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Plopping down in front of a TV set, rather than in the stands at Darren Sammy National Stadium, provided a sensational view of Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s swing bowling exhibition

Karthik Krishnaswamy in St Lucia 13-Aug-20162:05

Manjrekar: ‘Bhuvneshwar wants to do well in all formats’

Sometimes it really is better to watch cricket on TV. On Friday, the largest section of the small crowd at the Darren Sammy Stadium was a scattering of around 80 people at the Johnson Charles Stand. They all had a square-on view of proceedings, and, as a result, would have had no way of telling how much Bhuvneshwar Kumar was swinging the ball, or even in which direction.If you miss that, you miss the essence of Bhuvneshwar.Take, for instance, the 90th over of West Indies’ innings. Marlon Samuels, batting on 48, had not faced Bhuvneshwar yet. Now he was facing him bowling with a nine-over-old ball. The first ball of the over was just short of a good length, on a sixth-stump line, and Samuels went on the back foot and poked it towards point. The second was fuller, along the same sort of line, and Samuels left it. Both balls had swung away from him.Through this series, Samuels has shown an inclination to leave balls outside off stump. He had done this particularly well while making 37 on a damp first-day pitch at Sabina Park. Perhaps Bhuvneshwar sensed the wider line would not draw Samuels into a shot, and bowled his next ball closer to off stump, and fuller. This was another outswinger, but did not do any more than merely straighten. Samuels came forward, and pushed it into the covers. Then came a near-identical delivery; according to the Hawkeye trajectory viewer on ESPNcricinfo’s scorecard, this ball pitched even closer to Samuels’ off stump, but swung further. Samuels watched it well and ignored it.It was a good leave, a tight leave. Perhaps that made Samuels relax for just a fraction of a second when Bhuvneshwar’s next ball started at least two stumps wider outside off stump. Samuels’ first instinct seemed to be to leave. It was only when the ball swerved into him, late in its trajectory, a few inches before pitching, did Samuels change his mind. By then it was too late, and the desperate chopping motion his bat made only deflected the ball onto the ground near his feet and then onto the stumps.Over the course of those five balls, Bhuvneshwar had displayed exquisite control. The first two balls had pitched along the same line, but one was shorter and one fuller. The second and third had pitched on the same length, but one was wider and the other closer to off stump. The third and fourth balls, as mentioned earlier, were near-identical, except one had swung a little more than the other. That, perhaps, was the only element not entirely in Bhuvneshwar’s control.Each ball was partly like and partly unlike the previous one. All four had demanded the batsman’s respect and full attention.The fifth ball was entirely different, but Bhuvneshwar had given the batsman little clue that it would be so. Zoomed-in, slow-motion replays showed a slight change in grip, with the middle finger applying a little more pressure on the ball while delivering the outswinger and the index finger taking over for the inswinger. They showed a slight change in the angle of the seam, but it wasn’t canted too far in either direction. It only takes the smallest slip in concentration for a batsman to miss cues that subtle.In his previous over, Bhuvneshwar had dismissed Jermaine Blackwood, caught at second slip. In this case, he built the dismissal up over a longer period of time, bowling 19 successive dot balls to him. The first 12 seemed exploratory, some wider, some straighter, mostly outswingers, a few darting in. Blackwood seemed comfortable against the balls that were at or close to his stumps, even if his hands seemed a touch too firm in defence, and perhaps Bhuvneshwar sensed some unease while leaving outside off stump, something in his body language that suggested he was happier hearing the sound of bat on ball.And so, in his next over, the 86th of West Indies’ innings, he bowled his outswingers noticeably wider outside off stump, almost daring Blackwood to play. There were five outswingers in all, and he ignored four but nibbled at one and missed. Then, in the 88th over, Bhuvneshwar returned to a fourth-stump line. The second ball was perfect. On a good length, pulling Blackwood forward, on a fourth-stump line, swinging away, and inviting Blackwood to feel for it. He edged, Virat Kohli snapped it up, and Bhuvneshwar had his first Test wicket in a year and seven months. That wicket would be the first of five in 51 balls.Bhuvneshwar was India’s best bowler on their tour of England in 2014, teasing away in the corridor, bending the ball both ways, and taking 19 wickets in five Tests at an average of 26.63. Between that tour and this one, he had only played one Test, in Sydney, where he returned from an ankle injury but looked short of pace and match fitness, and finished with match figures of 1 for 168.India had played ten Tests between Sydney and this one, and had used five other seam options in those matches. Bhuvneshwar had been part of their squad all that time. He just wasn’t as quick as four of them, and was perhaps not as good a batsman as Stuart Binny when India needed an allrounder.It needed a pitch like this one, with a bit of grass and the promise of carry, for India to call Bhuvneshwar off the bench in St Lucia. It probably also needed Umesh Yadav to underwhelm in the first two Tests. But as long as the wait was, and as frustrating as it may have been, it was over now. Bhuvneshwar was back, swinging the ball, bowling with a sense of artistry. It was great to watch, and even better on TV.

Ajinkya Rahane and Shane Watson are polar opposites technically but achieved the same devastating effect for Rajasthan as part of five takeaways from the Royals win

Devashish Fuloria in Mumbai16-May-2015The role reversal
Kolkata Knight Riders, the master of big chases in bigger games. Rajasthan Royals, the master of uneventful exits. It was a no-brainer who were the favourites at the Brabourne Stadium.Despite the strong start to Royals’ innings, despite their mid-innings slowdown, despite their 199, Knight Riders were never really out of it. They had conquered such chases to win finals.The camera, thus, searched for Rahul Dravid in the dugout every time a Knight Riders batsman tore into the bowling, his stony-faced stare hiding the possible twitchiness. Shah Rukh Khan, Knight Riders’ face in the stands, was similarly reserved, keeping his nervousness and enthusiasm all bottled up.It came down to the last over, to the last pair, the hope forbidding to leave Knight Riders, the shadow of despair not too far from Royals. It ended soon, neither with a six nor a wicket, but with quiet hugs and handshakes. No one charged madly to the middle, no one screamed out loud and no one threw a cap.The man mountain
Shane Watson’s roar that echoed around the Brabourne Stadium was perhaps also a sigh of relief. Royals had lost the momentum of four consecutive wins since his return, forcing him to step aside and concentrate on his role as an allrounder. That he held his arms aloft in the direction of the dressing room and let the applause soak in was a reminder to others of his value.The 104 not out may have come off 59 balls but it included a period of careful consolidation. In that sense, it was not typical Watson mayhem. After Rahane’s departure, he let others take risks, and only chose to go big when presented with a half-volley. “It’s as good as I have batted for a while,” he said after the match. Take his innings out and Royals might have struggled to reach the eventual score. The arms were up again when it came down to 11 off the last ball.The Morris effect
On a pitch made for batting, there was just one antidote and fortunately for Royals only they had it. Chris Morris picked up three wickets in his previous outing and found some help first ball after the ball had barely beaten the bat in Royals’ innings. By the end of the over, he found it for the second time, stinging Gautam Gambhir with a sharp bouncer.As he took a breather, Knight Riders found a second wind, Yusuf and Andre Russell hitting around the ground to catch up with the rate. The bowlers became fodder as Russell found his range. Morris, all this while, was held back.On a day when even Morne Morkel struggled to make an impact, Morris had the genie of lateral movement. Russell, facing him for the first time in the 14th over, did not account for it and ended up toe-ending a swipe to long-off. Two balls later, one darted away and took Suryakumar Yadav’s outside edge.Morris was held back for five more overs, during which time Knight Riders found more fuel. Asked to defend 15 in the last over, Morris killed it in one ball, ending Shakib Al Hasan’s stay. Game over.The opening duet
Ajinkya Rahane and Watson. It’s not often you get an opening pair that uses methods polar opposite to each other with the same devastating effect. Within two overs, both presented evidence that they had brought their top game. The contrast was worth noting. Watson using all that power and muscle to hit consecutive fours, both skimming the grass all the way through to the rope while Rahane, his bat moving like a wand, steered Morkel for a six over point.The two maneuvered or smashed the ball as per the need. But more than the big hits, the running had been aggressive, especially from Rahane. Twice, in the sixth over, Rahane charged to the danger end to give Watson a pair of twos. But an over later, when it was Watson’s turn to run for his partner, he pulled out late and left his partner in no man’s land. The two had been flawless till then, helping Royals to an imposing 80 in seven overs.The first timers
Throw them at the deep end and they will learn to swim, some say. Still, the inclusions of Azhar Mahmood and Brainder Sran in a must-win game were debatable.Azhar replaced Sunil Narine, who had bowled a ripper to Rohit Sharma two days ago. Narine might not have extracted the same help here, but perhaps would have been more testing with the bigger boundaries at the Brabourne. Azhar has a wealth of experience, but he looked rusty, overstepping a couple of times, while presenting plenty of easy deliveries. His three overs went for 41.Azhar maybe a known name but Sran is not. He played first-class cricket in 2011 for Punjab before disappearing. If there were nerves, he did not show them at the start. The tall left-armer bowled a superb first over, troubling batsmen with bounce as well as pace. Then he cracked, leaking 29 runs from his last two overs.

Statistical highlights from the third day’s play of the second Test between India and West Indies in Mumbai

Shiva Jayaraman16-Nov-2013

• Pragyan Ojha’s ten-wicket haul was the first of his Test career. He is the first left-arm spinner since Venkatapathy Raju, who took 11 for 125 against Sri Lanka in 1994, to take a ten-wicket haul for India. He is also the seventh left-arm spinner from India to take a ten-wicket haul for the match. This was the 19th occasion of an Indian bowler taking two five-fors in a Test. Harbhajan Singh has taken two five-fors in a match three times in his career, the most by an Indian bowler.
• This was the second-shortest India Test, in terms of the number of overs bowled, that ended with a result. A total of 216.2 overs were bowled in this Test, which were the second lowest after the 202.1 overs that were bowled at the same venue in the Test against Australia in 2004. Click here for a list of the shortest Tests played that ended in a result.
• Ashwin averaged 77.00 with the bat and 19.33 with the ball this series. The difference of 57.67 between his batting and bowling averages in this series was the third-highest ever among India players who have scored 100-plus runs and taken ten or more wicket in a series. Ashwin has now hit a hundred and taken ten or more wickets in a series, twice. This was only the 11th such instance for India.
• This was one of West Indies’ worst performances in a series. Their batsmen averaged 19.27, which was the third-lowest ever in their history. Their bowlers averaged 47.40, which was the fifteenth-highest ever they have averaged in a series. The difference of 28.13 between their bowling average and their batting average was the third-highest ever in a series, which is an indication of how ordinary their collective performance was. Their worst collective-performance came in the series against England in 2009 when they averaged 61.12 with the ball and 22.35 with the bat – a difference of 38.77.
• Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s highest score from four innings in this series was 41. The last time Chanderpaul failed to hit a fifty-plus score from four or more innings in a series was against England in 2009. This was his first series against India in which he played at least four innings without a fifty-plus score. His series average of 44.33 was his third-lowest against India as well.
• Shane Shillingford’s 11 wickets in this series were the third-highest ever by a visiting spinner in India from two matches, or less, in a series. Saqlain Mushtaq’s 20 wickets in 1998-99 are the highest by a visiting spinner from two matches in a series in India.
• This was MS Dhoni’s ninth win as captain by an innings. He has overtaken Mohammad Azharuddin as the India captain with most win by an innings. Dhoni had equalled Azharuddin’s record in the last match at Kolkata. Sourav Ganguly won seven Tests by an innings as captain. This was also Dhoni’s 49th Test as captain, equalling Ganguly’s record for captaining India in most Tests.

India’s three stalwarts will never win a Test series in Australia. How broken they must feel

Sidharth Monga at the SCG06-Jan-2012It’s all over, as Bill Lawry would say. Sachin Tendulkar: 22 years of international cricket, five Test tours to Australia. Rahul Dravid: close to 16 years of international cricket, four tours to Australia. VVS Laxman: same as Dravid. They will never win a Test series in Australia. How broken the three must feel. Australia, the land that loved them and also broke their hearts, had to be part of reason they kept going at their age.Australia, the big tease. Australia, where they came within three wickets or an enforced follow-on of winning a series in 2003-04. Australia, where they played the most bitter Test in recent memory but couldn’t bat out two sessions and a bit. Australia, where Tendulkar is closing in on 2000 runs at an average of 58, where both Laxman and Dravid have more than 1000 at averages of over 45. Australia, where they shall never win a Test series.The dream didn’t even reach Perth. It sounds more natural when Lawry says, “It’s all over at the WACA,” as opposed to, “It’s all over at the SCG”. Well, it was tragicomic in the end, with the Indian tail swinging and reaching scores that have now become milestones for this side. Three hundred was almost slow-clap-worthy. Three fifty surprising. Four hundred unbelievable.It gave you time to forget empathising. To stop wondering what the three would be going through, how they would be taking this. Later on, though, you did. You realised that – and you knew it for a while – the end is near. That the three might not have enough left in them to make it to late 2013, when India start playing away Tests again. They only come to Australia in 2014-15. For non-Australian players of this era, the World Cup and Australia tours have been the big motivation, the events they build up to. Brian Lara managed to win one series here, Jacques Kallis too.Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman came here this final time with their best pre-series chance of winning. Two weeks in, the chance is no more. They were part of the reason this team was expected to do well. They have seen the team through the worst times. Times when the team wasn’t even expected to compete outside India. They played a part in turning the team around. They went through disappointment and despair to finally see a time when they could actually be expected to win matches abroad.They played a big part in this disappointment too. How they must be cursing themselves. Laxman scored 2, 1 and 2 in his first three innings. Dravid was not the Dravid of the last year, but fought to score a fifty at the MCG. He has been bowled thrice in this series. Tendulkar has looked in glorious touch, but was dismissed at the worst times. They are known for converting starts into big innings, for grinding the opposition down. Not a single century between them. Today, though, even the most hard-nosed analyst would have felt bad for them. Sport doesn’t.The Melbourne Test was within their grasp on three occasions, but they watched it slip: twice in the field, once through their collapse. Dravid dropped a catch, too. It was the bad old days of Indian cricket coming back. Too often in the recent past India have been napping at big moments in Tests.The despair was reminiscent of their disappointment in beautiful Cape Town when, a year to the day, India let South Africa escape through defensive fields and uninspired bowling. The three saw their last chance of winning a series there disappear then. At least they came close then. At least Laxman made a big contribution in the previous Test. At least Tendulkar scored a superlative hundred against a red-hot Dale Steyn at Newlands.At least India drew the series in South Africa. Here it will take a miracle for India to even come close to drawing the series. In all likelihood the three will have to live with the fact that their teams never played good enough cricket for long enough periods to win series in Australia and South Africa.Trying to draw this series 2-2 and retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will keep them going. Life will go on as well. In fact it already has. An hour or so after the defeat in Sydney, the BCCI released the next IPL schedule, a whopping 53-day event. It’s all over.

On facing one of the all-time great West Indian fast men and living to tell the tale

Tony Cozier10-Feb-2009

When I first laid eyes on Wes Hall he was in the next parish. As I scratched my guard the bowler in the far distance at the end of a run that would become as identifiable as any in the game was the latest West Indies tearaway.I was the 17-year-old opening batsman for the Lodge School at a time when the three top secondary schools in Barbados were part of the highest division of domestic cricket, along with clubs that routinely included Test and first-class players (presumably it was supposed to be character building). He was 20, immense and with the chiselled physique of the light-heavyweight boxer his father was.Only a few months earlier he had been hurling them down, at appreciable pace but without much control, for West Indies on their 1957 tour of England. He had converted from keeping wickets to knocking them over only a couple of years earlier on leaving Combermere (along with Harrison College, cricket’s other favoured school in Barbados).He was said to be erratic and prone to no-balls. Neither claim lifted our confidence, for whatever else, he was decidedly quick. If he was not sure where the next ball would go, we certainly were not, and since the back-foot law was still in operation, he was pretty much stepping on the batsman’s toes every time he dragged.Somehow, through youthful eyesight, reflexes, bravado, luck, whatever, I clipped a boundary through square leg in the opening over on the way to a scintillating 24. The image has justifiably remained with me, as sharp as if on a high-definition TV screen. When, by now old friends, I felt comfortable enough to mention it to Wes a few months back, he quickly pricked my pride: “You lucky you still living!”Thankfully I never had to face him again. The next time I saw him in the flesh was in the Caribbean against India in 1961-62. He had developed into one of the most feared bowlers in international cricket and I was safely settled in the press box, relishing the thrill of that galloping approach, that explosive delivery, that menacing follow-through, that flying crucifix around the neck that I had first experienced from 22 yards, or considerably less, five years earlier.In the interim I had shivered through Canadian winters, blithely distracted from university studies by reports on
crackling shortwave reception that told of the coming of age of a raft of new stars under the guidance of Frank Worrell: Sobers, Kanhai, Hunte, Nurse, Gibbs and, of course, Hall.As one of the few West Indian journalists following the team in the subsequent years of dominance and in an era when players did not take a critical reference to a poor shot or a wayward spell as a personal insult, I developed friendships with most of those legends. It was most natural with Wes.It was not long before I came to appreciate what CLR James had immediately observed. “Hall simply exudes good nature at every pore,” he wrote in . It might seem a contradiction, for as James also noted, “Hall merely puts his head down and let’s you have it, and it’s pretty hot!” Yet it is a virtue that has never changed.

This is not to say it was his only characteristic. There was a wholehearted energy and enjoyment in everything he did, an obvious sense of fun, vividly captured on the black-and-white footage of the 1960-61 tied Test in Brisbane, featuring his famous frenetic last over and, not least, his equally frenetic half-century.After that series the Australian commentator Johnnie Moyes described Wes as “a rare box-office attraction, a man who caught and held the affections of the paying public”. So it has been throughout a life of several intriguing incarnations.After a couple of car crashes and the exhaustion of giving his all for several teams around the world took their toll and the “pace like fire” (the appropriate title of his autobiography) was extinguished, he took the usual path of retired players, into administration as selector, team manager and, eventually, board president. But there is more to Wes Hall than cricket. He entered politics in his 40s, spending 10 years as a Barbados cabinet minister, and more recently turned to the church to become a minister of a different kind, a legacy of a deeply religious upbringing.They were all connections from which I benefited. Wes was regularly my “reliable source” on complicated cricket issues and I was chuffed when he agreed to officiate at the weddings of my children, although I was careful to emphasise the need to keep the service short and to remind him of the time as Wes is renowned for his entertaining, if often prolonged, oratory as well as for his tardiness.His myriad cricket tales, embellished with highfalutin words as long as his run-up, are guaranteed to leave audiences convulsed in laughter, however many times they have heard them before. His description of that last tied Test over is one of the after-dinner classics.If he happens to be a little late, he is always worth waiting for. When he turned up at my 50th birthday bash at 1am,
numbers were beginning to thin. Wes kept it going for another four hours.

The visitors lost three early wickets in the chase but Ellyse Perry managed the rest of the innings

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff24-Mar-2024Australia allrounder Sophie Molineux made a triumphant return to ODI cricket in a six-wicket trouncing of Bangladesh.Molineux, in her first ODI since 2021, claimed 3 for 10 from 10 overs to help bowl Bangladesh out for 97 in 44.1 overs in Mirpur.Australia were 39 for 3 in the 13th over of the chase but got home comfortably to take a 2-0 lead in the three-game series.Molineux returned to the Australian set-up last month for the first time since October 2021 after suffering a foot stress fracture and then a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in a knee.After being overlooked for game one of the Bangladesh series, the 26-year-old on Sunday produced a top-shelf spell of left-arm spin bowling which included five maiden overs.Molineux claimed three of the initial five wickets to fall and Bangladesh at one stage had slipped to 61 for 8 in the 32nd over. It followed a successful WPL where she was a key part of Royal Challenger Bangalore’s success with a player-of-the-match display in the final. It’s form she has carried forward.”It’s definitely helped,” she said. “I think just getting some match experience in as well. I think that’s one thing you sort of miss out on when you don’t play for a while. Trying to keep up and catch up with the game. So I think going over there, [it] probably helped to have a few more matches under my belt, with some intensity as well.”Her feats came as Megan Schutt, Ashleigh Gardner, Georgia Wareham and Alana King collectively overwhelmed the Bangladesh batters.Only No. 9 Nahida Akter passed 11 runs with 20 extras – 18 wides and two leg byes – the next-highest contributor.”We just want to keep asking questions of the Bangladesh girls,” Molineux said. “We know that they’ve got a really solid defence and put a price on their wickets. So, we knew it was going to be hard to take all ten wickets today and we’d have to stay pretty patient. There wasn’t too many bad balls in there and I think the spinners were able to adjust and use their variations particularly well.”Australia’s batters then reeled in their target with Ellyse Perry top-scoring with an unbeaten 35 from 50 balls.Phoebe Litchfield’s lean run continued when she was run out for 5 while Tahlia McGrath also went the same way. But Perry combined with Gardner to steer the Australians to a comfortable victory.Australia won the opening ODI by 118 runs three days ago with Wednesday’s third game to be followed by three T20Is.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Santos está interessado na contratação do volante Jean Lucas, que atualmente defende o Mônaco, da França. Porém, o técnico Odair Hellmann não está otimista quanto à chegada do reforço.

– Peço que vocês não iludam o torcedor. A negociação está quase zero. Não vou dizer que eu não quero o jogador, porque é nítido que a gente quer. Mas a negociação é quase impossível – disse o comandante santista em conversa com os jornalistas durante o treinamento desta terça-feira (14).

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+Procura-se rival! Torcedores do Palmeiras fazem memes brincando com superioridade no Paulistão

Para o comandante santista, a chegada do atleta seria importante porque, além de atender as necessidades técnicas do elenco, ele chegaria com a empatia da torcida. O volante defendeu o Peixe em 2019 em uma curta passagem.

O treinador enxerga a negociação como algo difícil de acontecer e aposta no projeto esportivo para convencer o atleta a aceitar a proposta santista. Para Odair, Jean tem condições de disputar uma vaga na Seleção Brasileira no ciclo até a próxima Copa do Mundo, em 2026.

+ Confira a tabela do Paulistão e simule os jogos da semifinal

O Santos fez uma oferta de empréstimo ao Mônaco por Jean Lucas. O clube francês acenou que aceitaria, mas fez algumas exigências contratuais que, até o momento, estão emperrando o negócio.

Caso o negócio mude de figura, Hellmann enxerga Jean atuando em mais de um setor no meio-campo.

– Primeiro, segundo homem de meio-campo. Terceiro no tripé. Ele alto, tem bola parada – acrescentou Odair.

O departamento de futebol do Santos tem trabalhado à frente da negociação com Jean Lucas. Segundo apurou o LANCE!, inclusive, o atleta estaria empolgado com a possibilidade de retornar ao Peixe. Diferentemente de Odair Hellmann, algumas pessoas no clube enxergam a possibilidade de contar com o jogador com maior otimismo.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Palmeiras segue levando sua pré-temporada de forma intensa e venceu mais um jogo-treino em preparação para 2023. Desta vez a vítima foi o Audax, que perdeu por 3 a 0, na manhã desta terça-feira, no Allianz Parque. Os gols do Verdão foram marcados por Dudu, Kuscevic e Gabriel Menino. Na parte da tarde, às 16h, o elenco volta para a arena, onde enfrenta o Monte Azul em outro teste.

> Veja classificação e simulador do Paulistão-2023 clicando aqui

Para iniciar a partida, Abel Ferreira escalou uma equipe mesclando titulares e reservas. O time que entrou em campo foi o seguinte: Weverton; Marcos Rocha, Gustavo Gómez, Kuscevic e Vanderlan; Danilo, Atuesta e Raphael Veiga; Dudu, Rafael Navarro e Flaco López. O destaque, novamente, foi o posicionamento de Navarro, que atuou com um atacante pelo lado esquerdo do campo.

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Não demorou muito para o Alviverde abrir o placar com Dudu, que aproveitou a bola recuperada no ataque e chutou rasteiro, sem chances para o goleiro adversário. Apesar do domínio palmeirense e das chances durante toda a primeira etapa, o placar antes do intervalo ficou mesmo no 1 a 0. Diferentemente dos outros jogos-treino, o confronto foi dividido em dois períodos de 45 minutos.

Já no segundo tempo, o time de Abel Ferreira conseguiu impor sua superioridade e ampliou o marcador. Primeiro com Kuscevic, aproveitando cobrança de escanteio de Veiga, e depois com Gabriel Menino, que concluiu de cabeça um belo cruzamento de Vanderlan. Rony quase deixou o dele em grande jogada de Endrick pelo lado direito, mas o goleiro impediu a goleada por 4 a 0.

> Veja as principais transferências no Mercado da Bola do LANCE!

Importante destacar que Abel Ferreira voltou com o mesmo time após o intervalo e fez alterações ao longo etapa final: Marcelo Lomba no lugar de Weverton, Mayke no lugar de Marcos Rocha, Jailson no lugar de Danilo, Zé Rafael no lugar de Atuesta, Gabriel Menino no lugar de Raphael Veiga, Bruno Tabata no lugar de Dudu, Endrick no lugar de Flaco López e Rony no lugar de Rafael Navarro.

>Confira até quando vai o contrato dos jogadores do elenco do Palmeiras

Foi a quarta vitória em jogos-treinos na pré-temporada. As outras foram 3 a 1 sobre o Suzano (gols de Bruno Tabata, Dudu e Rafael Navarro), 3 a 1 sobre o São José (tentos de Dudu, Atuesta e Breno Lopes) e 3 a 1 sobre o Desportivo Brasil (gols de Flaco Lópéz, Merentiel e Danilo).

Ainda nesta terça-feira os jogadores do Palmeiras voltam ao Allianz Parque, às 16h, quando enfrentam o Monte Azul em mais um jogo-treino de pré-temporada. A partida será aberta para cerca de cinco mil sócios Avanti, que também testarão o sistema de reconhecimento facial para acesso ao estádio. Será o último teste antes do início das competições, que acontece no próximo sábado, dia 14 de janeiro, às 18h30, em duelo com o São Bento, pela primeira rodada do Paulistão-2023.

continua após a publicidade

The Argentine bagged two assists in a narrow victory, including the pass for a last-second winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami have begun their 2025 Leagues Cup journey with three crucial points, defeating Liga MX side Atlas 2-1 on Wednesday evening in Southern Florida.

Rodrigo De Paul, newly acquired from Atletico Madrid, made his highly anticipated debut, being inserted into the XI after just being cleared to play earlier in the day. The 31-year-old played an exceptional match, fitting perfectly alongside a truly outstanding Sergio Busquets on the day.

However, Messi – as it has been all season – was again the catalyst.

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner bagged the assist on each strike for the , leading them to an important victory in their first of three Phase One matches in the competition.

The contest itself was a contentious one, and Atlas forced Miami into a corner multiple times, but the resilience of the Argentine superstar led Miami to the win in front of their home crowd.

After a scoreless first 45 minutes, the two teams went into the halftime break in what was seemingly an even deadlock. Miami striker Luis Suarez had hit the post, but Atlas forced two great saves out of Rocco Ríos Novo as well.

Things opened up in the 60th minute. Busquets played a dime of a pass to Messi, who laid it off to winger Telasco Segovia with his first touch to open the scoring. Without Atlas' defense being stout, the appeared fine to settle for a 1-0 win – that was until Atlas took advantage of a quick counter-attack with 10 minutes to spare. Defenders Marcelo Weigandt and Maxi Falcon were both beaten, and the Liga MX side found an equalizer through forward Rivaldo Lozano, who capitalized on a loose ball in the box.

With things at a stalemate headed towards the final whistle, penalties were looming, and coaches were pictured on the touchline preparing their lists for kicks from the spot. However, with what turned out to be the final play of the game, Miami drove forward one more time, and it was a doozy. Weigandt brought the ball upfield, and after a few passes, Messi was found outside the box. The Argentine played a delightful one-two with Suarez, and the 38-year-old proceeded to deliver a scintillating pass across the box to a sprinting Weigandt, who smashed home while falling to the ground.

After a lengthy VAR review, the goal stood, and Miami players swarmed each other, celebrating a crucial three points in their journey towards contending for Leagues Cup glory.

GOAL rates Inter Miami's players from Chase Stadium…

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  Goalkeeper & Defense

  Rocco Rios Novo (7/10):

  Some really nice saves as he started in place of the injured Oscar Ustari. A top performance.

  Jordi Alba (7/10):

  Fantastic going forward and defensively sound when put under pressure. A real welcome back after his one-match suspension this past weekend.

  Maxi Falcon (7/10):

  Imposing in the back and rather solid in 1v1 defending. Got mixed up with a tackle on the late goal from Atlas, but hard to blame him for that one.

  Gonzalo Lujan (6/10):

  Composed when playing out of the back, and overall solid under pressure. However, he was a liability on set pieces and was often targeted in those moments.

  Marcelo Weigandt (6/10):

  The ups and downs of Chelo Weigandt. He was arguably Miami's worst performer on the day; he was targeted all evening by Atlas and was at fault for their equalizer. He was also the hero, though, scoring the stoppage-time winner. Funny.

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  Midfield

  Tadeo Allende (6/10):

  Some really strong runs going forward, stretching the game, but he never really landed an impact. Still played a role, though.

  Rodrigo De Paul (8/10):

  An extremely solid debut. He didn't put a foot wrong, played some delightful passes, and didn't look out of touch with the structure of the team. What an addition.

  Sergio Busquets (9/10):

  Genuinely stupendous midfield performance. Played a world-class through ball to Messi for Segovia's opener, and absolutely locked up the Atlas midfield.

  Telasco Segovia (7/10):

  He was rather poor for most of the contest. However, right place, right time, and he scored. That's all that matters. Job well done.

• Attack

  Lionel Messi (9/10):

  Superstar performance. Two assists and two clutch moments of brilliant attacking football. Just splendid.

  Luis Suarez (7/10):

  Hit the post on the cusp of halftime and had some really nice moments in the box, but he never managed to get it past the Atlas goalkeeper. However, he played the initial ball to Messi on the second assist with some fantastic positioning in and around the box.

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  Subs & Manager

  Federico Redondo (5/10):

  Came on midway through the second half, but picked up a late, sloppy yellow. That could be costly in the later stages of the tournament.

  Benjamin Cremaschi (N/A):

  Logged 13 minutes off the bench.

  Javier Mascherano (7/10):

  Messi's magic, once again, took over. Mascherano's tactical outline was seemingly the right one, even though it was a bit of a gamble to start De Paul, but everything worked out in the end. What a wonderful result for the club; you could not paint it any better.

  Now, it's time to prepare for Matchday 2. A big test awaits the as they clash with Necaxa on Saturday.

Bayern Munich have reportedly submitted an opening bid of €52 million (£45m) for Luis Diaz, but Liverpool are holding firm on their £68 million valuation of the Colombian winger. Despite ongoing contract uncertainty, the Reds remain reluctant to sell Diaz, though Bayern’s interest signals their intent to strengthen ahead of their Bundesliga title defence.

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Bayern bid £44m for Diaz, well below Liverpool’s valuationColombian winger has two years left on current Anfield dealKompany wants Diaz to support Kane in Bayern's attackFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Bayern Munich have launched their pursuit of Diaz by tabling an initial bid worth £45 million as per German publication BILD. Liverpool, however, are adamant that the Colombian will not leave unless their £68 million valuation is met. The winger remains under contract at Anfield, and talks over an extension have yet to yield an agreement.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Diaz has been linked with multiple top European clubs, with Barcelona also previously expressing interest. Bayern are targeting the Liverpool star after missing out on Florian Wirtz to the Reds earlier this summer. With Vincent Kompany seeking to improve the attacking depth to ease the load on stars like Harry Kane, Diaz is said to fit the profile they are looking for perfectly.

DID YOU KNOW?

Liverpool reportedly have a gentleman’s agreement to allow Diaz to leave if a rival club meets a certain valuation. So far, Bayern’s bid falls significantly short of that figure, and Liverpool are in no rush to sell. The Colombian winger still has two years remaining on his current deal.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR DIAZ?

Bayern are expected to return with an improved offer as they continue discussions with Diaz’s camp. Liverpool will evaluate incoming proposals while considering their forward line needs under Arne Slot. If Diaz pushes for a move and Bayern raise their bid, talks could escalate quickly in the coming days.