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To say that the sight of three new-ball bowlers being picked for the Mohali Test was a welcome development is an understatement to beat all understatements. The paucity of pace bowlers has been one of the perennial weaknesses in Indian cricket, and to see three young fast bowling hopefuls making their debut in the same Test is something to warm the hearts of Indian cricket followers, particularly those able to remember the period in the 60s and early 70s when the new-ball attack was a farce. The list of those who opened the bowling for India would actually make an impressive batting line-up ­ ML Jaisimha, Salim Durrani, Ajit Wadekar, MAK Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar, and even a wicket-keeper in Budhi Kunderan.

Suddenly, in the 80s, Indian opening bowlers were regularly making deep inroads at the start of an innings, wiping off the tail in next to no time, and even winning Test matches. One recalls Kapil and Madan Lal routing England at Bombay 20 years ago virtually on their own, while the first bowler to take ten wickets in a Test in England was Chetan Sharma and not any spinner.

Things started to change for the better in the mid-70s, with the opening bowlers being Madan Lal, Mohinder Amarnath and Karsan Ghavri. But there is little doubt that it was the advent of Kapil Dev that changed the pace bowling scenario in the country. Not only did he show that it was possible for an Indian bowler to bowl at a reasonably good pace over an extended period and take a lot of wickets, he also proved to be an inspirational figure. Also, thanks to him, the nature of pitches underwent a change that augured well for the faster bowlers. Whereas tracks before he burst upon the scene always favoured the spinners, those laid during the Kapil-Dev era also had a good share of bounce, and one particularly recalls some of the wickets at Chepauk that made speedsters fairly lick their lips.Not unexpectedly, most of the young fast bowling hopefuls inspired by Kapil fell by the wayside, lacking the qualities that made Kapil such an outstanding bowler. But there were a few like Chetan Sharma and Manoj Prabhakar who, in racing parlance, proved to be stayers. Suddenly, in the 80s, Indian opening bowlers were regularly making deep inroads at the start of an innings, wiping off the tail in next to no time, and even winning Test matches. One recalls Kapil and Madan Lal routing England at Bombay 20 years ago virtually on their own, while the first bowler to take ten wickets in a Test in England was Chetan Sharma and not any spinner.Indeed, for much of the 80s, we had the slightly unbelievable scenario of spin taking a back seat as Kapil, Madan, Roger Binny, Chetan Sharma and Prabhakar not only carried the brunt of the bowling but were also responsible for winning Test matches and one-day internationals. The role played by the medium pacers in the World Cup triumph in 1983 cannot be overemphasized.Thanks in the main to Anil Kumble, spin bowling, relegated to a supporting role in the 80s, was back to winning ways in the 90s. But by this time, even with the retirement of Kapil, the attack had a balanced look. Javagal Srinath took over the role of spearhead, and he had the support of many promising youngsters.In the last decade, the role of the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai in shaping young hopefuls also cannot be overemphasized. Almost every talented fast bowler who has gone on to play for the country, if not exactly a product of the Foundation, has had some association with it. Indeed, even established stars like Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad and Ajit Agarkar have never missed a chance to hone their skills at the Foundation. Every time they have been confronted with a problem, they have visited Chennai to get a timely tip or two from Dennis Lillee, the moving force behind the Foundation, or TA Sekhar, the former Indian fast bowler and chief Foundation coach.Tinu Yohannan, the latest bowler to catch one’s eye, is more or less a Pace Foundation product. In a short while, he has improved by leaps and bounds, and one has no doubt that he will continue to train there.Indeed, the Foundation has long ceased to be an academy for Indian fast bowling hopefuls. Young bowlers from all over the world visit periodically to further their cricketing education, and this competition is bound to stand the Indians in very good stead.Over the last year or so, the Bangalore-based National Cricket Academy has also done its bit in furthering the cause of fast bowling in the country. There is little doubt that the Indian pace-bowling scenario has never looked healthier ­ the debut of three new-ball bowlers all at once at Mohali, the encouraging knowledge that Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Agarkar are still around, the burgeoning of young fast-bowling prospects, and the fact that Srinath’s fire, even at 32, is still burning bright.

Having come through the youth teams at Tottenham, Nabil Bentaleb really broke into the first-team set-up in north London under the management of Tim Sherwood.

The Algerian featured 29 times under the former Spurs boss, scoring four goals and providing a further three assists too. It was no surprise that Sherwood waxed lyrical about the midfielder’s abilities when he made his early breakthrough.

Speaking back in 2014, he said: “I think he’s been great. I know Bentaleb, I know what he possesses. He trains like every day is the last day in the world and that’s a great trait to have for a young kid. when he came on against Southampton, I was sure about him but you never know until you put them on the stage.

“It shows that he’s unfazed and, for me, his performances are growing from week to week. He’s performing very, very well.”

But following Sherwood’s exit, things took a downturn for Bentaleb’s Spurs career.

The midfielder scored just once in the 46 games that he played for Sherwood’s Spurs successor, Mauricio Pochettino, and evidently the Argentine wasn’t a big fan of his talents as he shipped him out on loan to Bundesliga side Schalke for the 2016/2017 season.

After enjoying a largely impressive debut campaign – he scored five times and provided four assists in 32 top-flight games – it was unsurprising that Schalke decided to sign him on a permanent basis. But after putting pen to paper on a long-term deal to stay in Germany, Bentaleb really struggled to kick on.

That then prompted a loan switch back to the Premier League to Newcastle, but after failing to make a big enough impression on Tyneside, the Magpies declined to take up their option to buy.

After struggling back at Schalke, the now 27-year-old Bentaleb recently joined Ligue 1 outfit Angers in the January transfer window, where he’s been a much more regular presence, playing in the past eight games in the league.

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Sold for a reported £16m, the Algeria international is now worth just £1.6m according to CIES – a dramatic ten-fold decline in value for a player who arguably is in the peak years of his career given his age.

After promising so much as an up-and-coming star at Spurs, Bentaleb now finds himself finally rebuilding his career in France.

AND in other news: Sold for £18m, now worth under £1m: Levy played a blinder with shocking Spurs disaster

Scorecard

Jason Gillespie is mobbed for one of seven times on the opening day in Adelaide © Getty Images

Jason Gillespie’s seven wickets helped South Australia make a strong start as they attempt to give Darren Lehmann his second decent farewell of the week, knocking over Western Australia for 236. It will take something special to match the midweek one-day game for excitement, but Gillespie did his best, while Brad Hogg racked up a quickfire fifty from 36 balls, including 29 runs off a Lehmann over to forget.The Redbacks then lost Mark Cosgrove but overall it was very much their day, as they moved to 1 for 75 after taking wickets for fun following Adam Voges’ decision to bat on a decent surface. At the close Matthew Elliott was on 27 and Callum Ferguson had 43.Gillespie bowled sharply and with incision from both ends. His 7 for 58 were his best figures at the Adelaide Oval, beating his 5 for 41 against Queensland last season, and his fifth-best in first-class matches. He started with two quick wickets, removing the debutant Liam Davis for 8 in his second over on a third lbw shout, and then Chris Rogers for 14, thick-edging a cover drive through.Western Australia were low on firepower with Luke Pomersbach and Shaun Marsh suspended (the pair having two centuries and three fifties between them in three first-class matches this season). The other drafted-in debutant, Theo Doropoulos, managed 21 before his dismissal, bowled leg-stump by a quicker, flatter delivery, brought up the biggest cheer of the day – a wicket for Lehmann.Much had rested on their big guns Justin Langer and Luke Ronchi but Ronchi was held on 9 off Gillespie, a vital catch for Nathan Adcock who had earlier missed a sitter off Paul Rofe when Langer was on 2. Rofe finally had him on 34, inducing an edge through, and proved a good foil for Gillespie and a handy stand-in for Shaun Tait, who was rested at Cricket Australia’s request.Hogg took matters into his own hands, with four sixes and a four off the Lehmann over a particular highlight, equalling the most runs off an over in first-class cricket at Adelaide, following David Hookes’ feat in 1976-77. Mark Cosgrove cleaned Hogg up for a 42-ball 68, including six sixes, giving South Australia a vital breakthrough after the visitors were beginning to wrest the advantage for the second time.Voges’ half-century briefly stole the initiative, but otherwise the opening day was all South Australia, thanks largely to Gillespie. Voges became Gillespie’s fourth victim, bowled attempting to defend a cracker. The bowler was then on a hat-trick, as Aaron Heal fell next ball, caught by Matthew Elliott at third slip.While he couldn’t quite complete three from three, Gillespie did claim Mathew Inness (5) and Ben Edmondson (0) to wrap up the innings. Inness left alone one which knocked back middle and off, while Edmondson poked to second slip, beaten – like many of the others – for sheer pace.Elliott and Callum Ferguson recovered quickly from Cosgrove’s early departure, to a snorter from Inness. Ferguson built on his back-to-back half-centuries in the last match, and was in sight of his fifty by stumps, following another fluid innings.After a turbulent start to their season, South Australia have at last had a first-class day to be proud of and will hope to build on such a start on Saturday.

‘If the security staff did their jobs properly when they removed the supporters who swore at Paul Harris, why didn’t you call the big boys in when things went too far where you were fielding?’ © Getty Images

Howzit Hersch,Trust you’re bearing up – this too shall pass, at least, that’s what they tell me. Anyway. It was wonderful to see you in decent batting nick at Centurion. Good grafting stuff, and bad luck about missing the century.As for the other issue, if the offending fans were white would you still have said what you said? That’s what the racism argument boils down to, you see.I’m asking this question because when the South African team suffered racist abuse from spectators – most of them white – in Australia last season, there was no shouting about or at the fans from the field. At least, none seems to have been recorded.I’m not calling you racist, I’m trying to explain why some people might do so.And what about the Pakistani batsmen who were out there on the field with you? Didn’t you think that what you said broke the admittedly unwritten rules of sledging? Also, how does it change anything if you were talking to your teammates? The comments you made are still out there, regardless.I have to tell you that when I heard for myself what you said, I was disgusted. It’s not the swearing. Bloody hell, I’m a reporter – we were born effing and blinding, and I’ll continue to do so until I b****r off this mortal coil at the age of 112. So swearing doesn’t scare me. Instead, it was your harsh tone that struck me most.There was something close to hate in your voice, Hersch, and that’s not a pretty sound. I have this mental pen pic of you as an easy-going bloke who enjoys his talent and realises how lucky he is to make his living in the sunshine. That wasn’t what I heard on that tape.I do not doubt that the Pakistan supporters were becoming increasingly unruly. They were loud and irritating from the distance of the press box, never mind from over your shoulder. In fact, the reporting of this story has been unfair to you because all we have to go on is what you said. This saga will remain unfairly skewed against you unless we are somehow able to reveal what the fans were saying. Let no one suggest that they are blameless in all this.Be that as it may, if the security staff did their jobs properly when they removed the supporters who swore at Paul Harris, why didn’t you call the big boys in when things went too far where you were fielding?I should tell you that I do have some idea of how you felt. Three hours after the close of play on Sunday, I was still working in the press box. The plan was to send the BBC a few clips of what Mickey Arthur had said at the press conference that evening. The plan was not working, because of a man and his leafblower.Now, a leafblower is an inspired choice for removing the debris left behind in the stands by the crowd after a day’s play, and this bloke had been doing his job infuriatingly well for two hours. Do you know what a leafblower sounds like, Hersch? It’s a bit like an elephant shoving its trunk into your ear and trumpeting for all its worth. Try editing audio clips with that racket going on.After two hours of this little lot, the end of my tether was at hand. The chairs in the Centurion press box are sturdy, and made of metal … Yup, I hurled a chair into the stand the man was cleaning. Not at him, of course – I was simply trying to attract his attention to ask him when a semblance of silence might return. But that doesn’t change anything. I should have contacted the stadium manager, I should have followed the procedures. I should have kept my cool. I didn’t.I enjoyed an instant of satisfaction as the chair clattered into the plastic stadium seating. Then I realised just what an unprofessional, reckless idiot I had been. I tried to find the man to apologise, but he was long gone.The next morning, I asked for a few moments of the stadium chief executive’s time. I explained myself, and I was relieved when she decided to let the matter rest there.I think I reacted as most people would have done. I realised I had done something that required an apology and that I might have my accreditation withdrawn as a consequence. That realisation doesn’t make me anything special, it was entirely normal.Which makes me wonder why, after admitting your guilt, you’re now pursuing an appeal. It looks like you think you needn’t have to face the consequences of your actions.I can’t tell you how disappointing that is. But, hey, I’ll get over it, and pretty soon you’ll be one of my favourite players again.I’ll stop bending your ear now. Before I do, I need to ask you to keep this between us. I know it’s going to be on the worldwide web, and that many millions of people will have access to it. But there’s stuff in here that I’d rather not have broadcast out there. So, off the record? Know what I mean?Cheers,Telford Vice

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Anil Kumble: match figures of 10 for 157 © AFP

Anil Kumble continued his romantic affair with the Feroz Shah Kotla, stretching his tally to a stunning 48 from five games, as India wrapped up an emphatic 188-run win to take a 1-0 lead in the series. A pugnacious partnership between Sri Lanka’s last two specialist batsmen, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan, delayed the inevitable but Kumble broke through just before the lunch break and sealed the issue.A thumping win was always on the cards once India had taken such an imposing lead and handling Kumble and Co. on a wearing pitch was fraught with uncertainty. Throughout this game, the fall of one wicket often triggered a collapse and Dilshan’s dismissal left one end exposed. Harbhajan Singh joined in with two wickets at the end – one of which was a classical offbreak to fox Jayawardene – as Sri Lanka’s faint hopes of saving the game went up in smoke.The 68-run stand between Jayawardene and Dilshan, though, raised visions of an unlikely result. The pair had come together early in the day, after Ajit Agarkar nailed Jehan Mubarak in the fifth over of the morning – Mubarak playing back to one that cut in. India, though, had to wait for nearly 21 more overs as both the batsmen, with a fine mix of attack and defence, thwarted their bid for an early finish.Both didn’t just concentrate on protecting their wickets and even began attacking the bowling once they overcame the early jitters. Dilshan refused to curb his natural instincts and flayed away at the wide ones, producing some joyous boundaries in his 65-ball 32. However, his tendency to attack resulted in his downfall when he charged down the track to a straighter one from Kumble, left a big gap between bat and pad and had no chance when the ball kept low and rattled the stumps.Jayawardene was the more circumspect partner, keeping out the good balls and trying to rotate the strike. He handled the spinners with assurance, getting right behind the line of the ball to account for the low bounce on the fifth-day track, and grafted to his third successive half-century in the series. However, unlike in the first innings when he fell to a casual stroke, he was comprehensively beaten this time, having no answer when faced with a loopy offspinner from Harbhajan, drifting away slightly and turning back in.Chaminda Vaas hung around for 36 balls, rattling three fours, but it was always going to be a futile effort. Marvan Atapattu felt their collapse on the second afternoon, when four wickets fell for 23 runs, had been the turning point, after which Sri Lanka were always playing catch-up. Sri Lanka, though, will do well to dwell on the positives and come back strongly in the final Test at Ahmedabad in four day’s time. That game will be Kumble’s 100th Test and Sri Lanka’s hopes of winning their first Test in India, and squaring this series, will rest largely on how they counter his wiles at the Motera.How they were outJehan Mubarak lbw b Agarkar 3 (131 for 6)
Tillakaratne Dilshan b Kumble 32 (199 for 7)
Mahela Jayawardene c Gambhir b Harbhajan 67 (243 for 8)
Chaminda Vaas c Harbhajan b Kumble 17 (243 for 9)
Muttiah Muralitharan c Dhoni b Harbhajan 2 (247 all out)

Sachin Tendulkar leads the way as the Indians limber up before the second Test at Chittagong© AFP

It’s now almost certain that Gagandeep Singh and Shib Sankar Paul have to wait for another day to play Test cricket. Sourav Ganguly made it clear that India, despite a thumping innings-and-140-run win in the first Test at Dhaka, will play a full-strength team in the second Test starting at the MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong on Thursday. At the end of the first Test Ganguly had hinted that India might experiment a bit but things have obviously changed since then. “It’s difficult [to experiment], we hardly play about 10-12 Test matches a year,” said Ganguly. “Most of the guys who have been doing well for the team don’t want to sit out. At the end of the day, you miss Test matches and you don’t get to play too much during the year. On that point of view, it is very difficult to give rest to people if they don’t want it.”With two records being chalked up, Irfan Pathan taking his first Test ten-for, and Zaheer Khan racking up a joyous 75, it’s easy to see why none of the Indian cricketers want to miss out on a chance to put in a strong showing. For Bangladesh, though, the goals remain the same. Barring the loss of large chunks of time to bad weather, it is impossible to envision them staving off defeat against a strong opposition like India. Dav Whatmore, the Bangladesh coach, when asked for seemingly the 1000th time, whether Bangladesh were worried about the bad results they were notching up, said, “Whether you lose by an innings defeat or a bigger margin, that’s not our concern. We have got processes, little targets to achieve and that’s what we are going on. Things that we think we can achieve; I’m not interested in the result. You should know that by now.”In 33 Tests so far, Bangladesh have lost 30, and 19 of these by an innings. Whatmore revealed earlier that the team had different targets to other sides, and that these private goals had been written up and tacked onto a board in the dressing-room for the players to constantly remind themselves of the task on hand. The problem for them has been the lack of resistance, and giving the advantage away to the opposition early. But there’s still enough to play for to motivate the players, though that is not always the easiest task. “It’s not that easy sometimes, because the results haven’t been going our way,” said Whatmore. “We need to look outside of that and try and achieve other little goals. That’s really what we have been focusing on rather than result-orientated goals.”Bangladesh too may have to abandon earlier plans of resting a player. Tapash Baisya has been struggling with a back injury and may have to sit out the Chittagong Test. If Baisya, who underwent a fitness Test, is found to be unfit on Thursday morning, then either Talha Jubair or Mashrafe Mortaza, whom Bangladesh hoped to give a breather as he has just returned to international cricket after a gap of over a year, will have to play. Rajin Saleh, who bagged a pair at Dhaka, and Mushfiqur Rahman, whose military medium hardly troubled India’s batsmen, have been left out.Habibul Bashar, the Bangladesh captain, echoed Whatmore’s view that putting up a better fight was the key. “We couldn’t put up a fight in the last match,” he said. “Doing that will be our aim. Putting up a resistance will be our aim too. We couldn’t handle the new ball in the last match and doing that will be the key.”The pitch at the Bangabandhu Stadium, where the first Test was played, offered help to fast bowlers, spinners and batsmen, and won praise from all quarters. The two camps suggested that the pitch for the second Test would be a similar one, though it was impossible to verify this as the heightened security arrangements in Chittagong meant that journalists were not allowed onto the field even the day before the Test. A host of commandos, Kalashnikov sub-machine guns slung casually on their shoulders, ensured that the press were kept well at bay, barricaded into a section of the stands. “The wicket looks good, a bit damp,” said Ganguly. “The ball will seam around a bit. Obviously this place is hotter than Dhaka, so it may dry up a bit quicker.”But the way the pitch plays is not especially relevant. India hold all the aces – two world-class spinners, Pathan on fire, Zaheer in search of his 100th Test wicket, and a host of batsmen eager to make tall scores. Bangladesh, celebrating Victory Day on December 16, marking the liberation of their country from the occupation by Pakistani forces, are staring yet another defeat in the face.India (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 6 VVS Laxman, 7 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Anil Kumble, 11 Zaheer Khan.Bangladesh (from) 1 Javed Omar, Nafis Iqbal, 3 Habibul Bashar (capt), 4 Mohammad Ashraful, 5 Khaled Mashud (wk), 6 Manjarul Islam Rana, 7 Mohammad Rafique, 8 Tapash Baisya, 9 Mashafe Mortaza, 10 Talha Jubair, 11 Nazmul Hossain, 12 Aftab Ahmed.

Close Bangladesh 361 and 52 for 4 lead Pakistan 295 all out (Taufeeq 75, Youhana 64*, Rafique 5-118, Kapali 3-3) by 118 runs
Scorecard Day 2 Bulletin

Alok Kapali is all smiles after wrapping up Pakistan’s innings with a hat-trick

Twelve wickets tumbled in a pulsating day of Test cricket as Bangladesh grabbed the initiative, and then saw it slip away in the final 75 minutes of play. There was a hat-trick for Alok Kapali, a first-innings lead for Bangladesh – both being firsts for them in Tests – and a heroic bowling performance by Mohammad Rafique, but Pakistan fought back with four wickets in Bangladesh’s second innings. The end result of all the frenetic action was that Bangladesh – 66 runs in the lead after the first innings – ended the third day at Peshawar on 52 for 4, an overall lead of 118.Kapali will probably hog the headlines in the morning papers for taking the last three wickets in Pakistan’s innings off successive balls, but the hero for Bangladesh was Rafique, who toiled relentlessly through the first two sessions. He bowled 29 overs out of the 60 bowled by his team in the first two sessions, and thoroughly deserved figures of 5 for 118 – only his second five-for in Tests.Bangladesh’s only win in an ODI against a Test-playing nation had come against Pakistan; now, faced with the prospect of being their first victim in Tests, Pakistan, lead by Shoaib Akhtar, hit back in the field. Javed Omar, centurion in the first innings, was snaffled by Rashid Latif for a duck in the first over (7 for 1). Hannan Sarkar followed soon after, edging a drive to slip (20 for 2).Habibul Bashar counter-attacked in typical fashion with a breezy 28, before Pakistan struck again with two wickets in consecutive balls: Mohammad Ashraful nicked to first slip off Danish Kaneria (43 for 3), while Umar Gul trapped Bashar in front with the first ball off the next over. Kapali and Rajin Saleh hung on grimly before bad light intervened.

Mohammad Rafique celebrates after getting through Inzamam’s defences © AFP

Earlier, Rafique and Kapali combined to hand a definite advantage to Bangladesh at the half-way stage of the match. Resuming at 134 for 2, Taufeeq Umar and Inzamam-ul-Haq were restricted to a mere 25 runs from 13 overs in the first hour, before Umar nicked the first ball after the drinks break to Khaled Mashud (159 for 3). Rafique then nailed Inzamam, getting through his defences after Inzamam had battled 137 balls for 43 (178 for 4).Latif and Youhana wrested back the initiative with a 64-run stand, but Bangladesh never eased the pressure in the field. Rafique struck twice in quick succession, having Latif stumped for 40 (242 for 5) and Shoaib Malik lbw. Khaled Mahmud then dismissed Shoaib Akhtar, before conjuring up a masterstroke: he tossed the ball to Kapali.Kapali didn’t take long to vindicate the faith reposed by his captain. The fifth ball of his first over had Shabbir Ahmed spooning a catch to Mashrafe Mortaza at mid-off (289 for 8). Next ball, Kaneria was adudged lbw when he shouldered arms to a straight ball which was clearly missing off stump. The first ball of Kapali’s next over was another straight one, this time spearing in towards off stump. Gul played no stroke, umpire Russel Tiffin upheld the appeal, and all the Bangladesh players gathered around in a huddle to celebrate a special moment, even as Youhana cut a forlorn figure, unbeaten on 64.At the change of innings, Bangladesh clearly had Pakistan on the mat, before the Shoaib Akhtar-led late strikes levelled things for Pakistan. If Bangladesh manage to add about 130 more, they could yet be sniffing their first Test win.

A century knock from the dependable Pankaj Dharmani (106) enabledPunjab to score 300 runs for the loss of nine wickets against Servicesduring their North Zone Ranji match being played at Gandhi Ground,Amritsar, today.Services won a good toss on a grassy wicket and wisely put theiropponents in to bat. Seamers Sudhakar Ghag and Syed Javed proved thedecision right as they sent three top order batsman back to thepavilion with the scoreboard reading just 32. Ravneet Ricky (0) wasthe first to depart, in the very first over of the day, dismissed byGhag. Vikram Rathore (1)threw away his wicket in the fourth over as hechased a delivery off Javed to give a simple catch to Yashpal Singh atpoint. Munish Sharma irresponsibly steered an outgoing delivery offGhag to gully fielder PM Reddy, who did not make any mistake.Seasoned campaigner Dharmani then joined southpaw Yuvraj Singh, whowas looking in good nick from the very first ball that he faced. Theduo lived up to their reputation to get their team out of the woods.Dharmani was in tremendous touch and seemed to be unshakeable eventhough the ball was seaming a lot because of the early moisture in thewicket. The seam trio of Ghag, Javed and Pandey bowled an accurateline and length, but the pair took their team score to 97 for three atthe stroke of lunch. Dharmani completed his half century with aclassic off-drive to the boundary off Pandey.The second session of the day was dominated by Punjab as they scored99 runs and lost only the wicket of Yuvraj Singh, who lost his cooljust 54 minutes before tea. Yuvraj Singh (67) became the third victimof Ghag as he drove at an outgoing delivery, playing away from thebody, giving a regulation catch for wicket-keeper Sarabjit Singh.Yuvraj’s knock of 67 runs came in 121 balls, with nine hits to fenceand a mighty six during his stay of 156 minutes at the crease. Thepair added 127 valuable runs for the fourth wicket partnership. DineshMongia (11) came in at the fall of Yuvraj’s wicket and stayed for 54minutes at the crease but made the same mistake as Yuvraj just twominutes after tea. Javed brought about the dismissal, with thescoreboard reading 196 for five. Reetinder Singh Sodhi then stepped tojoin Dharmani, who was holding the fort from one end.Dharmani played elegant stokes to all parts of the ground, completinghis century in style as he cut a short ball from Pandey to the pointboundary. He was finally sent back to the pavilion by a classy incutter from Pandey, which took a thick edge for the keeper to hold.Dharmani’s knock was studded with 18 sweetly timed boundaries.Sandeep Sawal played a quick cameo of 17 runs off 16 balls, but thenbecame the fourth scalp of Ghag. Sodhi, in the company of tail-enderGagandeep Singh, put on 41 valuable runs. He missed his half-centuryby two runs, caught and bowled by Ghag while trying to pull a shortball and mistiming it; his knock came off 74 balls with nine fours.Gagandeep Singh (19) was the last wicket to fall in the day. Javedtook three wickets for 61 runs. At stumps, Punjab had scored 300/9,with Vineet Sharma batting on eight and Babloo Kumar yet to open hisaccount.Shafiq Khan stars for HaryanaShafiq Khan hit a fine 86, and his participation in a 71-run fifthwicket partnership enabled Haryana to score 282 for eight againstDelhi on the opening day of their North Zone Ranji Trophy league matchagainst Delhi.Delhi skipper Mithun Manhas’ decision to field after winning the tossdid not yield the desired results as Haryana openers Padamjit Sehrawatand Chetan Sharma gave their side a sound start, putting up 54 runsfor the first wicket. However, the visitors lost three wickets inspace of 22 runs. Shehrawat scored 47 before being trapped legbeforeby Amit Bhandari; Sharma, the first batsman to go, contributed 20.Skipper Parinder Sharma could score only eight, caught by Akash Chopraoff Bhandari.At lunch, Haryana were 105/3 off 29 overs; between lunch and tea, theyscored only 79 runs, losing one more wicket. The post-tea session sawthe visitors add 98 runs to their total, losing four more wickets. A42-run fourth-wicket stand between Ishan Ganda (26) and Shafiq Khanestablished Haryana’s innings; after the departure of Ganda, AjayRatra gave able support to Shafiq and both batsmen built up theinnings by adding 71 runs for the fifth wicket.The stand was finally broken by off-spinner Sarandeep Singh, who hadRatra (31) caught by Sohail Rauf. Haryana’s score at that stage was192 for five; they added 90 more runs for the loss of three wicketsbefore stumps. Shafiq was the last batsman to be dismissed, sent backleg-before by Abhishek Sharma. His 86 was studded with two sixes andeight fours, and he batted 241 minutes, facing 181 balls in theprocess.At stumps, Sumit Narwal ( 25) and Gaurav Vashist (0) were at thecrease. Bhandari and Sarandeep had picked up two wickets each.Himachal bundled out for 145 on Day OneJammu and Kashmir took advantage of Himachal Pradesh’s recklessbatting to bowl their rivals out for 145 in 75.1 overs on the firstday of their North Zone Ranji league match at Mandi.Ashwani Gupta and Jagtar Singh led the tourists’ assault, claimingfour and three wickets, while Surinder Singh and Vijay Sharma pickedup two and one wicket respectively.Earlier in the day, Himachal Pradesh won the toss and elected to bat.The hosts took the first blow in the 10th over when Nischal Gaur wascaught behind by Vikrant Taggar of Surinder Singh. Barring RajeevNayyar, who remained unbeaten on 41, all the Himachal batsmen giftedaway their wickets, negating the advantage of winning the toss andbatting first on a good wicket.At the end of the day, Jammu and Kashmir were at 22 for one in 15overs.

The Leicester City fans in the Transfer Tavern are resigned to losing Riyad Mahrez to Manchester City this summer as a potential deal edges closer to completion, but they are pleased that their club have been able to command such an extortionate transfer fee for his services. 

The Breakdown

According to reports from Sky Sports, Man City have finally made a breakthrough in their bid to sign Riyad Mahrez and a medical could be completed by the end of the week. Although a fee is yet to be agreed, the report states that the Foxes will receive a fee in the region of £60 million for the Algerian ace – a sum of money which would go a long way to improving the Leicester team if reinvested wisely.

Although the news will arrive as a disappointment to the Leicester supporters, it hardly arrives as any great surprise following months of speculation linking him with a move to the Etihad Stadium.

However, further unwelcome news emerged for Leicester recently as Sky Sports also believe that both Chelsea and Roma are interested in signing Kasper Schmeichel.

Schmeichel (valued at £9 million by Transfermarkt) has established a glowing reputation for his performances at Leicester in recent years, most notably during their shock title victory in 2016, but his recent showing on the international stage with Denmark appears to have firmly caught the attention of some of Europe’s top clubs.

Like Mahrez, Schmeichel would command a huge transfer fee and his Transfermarkt valuation is certainly some way off the mark, but that should not convince Leicester to sell their star player this summer.

Not only is Schmeichel a fantastic goalkeeper, he is a leader, a motivator and one of the longest serving players at the club, so selling him this summer would simply be a cataclysmic deal for the Foxes to complete.

The Mahrez deal is far from ideal, but it’s one which has been in the pipeline for months so it will feel like a relief for Leicester to finally put it behind them; the same cannot be said for any deal involving Schmeichel’s departure.

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The great Dane is quite simply indispensable and must remain at the club if Leicester want to remain competitive next season, otherwise they could find themselves in the midst of a relegation scrap.

Leicester fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

Aston Villa were rather active in the recent January transfer window, not only bringing new faces to the club such as Philippe Coutinho, Calum Chambers, Robin Olsen and Lucas Digne but also with moving some of their current players out on loan.

Looking ahead to the upcoming summer transfer window, it seems as though Villa fans can breathe easy over the future of one particular player at the Midlands club for the time being.

What’s the news?

During a recent online Q&A on the Birmingham Live website, a user asked journalist Ashley Preece if there was anything in the recent transfer rumours linking defender Ezri Konsa with a move away from the club.

In response, Preece had this to say on the matter: “No, nothing in those rumours.”

He then followed that up by commenting:

“[Steven] Gerrard drafting Konsa straight back in on Saturday tells you all you need to know, pal. Such an important player for Villa.”

Fans will be ecstatic

Since joining the Villans back in the 2019 summer transfer window from Brentford in a deal worth a reported fee of £12m, the defender has made himself a vital figure for the team by racking up a total of 92 appearances across all competitions, chipping in with six goals and two assists along the way.

As Preece mentioned in the Q&A, the Villa manager chose to play the 24-year-old in their recent 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion immediately after serving a suspension.

In the away win, Konsa showed just how much of a useful defensive figure he can be for his side by racking up four clearances and winning four of the six duels he was involved in whilst having a supremely imrpessive passing accuracy of 91%.

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Given how prominent the Englishman has been for Villa since his arrival and how much he has contributed to keeping the club in the Premier League after their promotion at the end of the 2018/19 season, it’s safe to say that the fans at Villa Park will be absolutely delighted to hear that there’s nothing in the rumours linking him with an exit.

The fact that over 500 voters in a poll ran by Football FanCast agreed that the former Brentford centre-back is Villa’s best defender also supplements this viewpoint.

In other news: Journalist drops eye-opening behind-the-scenes Aston Villa claim, fans surely buzzing – opinion