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Legendary Paralympian accepts nomination to succeed Sir Howard Bernstein

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Mar-2024Dame Sarah Storey is set to become Lancashire’s next club President after accepting a nomination from the board.Storey, Great Britain’s greatest Paralympian, has won 28 medals for cycling and swimming across eight Paralympic Games, including 17 golds. She is building towards her ninth appearance in Paris this year, having been made a Dame after the London Games in 2012.Her presidential nomination will be put forward at Lancashire’s annual general meeting in May, with the current incumbent Sir Howard Bernstein stepping down after a decade in the role.”It is an incredible honour to have been asked by the Lancashire Cricket Board to become the club’s next President and follow in Sir Howard’s significant footsteps,” Storey said.”As a kid, I recall many happy memories watching the Red Rose with my family. As a member and fan, to have this opportunity to serve this great Club and bring my experience to bear is very exciting.Andy Anson, Lancashire’s chair, said: “I am delighted to confirm that Dame Sarah Storey has accepted the Board’s nomination as the Club’s new President.”Sarah is an outstanding candidate for the Presidency. With a peerless record as Britain’s most successful Paralympian, she is an inspirational presence who has a proven track-record in high-performance elite sport and as a strategic advisor in a variety of public-facing roles.”The Board looks forward to Dame Sarah’s nomination going forward to a members’ vote at the Annual General Meeting and working together over the next two years. Having someone of Dame Sarah’s calibre and first-hand experience of high-performance elite sport on board will offer invaluable support to both our men’s and women’s squads.”Storey also serves as Greater Manchester’s Active Travel Commissioner, a Visiting Professor at Manchester Metropolitan University, a board member at the Department of Transport, and also works with the development of other athletes and supporting charitable causes.Mark Chilton, Lancashire’s Director of Cricket Performance, added: “Dame Sarah has operated at the very top level of elite sport throughout her career, she knows what it takes to succeed, and it will be fantastic to have somebody on the Board with her experiences and knowledge as we look to achieve our goals on the field in the coming years.”

Arsenal and England star Leah Williamson enjoyed sunshine, laughs and paddle boarding during a romantic holiday with girlfriend Elle Smith.

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• England captain recharging before Euros
• Soaked up sunshine in the Mediterranean
• Looking to add to Champions League title

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Lionesses captain Williamson is – after gruelling domestic, continental and international campaigns in 2024-25 – readying herself for a European Championship title defence on Swiss soil this summer.

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• THE GOSSIP

  Before another bid for Euros glory gets underway, the 28-year-old has jetted off to Majorca with model partner Smith for some rest and relaxation. Williamson was able to unwind by the pool, while also padding out to sea.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Williamson and Smith had a private pool at their luxury apartment, while plenty of laughs were had when heading out in the evenings for some food. American journalist Smith has since headed to Hamburg.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR LEAH WILLIAMSON & ENGLAND?

  Williamson has been in trophy-winning mood of late, helping Arsenal to a memorable Champions League triumph, and will see England’s Euro 2025 campaign get underway against France on July 5.

RCB batter says it hasn’t been a conscious decision to bat at a higher tempo this IPL season

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Apr-20241:01

Kohli’s form ‘never in doubt’ – Wasim Jaffer

Virat Kohli is scoring at a strike rate of 146 in this year’s IPL. Only once has he ever scored quicker and that was in 2016 when he was the kind of form where he was threatening the 1000-run mark. Is this a conscious effort? Is he trying to bat differently, more aggressively?”Look I’m not coming with any premeditation,” Kohli said after making the first century of the 2024 season that took Royal Challengers Bangalore to a total of 183 on a Jaipur pitch that was on the slower side. “Whatever the surface allows me to do, I do that. Today I wasn’t 20 off 9. I was 12 off 10.”Kohli has seemed more willing to take risks, particularly looking to hit over the top to find boundaries. He is lofting more balls per innings this year than in any of the last 10. But he is putting that down to his usual process of assessing the game in front of him and knowing that if the need arises he can go big whenever he wants.”So I knew I can’t go over-aggressive. I don’t want to be predictable. I know I can step up at any point because I’m hitting the ball well. But I want to keep the bowler guessing as to what I’m going to do. They probably want me to come hard at them so they can get me out or have an early breakthrough. But I feel like if I’m set and if I bat beyond six overs, then our chance of getting good totals becomes that much better. So I guess it is just experience and maturity over the years and understanding the conditions that you’re playing. I basically play the conditions and I have the game ready to play in two or three different ways.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Kohli’s century on Saturday night was the eighth of his IPL career, two clear of any other batter in the history of the tournament. He needed 67 balls to get there though, which makes it the joint-slowest. Kohli explained that it was not easy to hit the shots that he wanted to hit because of the lack of pace and bounce, which the Rajasthan Royals spinners used to their advantage to finish with combined figures of 8-0-62-2.”Nothing really came onto the bat. Even a few shots that I tried to play against Yuzvendra Chahal, just trying to slog him, they kept going under the bat. Even R Ashwin, it just felt like you couldn’t get under the carrom ball to hit over midwicket. All you could target was straight if they missed their length. So if you’re consistent enough, the batters were finding it difficult out there.”The wicket feels like its flat but as soon as you see the ball holding up in the pitch, that’s when you realise the pace is changing pretty quickly and then the big dimensions of the ground come into play. Our target initially was 190, 195, to be honest. But then assessing the pitch and how it was slowing down, we decided if one of Faf [du Plessis] or me get out, then the other had to bat till the end so that we can get that boost closer to 180-185, which we did, which I feel is a very effective total on this pitch.”Kohli has contributed 38% of all of RCB’s runs this season. He holds the Orange Cap with a tally of 316 from five innings and has now crossed 7500 runs in the IPL,

After making a winning start to life as manager in mid-week, perhaps things are looking up for Rangers under Barry Ferguson.

This certainly didn’t appear to be the case for the Ibrox side 14 minutes into Wednesday’s clash, given that the Gers found themselves 2-0 down at Kilmarnock.

Nevertheless, goals from Václav Černý and then Nedim Bajrami, with Cyriel Dessers bagging a brace in-between, saw the Light Blues fight back and leave Rugby Park victorious.

This is the first time since 2010 that Rangers have won a Premiership away game in which they were two goals down, that comeback coming at Pittodrie under the legendary Walter Smith.

So now, ahead of Motherwell’s visit to Ibrox on Saturday and then, far more importantly, the upcoming Europa League last 16 tie against Fenerbahçe, has Ferguson found his own version of Kris Boyd, a duo who played 111 matches together, who can fire Rangers to victory in İstanbul?

Kris Boyd's Rangers legacy

Kris Boyd is a bona fide Rangers legend, having scored 126 goals for the club across two spells, on target, on average, every 118 minutes, winning two Premiership titles, two Scottish Cups and two League Cups.

Given that he also netted 132 times for Kilmarnock across three spells in Ayrshire, Boyd is the top-scorer in SPL history (1998-present), despite the fact, as Graham Ruthven of the Soccer 101 podcast puts it, ‘technically, Boyd wasn’t great’ but he was an ‘incredible finisher’, leading the line at a time when Rangers were extremely dominant.

So, here are all the players who have scored 100+ goals in SPFL top division history; it’s not a very long list but one that illuminates just how good Boyd was at the peak of his powers.

Scottish Premiership record goalscorers (’98-present)
Players	Club(s)	Goals
Kris Boyd	Rangers, Kilmarnock	217
Henrik Larsson	Celtic	151
Leigh Griffiths	Celtic, Hibs, Dundee	121
Scott McDonald	Celtic, Motherwell	115
Anthony Stokes	Celtic, Hibs, Falkirk	102
All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt

Boyd himself won the Premiership’s Golden Boot on five separate occasions, while his tally of 32 goals in the 2005/06 season, during which he joined from Killie in January, has only been bettered by one Rangers player, namely Ally McCoist in the early-90s, since WWII.

So, how this modern-day Rangers team would love to have an equally clinical finisher in their ranks, but could Ferguson have found his own version of Boyd?

Rangers' modern-day Kris Boyd

In an otherwise generally miserable season, Hamza Igamane has really shone.

He arrived from AS FAR in his native Morocco for just £1.7m last summer, earning rave reviews, hence why the CIES Football Observatory believe he is now worth more than £13m, representing almost an 800% increase in value.

Meantime, in January, amidst interest from Everton, it was reported that Rangers had set a £25m price tag on their star striker, which would be the club’s record outgoing transfer fee, currently held by Calvin Bassey’s £19.6m move to Ajax.

For now, the 22-year-old remains a Rangers player, described by Matthew Elder of the Scotsman as the Premiership’s ‘signing of the season’, while Keith Jackson also of the Daily Record, labels him a ‘superstar’ given his incredible form.

Scottish football writer Kai Watson simply believes Igamane to be ‘destined for big things’, encouraging Rangers supporters to ‘enjoy him while he’s here’.

Igamane has 13 goals to his name this season, memorably bagging a perfect hat-trick at Easter Road in January, while also on target four times during the Europa League league phase, and it is his European statistics we want to examine in more detail.

Hamza Igamane Europa League statistics
Statistics	Igamane	Europa League rank
Goals	4	8th
Goals per 90	1.01	2nd
Shots	11	106th
Shots on target	6	58th
Shots on target %	54.5%	50th
Goals per shot	0.36	12th
Goals – xG	+2.9	1st
All statistics courtesy of FBref.com

As the table outlines, and the reason why Igamane is being compared to Boyd, is the fact he is a clinical finisher.

He ranks second in this season’s Europa League for goals per 90, behind only Rasmus Højlund, while the final row of the table is the most interesting, given that he ranks first for goals – xG, scoring four times from a tiny expected goals figure of +1.1.

So, if Ferguson’s side are going to make any headway in Europe, they’ll need their Moroccan centre-forward to continue to be in fine form on the continent.

Ferguson must drop Rangers ace who Sutton thought had a "nightmare"

Rangers must drop this flop as well as Clinton Nsiala for their next match.

By
Dan Emery

Feb 27, 2025

MatériaMais Notícias

da bet sport： A goleada do Volta Redonda em cima do Madureira por 6 a 0, na tarde deste sábado, colocou uma pressão em cima do Botafogo no Campeonato Carioca. O time de Luís Castro precisa torcer para um encaixe de resultados neste domingo para entrar nas quatro primeiras colocações da Taça Guanabara.

O Glorioso precisa ganhar do Resende no Espírito Santo e torcer para o Vasco não vencer o Flamengo no Maracanã. Caso estes dois resultados sejam favoráveis, os alvinegros entram na zona de classificação.

+Relembre 10 vezes que a arbitragem foi agredida em um campo de futebol

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da stake casino： +Luís Castro finaliza preparação para partida diante do Resende; confira a provável escalação do Botafogo

Em caso de vitória do Vasco em cima do Flamengo no Maracanã, o Botafogo precisaria vencer o Resende por pelo menos sete gols de vantagem no Espírito Santo. A equipe alvinegra está na quinta colocação do Estadual, com 16 pontos conquistados em nove jogos disputados.

+Com presença de joia do time B, Botafogo divulga os relacionados para partida diante do Resende

Resende e Botafogo se enfrentam às 16h, no Kléber Andrade. Flamengo e Vasco duelam às 18h10, no Maracanã. Ambas as partidas serão realizadas neste domingo.

Real Madrid have been “heavily” scouting one of Sunderland’s star players ahead of a potential summer move, according to a new report.

Sunderland braced for interest in young stars as Le Bris prepares for playoffs

With the Championship season now nearing its conclusion, Sunderland are, barring an almighty slip-up, almost all but guaranteed a spot in the play-offs. Currently sitting in fourth place, Regis Le Bris’ side are well ahead of the sides below them, including Coventry, West Bromwich Albion and Bristol City.

Automatic promotion, however, while not totally out of the question, will be a push for the Black Cats, with Burnley, Sheffield United, and Leeds United all seemingly picking up steam in recent weeks while Sunderland ran out of it.

Earlier this week, Sunderland midfielders Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg were named join-best young men’s player at the North East Football Writer’s awards for their performances this season at the Stadium of Light.

Speaking with BBC Radio Newcastle in light of the awards, former Black Cats defender Darren Williams heaped particular praise on Bellingham, whose performances this year have seen him linked with some of Europe’s top clubs, including Borussia Dortmund, the former club of his older brother, Jude.

“Last season, I said I don’t think Jobe’s work rate was there, but this season he’s changed that. He’s been a massive, massive part of this season,” Williams said. “The two lads, they stand out. They’re amazing talents and obviously got a bright future.”

Real Madrid among huge clubs scouting Sunderland star

It isn’t just Bellingham who is being linked with a move away from the Stadium of Light. According to Sunderland AFC News, Rigg, who is just 17, is being scouted by some huge clubs, namely Real Madrid.

Speaking to the publication, transfer expert Graeme Bailey described Rigg, who has already made over half a century of appearances for Sunderland, as a “generational talent”. He revealed that he will have his pick of clubs come the end of the season whether they go up or not, as Madrid chiefs such as Florentino Perez “love” and “want” him.

Aside from Manchester United, a host of other Premier League clubs are also understood to be interested in Rigg.

Scouts from Chelsea have reportedly been closely monitoring the attacking midfielder’s development and have even sent scouts to watch him play on three separate occasions, against Leeds United, Hull City and Luton Town. Brighton, Arsenal and Wolves are also said to be keeping an eye on English youngster.

New Zealand A were knocked over for 147 on the opening day in Brisbane

Andrew McGlashan28-Aug-2023Young pace bowler Jordan Buckingham made another good impression for Australia A on the opening day of the first four-day match against New Zealand A in Brisbane. He collected three wickets in a 13-ball rush as the visitors were left in a hole they never really climbed out of.Buckingham’s burst instigated at collapse of 5 for 16 either side of lunch before some lower-order resistance lifted New Zealand A to 147. Legspinner Mitchell Swepson, who may have imagined his chance of a bowl disappearing as the quicks did the early damage, bagged three to wrap up the tail. By the close, Australia A were almost in the lead.Buckingham’s performance followed his career-best haul of 6 for 58, which he took in Lincoln in April when these two sides met in New Zealand.”It was a pretty conducive wicket and an important toss to win,” Buckingham said. “To get the rewards was really nice, especially in that first spell, but think we all bowled really well. Definitely pride myself on consistency. I’m not out-and-out express pace like some guys are blessed with. For me, I try to stay as patient as possible and try and win the mental battle.”This is Buckingham’s 11th first-class match and two of them have already come for Australia A, along with another non-first-class outing for a Cricket Australia XI against South Africa last season.”You are always confident in your own ability and what you can do, but to get the opportunities early in your career is an absolute blessing if you ask me,” he said. “To get exposed to good opposition and such good cricket at such an early age is only going to hold you in good stead for the future.”Caleb Jewell played the innings of the day•Getty ImagesCaleb Jewell led Australia A’s response with a half-century studded with crisply hit boundaries including two fours and a six in the space of four deliveries against Brett Randell.Jacob Duffy, who has clocked up some air miles in the last couple of weeks, flying to the UAE for the T20I series where he did not play and then back to Brisbane, struck twice. He had Tim Ward taken at second slip and removed Nathan McSweeney when he edged a full delivery.Scott Kuggeleijn claimed the other wicket, drawing Cameron Bancroft, who is trying to push his claims for a Test recall, into nibbling away from his body after having beaten him with a superb delivery the ball before.After Australia A captain McSweeney won the toss it was not long before his attack made inroads. Mark Steketee found himself on a hat-trick in his second over when Henry Cooper was caught behind off an inside edge then Nick Kelly nicked to second slip first ball. There was encouragement for the quicks in the air and off the pitch in early-season conditions – it is not officially spring for another three days.However, from there, New Zealand A gave themselves a foundation as Sean Solia and captain Tom Bruce added 59 for the second wicket. But Buckingham put an entirely different complexion on the morning session as he surged in with 3 for 1. He started by nipping one through Solia before finding the edge of Muhammad Abbas with a full delivery, and then getting Josh Clarkson lbw when he missed a swipe across the line.It left New Zealand A in a mess at lunch on 69 for 6 and when Kuggeleijn was caught in the slips shortly after the resumption it appeared they could fall short of three figures.But Randell and Cam Fletcher combined with decent effect in an eighth-wicket stand of 31 before Swepson had Fletcher lofting to mid-off in his opening over, having moments earlier taken a painful blow on the fingers from a drilled straight drive. Swepson wrapped up the innings when Ajaz Patel top-edged a sweep and Duffy missed a googly.

da mrbet： Newcastle United are reportedly interested in signing a “world-class” player for a cut-price amount this summer, with the individual in question “almost certain” to leave his current club.

Latest Newcastle news

da bet7： The Magpies are preparing to trade Premier League commitments for FA Cup action this weekend, following the 2-0 defeat away to Liverpool in midweek.

If anything, Sunday’s visit of Brighton represents the more important game of the two, with Eddie Howe’s men having a good chance of going all the way in the competition this season. Granted, there is already the Carabao Cup final to focus on next month, but there aren’t many of the ‘top’ clubs left in their way in the FA Cup either.

In terms of Newcastle transfer rumours, a swap deal involving Juventus attacker Kenan Yildiz and St James’ Park favourite Sandro Tonali has been mooted, although Howe will surely be desperate to retain the services of one of his most important players.

Meanwhile, Kalidou Koulibaly has been mentioned as an option to come in and boost the defence this summer, with the Senegalese veteran now plying his trade at Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal. It may be that Paul Mitchell looks at younger defensive targets instead, though.

Newcastle eyeing "world-class" £24.7m ace

According to TVPlay [via Sport Witness], Juve midfielder and Newcastle target Douglas Luiz is “almost certain” to leave this summer. The Brazilian is now available for just £24.7m and the Magpies are “ready to evaluate” a move for him, having initially been valued at around £37.1m.

Luiz is a player who has built an impressive career for himself, even though things at Juve haven’t gone too swimmingly this season, with only three starts and 481 minutes of Serie A action coming his way.

The 26-year-old is still at a great age, in terms of Newcastle having him in their ranks for plenty of years before he peaks, and journalist Quentin Gesp has described him as “world-class”. Meanwhile, Villa sporting director Monchi has also spoken fondly of him, despite his struggles this season: “He’s playing less than we all expected, but we’re talking about a strong player.

“There are guys who arrive and impose themselves, others who need time. Patience is needed, but Douglas’ qualities are beyond discussion. He will become important for Juve. He’s a playmaker and every ball that comes out of his feet has a meaning: last year he played 90% of the games with us. He was decisive.”

In Luiz, Newcastle would be signing a player with a huge amount of Premier League experience, making 175 appearances in the competition, not to mention being an 18-cap Brazil international.

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The only downside to the Magpies snapping him up would be if it meant Tonali heading in the opposite direction, but if that doesn’t happen, he can help make Howe’s midfield even more formidable in the coming years.

Aston Villa host Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round of the FA Cup this Sunday, as Unai Emery and Ange Postecoglou look to lift their first piece of silverware in England.

A place in the last 16 of the competition is on offer, with both clubs ready to put the Premier League to one side as they aim to reach Wembley come May.

FA Cup 2024/25: Cup final details, results, TV picks & more

Find all the latest and key FA Cup info here ahead of the weekend’s final between Crystal Palace and Manchester City.

1 ByRoss Kilvington May 12, 2025

Spurs will be looking to bounce back after EFL Cup disappointment against Liverpool last time out, whereas Villa suffered a league defeat to rivals Wolves in their last fixture.

Aston Villa v Tottenham team news Aston Villa

Tyrone Mings, Pau Torres, Matty Cash and Ross Barkley were all out injured for Villa in the defeat to Wolves, whereas Ollie Watkins was also replaced at half-time with a muscle problem.

All five won’t be available on Sunday afternoon against Spurs, whereas new signing Axel Disasi is cup tied. Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio could make their debuts, though.

Tottenham

Spurs’ injury crisis has seen Radu Dragusin, Brennan Johnson, James Maddison, Wilson Odobert, Cristian Romero, Dominic Solanke, Destiny Udogie, Timo Werner, Guglielmo Vicario all missing.

Richarlison can now seemingly be added to the list after being forced off against Liverpool on Thursday, with Postecoglou saying: “It looks like his calf. It didn’t look too good after the game, so probably one to add to the list.”

Where to watch Aston Villa v Tottenham on TV

Aston Villa vs Tottenham is scheduled for Sunday 9 February with a kick-off time of 5:35pm (GMT).

It will be broadcast live on BBC One to viewers in the UK and Premier Sports for those in the Republic of Ireland. Those in the UK can also stream the match on BBC iPlayer.

Aston Villa v Tottenham referee and is there VAR?

Even though this is a meeting being played by two Premier League clubs, there will be no VAR for the fourth-round tie, with the FA deciding to introduce Video Assistant Referees from the fifth round onwards.

The referee assigned by the FA for the match is Anthony Taylor, with assistant referees Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn and fourth official Simon Hooper. Taylor has officiated 47 Spurs matches and 31 Villa games.

Games

31

47

Record

W13, D6, L12

25W, 6D, 16L

Cards received

62 Yellow, 4 Red

80 Yellow, 3 Red

Cards to opponents

68 Yellow, 5 Red

87 Yellow, 5 Red

Penalties for/against

6/1

4/11

Aston Villa v Tottenham form Aston Villa

Aston Villa have been going through a tricky period of late, winning just one of their last five fixtures in all competitions.

Morgan Rogers’ hat-trick against Celtic was enough for Villa to seal a top 8 finish in the Champions League, however, Emery’s side have dropped seven points from their last three Premier League games, including a defeat to Wolves last time out.

Date

Opponent

Competition

Result

Sat 1st Feb

Wolves (a)

Premier League

L 2-0

Wed 29th Jan

Celtic (h)

Champions League

W 4-2

Sun 26th Jan

West Ham (h)

Premier League

D 1-1

Tue 21st Jan

Monaco (a)

Champions League

L 1-0

Sat 18th Jan

Arsenal (a)

Premier League

D 2-2

Tottenham

Inconsistency has been the story of Spurs’ season, and that is highlighted in their last five fixtures in all competitions. Wins over Hoffenheim and Elfsborg guaranteed Postecoglou’s side qualification into the Europa League last 16, and they even defeated Brentford on their own patch.

However, a disappointing home defeat to Leicester City and giving up a one-goal advantage in their EFL Cup semi-final second leg with Liverpool have been extremely frustrating for Tottenham.

Date

Opponent

Competition

Result

Thu 6th Feb

Liverpool (a)

EFL Cup

L 4-1

Sun 2nd Feb

Brentford (a)

Premier League

W 0-2

Thur 30th Jan

Elfsborg (h)

Europa League

W 3-0

Sun 26th Jan

Leicester (h)

Premier League

L 1-2

Thur 23rd Jan

Hoffenheim (a)

Europa League

W 2-3

Aston Villa v Tottenham head-to-head

A regular Premier League fixture over the past 30 years, it is no surprise that these two have faced off regularly in their histories – over 175 times in fact.

The first meeting was actually in the FA Cup way back in 1903 and in total, there have been 12 FA Cup fixtures between Villa and Spurs.

Aston Villa wins

60

Draws

36

Tottenham wins

79

They have opened together only 28 times in ODIs, but their numbers are staggering

Andrew Fidel Fernando22-Feb-20252:26

Gill: ‘The way Rohit and I play in powerplay quite different’

Shubman Gill averages 63.73 in ODIs at the top of the order. Rohit Sharma averages 55.21 when opening. Together, their numbers are approaching all-time great territory.They’ve only opened together 28 times in this format, so the sample size is small. But in those innings they’ve put on 1943 runs at an average of 71.96. Only in ten of those 28 innings have they failed to get India to 50 for no loss or better. To this dependability, they have also braided in aggression. India travel at more than seven an over on average when these two are together.Their numbers put this pair at the top of the all-time list for players that have opened together at least 25 times in terms of average and strike rate*, with daylight between themselves and the next-best pair (Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy, who memorably helped deliver England the 2019 World Cup). Part of their effectiveness, Gill said on the eve of India’s match against Pakistan, was down to their varying but complementing methods.Related

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“The way we play the game in the powerplay is quite different to each other,” Gill said. “Rohit likes to play more aerial shots, and tries to hit those big sixes. And I like to play along the ground, and I like to pierce those gaps. In between, if I see the bowler is under pressure, I like to go over the circle. I think that’s the hallmark of us as a pair. We score boundaries with different shots. The bowlers really have to think which areas to target for us, because the areas we play the shots are different from each other.”It’s a delight to watch [Rohit] from the non-striker’s end. He has his own style and if at all it helps me to find my own groove.”Much of this was in evidence on Thursday, when they put on 69 for the first wicket against Bangladesh, in the 9.5 overs they were together. Rohit’s rapid start had given Gill the space to play a more sedate innings, as he made 101 not out off 129 balls. The key stat for Rohit is the strike rate – he has gone at 120 in the four ODIs he’s played this year. Gill, meanwhile, has gone at less than a run-a-ball (strike rate 96.46 as opener in 2025). But he’s averaged a mammoth 136.50, scores of 112 and 60 preceding the latest hundred (to go with one score of 87 from No. 3).Gill had had a rough time in the Tests in Australia, making a top score of 31 in the five innings he played there during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. But a return to his favourite format has led to a spectacular return to runs.”I don’t think there was any flaw in my batting in Australia that I couldn’t score runs,” he said. “But, definitely, sometimes there is a mental aspect and we start focusing on the batting, which leads us to think there has to be some fault in the batting that the runs aren’t coming.”But, I don’t think every time it has something to do with batting. It is possible, we are lacking in some other facet. I haven’t worked on any area in particular, but knowing I am going to play white-ball format now and then T20s, so I practised accordingly.”