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Back in training two days out from India’s semi-final, she was in mismatched gear but entirely of the group

S Sudarshanan28-Oct-2025It was around 5:30pm. A bright Tuesday afternoon had given way to a gloomy evening. The groundstaff took down the nets they had erected for India’s training. Covers came onto the square. Navi Mumbai had experienced showers over the past few days, and another wet evening seemed to be in store.That’s when Shafali Verma strolled into the ground with her team-mates. It was not too hard to spot her. It hadn’t even been 24 hours since she was drafted in as Pratika Rawal’s injury replacement for the rest of Women’s World Cup 2025. She had been in Surat for the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy, and it looked like her training kit hadn’t made it to Navi Mumbai yet. Her jersey matched everyone else’s but her bottoms were from India’s T20I kit rather than the black trackpants everyone else wore.Related

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The floodlights came on just as India’s players gathered by the dugout. The journalists present trained their eyes on Shafali, tracking, and commenting on, her every move. Her celebrations during the foot-volley warm-up drills seem muted, don’t they? She hasn’t looked particularly chatty, has she? Does she feel like she belongs? Is she finding it awkward to join a team at this stage of the tournament?After the warm-ups came about half an hour of catching drills. Shafali took close catches and then high ones. She seemed to judge the high catches well under lights. She is no stranger to this venue, having played the WPL for Delhi Capitals here.Shafali is no stranger to the big stage either. She is only 21 but has already played three T20 World Cups and an ODI World Cup. She was also the captain when India won the inaugural Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup. She made her India debut as a teenager, backed for her no-holds-barred approach. She was meant to be the difference between India getting to 250 and 320. But her methods came with inconsistency, and India ran out of patience last year.With Smriti Mandhana’s current avatar taking on the onus of quick starts, Shafali could potentially have time to settle in•BCCIShafali went back to domestic cricket. She captained Haryana to a quarter-final finish in the one-day tournament last year, and scored more runs than anyone else (527), at a strike rate (152.31) that only one batter bettered. That batter, Kiran Navgire, only scored 116 runs. Shafali followed up with a sensational WPL. She While she earned a T20I recall earlier this year, she couldn’t win back her ODI spot.The moment had arrived now, right before a World Cup semi-final against Australia.She was padded up now. After a 15-minute meeting with the rest of India’s batting group, Shafali walked to the training ground just outside the main ground. An entourage of photographers, camerapersons, producers and journalists followed.Shafali took a throwdown first, defending it off the front foot. Next ball, she drove Amanjot Kaur crisply through the covers. Next ball, she used her feet against Sneh Rana. Soon, the reverse-sweep appeared. She tried it off Rana but didn’t middle it.Shafali was batting in rotation with Harleen Deol. When she wasn’t facing up, she was keeping a close eye on Deol as well as Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana in adjacent nets. When her turn came again, she went in and played her shots. After spending close to 45 minutes in the nets, she walked to the main ground for an open net session.Shafali is only 21, but she’s already played three T20 World Cups and one previous ODI World Cup•Getty ImagesHere she faced Kranti Gaud, Renuka Singh, Radha Yadav and Deepti Sharma. She did not middle all of her big shots. But when she did, the net bowlers and fielders had to fetch the ball from beyond the digital ad-boards.She looked tired after a long spell of this, but she wasn’t done yet. She rolled her arm over, bowling to Mandhana, Deepti Sharma and the lower order. After every ball, she chatted with bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi. At the end of it all, it felt like she had never been away. The bonhomie was visible for all to see.It was just past 10pm by the time Shafali, among the last batch of players and support staff to leave the ground, made her way to the team hotel, which conveniently overlooks the DY Patil Stadium.Shafali had been involved from start to finish, an indication, perhaps, that she will slot straight into India’s XI on Thursday, in a straight swap with Rawal at the top of the order. With Mandhana’s latest avatar casting her as the enforcer to Rawal’s anchor, Shafali might have the chance to take her time early on and look to bat long. She had worked hard on this before WPL 2025.Either way, a second ODI World Cup has come calling for Shafali. Not in the manner she would have expected. She wasn’t even among India’s reserves, but when they needed an opener, who else would they have possibly turned to? Who else could they have visualised at the crease, absorbing Australia’s punches and throwing them right back?

On Saturday lunchtime, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta had a big decision to make. Play Martin Odegaard or Eberechi Eze in the number 10 position?

Well, the Spaniard chose his club captain Odegaard. It was a successive start for the Norwegian who is now back from injury and ready to make an impact.

What that meant was that the Gunners’ November Player of the Month was selected on the left flank.

It wasn’t a decision that went well for Eze. The scorer of that famous hat-trick in the north London derby just a few weeks ago, his influence from the left, rather than in a central area, was severely lacking.

It was Eze who switched off at the back post for Matty Cash’s opener and despite having a goal ruled out for offside, he was anonymous in the final third.

The summer signing was subsequently withdrawn at the half time interval having registered just 13 touches of the ball and amassed just seven passes.

Why Arsenal must pick Eze over Odegaard in the number 10 role

Before Emiliano Buendia’s late winner at Villa Park on Saturday, TNT Sports’ Martin Keown had named Martin Odegaard as the player of the match.

The club captain drifted in and out of the game, but left the field with three key passes and three shots to his name. He also ensured Bukayo Saka looked like a constant threat in the game. Indeed, in the words of the Telegraph’s Sam Dean, he noted that “it can’t be a coincidence that Saka has been so dangerous today, on the day he is reunited with Odegaard,” suggesting that as a pairing, they remain one of Arsenal’s “great weapons.”

That they may well be, but the skipper arguably held Arteta’s team back. While Eze has looked like such a big goal threat over the last few weeks, a dynamic and silky player who can produce a moment of magic out of nowhere, Odegaard was sluggish and timid in possession.

His biggest problem is that unlike Eze, he takes too many touches and he’s slow in possession. The 26-year-old is one of the best midfielders in the world on his day. He’s supremely creative but Arsenal’s summer recruit from Crystal Palace has taken them to the next level in recent weeks.

Odegaard & Eze vs Villa

Stat

Odegaard

Eze

Mins played

90

45

Touches

80

13

Key passes

3

0

Shots

3

0

Successful dribbles

1/4

1/1

Duels won

3/10

2/5

Possession lost

15x

3x

Stats via Sofascore.

It was surely no coincidence that two of their finest wins of 2025, the victories against Spurs and Bayern, came with Eze in the team over Odegaard.

It feels incredibly unlikely that Arteta will drop the latter but he must explore what this team could be like without their captain.

That said, Eze isn’t the only threat to Odegaard’s long-term future at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal's next Odegaard and Eze

Eze’s arrival has coincided with a lack of game time for Ethan Nwaneri. Last season he was compared to Lionel Messi by Joe Cole and described as “the most exciting footballer in England.” How times change.

While the 18-year-old is still up there as one of the finest young talents in the country, scoring nine goals last term, regular senior football has eluded him in 2025/26. He has played just 165 minutes of Premier League football this term and only 20 minutes since the start of November.

Nwaneri will no doubt come good but he will also have to rival the great Max Dowman for a place in the team over the forthcoming years. Odegaard, beware.

The two exciting teenagers are not the only threats to Odegaard’s long-term future, however. Enter Holger Quintero.

At the end of last week, Arsenal announced the signings of a set of twins, Holger and Edwin Quintero from Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle.

They have become one of the finest exponents of young talent in world football in recent years. Part of their alumni include Moises Caicedo, Piero Hincapie and PSG’s brute of a central defender William Pacho.

Well, the Quintero twins look like the next cabs of the rank and while they will not be seen in Arsenal colours until they turn 18, the 16-year-old’s have signed an agreement to join the club, something that was announced last Thursday.

Edwin is a left-footed right winger and, alongside Dowman, has been labelled as a “10/10 talent” by scout Jacek Kulig. As for his brother, Holger, he is an attacking midfielder by trade and an exciting one at that.

Described as a “top talent” by Como scout Felix Johnston, he possesses a glittering array of skills, outlined by Kulig.

The scout notes that he has “superb close control, flair and creativity” while hailing the youngster’s “low centre of gravity and excellent agility, acceleration and coordination.”

Close control and creativity are two areas in which Odegaard also thrives in but it’s arguably that lack of acceleration and ability to carry the ball forward with pace that holds him back. That’s where Quintero could trump him in the years to come.

Further described as a young kid with “elite dribbling skills with futsal-like ball control”, there is a reason Arsenal have decided to invest in these two young attacking sensations.

To predict they could become world beaters might be a stretch at this stage, but there is huge excitement about them both. As Kulig put it, Holger is “one of the most exciting U17s in South America.”

Watch out, Odegaard, it might not only be Dowman coming for your place.

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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been on fire for the Blue Jays throughout the postseason.

While he was quiet during the first two games of the American League Championship Series against the Mariners, Vladdy has since gone 9-of-16 from the plate, and homered in all three of Toronto’s wins to help force Game 7 on Monday night.

Ahead of Monday’s first pitch, Guerrero made quite a bold fashion choice—one that has some Toronto sports fans extremely worried.

As Guerrero made his way to the locker room at the Rogers Centre, he was wearing an Auston Matthews Toronto Maple Leafs jersey.

While it’s hardly uncommon for sports stars to represent the heroes of other local teams in their tunnel walk, invoking the Maple Leafs ahead of a Game 7 in Toronto feels a bit like tempting fate.

Beyond their long wait for a championship in general, the Leafs have notoriously struggled with Game 7s in recent years, having lost eight straight winner-take-all playoff games.

On one hand, Guerrero’s look could be seen as a bold declaration that he is ready to take the burden of an entire city’s sports heartbreak on his shoulders and turn the ship around. On the other, it just seems like tempting fate. Sports fans voiced their concern with Vladdy’s provocative fashion choice, while others credited him for looking the pressure straight in the eye and showing no fear.

Guerrero and the Blue Jays will have their chance to reset the sports vibes across Toronto when they face off against the Mariners on Monday with a spot in the World Series on the line. First pitch is set for 8:10 p.m. ET.

Aasif and Jora’s half-centuries set the stage for a decimation of the former T20I world champions

Abhijato Sensarma29-Sep-2025As fans clad in red and blue danced in the Sharjah aisles, the result was a foregone conclusion: Zishan Morata was the last man out, caught in the deep by Karan KC, and West Indies had been bundled out for 83. Three days ago, Nepal had never played a T20I series against a Full Member nation. Now, they had sealed it 2-0, with one match to spare.West Indies struggled to move beyond single-digits in the powerplay. Only thanks to a boundary in the sixth over did they reach 16 for 2. By then, Dipendra Singh Airee had scalped the first wicket when he bowled Jewel Andrew (2), while Kushal Bhurtel had taken a stunning catch at cover to send back Keacy Carty (1).Nepal’s vice grip over the scoring rate was the result of their slower balls and full deliveries in the blockhole, with their quicks often marrying the two to great effect. An inexperienced West Indies unit kept mistiming their shots on a pitch where none of their batters, barring Jason Holder’s 15-ball 21, played with any degree of comfort. Eight-three all out represents the former T20 World Champions’ sixth-lowest total. The 90-run defeat is their joint fourth-biggest by runs.Medium pacer Mohammad Aadil Alam – who ended with figures of 4 for 24 – was the next bowler to get on the scorecard, thanks to the biggest point of difference between the two sides: Nepal’s fielding. Nineteen-year-old Gulsan Jha’s diving catch at sweeper cover in the eighth over bettered their previous effort, and sent Kyle Mayers back after a sluggish 6 off 16 balls.The going never got better for West Indies, as they kept losing wickets in the middle overs and found gaps in the field plugged by a Nepal team who threw themselves at the ball. Alam sent back Ackeem Auguste (17) and Amir Jangoo (16) in back-to-back overs. By then, West Indies had slipped to 63 for 5 and the required rate had leaped to above 13.Kushal Bhurtel took three wickets to mop off the West Indies tail•ICC/Getty ImagesBhurtel added to his contributions in the field with a three-for that swept up the tail. Holder – the last nominal hope for West Indies – fell to Lalit Rajbanshi in the 17th over, when Jha took his second screamer of the day. Soon after, Bhurtel came back to toss up a legbreak and fount it caught on the outfield once again. This was a day when West Indies kept finding fielders at the rope instead of clearing them.Earlier in the day, Nepal’s own innings had been one of two distinct halves: in the first ten, they did not hit a single six, but opener Aasif Sheikh had established a burgeoning partnership with Sundeep Jora, and a productive powerplay had taken them to 74 for 3 at the midway point of the innings.In the next ten, the pair raced away and put on what would end up being a 100-run partnership. Jora’s 39-ball 63 eventually ended in the 18th over. He had hit five of the nine sixes Nepal hit in the second half of the innings.Sheikh remained unbeaten on 68 off 47 himself. At the other end, Alam’s 5-ball 11 took Nepal’s total to 173. Alam was playing his first match for Nepal after more than three years, having last appeared for them in August 2022. His cameo would become a footnote to his starring role in the second innings.It would also overshadow the efforts of West Indies’ best bowler on the day – their captain Akeal Hosein – who took 2 for 21 and had reduced Nepal to 14 for 2 in the fourth over. However, any hopes of a rally after their loss in the first T20I were soon left far behind, as his team slipped to 83 all out – the lowest total by a Full Member team against an Associate nation – as well as a 90-run loss – the biggest margin by which an Associate team has defeated a Full Member nation.What makes this result more significant is that Nepal have secured it ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup qualifiers next month, and in the absence of their lead spinner Sandeep Lamichhane, who has sat out both matches of the series. Nepal coach, Stuart Law, said Lamichhane excused himself citing personal reasons.Nepal now know they will be favourites to win the third and final match of the series, to be played on Tuesday, having sealed the most significant series win in their cricket history.

The Pacific Northwest is Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh's world—and the team's fans are all just living in it.

Tuesday wasn't the Mariners' evening, as the team lost 10–3 to the New York Yankees in the Bronx. However, Raleigh made history by crushing his 36th home run of the year. That gave him Seattle's all-time record for home runs before the All-Star break—a mark previously held by Hall of Fame outfielder Ken Griffey Jr.

Raleigh has already eclipsed his home run total from last season—a then-career-high 34. He is on pace to bash 63 home runs, which would be an American League record and the most in Major League Baseball since 2001.

Thanks to Raleigh's otherworldly '25, the Mariners are the current owners of the AL's final wild-card spot. They lead the Boston Red Sox by one game in that race.

More broadly, he's given Seattle fans hope—a quality that has been in short supply there for much of this century.

India captain Shubman Gill has said his team was “pretty confident” of taking the remaining four wickets on the final morning at The Oval to square the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series.Late rain on day four dragged the game into the fifth day, leaving England needing 35 runs and India four wickets. Mohammed Siraj picked up three of the four to seal a stunning win.”Yeah, we were pretty confident,” Gill said at the post-match presentation. “Even yesterday, we knew that they [England] are a little bit under pressure. We just wanted to make sure that they’re feeling the pressure throughout. Pressure makes everyone do things that they don’t want to, and we just wanted to make sure that they’re feeling the pressure throughout.Related

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“I think the way both the teams played in the entire series, every day coming on day four, day five, and never really knowing which team is going to win… it shows that both the teams came up with their A game and very happy to get over the line in this one.”Joe Root had said that the use of a heavy roller would benefit England on the fifth morning, but Siraj and Prasidh Krishna worked in tandem to give no respite to Jamie Smith and the tail.”When bowlers like Siraj and Prasidh are bowling like that then 35 runs is also too much,” Gill said at the post-match press conference. “As a batsman, you are under pressure as you feel the ball is doing something and it takes just one ball. And that is what we were reminding them about frequently. If the conditions are like this and the momentum is with you, then 30-35 runs is enough, then you know it is a matter of one or two balls falling in the right place and the game will get over there and then.”Gill said that India never thought about taking the second new ball, considering the movement both his strike bowlers had been getting since day four. “Also, we had the wicket-taking option on this wicket,” Gill said. “If they had to make the runs, they would need to score boundaries. We knew they were under pressure because in such a position the batting team is under pressure because it is matter of one ball.”Having been left heartbroken after he was the last man dismissed in the Lord’s Test last month, Siraj finished the game this time with the ball, when his pinpoint yorker uprooted Gus Atkinson’s off stump. Siraj put in a big shift, with his 30.1 overs in the fourth innings bringing him five wickets.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“Yes, definitely, he’s a captain’s dream”, Gill said of Siraj. “Coming in five Test matches, every ball, every spell that he bowled gave his all out, and every captain, every team wants a player like him. We are very fortunate to have him in our team.”While Siraj won the Player-of-the-Match award, Gill was chosen as India’s Player of the Series by the opposition coach Brendon McCullum for his chart-topping 754 runs in ten innings at an average of 75.40. Gill’s series aggregate is the second-highest for a captain behind Don Bradman’s 810 against England in the 1936-37 Ashes. No other batter has scored more runs in a series between England and India, going past Graham Gooch’s 752 runs in 1990.”Feels very rewarding,” Gill said. “I worked pretty hard before the start of the series. There were certain things that I wanted to work on as a batsman, and it was my goal to be able to be the best batter of the series. And to be able to accomplish that goal feels very satisfying and very rewarding.”I think once you are sorted mentally, you would be in a good space. But you’re only sorted mentally when you’re feeling technically correct. So, I think they’re both kind of correlated. If you feel like you’re getting in good positions, you’re always mentally more stable.”3:49

Bangar: Series result proves India is growing in stature

‘We want to be looked as a gun team’

Having started the new WTC cycle with a series-levelling win, India are currently third on the table with 28 points in five matches. “This series was very important for us because the kind of maturity every player would feel [at] the end of the series would really help us in the long run in this WTC cycle,” Gill said.Asked if he would have felt the same had England chased the target, Gill admitted that his “feelings would definitely be slightly different”.”I think the scorecard of the series could not have really depicted what kind of cricket we played,” he said. “But this scorecard of the series that we have right now really shows how both teams played. This win was important for us to be able to get that morale high, especially after the kind of cricket that we have played over the course of two months.”When Gill’s India had landed in the United Kingdom in June, there were several questions asked – whether his team had the experience and the personnel to challenge Ben Stokes’ men. Two months later, India depart with the series shared. Gill credited head coach Gautam Gambhir for building the confidence of the team.”At the start of the series Gauti [Gambhir] said: ‘yes, we are a young team, but we don’t want to be looked as a young team; we want to be looked as a gun team’. And the way we played it today showed us that why we are a gun team, and we have gun players like him [Siraj] in our team and that’s what makes this team so special.”

Manchester United are now about to sign a South American wonderkid, according to reports, who is “on his way” to seal his move.

Man Utd have "no excuses", says Amorim

After a frustrating defeat against Everton at Old Trafford on Monday, the last thing that Man United need is a trip to face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

Those are the cards they’ve been dealt, however, and Ruben Amorim’s side now have the task of getting back to winning ways at one of the toughest grounds in the Premier League.

Man Utd in contact and lead race to sign attacking talent likened to Neymar

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By
Sean Markus Clifford

Nov 29, 2025

The Man United boss has no time for excuses this season, though – telling reporters in the build-up: “In our club it’s the same thing because last year we had to win every game all the time and we took a lot of things, a lot of criticism because we were not winning.

“So, in our club, there is no excuses. About Europe, I already talked about Europe, and I said the same thing last year when we were in Europe and I say the same thing this year, the advantage and the disadvantage of not being in Europe. So, there is no excuses. Last year or this year, we have always to win games.”

Victory could take the Red Devils to as high as fourth if other results go their way in what would be a major boost after 13 games. Defeat, meanwhile, could see them drop down to as low as 14th in familiar territory to last season.

INEOS and Amorim will know just how important Champions League qualification is on and off the pitch. Away from the action, it would allow them to attract the likes of Elliot Anderson, who now also has the interest of Manchester City.

It would also make them an attractive option for more young players, having already agreed a deal to sign South American youngster Cristian Orozco.

Cristian Orozco now "on his way" to sign for Man Utd

According to Fabrizio Romano, Orozco is now “on his way” to sign for Man United and travelling with lead scout Giuseppe Antonaccio after INEOS completed a deal worth $1m (£750,000) with Fortaleza.

Those at Old Trafford have signed the 17-year-old in the hope that he follows the same path that others have done so many times before in South America.

The Premier League is littered with several stars who launched careers in South America before reaching stardom in English football. Usually, it’s been the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion taking full advantage, but Chelsea and now Man United are beginning to take full advantage.

The Blues now have one of the best teenagers in the world in Estevao Willian and if Orozco is anywhere near as talented as the winger then United have hit the jackpot.

Man Utd eye move for £80m star who Man City would "love" to buy in January

MatériaMais Notícias

No jogo de ida da final da Copa do Nordeste, o Fortaleza derrotou o CRB por 2 a 0, nesta quarta-feira (5), no Castelão. Moisés e Lucero foram os autores dos gols da vitória.

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Com o triunfo, o Tricolor pode até perder o duelo de volta por um gol de diferença para ser campeão regional. Por outro lado, a equipe alagoana precisa vencer por dois gols de vantagem para levar a decisão para os pênaltis ou mais para erguer o troféu do torneio.

O confronto de volta será realizado no domingo (9), às 16h30 (horário de Brasília), no Estádio Rei Pelé, em Alagoas.

✅ FICHA TÉCNICA
Fortaleza 2 x 0 CRB – Copa do Nordeste
Final (Ida)

🗓️ Data e horário: quarta-feira, 5 de junho de 2024, às 21h30 (hora de Brasília)
📍 Local: Castelão, em Fortaleza (CE)
📺 Onde assistir: SBT, ESPN, Star+ e Nosso Futebol+
🟨 Arbitragem: Paulo Belence Alves dos Prazeres Filho (árbitro); Francisco Chaves Bezerra Júnior e Karla Renata Cavalcanti de Santana (auxiliares); Gilberto Rodrigues Castro Junior (VAR).

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FORTALEZA (Técnico: Juan Pablo Vojvoda)
João Ricardo; Tinga, Brítez, Titi e Bruno Pacheco; José Welison, Matheus Rossetto e Pochettino; Yago Pikachu, Lucero e Moisés.

CRB (Técnico: Daniel Paulista)
Matheus Albino; Hereda, Saimon, Fábio Alemão e Matheus Ribeiro; Falcão, João Pedro e Gegê; Labandeira, Anselmo Ramon e Léo Pereira.

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Copa do NordesteCRBFortaleza

Nearly a decade after leaving it for the world of football, Paul DePodesta is reportedly returning to the sport that made him famous.

DePodesta plans to leave his current position as the Browns' chief strategy officer to become the Rockies' head of baseball operations, according to a Thursday afternoon report from Ken Rosenthal of . The 52-year-old has served in his role with Cleveland since Jan. 2016.

Despite not having worked there in over two decades, DePodesta remains heavily associated with the Athletics and the analytics-first approach they helped pioneer in the 2000s. He served as that team's assistant general manager from 1999 to 2004; in 2012, actor Jonah Hill received an Oscar nomination for portraying a character based on DePodesta in Bennett Miller's .

In '04, DePodesta became the Dodgers' general manager, only for Los Angeles to fire him after two years. He spent time with the Padres and Mets before moving to the Browns, where he struggled under the supervision of owner Jimmy Haslam.

Colorado is coming off one of the worst Major League Baseball seasons of this century; it finished 43-119 and finished 50 games behind the first-place Dodgers in the National League West race.

But the question for Sunday remains the same as it has all series: if India are without Bumrah, do they have what it takes to get the job done?

Alagappan Muthu04-Jan-2025What would India do without Jasprit Bumrah? That question has constantly hung over this series. Now it looks like the series might be decided by the answer to that question.There was always a consensus that Bumrah would be India’s most important player in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He was rested from the last Test of the home season to ensure his readiness for it. He didn’t even bowl in training. He was practically wrapped in cotton wool, a decision that looks prescient now that he’s had to deliver 150.2 overs in nine innings, but he still broke down because fast bowlers break down from workloads that high and his workloads were that high because India just didn’t have any other consistent threats.Rishabh Pant played like he took all that’s happened to India personally. First ball in on Saturday, he charged at Scott Boland and crashed him for six over long-on. Second ball he tried to reverse-scoop him. On Friday evening, addressing the media, Pant spoke of how he could have taken a 50-50 chance early in the first innings but didn’t. It was too early in the game to be taking risks, he felt. It was also too soon after he had been buried under an avalanche of criticism for the way he plays.Related

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On Saturday evening at the SCG, things became really simple. These were the possibilities. With Bumrah, India would feel like they could defend anything. Without him, Australia would feel like they could chase anything.Despite what the critics have said, Pant has insisted he plays the situation. Here the situation was no longer about who could bat well or who had the best technique. It was purely about scoring runs. There is a trusted method that Pant has to score runs. If that method comes off, it often gets him a lot of runs really quickly. It came off on Saturday. At a really crucial time for India. He took their lead from 63 to 128 in a game where the highest total has been 185.”All of us were sitting together, the bowlers were sitting together and watching him bat,” Prasidh Krishna said after the day’s play. “And we definitely said if I was sitting at home and watching this, I would have loved it. To be able to do it from the ground, I mean, nothing like it. I know it’s a lot of risk, but that’s the way the game is played today.”India kept Australia to 181 with Bumrah bowling. They’ll likely need a cushion on that if he doesn’t bowl on Sunday.

“All of us were sitting together, the bowlers were sitting together and watching him bat. And we definitely said if I was sitting at home and watching this, I would have loved it… I know it’s a lot of risk, but that’s the way the game is played today.”Prasidh Krishna on Rishabh Pant

“Well, clearly he’s the leading wicket-taker in the series so you’d say it would be slightly beneficial for us [if he can’t bowl],” Australia coach Andrew McDonald said. “If he wasn’t to be there then India would have come up with a new plan.” If they’d been able to they probably wouldn’t be here with him fighting off back spasms.Last season, Australia’s big three quicks got through seven full Tests without breaking down. But they were expected to. There were contingency plans in place. Boland had been told that at some point or other Australia would need him. That Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood lasted as long as they did in 2023-24 was an outlier. They were helped that none of those seven Tests went the distance.Melbourne did for Bumrah. The 52-plus overs he bowled there were the most he’s bowled in a Test match. He got though nine spells on day four when India tried to break open the game. They almost pulled it off. The image of him, keeled over, hands on his knees at stumps was a powerful one. He has been carrying the team all tour. It’s their turn now and, on Saturday, they were up for it.Steven Smith edges Prasidh Krishna to second slip•Getty ImagesMohammed Siraj saved India the hurt that could have been. He made sure Australia were already four down by the time Bumrah had to leave the field after lunch. This SCG pitch has offered a rich bounty to anyone willing to hit it hard. But Siraj, for some reason, felt differently. He began looking for swing and he found it. The host broadcaster said the first 10 overs that India bowled on Saturday contained the most swing of any 10-over block in the series. This is the Siraj that India have been looking for all series.Prasidh, for long typecast as a hit-the-deck bowler, did most of his damage by pitching it up. He dismissed three of Australia’s four top-scorers including half-centurion Beau Webster, and made Steven Smith wait a little longer to get to 10,000. “Difference was when I got back at lunch, I actually looked at where I was bowling, the length that I was bowling,” Prasidh said. “But my perception of the length that I wanted to bowl was slightly different. Then the analyst and me sat together and we had a better idea of what my reference point is when I am coming in to bowl the next ball and that really helped.”Saturday had one India captain saying that although he’d dropped himself he still had aspirations to continue playing. Saturday had another India captain walking off injured and a former India captain taking over two years after he’d given it all up. Saturday had a maverick who was coming under fire fighting back with fire. Saturday had 15 wickets falling. And yet Sunday seems like it is going to be so much bigger.