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David Anderson has dropped an update on reported Leeds United transfer target Charles De Ketelaere.

What’s the talk?

In a recent article for The Mirror (12/7; page 48), the journalist claimed that, despite numerous reports in Italy suggesting that AC Milan are now closing in on a deal for the Club Brugge KV forward after lodging an improved bid, the Jupiler Pro League side would much rather sell the 21-year-old to Leeds this summer.

Anderson goes on to state that this is due to Victor Orta being willing to pay a total of £31.6m for the Belgium international – with £25.6m of this figure being an upfront payment – while the Serie A side’s latest offer is only reported to be in the region of €30m (£25.4m) plus Andreas Kristoffer Jungdal and Emil Roback.

Supporters will be buzzing

While the numerous reports surrounding the future of De Ketelaere appear to be offering conflicting information regarding the forward’s most likely destination this summer, should Anderson’s latest update prove to be accurate, it is news that will undoubtedly leave the Elland Road faithful buzzing.

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Indeed, based solely on his 496 minutes played in the Champions League last season, it is clear to see just how exciting a prospect the £27m-rated forward is, with FBref ranking the 21-year-old in the top 3% of forwards in Europe’s big five leagues and European competitions for xA per 90, as well as the top 4% for progressive passes, the top 15% for progressive passes received, the top 16% for passes attempted and the top 19% for shot-creating actions over the last 365 days.

The £17k-per-week talent also impressed in a defensive capacity, with FBref ranking the Belgian in the top 5% of forwards for pressures and the top 9% for tackles per 90 over the past 12 months – a quite extraordinary feat considering these metrics are based on six fixtures against Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig.

Furthermore, De Ketelaere was also in breathtaking form over his 39 Jupiler Pro League appearances last season, scoring 14 goals, registering nine assists and creating 16 big chances for his teammates – with these returns seeing the attacker average a SofaScore match rating of 7.25, ranking him as the 13th-best player in the league last time out.

As such, should Brugge indeed be prioritising Leeds’ move for the forward ahead of AC Milan’s this summer, it is clear to see just how huge of a boost this would be for Orta and his transfer team at Elland Road – as it is evident that De Ketelaere would make a fantastic addition to Jesse Marsch’s attacking options ahead of the Whites’ 2022/23 campaign.

AND in other news: Orta plotting Leeds bid for “extraordinary” £20m target, imagine him & Kalimuendo

Former Premier League manager Alex McLeish has been left stunned over some news on Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn, as per Football Insider.

The Lowdown: McGinn news

Football Insider were informed by a Villa source recently that the club are willing to entertain offers for the Scotland international this summer.

Despite the player contributing to 37 goals over his four seasons in the Midlands, Steven Gerrard isn’t believed to be totally convinced by the 27-year-old, who could depart over the coming months should a top-tier offer come in. The report claims that McGinn is not the easiest player to manage and is always “whinging” behind the scenes.

The Latest: McLeish reacts

McLeish, who contributes for Sky Sports, was talking to Football Insider regarding their news on McGinn.

He was stunned at the possibility of the Scottish midfielder leaving Villa Park and labelled the midfielder an ‘integral part of the rise of Aston Villa’.

The former Villa manager said of his compatriot:

“I’m quite amazed, I don’t believe that.

“McGinn is still an integral part of the rise of Aston Villa. The fans love him as well. He has done a fantastic job for club and country.

“I just can’t believe it if that is what Steven [Gerrard] has said and actually thinks about McGinn.”

The Verdict: One to watch

Should this claim prove accurate, it wouldn’t come as a shock if one of Manchester United or Tottenham came knocking. Both clubs have been linked with a summer move for McGinn, so it could be one to watch.

If the Villa star does leave, you’d expect that Gerrard would need to bring in another marquee midfielder. Boubacar Kamara has already joined on a free transfer from Marseille, but another may well be required if McGinn seals an exit which would leave McLeish and many others surprised.

Manchester United are one of several Premier League clubs to be credited with an interest in West Ham winger Jarrod Bowen, and the Englishman could solve a big headache for Erik ten Hag ahead of next season.

What’s the word?

According to 90min, the Hammers are set to offer the 25-year-old a bumper new deal following his England call-up, as they look to fend off interest from the likes of United, Arsenal, Newcastle, Chelsea and Liverpool.

While Bowen may be reluctant to swap West Ham for the Red Devils considering the respective success of their 2021/22 campaigns, the Glazers and the Old Trafford hierarchy will nonetheless be hoping to convince Bowen to make the move north.

Bowen can solve big issue for United

Last season saw Bowen contribute 12 goals and 10 assists in 36 Premier League appearances for David Moyes’ side, averaging an impressive 7.15 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

This would’ve ranked him as the top performer for Manchester United if he had replicated those statistics for the Red Devils last season, while his 12 goals would have been second only to Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford.

United managed just 57 goals in the top flight last season, 42 fewer than rivals Manchester City, and they cannot afford to be so reliant on Ronaldo again next term if Ten Hag is to turn the club’s fortunes around.

Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga managed just nine top-flight goals between them last season, and the Dutchman will surely be looking for more goal contributions from out wide in the 2022/23 campaign.

The new United manager will also be without the services of creative players such as Edinson Cavani, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Paul Pogba, all of whom are about to depart Old Trafford following the expiry of their contracts, so he will surely be looking to add some attacking reinforcements if the Red Devils are to push for a Champions League spot next year.

Bowen has been a superb performer for West Ham since his £22m move from Hull City in January 2020 and his form earned him the praise of Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp last season.

The German said: “Unbelievable. We saw him as well at Hull and he was really good at that time. I’m not sure a lot of people expected this jump, but unbelievable player.”

Given the disappointing performances of United’s wide players last season, an in-form winger such as Bowen is exactly what Ten Hag needs in order to improve the attacking output at Old Trafford in the 2022/23 campaign.

In other news… Ronaldo 2.0: Man United must swoop for 22 y/o phenomenon with a “big career ahead of him”

Ex-BBC pundit Noel Whelan says it is ‘brilliant to see’ that Celtic are already working on completing summer transfer deals ‘behind the scenes’.

The Lowdown: Postecoglou’s transfer success

In a report by the Scottish Sun published just last week, it was claimed that the Hoops are now very close to signing Hammarby left-back Mohanad Jeahze.

The Glasgow giants recently secured the Scottish Premiership title after a 1-1 draw against Dundee United and lifted the trophy the following weekend following an emphatic 6-0 victory over Motherwell.

Ange Postecoglou has already enjoyed plenty of success stories in the transfer market since arriving at Celtic last summer, with the likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers, Jota, and Kyogo Furuhashi all becoming regular members of the first team, and it seems the manager isn’t messing around this summer either.

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The Latest: High praise for the boss

Reacting to the ‘brilliant’ news on Jeahze, Whelan hailed the Australian manager and admitted that he is impressed by the clear vision ‘behind the scenes’.

He told Football Insider: “You can’t question his signings so far, can you?

“They’ve all done really well and fitted right into his system almost seamlessly. They’ve taken to it like a duck to water.

“I love it when teams and managers go out with purpose in the summer and get their business done early doors.

“It just points to good scouting and hard work behind the scenes that they’ve got this deal ready to go.

“They want him through the door and up to speed, ready in time for pre-season.

“I think it’s brilliant to see them not taking any time off, not resting on their laurels – Celtic want to make this title theirs next season as well.”

The Verdict: Get it done

Jeahze is a 25-year-old defender who majorly impressed for Hammarby during their Europa Conference League stint earlier this term, providing five assists and scoring two goals across all competitions for the Swedish outfit this season, as per Transfermarkt.

As a result of the Bhoys officially topping the Scottish Premiership table, this of course means that they have now automatically qualified for the 2022/23 Champions League group stage, something that is expected to hand them a big boost in the market.

Being offered the opportunity to play on a world stage and compete at the highest level would be a deal difficult to turn down for any possible new signing, and so it wouldn’t come as any surprise to see Jeahze making his way through the doors at Parkhead in the weeks ahead.

In other news… a finance expert has dropped a ‘significant’ Hoops transfer claim.

New Zealand won by four runs, handing Pakistan their narrowest defeat in Test cricket

Bharath Seervi19-Nov-20184- The margin of victory for New Zealand in the Abu Dhabi Test, which is the fifth smallest in Test history; the smallest being West Indies’ one-run win against Australia in Adelaide in January 1993. For Pakistan and New Zealand, this was their narrowest defeat and narrowest victory respectively.ESPNcricinfo Ltd24- Runs for which Pakistan lost their last six wickets, which is their third worst in a chase. They collapsed from 147 for 4 to 171 all out. They had suffered worse collapses against Australia: they had lost 6 for 18 at SCG in 1972-73 and later 6 for 23 at WACA in 2004-05.1- Number of smaller scores defended by New Zealand than the 176 in this Test. The only time they defended less than 200 before the Abu Dhabi Test was against England in Wellington in 1977-78, when they bowled England out for 64 in a chase of 137.5- Number of times when New Zealand have taken the last six wickets for 30 or fewer runs while defending in the fourth innings. Incidentally, three of those have come in last three years. They had picked up 6 for 26 against Pakistan in Hamilton in 2016 and 6 for 20 against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in August 2016.3- Number of times Pakistan have failed to chase down targets of less than 200 since 2017. They had lost by 106 runs chasing 188 against West Indies in Barbados and by 21 runs chasing 136 against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi, both last year.136- Runs accumulated by the last five wickets in this Test across the four innings – the lowest in any Test since 1980, when both teams batted twice. The runs added by last five wickets in the four innings of this Test were 30, 53, 29 and 24.

Team Last 5 wkts runs From ToNew Zealand first innings 30 123/5 153New Zealand second innings 29 220/5 249Pakistan first innings 53 174/5 227Pakistan second innings 24 147/5 1715/59- Ajaz Patel’s figures in the fourth innings: the second best by a New Zealand spinner on Test debut. Alex Moir had taken 6 for 155 against England in Christchurch in 1951, which is the best. Ajaz was also named Man of the Match, which makes him fifth New Zealand player to win the award on Test debut.3- Number of bowlers who have taken five-wicket hauls in the fourth innings on Test debut this year: Lungi Ngidi against India in Johannesburg, Akila Dananjaya against Bangladesh in Dhaka and Patel in this Test. Incidentally, no bowler had achieved this in six years prior to 2018.

South Africa got Sri Lanka where they wanted them and made sure there was no escape

Andrew Fidel Fernando at the Wanderers14-Jan-20177:09

#politeenquiries: The travel blues edition

Does it feel like your bats have no corporeal form? That the ball is phasing right through them? That’s how it starts out here. You are playing, and playing, and playing at balls, and missing and missing and missing.It’s going to get much worse, because listen, the band is in voice. Our fans are in. Best of luck fellas. This is the Bullring.A bouncer comes, and it follows you into your escape route and smacks you. It’s a better connection than you have made all innings. A louder sound too, but don’t be going just yet. We will get your wicket when it suits us – just feel what it is like to be out here first. Feel the sting of your welt. Hear the leather whistle as it passes you, like an overhead shell. What does the pitch smell like? Is it brimstone and hellfire?Along with the rearing short balls our bowlers throw you stares and the slips are throwing verbal shivs, so in almost every sense, you have become our walking dartboard. Did you think it was tough in Port Elizabeth? Was Cape Town a difficult four days for you? Watch our quicks bear down on you here, smoke pouring from their nostrils. This is always where we were going to nail you. This is the Bullring.The edges of your bats are blood red now, from the previous Tests, but maybe this is why the crowd thinks you are here to be our prey. Men dressed in bikini tops and grass skirts make exaggerated “oohs” when you flash at a ball and fail to hit it. Shirtless kids in paddling pools slap their knees when another ball scorches past your helmet grille. On good days, this ground, it feels like a cauldron. Today, when we are playing like this, we’re sure it feels for you like an inferno. What about that roar when a wicket falls? That’s wildfire making its way around the stadium.At home your pitches become more difficult to bat on as the game wears on. You probably thought it was the opposite here: things can only get easier after the first day. You couldn’t be more wrong. When the sun falls on this track, and the heavy roller does a few rounds, it will only become polished-granite-greased-lightning. Our quicks are firearms. They will make the ball feel like a bullet. You’re the target. No way could you hurt us. This is our range, the Bullring.And we know what you will say. You’ll say: “Come to Asia. See what you will get in Galle. Try your luck at Sara or the SSC.” Actually, we won there last time, but for the sake of argument we’ll say you are right. Maybe we are no longer the same team. You might have us groping, and sweating, and stumbling on your dusty pitches, but see, we’ll only ever fear for our wickets and our averages over there. Maybe the umpire’s finger as well.Here you are afraid for throats. You fear for your ribs. Your future progeny is at risk. The ball screams at you from a length, and makes a raid into your most personal space. You want to escape to square leg. All your innings are so short, multiple batsmen seem to be racing each other back to the dressing room. With such pace do you approach the boundary, it’s like you’re gathering speed to clear the jump on a rising drawbridge.Who could blame you, to be honest? Anyone would have done the same. You want to be on the other side – not out here. As far away as possible from the Bullring.The end is nearing now. We have bullied you into driving, and lapped up the resultant edges. We have cornered you into fending, and watched your bodies twist and spasm into shapes humans should not make. You have tried to charge us. You have tried to hook. You have sent catches into the air, and we’ve tracked them down with elastic bodies and Velcro hands.In Port Elizabeth we had ground you down. Beneath Table Mountain we had socked you. And then we brought you north, away from the sea, up into the Veld. To finish you off, we brought you to the Bullring.

A short hop between the entirely different worlds of the Wankhede and the Brabourne takes South Africa out of the limited-overs whirl and into the serious business of preparing for a long and arduous Test series

Firdose Moonda at the Brabourne29-Oct-2015No matter whose side you were on, you have to admit the limited-overs’ legs of the series between India and South Africa looked like a lot of fun. From a distance it felt like cricket had come to life for both teams. They pushed each other and then pulled away, took the packed crowds through a party atmosphere of ups and downs and played with a passion that is usually reserved for the real stuff. The stuff that’s coming.The Test series is where things get serious. There is more at stake than just rankings’ points, there is reputation. India have built a fortress at home, losing only one Test series on their own turf in the last ten years; South Africa are road warriors and are in their ninth year of not being beaten on the road. These are the kinds of feats eras are built on.As though the schedule is serving as a reminder of the shift in mood, the action has moved from the shower of sound that is the Wankhede to a sanctum of sport, the Brabourne. The Wankhede is the India I have come to know in my decade of visiting the country, bullish and brash like Ravi Shastri’s six sixes in an over in a first-class match; the Brabourne is the kind of India my father told me about, refined and regal with cherry-coloured wooden tables and chairs, a stained-glass skylight and club members lunching in suits and ties.There are only 750 metres between the two venues but South Africa chose to make a 1200km round-trip to Goa to get from once to the other, probably so the physical shift could mimic the mental one. In the beach-side state, they put their feet up and switched their minds off. They spent two days as tourists, and visited the second-oldest church, although Dale Steyn wondered out loud (read: on Twitter) why they didn’t get to the oldest, and they transitioned from the frenetic pace of the last fortnight or so into the more considered clip a Test series demands.In personnel terms, South Africa’s more serious statesmen have arrived. Temba Bavuma, Simon Harmer, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt and Dane Vilas are entirely different characters to David Miller, Quinton de Kock, Kyle Abbott, Farhaan Behardien and Aaron Phangiso. Speak to the former group and you will be listening to cricket chat for the learned soul, speak to the latter and you will more than likely have a laugh too.That’s why it seems only sensible that Vilas was retained in the Test squad and de Kock, despite a comeback of confidence and class in ODIs, made to go back to the domestic game to earn his spot. South Africa want to build a Test squad on maturity and Vilas offers that at the moment. He knows that moment won’t last forever, especially with de Kock nipping at his heels, and he is determined to seize it. He was last man out of the nets at the Brabourne on Thursday and could well be the first back in them ahead of the warm-up match on Friday.Vilas is not the only one playing for a long-term future. Imran Tahir has been given a last chance to prove he belongs at this level, Philander will be looking over his shoulder as 20-year-old tearaway Kagiso Rabada gains on him, and Stiaan van Zyl probably needs a few more solid knocks to successfully convert from a No.3 to an opener and if he can do it in India, all the better.Van Zyl knows the importance of this tour for him. He has said all the right things, that, “India will be up for the challenge”, that the pitches will be challenging because they are so unlike what he has at home – “a lot slower and spin a lot” – and that he will call on past experience such as his 96 for South Africa A in an unofficial Test against India A earlier this year for motivation.Talk amounts to very little in this game, which may be why van Zyl’s words were so sparse. Action is everything. The shorter formats already proved that; the longer one should be even better.

As Kevin Pietersen watched on, Gary Ballance produced a maiden century with many qualities of the man he has replaced, Jonathan Trott

Andrew McGlashan at Lord's15-Jun-2014Kevin Pietersen was back at an English Test ground on Sunday. And he was very close to the ECB. Two hospitality boxes away to be precise. It was, therefore, unfortunate timing that England produced a floundering batting display, especially as Pietersen left the ground well before Gary Ballance completed the rescue mission by reaching a maiden Test hundred with a six.Pietersen began his day by tweeting his hopes for what lay ahead. “Going to Lord’s today. Want to see SL out 460 & ENG bat positively to a 380 lead then declare…entertain today pls, Cook’s men!”His numbers were remarkably prescient: Sri Lanka were bowled out for 453 and England ended with a lead of 389 although the declaration did not arrive. With his 104 Tests of experience, he should be well aware that plans do not always come together perfectly.At 121 for 6 it was far from perfect for England, who were grateful for every one of the 122 runs they led by on first innings. Ballance, though, kept them steady, with further help from the lower order – an impressive display after his somewhat skittish display in the first innings. The split of his fifties was telling: 130 for the first and 54 for the second, while he went from 67 to his hundred in 17 deliveries.And of more significance to Ballance than to whether Pietersen was still in his seat, his parents and brother had flown in from Zimbabwe a few days before the Test. “It’s special to score a hundred in front of them,” he said. “It’s a great feeling, can’t really describe it to be honest, just very special. I’m over the moon.”But while the Ballance was very much right for England, there will again be questions over whether Alastair Cook got the balance right. He decided the chance for a maiden Test hundred (personal stats are of the utmost importance to most cricketers, whatever they may say) and a few extra runs outweighed the advantages of having a bowl this evening.Maybe Middlesex’s mammoth chase of 472, achieved for just three wickets, was preying on the mind. It came against Yorkshire and three of the England side – Ballance, Joe Root and Liam Plunkett – played in the game. But you sincerely hope that was not the case. That match was played on the edge of the first-class square with a very short boundary and captains should not be swayed by freakish results.

Going to Lord's today. Want to see SL out 460 & ENG bat positively to a 380 lead then declare…entertain today pls, Cook's men! #lords

— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) June 15, 2014

When Matt Prior fell shortly after tea the lead was a precarious 243, but once it had passed 300 England were far more secure. Cook was proactive in the field on Saturday, but today he was not about to take a leap of faith, although giving Sri Lanka 20 minutes before close would hardly have been jumping into the abyss. Ballance will be forever thankful to him.He has barely batted at No. 3 in his professional career and while too much can be made of the difference in batting positions he is learning on the job. The man who has left the hole that needs filling, Jonathan Trott, would have been proud of the way he built the innings although Ballance showed acceleration that Trott may have struggled to reproduce. It was the first hundred by an England No. 3 since Trott made 121 against New Zealand, in Wellington, last March.The way he handled himself against Mitchell Johnson on his Test debut in Sydney earned praise – although partly because so much else around him was feeble – and a strong start to the season for Yorkshire meant he was not one of those jettisoned, although coming into this match his position felt the most awkward of the top order.Still, a few pieces to the jigsaw have slotted into place for England, from Root’s double century, Prior’s successful recall and Chris Jordan’s lively debut. It would be ideal if Moeen Ali could winkle out a couple of wickets on the final day.”I learnt a lot over the winter and then started well with Yorkshire,” Ballance said. “I was in good form in the one-dayers but didn’t get the big score, then to get the chance to bat three for England I wasn’t going to say no. It’s quite daunting batting anywhere in your first Test at Lord’s but at three I was in quite early in the first innings so didn’t have much time to worry about nerves.”After being caught behind driving in the first innings Ballance left studiously this time although he admitted a “heart in mouth” moment when Sri Lanka went up for an edge on 36 and used the DRS. But outwardly there appeared precious few nerves as he approached his hundred, racing through the 80s and 90s with drives, reverse sweeps and the occasional bludgeon, all the while knowing the close was approaching.”Luckily I got a few boundaries away and got to three figures,” he said. “With one over to go I needed three, I think, and didn’t want to nurdle around in singles so thought I’d go with the slog sweep I hit it out the middle but the breeze was blowing down the slope so I thought I might not have got enough of it but when I saw it go over the rope it was a great feeling.”Pietersen could not have done it better himself.

With his selection uncertain and his role in the side fluctuating, New Zealand selectors are failing to lure the best out of James Franklin

Andrew Fernando in Pallekele29-Sep-2012James Franklin is one of the most enigmatic figures in New Zealand cricket. When he first made it into the national side 11 years ago, he was a bowler who could bat a bit. Strangely, he was mediocre with the ball and surprisingly talented with the bat.The selectors may have been tempted to drop him for failing to perform in the role he was picked for, but given he became a bona-fide member of New Zealand’s lower-order bailout squad in the mid 2000s, alongside Daniel Vettori and Jacob Oram, they often couldn’t afford to leave him out. Innings like his brilliant unbeaten 45 in Queenstown, where he brought home a difficult chase against Sri Lanka from No. 8 with only the tail for company, prevented him from slipping back down into the domestic circuit completely.Franklin is a polarising figure at home. To some, he epitomises everything that is wrong with New Zealand’s selection policy; another jack-of-all-trades whose lack of consistency continues to scuttle New Zealand’s efforts to become a major cricketing power. The detractors need only to look at Franklin’s numbers to find fuel for their fire. His ODI bowling average is over 40, and his Test and Twenty20 figures don’t inspire a lot of confidence either. With the bat, he averages in the low twenties in all three formats. A few years ago, Franklin was told by the national selectors to put his bowling on the backburner, and focus on his batting, which they believed had potential but was not getting the attention it deserved. He is now picked in the side primarily as a batsman – but his scores have not shot up dramatically enough to justify his selection on that discipline alone.That he was left out of the New Zealand tour of West Indies, so he could focus on his Twenty20 cricket for Essex with the World Twenty20 approaching, then called up for the India Tests after 18 months away, sums up the muddled thinking.But occasionally, Franklin comes off. And to cloud the issue even more, he has lately performed as a bowler. In the Super Eights opener, his 2 for 34 was the catalyst in Sri Lanka’s slowdown. The hosts seemed destined to reel in New Zealand’s score at a canter, but Franklin proved difficult to get away and counted the explosive Thisara Perera among his scalps when it was crucial New Zealand didn’t allow Perera the room to explode. In the recent T20 against India in Chennai too, Franklin failed with the bat, but his 2 for 26 was instrumental in New Zealand’s victory and their taking momentum into the World T20. But with good bowling form behind him, he was not required until the 12th over against England in a crucial match.Franklin’s batting, though, clicked against England, and he played the kind of innings that first marked him out as a batting talent. With New Zealand threatening to collapse at 67 for 4 in the 12th over, Franklin rebuilt alongside Ross Taylor, before letting rip with a spate of boundaries at the death. His 50 off 33 balls will justify his selection on batting grounds, but perhaps it should not gloss over a failure to consistently produce results since being asked to play as a batsman. In his last 30 innings across all formats, Franklin has made fifty only three timesPerhaps this inconsistency is not entirely Franklin’s fault. Eleven years after making his debut, New Zealand’s team management have failed to stick to a clear plan for him. If he is to play as a batsman, is he a finisher, as he was against England, or an opener, as he was against Bangladesh early in the tournament. At other times in his career, he has been given extended runs in the middle order and even higher up.The Franklin detractors will be quietened for a while after a decent all-round showing at this tournament, but they are sure to make themselves known as soon as failures return. The New Zealand selectors have shown they will have Franklin do almost anything to bring him into the team. If they are going to be so persistent with picking him, perhaps they would do well to define what they want from him. If they play him as a batsman, or as a bowler or as an allrounder, rather than all three when it suits, perhaps consistency in their demands will help Franklin build dependability into his own game. As he has proved repeatedly, he has the talent to be successful; it just needs to be pushed in one very specific direction.

Stats highlights from the first ODI between India and Sri Lanka in Rajkot

S Rajesh15-Dec-2009Zaheer Khan gave away 88 runs in his ten overs, the most by any Indian bowler in an ODI•Associated Press India’s total of 414 is the fifth-highest ODI total, and a run more than their previous best, against Bermuda in the 2007 World Cup. Sri Lanka’s 411 comes in seventh place, but it’s only the second instance of a team batting second scoring more than 350. The 400-barrier has been surpassed eight times in ODIs, with India, Sri Lanka and South Africa doing it twice each, while Australia and New Zealand have done it once. It was a day of batting partnerships. The first two wickets for India each added more than 150 runs, the first time it’s happened in ODIs. The opening wicket for Sri Lanka added more than 150 too, making it the first time openers from both teams have achieved this feat in the same match. There were three 150-plus and four 100-plus partnerships in the match, both of which are firsts in ODIs. There were two centuries and four half-centuries in the game, making it six 50-plus scores. In matches in which there have been two hundreds, only in one match – one in Johannesburg – were there more 50-plus scores. It was also the first match in which the top three batsmen from both teams made at least a half-century. There were 80 fours struck in the game – 43 by India and 37 by Sri Lanka – which is the second-highest in the single match (and no prizes for guessing which match is on top). In terms of sixes, though, this match, with 24, comes in fourth place – the New Zealand-India ODI in Christchurch earlier this year saw 31 sixes. Both Virender Sehwag and Tillakaratne Dilshan notched up their highest ODI scores – it was the third hundred of the year for both, and it continued a remarkably successful, and similar, run for both of them in 2009: Sehwag averages 50.13 at a strike rate of 136.47 from 16 matches, while Dilshan has an average of 57.64 and a strike rate of 103.46 from 15 games. Kumar Sangakkara’s outstanding 90 came off a mere 43 balls, making it the third-fastest 50-plus score by a Sri Lankan in ODIs. Sanath Jayasuriya leads the way with his 28-ball 76 – a strike rate of 271.42 – against Pakistan in Singapore in 1996, while Arjuna Ranatunga’s 27-ball 58 against India in 1990 is next. The top 13 such innings are all by left-handers, with Jayasuriya contributing nine of them. Despite bowling superbly in his last few overs, Zaheer Khan still ended up setting the record for most runs conceded by an Indian bowler in ODIs. He went for 88, one more than what Javagal Srinath had conceded in the 2003 World Cup final against Australia. Ashish Nehra went for 81, which puts him in sixth place in the list.