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Talk about pulling one from out of the hat. Defending a small total Kings XI Punjab’s three-pronged pace attack bowled canny spells to rock Mumbai Indians’ chase, and despite a composed half-century from JP Duminy, Punjab hung on to complete a nerve-wrack

The Bulletin by Jamie Alter29-Apr-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Yusuf Abdullah helped Punjab seal the tightest win of the tournament.•AFP

Talk about pulling one from out of the hat. Defending a small total Kings XI Punjab’s three-pronged pace attack bowled canny spells to rock Mumbai Indians’ chase, and despite a composed half-century from JP Duminy, Punjab hung on to complete a nerve-wracking three-run victory. Mumbai hardly set a wrong foot forward from the time they lost the toss, striking early through spin and keeping their hands on the jugular through Lasith Malinga’s late strikes, but failed to chase 120. Kumar Sangakkara had kept the innings alive with an important unbeaten 45 with scant support and it proved decisive in the end. Having struck early in the piece the task of bowling the last over, and defend 12 runs, came to Yusuf Abdulla. And what an over it turned out to be.Duminy, who was on 55, swung two down the ground, missed a clever slower ball, left a wide be, heaved two more, and then swung the fourth ball straight to deep midwicket. Abdulla was perspiring insanely in the Kingsmead cauldron as he left his giddy team-mates and went back to his mark. But this is a left-arm fast bowler adept at the Twenty20 format, and he only allowed three off the next two balls, aided by a superb dive at cover by the portly Ramesh Powar off the last ball to save a couple, to spark incredible scenes.This major upset was put into motion early in Mumbai’s chase. Mumbai are very reliant on their veteran openers, so striking early was one massive way at winning. Irfan Pathan gave Punjab exactly what they wanted, getting Sanath Jayasuriya to nick one to slip in the first over. Then Sachin Tendulkar, for once, failed. After a thick edge past backward point and crude hoick he drove Vikramjeet Malik straight to point. The situation was particularly dubious when a struggling Shikhar Dhawan missed a middle-stump yorker from Abdulla.That left Duminy and Dwayne Bravo to steer a faltering chase, and Duminy set about it with consecutive boundaries in Malik’s second over. Bravo a pulled four and lofted six in Piyush Chawla’s opening over only to repeat the big shot in the next and hole out to long-on. Mumbai went into the tactical break on 47 for 4, still 73 adrift.Duminy has proved a master of such situations and milked the bowling in a 49-run stand with Abhishek Nayar. Livewires alike, they pinched singles and kept runs ticking over. Harried singles from clever paddles and rubber-wrist dabs also did the trick. A few fumbles in the deep told as Punjab started to slack; a couple fortuitous inside edges and a missed run out and stumping compounded their frustration.As the target got closer Duminy raised his fifty off 55 balls, the slowest of the IPL. Irfan came back to clean up Nayar first ball of the 18th over, with Mumbai needing 26, and Harbhajan Singh fell in the penultimate over with 19 left. Seven runs were scampered in the next five balls. Then Abdullah came into the picture to seal Punjab the tightest win of the tournament.It was a disappointing loss for Mumbai after a glossy display in the field. For the second game running at Kingsmead spin had its say over proceedings early on. Mumbai’s slow bowlers came on well inside the first ten overs and quickly dented Punjab. Malinga and Zaheer Khan were frugal with the new ball, but it was Harbhajan’s entry in the fourth over brought the wicket of Goel, stumped easily. That brought about another change, Bravo coming in and immediately accounting for Ravi Bopara with an away-swinger. The Powerplay yielded two wickets for Mumbai and just 26 runs for Punjab, which included one six and a four.Attempting to up the tempo Yuvraj was well held on the long-on boundary by Zaheer off Duminy – who came in the seventh over – and Mumbai were hooting and screaming. At the ten-over break Punjab were 50 for 3. Throughout the tournament the first over after the tactical break has proved jittery for sides batting first and the pattern continued. Enter Jayasuriya and third ball Mahela Jayawardene chipped a low full toss to long-on.Batting wasn’t easy with the slow bowlers purchasing grip from a track on which spin accounted for eight wickets in the afternoon’s game. Sangakkara curbed himself in and knocked the ball around. The sweep was a shot he played regularly in between chopping the ball into the arc between cover and point. After Irfan fell in the 15th over Punjab needed a big over, but it never came. Malinga came back for two overs and nobody was able to get him away; Wilkin Mota and Chawla were yorked in the space of three balls. In the last ten overs Mumbai conceded just two boundaries off the bat, Sangakkara and Powar clubbing Bravo twice in the final over.Ultimately Sangakkara’s vigil and Abdulla’s calm came up trumps for Punjab. For Mumbai, it was a rude wake-up call, and they will now seriously have to address a batting order too reliant on the openers.

Australian batsman believes he can regain the consistency that made him one of the game’s leading batsmen

Cricinfo staff31-May-2009

Michael Hussey believes he can emerge from a lean Test run and regain the consistency that made him one of the game’s leading batsmen. Hussey will enter the Ashes without a hundred since the tour of India and an average in the mid-50s, a big drop on the mean of 84.80 he had early last year.He struggled during the 2008-09 season but remains in a positive mood ahead of his first Test series in England. “I don’t feel I need to change anything in the way I bat,” he told the Sunday Mail. “I’m confident I can still be consistent for Australia.”Hussey was in the one-day squad on the previous tour of England but was not called into the Test frame despite Australia’s troubles in the 2-1 loss. His Ashes debut came in 2006-07 and he scored 458 runs at 91.60.”Test cricket has never been easy for me,” he said. “I’m still really enjoying it, I’m enjoying this period as well. Test cricket is a real challenge, it’s really tough, and I’ve learned you can’t expect it to go your way all the time. Obviously, I’ve been disappointed with my recent results in Test cricket. I haven’t been disappointed with my actual form.”Hussey was told to rest while Australia went on the one-day tour of the UAE and is refreshed from the break. However, his schedule has been busy over the past two weeks, with a return trip to South Africa and a flight to England.

قاد أندرية فيليب مدرب الأحمال, تدريبات خاصة للأساسيين على هامش مران الزمالك، الذين شاركوا في مباراة الفريق الأخيرة أمام فاركو.

وأدى اللاعبون الأساسيون تدريبات خاصة لتجهيزهم من الناحية البدنية بالشكل الأمثل قبل المباراة المقبلة أمام الاتحاد السكندري، المقرر لها الثلاثاء، والتي إذا فاز بها الفارس الأبيض سيتوج بلقب الدوري.

وشهد مران الزمالك تركيز الجهاز الفني للفريق على خوض تدريبات خاصة على اللعب السريع سواء التمريرات القصيرة أو الطولية.

وتابع البرتغالي جيسفالدوا فيريرا المدير الفني للزمالك المران الذي قاده كل من أسامة نبيه وأحمد عبد المقصود، ومنح الجهاز الفني تعليمات للاعبين بضرورة التركيز على التمرير السريع دون فقد الكرة.

طالع أيضًا.. مرتضى منصور: سنحتفل في كل الشوارع بأًصعب دوري في العالم.. ما حدث معجزة ربانية

وشهدت التدريبات تصعيد رباعي فريق 2003، وهم أحمد رفاعي الذي يشارك في مركز المدافع، وثنائي الوسط طارق علاء وماجد هاني، وأحمد عبد الرحيم “إيشو” الجناح الهجومي.

واعتاد الجهاز الفني على تصعيد مجموعة من اللاعبين الشباب في الفترة الماضية لمنحهم الخبرة اللازمة تحسبا للاعتماد عليهم في الفترة المقبلة.

كشفت تقارير صحفية أن الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم قرر تقديم موعد بداية كأس العالم 2022 في قطر لمدة 24 ساعة بسبب أصحاب الأرض.

وبدأ العد التنازلي للنسخة الثانية والعشرين من كأس العالم، والتي من المقرر أن تقام في قطر في الفترة من 21 نوفمبر إلى 18 ديسمبر 2022، وبسبب حرارة الصيف الشديدة في قطر، ستقام نهائيات كأس العالم هذه المرة من أواخر نوفمبر إلى منتصف ديسمبر، ما يجعلها أول بطولة لا تقام في يونيو أو يوليو.

وأجريت قرعة كأس العالم في نهاية شهر أبريل الماضي، وتتواجد قطر المُضيفة في المجموعة الأولى بجانب هولندا والسنغال فضلًا عن منتخب الإكوادور.

وكان من المُقرر أن تلعب هولندا مباراة الافتتاح ضد السنغال يوم الاثنين 21 نوفمبر وأن يكون ذلك موعد انطلاق البطولة، على أن تلعب قطر مع الإكوادور في وقت لاحق من نفس اليوم.

اقرأ أيضًا.. توخيل يتحدث عن تأثير توقيت كأس العالم على موسم تشيلسي وأداء لاعبيه

ولكن صحيفة “ماركا” الإسبانية ذكرت في تقرير لها أن قطر طلبت من الفيفا خوض مباراة افتتاح المسابقة ضد الإكوادور، وأن يقام اللقاء يوم 20 نوفمبر.

وكان الموعد الأساسي لمباراة قطر والإكوادور هو يوم 21 نوفمبر في السادسة مساء بتوقيت القاهرة، السابعة بتوقيت مكة المكرمة بعد 6 ساعات من لقاء هولندا والسنغال.

وأشارت الصحيفة إلى أن من أجل الموافقة على طلب منتخب قطر، هو انتظار مكتب مجلس الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم برئاسة جياني إنفانتينو، رئيس الفيفا، ورؤساء الاتحادات القارية الستة بالموافقة على هذا المقترح، مما يعني تعديل موعد كأس العالم لينطلق من 20 نوفمبر وحتى 18 ديسمبر.

النسخة القادمة من كأس العالم تقام لأول مرة على الإطلاق في الوطن العربي والثانية التي تقام في آسيا بعد نسخة 2002 التي لعبت في كوريا الجنوبية واليابان.

يُذكر أن مونديال قطر 2022، سيكون البطولة الأخيرة التي يشارك فيها 32 فريقًا مع زيادة إلى 48 فريقًا مقررة في بطولة 2026 في الولايات المتحدة، المكسيك وكندا.

Sunderland dropped down to fourth in the League One table after a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to Charlton on Saturday.

The Black Cats endured a frustrating afternoon as Jayden Stockley’s goal was the difference between the two sides, with the visitors remaining 22nd in the table despite the win.

Lee Johnson’s side were on a four-game winning streak in all competitions heading into the match, with their last game seeing them record a 4-0 win over Crewe.

Aiden McGeady made his return from injury in that win and provided an assist from the left wing. He was handed another start against the Addicks on Saturday and had a nightmare of a performance, letting Johnson down with his display.

Last season, the Irishman chipped in with an eye-catching four goals and 16 assists in League One as he consistently delivered in the final third for the Black Cats. However, this showing against Charlton was a far cry from what fans have been used to with the former Celtic flyer.

He was suspect defensively and offensively throughout the game. As per SofaScore, he lost seven of his 13 duels and failed to make a single clearance, interception or block, although he did complete three tackles as he showed a good work ethic down the flank.

However, he was unable to win the majority of his battles overall, proving himself to be a lightweight against Charlton. This allowed the Addicks to get the better of him at times, gaining possession where another player may have won the ball back for Sunderland.

On the ball, he failed to provide the magic Sunderland fans know that he can. As per SofaScore, he completed a measly one of his four attempted dribbles (25%) and managed two successful crosses and long balls from a combined nine attempts, losing possession 18 times. He was able to create two chances for his teammates, but neither of them represented a ‘big chance’ and Sunderland did not score from either.

McGeady is an experienced player and knows how to deal with setbacks, having been through the peaks and troughs of a season so many times throughout his career. He will not let this display put him down and hopefully he will be back to his best against QPR in the Carabao Cup in midweek – that’s if Johnson is ready to trust him again.

Ricky Ponting’s men have been unable to win back the No. 1 one-day international ranking but he believes they can still finish the tour on a high. South Africa claimed the series with a 61-run win in Port Elizabeth on Monday and in doing so confirmed thei

Cricinfo staff14-Apr-2009

Ricky Ponting’s men have been unable to win back the No. 1 one-day international ranking but he believes they can still finish the tour on a high. South Africa claimed the series with a 61-run win in Port Elizabeth on Monday and in doing so confirmed their position at the top of the rankings table.But Australia can make the scoreline a little less lopsided and will fly out with a 3-2 loss if they fight back to win the final ODI in Johannesburg on Friday. It will require a turnaround in form after South Africa’s strong performances but Australia are keen to regain some momentum before heading to the UAE to take on Pakistan.”We weren’t able to do well this time, and the South Africans outplayed us in the last three games in all facets of the game, so they deserve to be where they are,” Ponting said after the Port Elizabeth loss. “We’d like to finish the tour on a high, so hopefully there’ll be a bit of character in the team when the guys pitch up on Friday.”Ponting took a risk by sending South Africa in on Monday but the bowlers struggled to make inroads into the top order. Herschelle Gibbs’ 21st ODI century and an attacking 84 from AB de Villiers left Australia chasing 318 and despite a promising opening stand between Brad Haddin and Michael Clarke Australia fell well short.”Herschelle obviously played beautifully, he played a sensational innings,” Ponting said. “I thought de Villiers was also outstanding. We needed someone at the top to go on and make a big hundred, but we didn’t really have that.”Gibbs finished with 110 and it was his first century since coming back into the side during the one-day series in Australia, following his month-long stay in alcohol rehabilitation. He showed encouraging signs with a 64 at the SCG and in Port Elizabeth finally made use of one of his many starts.”I feel I have been boiling for some time, probably since the third ODI at Sydney,” Gibbs said. “I have probably wanted it too badly which is why it did not come sooner. I knew if I got through the first 15 to 20 overs that I could go all the way. It was an excellent pitch.”South Africa’s captain Graeme Smith said Gibbs had played a sensational innings and it was pleasing to see him cash in on his starts. The teams now head to the Wanderers, the venue of the famous 438 match of three years ago, for the series finale.

MatériaMais Notícias

Manchester United could sign their ideal heir to Paul Pogba after being continuously linked with a move for AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie.

What’s the story?

Reports by Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport earlier this month (as relayed by Daily Mail), claim the Red Devils have identified the 24-year-old as a possible replacement for Pogba should he decide to depart over the coming months.

The France international has entered the final year of his contract at United and is yet to commit his future to the club, meaning possible replacements are being identified by the Old Trafford hierarchy.

Kessie is in a similar situation to the World Cup winner as his current deal at San Siro is set to expire in under 12 months time, meaning he’s free to negotiate with non-Italian clubs from January.

Previous reports have claimed that the Ivorian wants an €8m (£6.8m) yearly salary – around £132,000-a-week – but Milan are only offering €6.5m (£5.5m), meaning an imminent exit could be on the cards.

Solskjaer would love him

Although Kessie is often deployed as a defensive midfielder and is extremely capable in the position, he is arguably better suited to a more advanced box-to-box role.

The more attack-minded position frees up the £74,000-per-week gem and allows him to maximise his key attributes, while the holding role restricts the influence he can have over proceedings.

And when comparing Kessie’s and Pogba’s underlying numbers for last season, it’s clear there are some striking similarities between the pairs.

As per fbref.com, the Milan maestro recorded 4.4 non-penalty Expected Goals and managed 2.14 Shot-creating actions per 90 compared to Pogba’s tallies of 2.8 and 3.37, respectively.

But the resemblances don’t stop there. While Kessie pulled off a remarkable 76.7% of his dribbles, won 1.23 tackles per 90 and made an average of 5.06 passes into the final third of the pitch, United’s star man put up totals of 61.4%, 1.08 and 5.3.

It’s not just the stats that back up Kessie’s ability to play further up the pitch, though. Former Italy striker Antonio Cassano even compared him to a previous Premier League box-to-box great.

“I want Kessie in my team, he scores, he assists, he has personality, he has quality, he doesn’t lose the ball, he is intelligent. I’m watching him carefully, against Roma, he was devastating,” he said (via MilanLive).

“He reminds me of the Yaya Touré of the best times. He is a different player, but in terms of impact, he is holding Milan’s midfield alone.”

Therefore, United could secure Pogba’s natural successor by snapping Kessie up over the winter window or next summer, providing Solskjaer with a player he would surely love the opportunity to work with.

And, in other news…Rob Dawson reveals worrying Man Utd transfer update, Ole may be concerned 

Robin Uthappa, the Indian batsman, has hopes of making a comeback to the national team for the World Twenty20 to be held in England in June

Cricinfo staff15-Mar-2009
Robin Uthappa last played for India in the Asia Cup in July 2008 © AFP
Robin Uthappa, the Indian batsman, has hopes of making a comeback to the national team for the World Twenty20 to be held in England in June. Uthappa was left out of the Indian team after a relatively disappointing run of performances where he managed just one half-century in his last ten innings and averaged 21.75. However, he has since struck form with a century for Karnataka in their Ranji Trophy match against Andhra, and a couple of impressive knocks while representing South Zone in the Duleep Trophy.”I would love to be part of the second edition of the Twenty20 World Cup,” he told . “It will be great to be again a part of the side that won the first Twenty20 World Cup.”Uthappa, who is currently playing for South Zone in the Deodhar Trophy, is banking on his recent form to win him a place in the competition. He last played for India in the Asia Cup in July 2008. “It’s a process of learning and I am taking it positively. I am taking this time to grow as a cricketer. I am taking this time to understand my batting, bowling and fielding … To contribute to the team more,” he said. “I have been fielding, bowling well and keeping as well. I have been a ‘keeper and can bowl a bit. These are things that will obviously count in a Twenty20 cricket or one-dayers. These are options that I have kept open.”I do feel the pinch that I am not there in the side but am not dejected. Yet, I believe without going down you can’t come up. Greats like Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly have gone through the lows. Only because they have gone through the lows that they have come up so hard and high. I believe it’s a matter of time that I will be back in the side.”Uthappa led Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy and has dealt with the additional responsibility reasonably well. His team managed to qualify for the quarter-finals of the tournament, and he ensured the burden of captaincy had a positive impact on his batting. “This Ranji Trophy season has been a very good for me. I have been captaining the side as well as taking responsibility while batting,” he said. “I have to make sure that I need to score every time I go in the middle and give the side a good foundation.”Captaincy is something that has come as a surprise to me and it’s working quite well for me. I am enjoying the responsibility. I worked with Rahul , learnt a lot thing from him [and] Anil .”I have learnt a lot about myself, what my limitations are and how to be successful with those limitations, how do to go about playing in different conditions.”

وقع مدافع الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي إشبيلية السابق، جول كوندي، على عقوده الرسمية للانتقال إلى برشلونة بداية من الموسم المقبل ولمدة 5 سنوات مقبلة حتى يونيو 2027.

وشهدت صفقة كوندي الكثير من المراحل حيث كان اللاعب الفرنسي قريبًا من تشيلسي ولكن رغبته كانت برشلونة خاصة بعد الحديث مع المدير الفني، تشافي هيرنانديز.

وحصل برشلونة على توقيع كوندي في حضور رئيس النادي، خوان لابورتا، في مقر المدينة الرياضية “خوان جامبر”، ليصبح الفرنسي رقم 26 في تاريخ العملاق الكتالوني.

اقرأ أيضًا | سيد معوض: الأهلي لن يفوز بالدوري.. وإيقاف لاعب بيراميدز يمنح الزمالك الفوز

💙❤ Kounde Culer pic.twitter.com/dI3WjEW9tR — FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) August 1, 2022

كوندي: الفوز أولويتي مع برشلونة.. ولابورتا: أتوقع نجاح هذه الصفقة

وعلق كوندي على انتقاله الرسمي إلى برشلونة بعد التوقيع على العقود أمام وسائل الإعلام المختلفة، وقال باللغة الإسبانية: “سعيد جدًا وفخور بالوصول إلى هذا النادي الرائع”.

وأضاف: “ممتن جدًا للرئيس والجماهير على هذا الاستقبال، كل ما يتبقى في الوقت الحالي هو التدريب بجد والفوز بالمباريات”.

وأتم تصريحاته: “سأحاول التحدث باللغة الكتالونية في غضون بضعة أشهر”.

وتحدث لابورتا عن الصفقة: “نرحب بوجود كوندي معنا في برشلونة، أشكرك على مجهودك المبذول للقدوم هنا، نحن نحب هؤلاء اللاعبين الذين يريدون القدوم إلى النادي”.

وواصل تصريحاته: “تهانينا لماتيو أليماني (المدير الرياضي)، جوردي كرويف (المستشار الفني، رافا يوستي (نائب الرئيس) على هذه الصفقة التي طلبها المدرب، تشافي الذي كان يرغب في قدوم كوندي، لذلك أنا متأكد من نجاح تلك الصفقة”.