Khvicha Kvaratskhelia created a unique record by winning two league titles in one season for Paris Saint-Germain and Napoli.
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Kvaratskhelia wins Ligue 1 and Serie A titles in one season
Joined PSG from Napoli in January
Napoli lifted Serie A title on Friday
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WHAT HAPPENED?
Kvaratskhelia began the 2024-25 campaign as a Napoli player and appeared in 17 Serie A matches, where he scored five goals and provided three assists. Then, in January 2025, he completed a sensational €70m ($72m/£59m) move to PSG and spent the second half of the season in the French capital.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
The Georgia international won the Ligue 1 title last month, and now with Napoli sealing the Serie A title, the player will bag his second league title in one season, as he is eligible for a champion's medal in Italy.
DID YOU KNOW?
Since joining PSG, Kvaratskhelia has made 24 appearances for the club, where he scored six goals and provided five assists. He played a key role in his club reaching the Champions League final.
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WHAT NEXT FOR KHVICHA KVARATSKHELIA?
The 24-year-old will now aim to win two more champions' medals as Luis Enrique's side take on Reims in the French Cup final on Saturday, followed by facing Inter in the Champions League final on May 31.
أعلن الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم “فيفا” عن الفائز بجائزة رجل مباراة يوفنتوس والعين، في بطولة كأس العالم للأندية 2025.
وواجه يوفنتوس نظيره العين فجر اليوم الخميس، في إطار منافسات الجولة الثانية من دور المجموعات لبطولة كأس العالم للأندية 2025، والتي تقام بالولايات المتحدة الأمريكية.
وحقق الفريق الإيطالي فوزًا عريضًا على حساب العين الإماراتي بخماسية نظيفة جعلته ينفرد بصدارة ترتيب المجموعة السابعة والتي تضم مانشستر سيتي والوداد البيضاوي المغربي.
اقرأ أيضًا.. فيديو | بمشاركة رامي ربيعة.. يوفنتوس يقسو على العين بخماسية في كأس العالم للأندية 2025
وحصل اللاعب كولو مواني، على جائزة رجل المباراة، وذلك بعد الأداء المميز الذي قدمه خلال اللقاء وتمكنه من إحراز هدفين من الـ 5 الأهداف التي سكنت شباك الحارس البرتغالي باتريسيو.
وتعتبر هذه المباراة الأولى للمدرب الكرواتي إيجور تيودور، يقود فيها الفريق الإيطالي بشكل رسمي كمدير فني للفريق خلفًا لـ تياجو موتا.
وتصدر يوفنتوس ترتيب المجموعة السابعة برصيد 3 نقاط وهو نفس رصيد مانشستر سيتي صاحب الوصافة لكن فارق الأهداف لصالح الفريق الإيطالي، والمركز الثالث يتواجد به نادي الوداد، والعين يتذيل المجموعة.
Grand plans are being drawn up for the future of Manchester United, yet in the present, Ruben Amorim’s men face arguably the most pivotal game of the season so far at home to Real Sociedad later today.
With the Europa League now providing the only realistic route to European qualification ahead of next season, progression is of paramount importance, with the game finely poised following last week’s 1-1 draw in San Sebastian.
United, on the night, were made to pay for their lack of ruthlessness in front of goal after being pegged back by a late Mikel Oyarzabal penalty, with that wasteful nature also on show at the weekend, amid the stalemate with Arsenal.
Having scored just one goal in each of their last three outings in all competitions, the Red Devils – backed by an expectant Old Trafford crowd – need to find their shooting boots at some stage.
Manchester United's RasmusHojlundwith assistant head coach Carlos Fernandes during training
Unfortunately for Amorim, the Portuguese coach will have slim pickings once again when it comes to team selection.
Man Utd team news
As was reported following the FA Cup clash with Fulham, 17-year-old striker Chido Obi is ineligible to feature on the continent having been left off United’s Europa League squad, although fellow teenager, Ayden Heaven, is available after his inclusion in the club’s ‘A’ list.
The lack of attacking depth has also been exposed following the loss of Amad to injury last month, although the United boss did tease that the Ivorian could potentially return at some stage, prior to the end of the season.
Elsewhere, tonight’s outing is likely to come too soon for the likes of Kobbie Mainoo, Luke Shaw and Mason Mount, although the latter man is returning to first-team training.
Meanwhile, Amorim confirmed that Harry Maguire will not be in contention, after the Englishman’s absence since the meeting with the Cottagers, although he could return for Sunday’s trip to face former club Leicester City.
Speaking of centre-backs, Leny Yoro is also unavailable after the Frenchman limped off at half-time last time out, although, on a positive note, Manuel Ugarte – who has also been absent since the FA Cup encounter – is “in the squad”, according to Amorim.
Chalkboard
While those continued absentees may ensure the side largely picks itself, particularly defensively, the former Sporting CP boss could make a key alteration in the forward line.
Why Amorim must drop Joshua Zirkzee
Considering it was Joshua Zirkzee who opened the scoring a week ago, it might seem a bold call to drop the Dutchman back to the bench, yet it could be wise to consider unleashing him in the second half instead.
With Alejandro Garnacho enjoying his “best game” under Amorim last time out, as per his manager, and with Rasmus Hojlund enjoying a strong record in the Europa League this season, after netting five times in the league phase, the young pairing should seemingly start together again in attack.
Of course, Zirkzee could make up the final role in that attacking trio, in place of Christian Eriksen, yet with senior attackers limited, Amorim may wish to at least have one game-changer available to him.
Man-Utd-Zirkzee-Europa-League
Equally, as the former Bologna man showcased on Sunday, he simply is not capable of starting ahead of Hojlund as the leading number nine, with the 23-year-old replaced in the closing stages after losing the ball ten times from just 23 touches, while winning just one of his seven duels, as per Sofascore.
With Hojlund – who was perhaps afforded something of a rest at the weekend – having the pace to stretch the Sociedad defence, Zirkzee could then offer a valuable alternative late on.
Player (Club)
Games
Goals
Ayoub El Kaabi (Olympiakos)
8
7
Malick Fofana (Lyon)
8
6
Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray)
7
6
Vaclav Cerny (Rangers)
9
6
Kasper Hogh (Bodo/Glimt)
9
6
Barnabas Varga (Ferencvaros)
8
6
Youssef En-Nesyri (Fenerbahce)
11
6
Samu Omorodion (Porto)
9
6
Rasmus Hojlund (Man Utd)
9
5
Yunus Akgun (Galatasaray)
8
5
Indeed, there may be wisdom in Amorim opting to unleash Toby Collyer later today instead, with the Englishman having made an impact off the bench against the Gunners, after teeing up Hojlund with a clever pull-back.
The former Brighton and Hove Albion starlet could be a wildcard pick in a more advanced berth, while he may also be a solution alongside the ageing Casemiro, ensuring Bruno Fernandes can slot in as one of the two number ten’s once again.
Either way, Collyer’s energy and exuberance could be vital as United look to take the game to the LaLiga side from the off, with his former youth coach Mark Beard describing the 21-year-old as “like a Kante” due to his “astronomical” running stats.
That Kante-like quality was also on show against Mikel Arteta’s side as he won 100% of his ground duels, while also registering a 100% pass accuracy, showcasing his ability to cover ground effectively, while also keeping things neat and tidy in possession.
Having that extra athleticism could then allow the likes of Fernandes and Garnacho to prioritise their attacking contributions, while it could also cover any weaknesses in Casemiro’s game, with the Brazilian still warranting a starting berth after an encouraging last outing, where he won 12 duels in total.
That bold selection call would then provide Amorim with the likes of Zirkzee, Eriksen and the returning Ugarte as options to call upon to change the game, as United chase what would be a vital result amid an otherwise dismal season.
Best signing since Bruno: Ratcliffe hit the jackpot on Man Utd's "bargain"
Man Utd may have finally struck gold on the transfer front with one key signing…
Capitals were the only team to buy an Associate player: “You can only play five foreigners if you play an Associate player – so it makes all the sense”
Vishal Dikshit14-Feb-20232:15
Parth Jindal: “Felt like a student trying to learn entire year’s syllabus in last nine days”
The initial strategies at the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction on Monday expectedly showed that the three franchises out of five that own IPL teams had a better idea of how to go about it. Four of the first six players went to two of those franchises – Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians – and it was only later, by the time 14 players were sold, that the other teams had started building a core by spending INR 25.70 crore (US$ 3.13 million approx.) overall.Except one.Delhi Capitals, who also own teams in the ILT20 and SA20, still had their bag empty, despite bidding for nine of the 14 players who were sold. But despite turning up late for the party, Capitals took home some big names such as Meg Lanning, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma and Marizanne Kapp, among others. They bought as many players as were allowed (18), and still had INR 35 lakh (US$ 42,700 approx.) in their purse when they went home.Related
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2023 WPL auction: The list of sold and unsold players
Parth Jindal, their co-owner, said that they had come with a clear plan of a top limit for each player they wanted and withdraw when the bids exceeded those.”A lot of money got spent on the marquee list by the other teams,” Jindal told ESPNcricinfo. “People spent almost 30% of their purse on one player. Smriti Mandhana went for INR 3.4 crore out of 12 [crore], that’s 27-28% of their purse. That’s like spending 30 crore on one player in the men’s IPL. You can’t do that! According to me, you can’t do that, but they did.”People spent a lot on the marquee players and that didn’t leave much money for some of the other Indians. So when a few of the sets got over, we were in a very sweet spot because we had Jemimah, Shafali, Lanning, and we were ready with money to pick up whoever we wanted to pick up. We’re very happy, fingers crossed, we’ve built a good squad.”
“You can only play five foreigners if you play an Associate player in the XI. So it makes all the sense to take one. I don’t know why they [other teams] didn’t [buy an Associate player]”Parth Jindal
Capitals had also put in bids for some big-ticket players such as Harmanpreet Kaur, Ellyse Perry, Sophie Ecclestone, Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Tahlia McGrath and Shabnim Ismail but opted out after a point. Till they finally bought a player – Rodrigues for INR 2 crore – that fit their budget.”We went till our ceiling for the player,” Jindal explained. “For each player we had a budget, and it was new to me, so I was given a budget and I was told, ‘don’t go beyond this under any circumstances’. When it hit that, we didn’t go ahead.”But who gives a team co-owner such instructions? Jindal said with a laugh that the limits were set by the same people who did the hard work in the lead-up to the first WPL auction: his support staff and scouting team, comprising head coach Jonathan Batty, assistant coaches Lisa Keightley and Hemlata Kala, and advisor Venugopal Rao.Jindal also revealed that Sourav Ganguly, who returned to the Capitals set-up recently, had suggested Batty and Kala for coaching positions, before they conducted a “robust interview process” and finalised Batty for the lead role. “I talk to about everything cricket because he’s my childhood hero,” Jindal said. “We interviewed everyone, and Jonathan was selected because he had great success at the women’s Hundred and Big Bash as well. We really liked meeting him.”Despite a slow start, Delhi Capitals took home some big names•BCCIWhen asked why exactly Capitals decided to buy a team in the WPL, which may not fetch the kind of returns a men’s IPL team did in the initial years, Jindal said it was a “long-term investment” that gave them an opportunity to invest in academies for girls in the coming years, and would encourage more women to pick up cricket.”It’s a huge amount of money [players have earned] and I said this a couple of times before but it’s amazing to think that if you are an English, Australian, South African or Indian player and you play for your national team, you’re going to be a ,” he said. “That’s amazing for all the girls out there in the world, to think that if I can play for my country, somebody’s going to pick me up in the WPL for more than a crore, which is a lot of money.”Another thing the Capitals think tank did differently at the auction was to buy an Associate player – Tara Norris from USA – something no other team did despite the rules allowing a team to field five – and not four – overseas player if one of them were from an Associate nation. There were 19 players from Associate teams in the auction pool.”You can only play five foreigners if you play an Associate player in the XI, so it makes all the sense to take one,” Jindal said. “I don’t know why they didn’t. I know Gujarat [Giants] tried later but they had run out of foreign slots.”About the captain, Jindal said Lanning, Rodrigues and Shafali were options, but the coaches would take a call once the squad assembles in the coming weeks.
Arsenal have a proud history of producing incredible talent through their youth system.
Hale End has been responsible for legends from years past, such as Liam Brady, David O’Leary, and David Roecastle.
That tradition has carried on through the eras, with Cesc Fàbregas, Ashley Cole and even the injury-riddled Jack Wilshere all spending time in the famous academy.
That same system also produced arguably the club’s best player in the current squad, Bukayo Saka, and it looks like there is another wave of promising prospects coming through, including one youngster who is already worth millions more than a former youth player now making a name for himself in France: Mika Biereth.
Biereth's impressive rise
Arsenal signed Biereth from Fulham’s academy in the summer of 2021, and following several loan moves to RKC Waalwijk, Motherwell and finally, Sturm Graz, he was sold to the latter for just £4m plus add-ons in the summer.
Now, it could be said that agreeing to that much money plus a sell-on clause for a youngster who’s never even played for the first team was smart business from the Gunners.
Yet, considering he had racked up a tally of nine goals and four assists in 22 games at the back end of last season, it did feel like they could have asked for more.
This season has proven that to be true, as the Danish youngster was able to chalk up a tally of 14 goals and five assists in just 25 games for the Austrian outfit before the winter transfer window opened, in which he secured a £10.8m move to AS Monaco.
On the French Riviera, the former Gunners’ prospect has simply gone from strength to strength.
In just ten appearances, totalling 688 minutes, the 22-year-old has been able to score ten goals and provide two assists, meaning he’s averaging 1.2 goal involvements per game, or one every 57.33 minutes.
That means that in 35 appearances across both clubs this season, Biereth has scored 24 goals and provided seven assists, which begs the question: was selling him a mistake?
Appearances
35
Minutes
2659′
Goals
24
Assists
7
Goal Involvements per Match
0.88
Minutes per Goal Involvement
85.77′
Well, regardless of the answer, Arsenal can at least rest assured that one of their new academy stars is already worth considerably more than him.
The Hale End star worth millions more than Biereth
One of the few positives from this season is that when we are talking about a new Hale End star, at least a couple of players could come into consideration.
However, in this instance, it is most certainly Ethan Nwaneri who has gone from an exciting prospect for the future to an essential part of the first team at just 17 years old.
Granted, the injury crisis in attack has somewhat accelerated his integration, but from how well he’s played this year, you’d have no idea this is his first proper campaign of senior football.
The often “unplayable” teenager, as dubbed by Wilshere, has made 26 appearances for the first team this year, totalling 948 minutes, in which he’s scored seven goals and provided one assist, meaning he is averaging a goal involvement every 3.25 games, or every 118.5 minutes.
Unsurprisingly, this has seen his valuation soar, with Football Transfers pricing him at up to €37.5m, which comes out to around £31m, or just over £20m more than Monaco paid for Biereth in January.
Appearances
26
Minutes
948′
Goals
7
Assists
1
Goal Involvements per Match
0.30
Minutes per Goal Involvement
118.5′
Ultimately, with how badly Arsenal need a striker at the moment, there is a strong argument to be made that selling the young Dane was a mistake.
However, any annoyance stemming from that decision should be quickly forgotten, as in Nwaneri, it looks like they could have a future superstar on their hands.
Arteta must drop Arsenal's "big-game player" to unleash "monstrous" ace
The exceptional midfielder will give Arsenal an edge.
Enzo Maresca was flying high in his first few months at Chelsea, leading them to second in the Premier League, finishing top of the UEFA Conference League group phase and implementing a clear style of play for all to see.
However, in the past few months, things have taken a turn for the worst, dropping to sixth place in the league, being knocked out of both the EFL Cup and FA Cup, and having a poor January transfer window where plenty of issues were not addressed by Todd Boehly and co.
Chelsea have had some huge issues since their injury troubles began to arise, leading to a run of only three wins in their last ten games, one of which coming against Morecambe in the FA Cup.
Chelsea's injury issues
The first big injury blow this season was the loss of Wesley Fofana, who had settled into a solid defensive unit alongside Levi Colwill, the two complimenting each other brilliantly and beginning to provide the Blues with a stability they hadn’t had previously.
Fofana’s hamstring injury was the first to really affect the first-team squad, as he had started 12 of the first 13 Premier League games. Since then, Roméo Lavia and Reece James have both struggled for fitness, whilst James is currently available, the two have been suffering from reoccurring injuries this season.
In the past few weeks, Nicolas Jackson, Marc Guiu and Noni Madueke have all suffered injuries too, leaving Chelsea with a thin squad despite being able to field two different starting lineups earlier in the season.
Availability is one of the most important things in this modern era of football, and one man Chelsea sold in the summer had that in abundance.
The former Chelsea star who's worth more than Lavia
Conor Gallagher was sold to Atlético Madrid in the summer transfer window, joining the Spanish giants for around £35.8m.
Market Movers
In his time at Chelsea, the English midfielder made 95 appearances for the club, scoring ten goals, providing ten assists and totalling 6,061 minutes played.
But more importantly, Gallagher has never been ruled out through injury, which is something Chelsea could use in their current squad.
Stats (per 90 mins)
Gallagher
Lavia
Goals + Assists
0.30
0.16
Progressive Carries
1.07
0.51
Progressive Passes
2.80
2.88
Shots Total
1.16
0.16
Pass Completion %
86.0%
91.6%
Passes into Pen Area
0.53
0.51
Shot-Creating Actions
1.13
1.86
Tackles + Interceptions
3.60
4.67
Blocks
1.40
1.02
Ball Recoveries
4.80
4.75
When comparing Gallagher and Lavia’s underlying metrics this season, you can see Lavia clearly has a bit more quality on the ball, making more progressive passes and completing a higher percentage of his passes.
However, Gallagher offers similar defensive qualities with ball recoveries, blocks and can even add goals from midfield, crashing the box and working hard from end to end.
Mauricio Pochettino labelled Gallagher as “priceless” last season, but the 25-year-old, who was sold for £35.8m is now worth €73m (£61m) according to Football Observatory, which is more than the injury-prone Lavia, who is only valued at €25m (£21m).
Cole Palmer and Conor Gallagher for Chelsea
Due to the injury issues of Lavia this season, Enzo Fernández and Moises Caicedo have experienced an incredibly big workload in midfield, and having a player like Gallagher, in hindsight, who is always available and willing to work hard, could have been very helpful for the squad.
Perhaps, Boehly and co will live to regret that transfer decision, as the battle for a Champions League berth hots up…
Chelsea can fix Jackson blow by unleashing 17 y/o who's “Cobham’s finest”
Maresca can fix his Jackson and Guiu issues by unleashing “Cobham’s finest” for Chelsea
Mais uma rodada movimentou a Série D do Campeonato Brasileiro 2022. Neste domingo (17), 15 jogos agitaram a 14ª rodada, que contou com inúmeras goleadas.
Entre as goleadas expressivas da rodada, o Tuna venceu o Tocantinópolis, por 5 a 3. Jayme, Fernando Portel, Kaique e Lukinhas (duas vezes) balançaram as redes para os mandantes. Marcinho, Bambelo e Wanderson descontaram.
Já o Amazonas FC teve o melhor placar, vencendo o Humaitá, por 6 a 0. Ítalo (três vezes), Freyn Figueroa, Marco Goiano e Lucas marcaram os gols.
Aplicativo de resultados do Lance! está disponível na versão IOS
Confira os placares:
Pacajus 3 x 1 4 de Julho Fluminense 1 x 2 Juventude Samas Santo André 3 x 0 Pérolas Negras Paraná 0 x 1 Oeste Cianorte 0 x 1 Nova Iguaçu Tuna 5 x 3 Tocantinópolis Portuguesa-RJ 2 x 0 São Bernardo Moto Club 2 x 0 Castanhal Amazonas FC 6 x 0 Humaitá Grêmio Anápolis 4 x 1 Ação Costa Rica MS 0 x 3 Ceilândia Operário (VG) 1 x 0 Iporá Brasiliense 1 x 1 Anápolis Rio Branco 3 x 0 Trem São Raimundo 1 x 1 São Raimundo (AM)
Three Tottenham players were not awarded Europa League winner's medals on the pitch after their 1-0 victory over Manchester United on Wednesday.
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Three Tottenham players didn't receive medalsPictured without them during celebrationsSituation is explained by UEFAFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Son Heung-min, Cristian Romero and Rodrigo Bentancur were not handed medals as Tottenham players queued to receive them on the Bilbao turf, with all three celebrating on the pitch with the trophy without them. UEFA later offered an explanation.
AdvertisementAFPTHE EXPLANATION
UEFA explained that due to the number of injured players participating in the ceremony, they ran out of medals to award to every member of the playing and coaching staff. Lucas Bergvall, James Maddison and Timo Werner were among the players to have been ruled out of the game but still queue to be handed a medal, with UEFA only bringing 30 out onto the pitch despite clubs being allowed to be presented with 50.
WHAT UEFA SAID
UEFA said: "To our great displeasure, we did not have enough medals available on stage during the trophy ceremony presentation due to an unexpected discrepancy in the player count, as more team members – including injured players – participated in the ceremony than initially anticipated. The missing medals were promptly delivered to the winning team in the dressing room, along with our sincerest apologies for the oversight."
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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR TOTTENHAM?
Tottenham complete their Premier League campaign against Brighton on Sunday, before aiming to assemble a squad that can compete in the Champions League next season.
Mushfiqur Rahim’s 60-ball century against Ireland was a shining example of the aggressive intent Bangladesh have been trying to adopt, especially through the middle and late overs of ODI cricket. At the end of the match, which got washed out, Litton Das, who scored 70 off 71 himself, said they have been trying to get this balance right for a while now and added that he has noticed things clicking into place ever since the T20Is against England earlier this month.Mushfiqur made the fastest ODI century by a Bangladesh batter. It was also the first one by a Bangladesh batter coming in after the 33rd over. Litton said that for the second match running, Mushfiqur left a lasting impact in their batting effort. He made a 26-ball 44 in the first ODI, which was influential in the home side reaching 338 for 8 in 50 overs. In this game he made his hundred off 60 balls, as Bangladesh reached 349 for 6 in 50 overs.”Watching his innings was a great feeling,” Litton said. “I have never seen a Bangladeshi batter score a hundred towards the end. When someone plays such a knock in the team, it looks good. When a senior plays such a knock, it is even better. His first ODI knock was amazing too. He made 40-plus but it created a big margin to get a 300-plus total. His innings today really made it a different ball-game.”Litton said that the 108 runs scored by Bangladesh in the last ten overs, their third-highest tally in this phase of an ODI innings, showcased their growth as a team.”I think these runs are important in ODIs. Big teams often get hundred or close to hundred runs in the last ten overs. It was a challenge for us. We have been talking about how we can get 100 runs in the last ten overs of a T20I too, so it is a good sign that we have started to do it.”Everyone is batting with intent in the middle overs [10-40]. It is a good intent. They are not just targeting big sixes but the focus is on ones, twos and fours,” he said.Litton added that Bangladesh’s cautious start when the ball was nipping around also played a role in them getting a big score.”It was quite difficult to bat in the early overs. After a long time we felt like we were batting in overseas conditions. The ball was moving. It was quite challenging. It is summer, but it felt like winter. It was due to the rain.”We were totally successful in fulfilling our batting targets in the last two matches. We didn’t give any wickets in the first ten overs today, they were bowling very well. We did lose a wicket at the end of the tenth over, but it could have been a different ball game had we lost too many wickets early.”I think our 40-42 [in the first powerplay] isn’t a lot of runs but it was quite effective in the end. [Najmul Hossain] Shanto and I also helped put the foundation for the big score, we got to around 140 in the 25th over. Wickets in hand always makes scoring runs more comfortable in the latter overs,” he said.Litton said that there’s no regret among any of his team-mates when they get out close to a century, but the batters understand that these days, they should be aiming for more.”The top four batters want to finish the innings, which these days can even mean a double-hundred. Century shouldn’t be a target. If Shanto and I had batted till the 45th over, we could have got 150-180. We were batting quite well. I had a soft dismissal, Shanto was unlucky. But Mushfiq played a spectacular knock, way better than our efforts,” he said.
The left hander believes that lbw is the biggest danger facing the offspinner
AAP25-Jan-20232:54
Will some red-ball game time in Ranji Trophy help India ahead of Australia Tests?
If Matt Renshaw gets a call-up to Australia’s Test side on the upcoming tour of India, he says he will be as prepared as ever to take on spin maestro R Ashwin.In 2021 Ashwin became the first bowler in history to take 200 wickets against left-handed batters. The 26-year-old Renshaw will tour with fellow top-six left-handers David Warner, Usman Khawaja and Travis Head. Wicketkeeper Alex Carey is also a lefty, so the challenges ahead are immense in the four-Test series that starts next month.Related
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Jadeja puts troubled knee to Ranji test as Australia series looms
Renshaw would play in the middle order if selected for the current side. When Australia toured India in 2017, he played all but one innings of the four Tests as an opener. Ashwin got him out just once, in the first Test at Pune, but not before he had top-scored with 68.”Ashwin is difficult to face. He is a smart bowler with a lot of variations and he uses them very well, but you do get used to him once you’ve faced him for a while,” Renshaw told AAP. “I think the big challenge from Ashwin and any offspinner in spinning conditions to a left-hander is the lbw threat.”Obviously everyone thinks about the one that turns and gets you caught at slip, but the big one is the lbw when it doesn’t spin. You just have to be ready for that one.Matt Renshaw was part of the Australia side last time they toured India•Associated Press
“I think two years batting at No. 5 helped me with facing spin. I know my game a lot better now and I am a lot more comfortable in different situations. We have a strong squad and it is going to be hard to push my way in, but I know that I will be ready if I do get a chance.”Renshaw is still part of the Brisbane Heat’s BBL campaign and has been preparing for India by having the spinners in his team, such as Mitch Swepson, Matt Kuhnemann and even Marnus Labuschagne, bowl the SG ball at him that is used in Test cricket in India.”The SG ball is a bit different, so we are just trying to prepare as well as we can during this BBL schedule if we get a window to hit red balls,” Renshaw said. “It is a lot different conditions in India, so we are trying to replicate them as much as we can.”The plan was if [the Heat] got knocked out we’d do some prep with the [Australian] team in Sydney, but we just kept winning and are in the finals now. We have got a good week and a bit in India before the first Test, so there will be plenty of time to prepare there as well.”Renshaw returned to the Test team this month in Sydney against South Africa to replace the injured Cameron Green after previously playing in that format in 2018.He did so on the back of strong form in first-class cricket. The new father to baby daughter Charlotte has observed close friend and team-mate Khawaja’s mindset towards his cricket and has learned to enjoy the moment, rather than worry about selections.”I am feeling good with my cricket. I am just rolling with any punches and enjoying myself,” Renshaw said.