.”It was hard to see them go, but that’s the dynamic of the auction. You have to be as nimble as possible to take opportunities. To see Shami come to us, bowl so well in the Champions Trophy is fantastic, those two can complement what Pat brings to the table.”

Everton look to be enjoying a new era under David Moyes and could be set to launch an offensive to complete a bargain move once the New Year comes around.

Everton willing to trigger Omar El Hilali's release clause

The summer window saw an influx of arrivals at the Hill Dickinson Stadium that marked the start of a new era for all involved, with Jack Grealish being the pick of the bunch after claiming the Premier League Player of the Month award.

While the England international impressed in a 0-0 draw against former club Aston Villa on Saturday, Everton have already made Espanyol full-back Omar El Hilali one of their main priorities come January and plan to trigger his £26 million release clause once the mid-season market opens.

After trying and failing to land him during the summer, Moyes may now act to bring in some competition on the right-hand side of defence for Jake O’Brien, putting another piece of the jigsaw in place as the Toffees continue to probe on the transfer front.

Solidity is a quality that has underpinned the Scot’s sides over the years, but that also needs to be tempered with offensive quality, something that slowly appears to be emerging due to the Friedkin Group’s investment power.

Despite the window being closed, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has emerged as a free agent target for Everton, potentially offering a balance of the two qualities in the engine room.

Optimism is growing on the blue half of Merseyside and supporters appear willing to stick with Moyes’ blueprint as his side find their niche in the Premier League, and they may now be ready to sanction a bargain move come 2026.

Everton hopeful of bargain permanent Jack Grealish transfer

According to The Telegraph, Everton are hopeful they can sign Jack Grealish for less than his £50 million transfer option included in his loan agreement at Manchester City.

The outlet claim a bargain deal may be possible due to his clause being a result of accountancy rather than being set in stone, given he has two years on his deal at the Etihad Stadium and his market value at the club was factored in before Pep Guardiola sanctioned his departure.

Everton's "incredible" star is quietly having a bigger impact than Grealish

Everton appear to have turned a corner with David Moyes at the helm this season, with Jack Grealish central to it. He’s not alone, however…

ByAngus Sinclair Sep 12, 2025

Loved by Wayne Rooney due to his character on and off the field, Grealish has registered four assists in his first five matches for the Toffees across all competitions and has endeared himself as a fan favourite due to some dazzling displays.

However, his wages are said to be around £12 million per year and that may be a sticking point in negotiations, meaning a free transfer may be the only way for Everton to afford the Three Lions man if they were to take on his full earnings.

Time will tell on that front, but it is clear to see that Everton and Grealish have hit it off instantly and their relationship is worth continuing at any cost.

The match will be played on a red-soil pitch, which has plenty of grass cover

Abhimanyu Bose31-Mar-20252:09

How do PBKS contain red-hot Pooran?

Big pictureSunrisers Hyderabad racked up 286 for 6 in their first game of IPL 2025. All eyes were on them when they came up against Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) inexperienced bowling attack, with 300 being the buzzword. But a death-bowling clinic before the death overs from LSG stopped them in their tracks. Punjab Kings (PBKS), in their first game of the season, posted 243 for 5 – the second-highest total of this year. Now they, too, are up against LSG.LSG allrounder Shardul Thakur has made repeated calls for pitches that aid bowlers, and he will be happy to play at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, arguably the most bowler-friendly venue in the IPL. However, being at home is not necessarily a good thing for LSG, as they have a fifty-fifty record there. The in-form Nicholas Pooran, despite three seasons with the franchise, does not enjoy playing at this ground, averaging less than 25 and managing a high score of 42 in 14 matches.Related

Thakur: 'All bowlers want is a fair chance'

Reverse swing for Arshdeep or drier ball for Chahal – Punjab Kings have to decide

New loyaltiesIn his three years with the franchise, Marcus Stoinis was LSG’s third-highest run-scorer. But on Tuesday, he will turn out against his old team, hoping to quickly gain form for his new franchise PBKS, who shelled INR 11 crore for him at the auction.Fast bowler Yash Thakur is another ex-LSG player in PBKS’ ranks. But it is unlikely that he will get to play on Tuesday.2:26

Cricinformed: What has made Pooran such a T20 force since 2024?

Team news and likely XIIsWith PBKS’ batting line-up stacked with right-handers, LSG could be tempted to bring in one of their left-arm spinners in Shahbaz Ahmed or M Siddharth in place of Abdul Samad. LSG could also consider swapping Aiden Markram to give his compatriot Matthew Breetzke a chance at the top of the order, but Breetzke’s form has also been indifferent, with no half-century in his last ten T20 innings.Lucknow Super Giants (probable): 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Mitchell Marsh, 3 Nicholas Pooran, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt, wk), 5 Ayush Badoni, 6 David Miller, 7 Shahbaz Ahmed, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Prince Yadav, 11 Avesh Khan, 12 Digvesh RathiWith the Ekana Cricket Stadium generally favouring spinners, PBKS could think of an additional slower bowler in Harpreet Brar to support Yuzvendra Chahal and Glenn Maxwell. This could mean that Vijaykumar Vyshak, who put on an excellent display of death bowling after coming on as an Impact Player against Gujarat Titans (GT), will have to make room.Punjab Kings (probable): 1 Priyansh Arya, 2 Prabhsimran Singh (wk), 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Azmatullah Omarzai, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Shashank Singh, 8 Suryansh Shedge, 9 Marco Jansen, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal, 12 Vijaykumar Vyshak/Harpreet BrarBig questionVyshak’s death bowling ensured GT didn’t chase down 244 against PBKS. But he is the only player who can make way for an extra spin option. Will PBKS stick with the seamer who kept GT’s left-hand batters quiet with his wide yorkers, especially with the prospect of having to bowl to Nicholas Pooran and Rishabh Pant, or will they go with what conditions dictate?In the spotlight: Rishabh Pant and Glenn MaxwellAfter becoming the most expensive player in IPL history, Rishabh Pant has had a challenging start to his LSG stint. A six-ball duck in his first match followed by a run-a-ball 15 has seen him come under the scanner. Things are unlikely to get easier for him in Lucknow, where the conditions tend to favour the bowlers.Glenn Maxwell’s third stint with PBKS did not get off to the best of starts, as he was out for a golden duck against GT. But he has a good record against Avesh Khan and Ravi Bishnoi, and will be looking to make the most of the favourable match-ups.Rishabh Pant hasn’t have a great start with Lucknow Super Giants•BCCIPitch and conditionsThe match will be played on a red-soil pitch, which is expected to have a lot of grass covering to keep the seamers interested. The average first-innings score here in T20s since 2023 is 169, so this is not going to be a run-fest.Stats and triviaSince the start of 2004, Pooran is the only batter in T20s to score over 500 runs at No. 3 with an average of 45-plus and a strike rate of 160-plus. Pooran has also hit the most sixes (200) in T20s in that period. His closest competitor is Heinrich Klaasen with 121. Pooran’s 49 sixes in the IPL during this time are also the most for any batter. David Miller is just 36 runs away from 3000 IPL runs.Next three fixturesLSG will host Mumbai Indians next, before travelling to Kolkata to take on Kolkata Knight Riders. They then return home to face GT.After two away games, PBKS will host Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings in Mullanpur in their next two fixtures, before hitting the road again to take on Sunrisers Hyderabad.Quotes”I think that compared to other grounds, there will be a little more help for bowlers at the Ekana. It is a big ground and our bowlers have the skills to make use of that. So I think it will be a high-scoring match, but not as high-scoring as you’d get in Hyderabad.”
“We have to weigh up what we’re going to need the most: whether we’re going to need to try and get a little bit of tail with the older ball or whether we’re going to need to give our world-class spinner a dry ball to make an impact within the last ten overs of the innings.”

MatériaMais Notícias

OCorinthiansperdeu para o Bragantino por 1 a 0, na Neo Química Arena, pela 13ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro. O gol do Massa Bruta foi marcado por Eduardo Sasha, aproveitando bobeira de Gil e da defesa corintiana. O Timão até mostrou uma melhora na segunda etapa, mas insuficiente para conseguir o empate. Veja os melhores momentos no vídeo acima!

continua após a publicidade

+ Renato Augusto na lista! Veja 50 jogadores que podem assinar pré-contrato neste sábado

+ Renove o seu estoque de camisas do Timão com o cupom LANCEFUT 10% OFF

“Once we realised that the surface wasn’t what we had anticipated, then we needed to build towards that 180 score,” says SRH head coach Daniel Vettori

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-20252:14

Knight: At the moment, SRH are all or nothing

Not for the first time in IPL 2025, the “where’s plan B” question has been asked of the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) batting.”At the moment, it’s all or nothing,” Nick Knight said after SRH’s latest loss, to Mumbai Indians (MI) at home. The margin was seven wickets with 26 balls in hand, but the outcome was evident by the ninth over of the match when SRH, asked to bat first, were 35 for 5. Despite the situation, plan B came later when Heinrich Klaasen and Abhinav Manohar added 99 runs for the sixth wicket.”If you see the way some batters have batted, they are just following the same pattern,” Varun Aaron said on ESPNcricinfo’s Time Out show. “Yes, you can hit a few shots along the ground, you don’t have to hit everything in the air; a four is a good shot, but if you’re going to hit everything in the air, you’re going to get out more often than not. Especially when the wickets are like this, when they are slowing down towards the back end.”But that’s the formula that worked for SRH the previous season, when they broke existing IPL batting records and went all the way to the final, where they lost to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).Related

Harshal, Cummins capitalise on dry pitch to keep CSK down

SRH bowl, Brevis debuts for CSK

Jadeja in no-man's land as CSK's plans just won't work

Dhoni's 400th T20 sees CSK and SRH in now-or-never territory

Knight: 'Klaasen is batting far too low. Six overs or a tick over, get him out there'

Knight attempted to provide that perspective. “These discussions have got to be a little bit careful. It’s not like you can put [a] one-size-fits-all [answer] here. You can’t say Gujarat Titans [GT] are the best, they are doing it this way and everyone’s got to follow,” Knight said. “What Gujarat Titans are doing best is that they are using their resources the best. Their type of players play like that. It suits their style. When you look at Abhishek [Sharma] and Travis Head, I don’t want to see them hitting [along] the ground. I am more than happy to see them hitting aerially. Because that’s what they do, that’s what they do well.”What I am slightly concerned with about SRH is when that doesn’t work and you find yourself two-down quickly, that’s when you’ve got to move it back for a little while. That’s when you’ve got to reassess it a little bit, you’ve got to say, ‘okay, that’s perhaps not working, we will try plan B for a bit and then go back to plan A’. It’s got to be a bit [balanced]. At the moment, it’s all or nothing. There are times when you have to rejig your attitude, the approach a little bit, and then get back on it.”Daniel Vettori, the SRH coach, acknowledged that, and also said that plan B was exactly what SRH had attempted to turn to once the early wicket fell.”We wanted to bowl first,” he said at the press conference after the game, but, after losing two wickets inside three overs, “the assessment was that it was not the 250-260 wicket it has been the last couple of games”. “Once we realised that the surface wasn’t what we had anticipated, then we needed to build towards that 180 score. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to do when you’re 24 for 4 after the powerplay.”0:42

Knight: Klaasen batting far too low for SRH

Knight agreed. “If you’re four down for 13, it’s game over. I wonder if when you’re two down, whether you can just hold it back a little bit, have a partnership there with Klaasen or someone, then you don’t need Abhinav [Manohar] as your Impact Sub, then you can use an extra bowler, then you might be able to get an earlier partnership. Those sorts of little things can play out in important moments in your game.”As things stand, SRH are down at No. 9, only above Chennai Super Kings (CSK), with six games left to play in the league stage. They aren’t out of contention yet, but it’s not looking bright.”There’s been a lot of teams that find themselves in this situation, and there’s been a few teams that were able to resurrect their seasons [in the past],” Vettori said, holding out hope. “You look back to RCB last year after a difficult start. So if we can take inspiration from a team like them, and Mumbai’s done it on a few occasions, but ultimately, it’s just going to take one performance, and we haven’t been able to put a collective performance bar the two games we’ve won. We’ve got to improve dramatically in all three facets.”The next opportunity to do that will come on Friday night, when they play the only team that’s worse off than them, CSK, in Chennai.

Former USMNT star Alexi Lalas praised midfielder Diego Luna for his substitute appearance against Ecuador in a 1-1 draw on Friday, highlighting the Real Salt Lake star’s unique flair and presence in midfield. Lalas noted that Luna offers a different look than No. 10 Malik Tillman, bringing a commanding touch to the U.S. attack.

• 'A different look out there'

  Following the October friendly against Ecuador, Lalas praised Luna’s impact after he replaced Weston McKennie in the second half. The FOX Sports commentator acknowledged Tillman’s quality but drew a clear distinction between their styles.

   “Luna wants to be on the ball and he does bring something different," Lalas said on his State of the Unionpodcast. "We've talked about how Tillman – while I think is a really good player and absolutely you can make a case for him starting – he's not going to run the show. That's not that's not what he does.

  "And so I think Luna, maybe as a sub primarily, but I see you can certainly start. I think he gives something different and gives a good look and a different look out there.”

Advertisement

• Imagn
  

  USMNT impact grows

  Luna's substitute appearance against Ecuador represents another step in his development with the national team after an impressive showing at the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The attacking midfielder has become one of Major League Soccer's premier playmakers since joining Real Salt Lake, recording nine goals and seven assists during the 2025 MLS regular season.

• Tactical flexibility

  Lalas' comments highlight the tactical options available to head coach Mauricio Pochettino as World Cup qualification continues. With the emergence of Luna alongside established players such as Tillman, the USMNT coach can adapt his midfield approach depending on the opposition and match situation.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Australia next

  The USMNT face Australia on Tuesday at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Corinthians foi penalizado por conta de palavras homofóbicas cantadas pela torcida durante o duelo com o São Paulo, que terminou em empate por 1 a 1, na Neo Química Arena. Como punição, o clube jogará uma partida em seu estádio com portões fechados.

continua após a publicidade

O jogo em que o Timão irá cumprir a punição será contra o Vasco, no próximo sábado, às 18h30, pois será o primeiro do clube como mandante no Brasileirão após o ocorrido. Levando em consideração quanto o Corinthians arrecada como mandante, o clube deixará de arrecadar cerca de R$ 1,5 milhão na partida contra o time carioca.

O árbitro Bruno Arleu de Araújo relatou o ocorrido e o Corinthians foi enquadrado no artigo 43-G do Código Brasileiro de Justiça Desportiva, que fala sobre praticar ato discriminatório, desdenhoso ou ultrajante, relacionado a preconceito em razão de origem étnica, raça, sexo, cor, idade, condição de pessoa idosa ou portadora de deficiência.”

continua após a publicidade

Tudo sobre

CorinthiansVasco

The mood around Arsenal at the moment is a positive one.

They’ve won three of four games in the Premier League, won their first Champions League game of the season and have only conceded one goal in all five matches.

Moreover, while they are still likely to get called negative and boring by some in the media, the Gunners are playing some nice football.

Champions League

Bilbao

2-0 W

Premier League

Forest

3-0 W

Premier League

Liverpool

1-0 L

Premier League

Leeds

5-0 W

Premier League

Man Utd

1-0 W

One of the reasons has been the impressive form of Noni Madueke, who is proving plenty of his doubters wrong so far.

However, while the former Chelsea star is looking like a great signing, Arsenal already had a homegrown version of him years ago, and now that player is one of the best in the world.

Madueke's start to life at Arsenal

It wouldn’t be unfair to say that Madueke’s first few games at Arsenal weren’t overly impressive, as while he offered some threat against Liverpool and did well enough off the left against Leeds, he didn’t blow anyone away.

However, since coming back from a successful international break in which he forced an own goal against Andorra and opened his own account against Serbia, he’s looked near enough unplayable.

For example, while he didn’t register a goal involvement against Forest, the 23-year-old dynamo was a constant threat down the right-hand side, taking 65 touches, completing five dribbles, playing five key passes, creating one big chance and registering an impressive expected assists figure of 0.71.

However, even without the data, it was clear that the Englishman was doing some things right by the eye-test, and the way in which the crowd would react excitedly whenever he was on the ball in a dangerous area.

It was much of the same against Bilbao, as he was once again a constant and direct threat on the right-hand side.

In fact, he should have really racked up an assist, as after driving into the box in the first half, he delivered a brilliant pass to Eberechi Eze’s feet, only for him to take too long to shoot and lose the ball.

Overall, Madueke is really starting to show supporters and pundits alike just why Arteta wanted to sign him.

However, there is another winger on the continent who was once in Arsenal’s academy, someone who could have been their homegrown version of the former Chelsea ace.

Arsenal's former homegrown Madueke

Like any other big club, Arsenal have let their fair share of future stars go as youngsters, from Harry Kane to the recently re-signed Eze.

Where Are They Now

Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast’s Where Are They Now series.

However, perhaps one of the very worst instances of this for the Gunners is Michael Olise.

Before spending time in the academies of Chelsea, Manchester City and Reading, the young Frenchman spent a short period in Hale End.

The small saving grace here, then, is the fact that a couple of other ‘big six’ sides passed up on the incredible talent, but given his outrageous performances for Crystal Palace and now Bayern Munich, it must still frustrate the Gunners’ hierarchy that they didn’t keep him on the books.

Since moving to Germany for £50m last summer, the 23-year-old has been on fire.

Appearances

61

Minutes

4382′

Goals

24

Assists

25

Goal Involvements per Match

0.80

Minutes per Goal Involvements

89.42′

In 61 appearances, totalling 4382 minutes, the ten-capped game-changer has scored 24 goals and provided 25 assists.

That breaks down to an outrageously impressive average of a goal involvement every 1.24 games, or every 89.42 minutes, and more than justifies Oliver Glasner’s claim that he’s “one of the best talents in the world.”

Now, while he is clearly a more dangerous player than Madueke at the moment, there are some similarities between the pair, notably their ability to carry the ball into dangerous areas.

For example, FBref ranks the Bayern star in the top 4% of attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe’s top five leagues for carries into the final third and the top 8% for overall carries.

In comparison, the Gunners’ new star sits in the top 1% for progressive carries and carries into the penalty area.

Even then, we can be fairly certain that Arsenal would rather have Olise in their team, and had they kept hold of him all those years ago, perhaps they would’ve had their own world-class homegrown Madueke.

Arteta has struck gold with Arsenal trio who cost as much as Eze combined

The Arsenal trio will be key to the club’s Premier League ambitions this season.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Sep 17, 2025

Arsenal continued their solid start to 2025/2026 with a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League on Tuesday, courtesy of super sub duo Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard.

Arsenal see off Athletic Bilbao with crucial Champions League win

Despite all the uncertainty surrounding Martinelli’s future, with the Brazilian recently tipped to leave in January as he’s no longer a guaranteed starter, Mikel Arteta was sent a clear message after his heroics in Spain.

Leandro Trossard

8.1/10

Gabriel Martinelli

7.9/10

Jurrien Timber

7.4/10

Riccardo Calafiori

7.4/10

Cristhian Mosquera

7.3/10

via WhoScored

The 24-year-old put in a match-winning display off the bench, scoring Arsenal’s opener after breaking away from the Bilbao defence to fire home, with Martinelli setting up fellow exit-linked teammate Leandro Trossard for their second of the 90.

Arteta heaped praise on Martinelli for his stunning European display after Arsenal struggled to break down Bilbao, with the forward ultimately showcasing that he still has plenty to offer in the Premier League title race.

Alongside Martinelli and Trossard, summer signing Cristhian Mosquera also impressed yet again in place of the unavailable William Saliba.

The 21-year-old, who Arsenal believe could be one of the best in the world over these next few years (Graeme Bailey), has been an assured presence at the heart of Arteta’s backline — despite his young age and inexperience playing English football.

Noni Madueke has arguably been Arsenal’s most impressive summer signing thus far, but Mosquera is proving to be worth every penny of the initial £13 million that Andrea Berta paid to sign him from Valencia.

He put in yet another excellent showing against Bilbao, and it’s arguably harsh that Arteta will be forced to drop Mosquera once Saliba fully returns to the fold.

Andrea Berta thinks Cristhian Mosquera is a "bargain" for Arsenal

Speaking to GiveMeSport, via their newsletter, Fabrizio Romano has shared exactly what Berta thinks about the young Spaniard, after he arguably sealed one of the best low-cost buys of the window.

Mosquera had the best tackle success rate of any La Liga centre-back at a staggering 76.7 per cent, according to Opta, with the Spain Under-21 international looking extremely capable in one-v-one duels.

Gunners legend Martin Keown has already tipped the defender for big things after what he’s already seen — heaping praise on Mosquera’s pace and strength whilst likening him to both Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes.

The sky appears to be the limit for him, and some reports claim that Mosquera’s value has already tripled just months after joining the north Londoners.

Members of the media, like Charles Watts, have also lavished praise on him after his fire-start to life in N5.

“Romario Shepherd, in the death overs, was brilliant. Whatever our bowlers were bowling, he was able to get maximum runs,” Dhoni said

ESPNcricinfo staff03-May-20253:10

Is this CSK’s worst-ever IPL season?

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni has taken the blame for his team not being able to score 35 runs off the last three overs, and 15 off the last over, after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) denied them two points in another thriller at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.Dhoni had walked out to bat in the 17th over to join a well-set Ravindra Jadeja, and though he hit a six off Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the 19th over, he fell lbw to left-arm seamer Yash Dayal in the final over. He left CSK needing 13 off the last three balls. CSK’s Impact Player Shivam Dube swatted his first ball, a beamer, for six, but he couldn’t get the job done. CSK ended up losing by two runs.”Well, I think looking at [that] over, when I went into that with the kind of deliveries and the runs needed, I felt I should have converted maybe a couple of more shots, and that would have eased the pressure,” Dhoni said at the post-match presentation. “So, I would take the blame for it.”Related

Brevis wasn't out, but 'lack of awareness' cost him his wicket

Mhatre has 'everything we like about a modern-day T20 player'

Dayal trumps CSK in last over again to take RCB to the top

After being asked to bat first, RCB posted 213, with Romario Shepherd smashing a 14-ball half-century at the end. Shepherd helped RCB thump 54 runs off the last two overs, and finished with an unbeaten 53 off 14 balls, including six sixes and four fours.”Other than that, I thought they got off to a good start. In between, we pulled it back,” Dhoni said. “But Romario Shepherd, in the death overs, was brilliant. Whatever our bowlers were bowling, he was able to get maximum runs.”Dhoni felt that CSK’s bowlers needed to execute yorkers better to keep the batters in check during the slog overs.”I think we need to practise more yorkers because if you see more often than not, when the batsman starts to connect, then you have to rely on yorkers and [minimise] the margin of error,” Dhoni said. “So, if you’re looking for a perfect yorker, [and] if that doesn’t happen, a low full toss is the next best thing because it’s one of the most difficult balls to hit. I think that’s where we need to improve.”And somebody like a [Matheesha] Pathirana, you know, if the yorkers are not happening, he has pace. He can bowl a bouncer at the same time, [and] keep the batsman guessing. Because, at times, if he’s looking for the yorker, batsmen try to line him up, and if he misses, the batsman has a chance of hitting.”Yash Dayal did it again in the last over against CSK•Getty ImagesKarthik hails Dayal’s ‘outstanding’ effortRCB’s batting coach Dinesh Karthik praised left-arm seamer Dayal for holding his nerve in the final over, and taking RCB across the line. Dayal defended 14 runs with a dew-slicked ball to put RCB on top of the points table.”Well, it’ll take a humongous effort to stop them scoring the runs that were left in the last over. But Yash being Yash, the way he delivered, [it was] outstanding,” Karthik said. “I think it was a very good team effort. Sometimes these kind of games really uplift the mood and we’re very happy with how it transpired today.”Karthik pointed to Dayal’s “work ethic” as something that stood out.”I think he’s right up there with some of the best that are there in India,” he said. “The one thing that you see with the young crop of cricketers is how much they work hard at their cricket behind the scenes. Yash is again someone who’s very diligent. [He] will come to bowling meetings with a paper [and] write down everything. And he’s very, very sure about what he wants to do.”Yes, the execution could be up and down with him at times. But the one thing that you get, not get less from his effort. He always knows what to do. [He] bowls to a plan. And when he’s able to deliver his yorkers, he feels so good about himself. And that’s one of the reasons why we retained him- because he’s got a special skill. And he’s someone who can handle pressure well. Same game, one year ago, he did it for us. And yet again today, he did a nice job for us.”