Joe Root has admitted he should already have up to double his nine Test centuries and can’t quite work out why he does not convert into three figures more consistently

Andrew McGlashan07-Jun-2016Joe Root has admitted he should already have up to double his nine Test centuries and can’t quite work out why he does not convert into three figures more consistently.Since the beginning of 2015, Root has scored four centuries in 19 Tests but has been dismissed between 50 and 98 on a further 13 occasions, the most recent being in the first innings at Chester-le-Street when he got into a tangle against Nuwan Pradeep and spooned a catch to cover, having move serenely to 80 – a shot he termed as a “car crash”.He is not letting the issue weigh too heavily on his mind – “I feel I am contributing consistently” – but knows that the best Test batsmen in the world he is jostling with to be ranked No. 1 are judged on their century output.”You are always striving to get better, and it’s an area that over the last few months has been very frustrating for me because I am playing well, but you don’t win games with 70s and 80s. You want to make sure you cash in,” Root said.”There have been a few decent deliveries in there but mainly it’s been batsman error so it’s an area that needs to be addressed in practice – and it has been – and the only thing I can really do is make sure I don’t make the same mistake twice.”You look at the dismissal [in Durham] and it was a car crash, really. It was awful. It’s hard to put your finger on it. I don’t think I change my approach or the way I play when I get to a certain score. I’d like to think it was a bit of a coincidence and it’s all happened together.”I feel my game is in a good place, I’m moving well. If anything maybe I get slightly complacent for the odd ball, sometimes you get away with it and it goes unnoticed and sometimes it catches up with you and you are made to look very silly. I don’t think that’s the case, but it may come across that way. I’m working really hard and it’s something I want to address.”Root stressed how he is not a player too fussed about personal landmarks and suggested that, on occasion, he may get caught up in the natural free-scoring pace that he operates at and that encapsulates this England side.”Complacent is probably the wrong word, maybe concentrating is a better way to put it. Maybe you are caught in the flow of the game, scoring at a certain rate and you try to score against deliveries that don’t allow you to,” he said. “It’s not something that’s really concerning me to be honest, but it’s an annoyance that I want to put right. If I’ve been got out, fair play, but I don’t want to throw it away.”Joe Root passed 50 without going on to score a hundred once again in Chester-le-Street•AFPDespite the issue of reaching three figures on fewer occasions than he would have liked, Root’s game has developed enormously over the last two years – since his recall against Sri Lanka at Lord’s in 2014 when he scored a double-century following omission at the end of 2013-14 Ashes whitewash – to make him one of the most complete batsmen in the world. But in his determination to further improve, he watches his contemporaries closely.”As a kid growing up I would look at the best players and think there’s a reason they are at the top, they are doing something that sets them apart,” he said. “These days, AB [de Villiers], Virat [Kohli] in the shorter formats, then Steve [Smith] and Kane [Williamson], it would be silly not to look at the way they play and try to add bits to my game. If you can take any little nugget hopefully you will benefit from it.”Although Root remains a delightful touch player – his innings in the World T20 against South Africa where his 83 off 44 balls marshalled England’s huge chase was a stand-out example – his boundary-hitting has been one of the areas that has developed most significantly since the early days of his international career when a slight, scrawny 21-year-old made 73 off 229 balls against India in Nagpur.”It’s a slow process when it comes to the gym side of it, a long-term improvement I’m looking for,” he said. “If you don’t practice hitting it for six you won’t do it, either. It’s an area I want to keep developing and it’s good to see it going in the same direction.”With boundary-hitting in mind – and his flamboyant whip over deep midwicket in the recent Roses T20 against Lancashire was the latest example of what he is now capable of – Root joked that he would like bats to get bigger, rather than smaller as the ICC cricket committee has recently suggested, but he remains sanguine about any potential changes to the tools of his trade.”If they feel it’s making an unfair advantage then fair enough, as a batter you have to be skilful and strong enough to find different ways of scoring if restrictions will be put in place,” he said. “There’s no less skill in being able to hit it out of the park to being able to flick it as long as it goes for six. If players are good enough they will find ways of doing it.”Root is clearly good enough to adapt to whatever shape (or size) the game takes. He would just like a few more hundreds to show for it.Investec is the title sponsor of Test match cricket in England. For more on Investec private banking, visit investec.co.uk/banking

Chris Wood, the Hampshire left-arm seamer, has been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a more significant knee injury than first thought.Wood picked up the injury during the County Championship match against Middlesex at the Ageas Bowl and subsequent investigations showed that he required surgery, which he underwent last week.Wood’s absence will be a blow for Hampshire’s NatWest T20 Blast campaign as he had become a key figure in that format.Hampshire have suffered a string of injuries to their bowling attack early in the season. They brought in Tino Best to bolster their resources and also signed Gareth Andrew on a match-by-match basis. However, they have Shahid Afridi and Darren Sammy – the latter arriving in June – signed up for the T20 Blast.Sean Ervine was on Wednesday named Hampshire’s limited-overs captain after James Vince’s call-up to England’s Test side.

After hosts West Indies made a statement of intent by beating South Africa in the tri-series opener, they now have to take on the top-ranked ODI side, Australia

The Preview by Firdose Moonda04-Jun-2016Match factsSunday, June 5, 2016
Start time: 1300 local (1700 GMT)Big pictureThere are three teams in this triangular series after all. Hosts West Indies made a statement, showing they are not just there to make up the numbers, with a victory over South Africa in their opener. Now they have to take on the bigger boys.Australia saunter into this series as the top-ranked ODI side laden with superstars, many of whom are returning from injury. Mitchell Starc headlines the list, having recovered from an ankle injury that kept him out of the game for six months. Captain Steven Smith (wrist), Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh (both side strain), all pulled out of the IPL with niggles but traveled to the Caribbean for this event.Australia could have opted to leave some of them out, as South Africa have done with Dale Steyn and West Indies with Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy, but Australians don’t do things in half measures. Even though this series may not be top priority for a team that has a busy few months, they’re taking it seriously and remain the favourites to walk away winners.For West Indies, who already have points on the board, sustaining momentum will be their aim. They had not played ODI cricket since November 2015 before their win over South Africa and are still finding their rhythm in the format. At Providence, that rhythm needs to be slow and calculating, something West Indies are not always known for, but which they will need to keep doing.Form guideWest Indies WLLLL (last five completed games most recent first)
Australia LWLLWIn the spotlightWhile West Indies’ spinners impressed in their opening match, their seamers Carlos Brathwaite, Jerome Taylor and Jason Holder put in strong supporting roles to keep South Africa quiet. Their modus operandi was pace off the ball, cutters and cross-seam deliveries in the middle and latter parts of the innings but they will want to start better to keep Australia’s aggressive top order in check.All eyes will be on Starc, who could become the fastest man to 100 wickets. He needs ten more scalps in, at most, six matches to ensure he gets to the landmark before Saqlain Mushtaq, who achieved it in 53 games. But before he thinks about that, Starc will be anxious to show he is fully fit and game-ready. He has not played cricket since the inaugural day-night Test in November 2015 and will use this series to ease his way back in.Team newsAfter their win over South Africa, West Indies are unlikely to make any changes for the second match, in the same conditions.West Indies: 1 Johnson Charles, 2 Andre Fletcher, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Jason Holder (capt), 8 Carlos Brathwaite, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Jerome Taylor, 11 Sulieman BennStarc’s expected comeback is the main talking point in Australia’s team selection but there are also a few other names to look out for. Like South Africa and West Indies, Australia are likely to field two specialist spinners with Adam Zampa joining Nathan Lyon in the XI. Smith said Australia would wait for a pitch inspection before the game before deciding whether to field two spinners or three pacers, with Scott Boland likely to be picked in case of the latter.Australia: 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Adam Zampa, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Nathan LyonPitch and conditionsOn the evidence of the first match, the Providence pitch does not allow for free-flowing stokeplay. It is a slow surface which supports spin and batsmen have to work hard for their runs. As has been the case throughout the week, rain is expected in the morning, with the weather drying out later on.Stats and trivia Australia have won four of their last five tri-series, which also included West Indies. Pakistan won the other one. Ramdin needs 66 more to reach 2000 ODI runsQuotes”I like the way the guys held the nerve. They were very composed. On this pitch, you need to spend a little time batting. We made it a little difficult for ourselves. In the next game we need to tighten up, focus on the strike rotation and then we will be much better off.”
“I think for this wicket we’ve got a good mix; guys who can penetrate the wicket quite hard and hit good areas, a couple of spinners and guys who can bowl a lot of cutters, which are going to work well on that wicket. So I think we’ve got the balance right for the first game.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta should drop Rob Holding and play Jakub Kiwior against Southampton at the weekend, according to journalist Uche Amako.

What's the latest Arsenal injury news?

The Gunners had to make do without William Saliba against West Ham United on Sunday, with Arteta confirming the defender could be missing for a few weeks after a flare-up of his recent back injury. Saliba has now missed Arsenal's last four Premier League matches, meaning that Holding has been brought into the starting XI, having only received very limited game time as a substitute prior to the Frenchman's absence.

The 27-year-old started alongside Gabriel at the London Stadium on Sunday, but he did not manage to impress Amako, with the journalist calling for him to be replaced by Jakub Kiwior on Friday night, while also indicating he could be one player who is moved on at the end of the season.

Taking to Twitter during the game, The Telegraph reporter said: "Hard to see Rob Holding being part of the next phase at Arsenal with Arteta. His performance at Tottenham cost them last season & he's been a clear weak link again. Kiwior being left footed can't be the reason he's not picked ahead of him. He must start vs Southampton…"

Will Rob Holding be dropped against Southampton?

The Gunners are without a clean sheet in the last four games the Englishman has started, having kept three in four before Saliba's injury blow, and while he cannot be held solely responsible, his performances have been very underwhelming.

Against Liverpool, the Stalybridge-born defender received a Sofascore rating of 6.3, the lowest of any Arsenal player that started the match, after conceding a penalty, losing the majority of his aerial duels, and making one error that led to a shot. The £40k-per-week earner was also too easily bullied by attackers against West Ham, losing every one of the seven duels that he contested, both on the ground and in the air, in a seriously unimpressive display.

Holding was branded "useless" by members of the media earlier this season, and Arteta now has a big decision to make ahead of the Southampton game on Friday night.

Bringing in Kiwior is undoubtedly a risk, given that he has played just 14 minutes worth of Premier League football this season, but the Saints are bottom of the table, which means there won't be a better opportunity to bed him in.

Chelsea may target a surprise pursuit of Tottenham Hotspur forward Harry Kane this summer to solve their striking problems, according to journalist Dean Jones.

What's the latest transfer news involving Harry Kane?

LondonWorld have claimed that Kane is a wanted man this summer amid uncertainty over his long-term Tottenham future, with Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Chelsea said to be keeping tabs on his situation.

All three interested suitors are looking to add more firepower to their respective frontlines, though Chelsea could well hold an advantage in the race for Kane's signature due to the impending arrival of former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino, who is close to taking the reins at Stamford Bridge as manager.

The Telegraph have revealed that Manchester United have launched 'initial moves' to try and scope out the possibility of bringing the England international to Old Trafford; however, it is said that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy will seek at least £100 million before weighing up whether to sell his prize asset.

The Sun have signalled that the Red Devils could be set to offer Kane £300,000 per week to swap north London for Manchester, which would be a £100,000 increase on his current £200,000 salary he earns per week at his current employers.

Kane has yet to win a major honour at Tottenham, though Spurs chairman Levy recently suggested in an interview that he can achieve that feat if he stays in N17.

As per The Athletic, the 61-year-old stated: “He can absolutely win a trophy at Spurs. But being a legend is also important. The fact that he’s top scorer of Tottenham Hotspur, he’s making history. I hope one day that there is a statue of Harry Kane outside our stadium.”

What has Dean Jones said about Harry Kane?

Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist Jones believes that Chelsea could have a decent chance of signing Kane this summer and thinks he would 'prefer to stay in the Premier League' rather than move to a club abroad.

Jones told FFC: "Chelsea need a centre forward; if they are going to go and spend any money in the transfer window, that is probably where they would invest. Kane is absolutely proven and able to provide goals at this level. He would prefer to stay in the Premier League, if he was to make a transfer away from Tottenham."

What are Harry Kane's stats like this season?

Kane has been in brilliant form for Tottenham this season despite their struggles on the pitch, netting 26 goals and claiming four assists in 43 matches across all competitions, as per Transfermarkt. Compared to Romelu Lukaku, who has just nine goals and three assists, there would be little competition.

Unsurprisingly, the 29-year-old also ranks as Spurs' best-performing player this term, gaining a match rating of 7.45/10 for his exploits on the pitch, according to WhoScored.

His ability to be more than just a focal point in attack cannot be questioned. FBRef shows that Kane has successfully performed 111 shot-creating actions in 2022/23, demonstrating his ability to be a reliable creator of chances well as possessing a killer instinct in front of goal.

With his contract set to expire in 2024, it will soon be decision time for Kane as he ponders whether his future will lie at Tottenham or indeed elsewhere. Interest is likely to be vast for his services, which promises to make for an exciting summer as the talismanic figure prepares to finalise his next steps.

And with Pochettino potentially set to take on the job at Stamford Bridge, could this be an opportunity for Kane to reunite with his former boss who previously called him "special"?

Tottenham Hotspur defender Eric Dier was slammed during his side's 2-1 victory against Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League this afternoon.

What was the Tottenham vs Brighton result?

Tottenham defeated Brighton 2-1 this afternoon, with Heung-min Son and Harry Kane getting on the scoresheet once again, however it could have been a very different game, given that the visitors had two goals disallowed.

There were audible boos for Dier just six minutes into the game, having opted to play a backwards pass, and things went from bad to worse.

Indeed, the Englishman also nearly gifted Brighton one of their disallowed goals after giving away possession early in the first half – but luckily for Dier – the strike was ruled out through VAR.

Football writer Andrew Gaffney, commenting on the player's display, slammed Dier – saying: "It's sad to see but Eric Dier is terrible, man."

Should Tottenham consider signing a replacement in the summer?

The 29-year-old has impressed at times during this campaign, notably putting in a very solid performance against Chelsea in the 2-0 victory at the end of February, receiving the highest Sofascore rating of any player, after bagging an assist.

However, the England international has not performed at that level regularly enough, and it was another disappointing display overall this afternoon – having given the ball away in the build-up to a Brighton goal that was disallowed by the barest of margins.

That was not the only time the Spurs man was caught lacking in possession, giving the ball away nine times, more than any other centre-back that started the match. Dier also won just 33% of his overall duels and ranked among Tottenham's worst-performing starters.

As such, whoever the next Spurs manager is will undoubtedly need to look at strengthening his defensive options in the summer, with Napoli's Kim Min-jae being considered as a potential target, having been branded the "best defender in the world" earlier this season.

Australia’s captain Steven Smith has conceded that his team has plenty of improvement left in them despite their victory in the tri-series final against West Indies in Barbados on Sunday

Brydon Coverdale27-Jun-20162:58

‘Our fielding needs a lot of work’ – Smith

Australia’s captain Steven Smith has conceded that his team has plenty of improvement left in them despite their victory in the tri-series final against West Indies in Barbados on Sunday. The win extended Australia’s margin as the No.1-ranked ODI side in the world and they have now lost only one of their past eight ODI series, the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy campaign in New Zealand this year.That run of success includes the 2015 World Cup triumph, but from that team they have lost Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson to retirement. Under Smith, the Australians will aim to add another significant piece of silverware to their trophy cabinet next year when the Champions Trophy tournament is held in England.The post-World Cup exodus of experience has left Australia without any current hundred-game players in ODIs, although a solid core are in the 50- to 80-game range: Smith (79), George Bailey (76), David Warner (74), Matthew Wade (68), Glenn Maxwell (67), Aaron Finch (64), James Faulkner (54) and Mitchell Starc (51). It is this group that will lead Australia into the Champions Trophy and while they will likely enter the tournament as favourites, Smith knows it won’t be easy.”We’ve still got a lot of work to do,” Smith said after the tri-series final. “I was pleased with the way we scrapped today. I’m using that word a lot, but it’s been a bit of a theme throughout this series with the wickets we’ve been playing on. I was pleased we were able to get the job done. Our fielding still needs a lot of work. We need to be able to have the energy we had today in every game, and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t.”We’ve got to continue to start well with the ball. In the last three or four series we’ve been up against some pretty dynamic opening batters, but they’ve got the better of us at the start. We’ve been lucky enough to pull it back in the middle overs and bowl pretty well at the death. We’ll make things a lot easier for ourselves if we start really well.”There were no such issues against West Indies in the final. The first ten overs brought 48 for 0 but Josh Hazlewood struck in the next over with the first of his five wickets, and Mitchell Marsh claimed wickets in three consecutive overs to leave West Indies in trouble at 74 for 4 after 21 overs in their chase of 271.”I think Josh is getting better and better every day,” Smith said. “He’s getting more comfortable in his body. He’s been on the park for a significant amount of time now and he’s very comfortable in that regard. That’s a start. His skill set is outstanding. He hits terrific lengths, hits the seam and he’s getting better and better every day. I’m really pleased for him to win the Man of the Series in this particular series.”I thought the way Mitchell used his variations today was spot on. He’s come a long way in this series. I thought he batted beautifully the other day [league match against West Indies] and I guess he’s just going to gain a lot more confidence out of what he did the other day and what he’s done today. I’m really pleased for him.”That Australia had a decent total to defend was largely down to the work of wicketkeeper Wade, whose 57 from 52 balls batting at No.7 ensured that 173 for 6 did not become all-out in the low 200s. Wade has been Australia’s preferred ODI wicketkeeper since the retirement of Haddin last year, and in that time has made 352 runs at 32.00, with three fifties from 15 innings.”I thought Matthew Wade played beautifully,” Smith said. “He played with a lot of composure and played good cricket shots, and batted with the tail, who stuck around and did a terrific job to get us to 270. That was incredibly pleasing.”I think he can take a lot of confidence out of the way he played today. He’s played pretty well with the bat throughout the series as well. I’ve watched him in the nets, he’s probably hitting the ball as well as anyone. I wasn’t surprised that he was able to do what he did today. I’m pleased for him.”No doubt he was disappointed about not keeping at the World Cup. You’ve got to be disappointed with that. He’s been great around the group. He’s been very vocal. He gets the guys up as much as he can drive the energy. That’s what the keeper needs to do, and he’s done that very well throughout this series.”

Ian Bell’s excellent 67 steered the Birmingham Bears to a thrilling four wicket victory off the final ball of the NatWest Blast T20 match against the Derbyshire Falcons at Derby

ECB Reporters Network17-Jun-2016
ScorecardIan Bell set up a last-ball victory•Getty Images

Ian Bell’s excellent 67 steered the Birmingham Bears to a thrilling four wicket victory off the final ball of the NatWest Blast T20 match against the Derbyshire Falcons at Derby.The Bears appeared to be coasting in pursuit of the Falcons 141 for 7 when Bell was leading the chase but his dismissal in the 19th over left the game in the balance and it needed a four from Ateeq Javid off the last ball to deny the home side.Derbyshire’s new head coach John Sadler, whose appointment for the rest of the season was confirmed before the game, said: “It’s disappointing but that’s T20 cricket and we did well to get back in the game.”Former Derbyshire captain Rikki Clarke had taken 2 for 17 off four overs as the Falcons struggled in the first part of their innings before Wayne Madsen with 38 from 34 balls and some late blows from Shiv Thakor took them to a challenging score on a slow pitch.The Falcons innings began with Clarke striking Billy Godleman on the helmet with the first ball before the opener pulled Oliver Hannon-Dolby to deep midwicket.John Sadler, Derbyshire head coach•Getty Images

Chesney Hughes pulled Clarke for six but two balls later drove low to mid off where Bell took a good catch and Clarke struck again when Neil Broom top-edged a pull to cover in the fifth over.The accuracy of the Bears attack restricted the Falcons to 58 for 3 at the halfway point and Madsen responded by lifting Jetan Patel over midwicket for six before pulling Mark Adair just past the diving Chris Woakes for four.Madsen dispatched another short ball from Patel for six but Hamish Rutherford was lbw in the same over for 33 from 31 balls when he tried to work the off-spinner behind square.Adair ended Madsen’s innings when a top-edged pull landed in the gloves of Luke Ronchi and although Jimmy Neesham drove the next ball high into the stands, he edged a drive in the next over and was well caught by Ronchi diving low to his left.Thakor gave the innings a late flourish by pulling Hannon-Dolby and Woakes for sixes in an unbeaten 20 from 13 balls as 26 came from the last two overs to give the Falcons a respectable total.But Bell and Sam Hain gave the Bears an excellent start by taking 44 from the first five overs with Bell taking three fours off consecutive balls from Thakor.Bell drove Matt Critchley over long on for six but the leg-spinner struck three balls later when Hain sliced a drive to cover although after 10 overs, the Bears were well placed at 73 for 1.Alex Hughes should have removed Bell on 42 but Broom at deep midwicket spilled the catch diving forward and he completed his 50 from 39 balls before Laurie Evans became the latest batsman to top-edge a pull.Bell drove Andy Carter for six but Ronchi drove Alex Hughes to long off in the 18th over and Bell holed out to long on in the next to give the Falcons a chance of victory with the Bears needingAaron Thomason scooped Neesham to square leg and although the next ball shot through for four byes, Woakes was run out going for a second off the penultimate ball but Javid’s drive beat the bowler’s despairing dive to clinch victory.

Dwayne Smith used a green Kanpur pitch as his ally to return figures of 4 for 8, setting up Gujarat Lions’ six-wicket win against Kolkata Knight Riders

The Report by Nikhil Kalro19-May-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDwayne Smith’s career-best T20 figures set up what turned out to be a convincing win for Gujarat Lions•BCCIDwayne Smith used a green Kanpur pitch as his ally to return figures of 4 for 8, setting up Gujarat Lions’ six-wicket win against Kolkata Knight Riders. Lions restricted Knight Riders to 124, and then overhauled the target with 39 balls to spare. The win not only vaulted them to No. 2 on the points table, but also lifted their net run-rate from -0.747 to -0.479, intensifying the race for the playoffs.Knight Riders, sent in to bat, started solidly before Gautam Gambhir was involved in another run-out, in the fourth over. With Gambhir and Robin Uthappa stranded mid-pitch, Shadab Jakati, replacing Shivil Kaushik, fired an accurate throw at the striker’s end after an acrobatic stop at midwicket.Smith then extracted enough bounce and lateral movement to have Knight Riders’ batsmen poking outside off stump. Uthappa and Manish Pandey steered catches behind the wicket, while Piyush Chawla, promoted to No. 4 as a pinch hitter, was hustled by a skiddy delivery that crept past his tentative waft. A short delivery was helped along to third man by Shakib as Smith claimed his best T20 figures. Knight Riders were left reeling at 61 for 5 in the 12th over.Yusuf Pathan and Suryakumar Yadav then limited the damage through singles; an eight-over period after the Powerplay produced just 20 runs. Lions’ spinners asserted control until Yusuf got stuck in to Ravindra Jadeja to resuscitate Knight Riders’ innings with consecutive boundaries in the 15th over.Thereafter, boundary-scoring became gradually easier, with the next three overs producing 33. It could have been much more if not for Dhawal Kulkarni and Dwayne Bravo’s cunning variations that resulted in just eight off the last two overs as Lions subsided Knight Riders’ hopes of a 140-plus score.Lions approached the chase, it seemed, with an intent to improve their net run-rate to boost their playoffs chances. The batsmen came out playing exuberant strokes on a tricky surface to give Knight Riders a sniff.Smith under-edged a pull off the first ball of the chase as Uthappa eventually completed the catch on the third attempt. Brendon McCullum wasn’t deterred though, as he danced down the track to swat a length delivery over midwicket off his first delivery. In a bid to arrest the early momentum, Gambhir turned to Sunil Narine, and the move worked as he accounted for McCullum with a floater that swerved back in to trap him lbw.Dinesh Karthik chose attritional strokes with a straight bat but was bowled by an in-dipper from Morne Morkel that sneaked between bat and pad to clatter into the stumps. Suddenly, Lions were reduced to 38 for 3.Suresh Raina, returning from a short paternity leave, ensured Lions were in the hunt through his inside-out drives and flicks to steer the chase forward. He crossed 4000 IPL runs with a lofted cover drive off a good-length delivery from Morkel. Raina and Aaron Finch added 59 to put the game beyond Knight Riders’ reach.Their 36-ball stand was ended by a run-out when they collided into each other in the search for a third run to briefly lend some artificial excitement. With 28 required off 61 balls, Ravindra Jadeja helped Raina end the chase in a canter to ease Lions’ race for a playoffs berth.

Manchester United are interested in signing Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot as a free agent in the summer, according to a new transfer update.

Is Rabiot on the move this summer?

The Red Devils have a strong squad currently – one that is able to battle across multiple fronts at this stage of the season – but that doesn't mean that further signings won't be required bt the time the summer transfer window rolls around. They need to be in a position where they are genuine Premier League title challengers next season, as well as a team who are capable of going far in the Champions League.

Midfield is an area of the pitch that could do with some extra depth, with the recent absences of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen highlighting the dip in quality behind him in the squad. Indeed, United have lost three times during the Brazilian's time out suspended, with just two prior defeats in the league. Meanwhile, the Dane has only recently returned from injury to a team now firmly out of the title race as a result of their poor post-cup final form.

One player strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford in the past has been Rabiot, who ended up staying at Juventus over the winter. The Frenchman is out of contract at the end of the season, however, and it looks likely that he will leave the club and enjoy a fresh challenge. It looks as though United could be back in for the 28-year-old as they look to make inroads in the next window.

Could United seal move for Frenchman?

According to Tutto Juve [via Sport Witness], United are "ready to go on the offensive" when it comes to signing Rabiot this summer, seeing him as a good choice to come in and boost their midfield options. Described in the report as the "best midfielder in Serie A", he would be available on a free transfer, with "€10m or €15m in signing bonuses" on top.

We think Rabiot could be a really astute signing by United if they manage to get a deal over the line, with the 36-cap France international maturing as a player these days and scoring eight goals in 24 Serie A appearances this season.

He could be a player who acts as an upgrade on Scott McTominay and Fred and provide competition for Eriksen, providing box-to-box quality and pedigree, considering legendary former Italy midfielder Andrea Pirlo once called him a "complete player".