The Dutch winger’s contract with LAFC will now run through Friday, July 25, instead of the original July 24 deadline.
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Everything you need to know about the new Tottenham Hotspur kits for the 2025-26 season.
Home
Home Kit
Keeping the iconic navy sleeves while incorporating a fresh grey and ashen slate pattern beneath the armThe outer part of the sleeve maintains the Club’s classic lilywhite colour, offering a modern twist on a traditional look
From
$105
Buy Now!Away
Away Kit
Sleek black base with grey accents, white logos, and a modern square tile pattern spelling “SPURS.”Finished with a round-neck collar featuring grey piping and “Spurs” lettering on the inside
From
$155
Buy Now!Home
Home Kit
Keeping the iconic navy sleeves while incorporating a fresh grey and ashen slate pattern beneath the armThe outer part of the sleeve maintains the Club’s classic lilywhite colour, offering a modern twist on a traditional look
From
$105
Buy Now!Away
Away Kit
Sleek black base with grey accents, white logos, and a modern square tile pattern spelling “SPURS.”Finished with a round-neck collar featuring grey piping and “Spurs” lettering on the inside
From
$155
Buy Now!Home
Home Kit
Keeping the iconic navy sleeves while incorporating a fresh grey and ashen slate pattern beneath the armThe outer part of the sleeve maintains the Club’s classic lilywhite colour, offering a modern twist on a traditional look
From
$105
Buy Now!Away
Away Kit
Sleek black base with grey accents, white logos, and a modern square tile pattern spelling “SPURS.”Finished with a round-neck collar featuring grey piping and “Spurs” lettering on the inside
From
$155
Buy Now!
Tottenham Hotspur fans can expect a fresh blend of tradition and innovation in the club’s 2025-26 kits, as Nike introduces new designs for the home, away, and third strips. Since beginning their partnership with Spurs in 2017-18 and securing a long-term deal in 2018 reportedly worth £30 million per year, Nike has mostly stuck to a familiar aesthetic — but this season brings more daring changes, particularly in the away and third kits. AIA once again features as the main shirt sponsor, maintaining a sponsorship streak that dates back to 2014.
Shop Spurs 2025-26 kits at NikeBuy now
From subtle sleeve tweaks on the home shirt to a vibrant third kit inspired by past glories, there’s plenty for supporters to take in as Ange Postecoglou’s side prepares for the new campaign. GOAL takes a look at what Son Heung-min, James Maddison, and the rest of the squad will be wearing throughout the 2025-26 season.
READ MORE: All the new 2025-26 football kitsX/SpursOfficialTottenham 2025-26 home kit, release date & priceShop Spurs 2025-26 kits at NikeBuy now
Tottenham Hotspur have officially revealed their Nike Home Kit for the 2025/26 season, available now exclusively through the Club and Nike, both in-store and online.
This season's kit introduces a refined update to last year’s design, keeping the iconic navy sleeves while incorporating a fresh grey and ashen slate pattern beneath the arm. The outer part of the sleeve maintains the Club’s classic lilywhite colour, offering a modern twist on a traditional look.
The launch was marked by a powerful video campaign featuring legendary former captain Ledley King, who leads fans in a heartfelt pledge of loyalty to Spurs, reinforcing the deep-rooted connection between the Club and its supporters.
The Elite version of the jersey is available to purchase for £125 now, whereas the Stadium version is available at £85.
AdvertisementNike/SpursTottenham 2025-26 away kit, release date & price
Tottenham Hotspur's 2025/26 away kit, crafted by Nike, was unveiled on June 26, 2025.
It marks a bold return to black for the first time since the 2014-15 season. The design features a sleek black base complemented by subtle grey accents and white logos, creating a modern and minimalist aesthetic.
A distinctive square tile pattern, incorporating the letters "SPURS," adds depth and character to the shirt. The round-neck collar, adorned with grey piping and "Spurs" lettering on the inside, enhances the kit's polished look.
Similar to the home kit, the elite version of the away shirt is available to purchase for £125, while the stadium version is priced at £85.
Footy HeadlinesTottenham 2025-26 third kit, release date & price
According to leaks, Tottenham Hotspur's 2025–26 third kit introduces a vibrant design that pays homage to the club's history while embracing modern aesthetics. The jersey features a bold Dynamic Yellow base, complemented by navy logos and pacific blue detailing, marking the first return to this color scheme since the 2020–21 season.
A standout feature is the reintroduction of the classic Spurs crest, used between 1999 and 2006, adding a nostalgic touch for long-time supporters. The kit utilizes Nike's Total 90 template, known for its distinctive paneling and retro-inspired elements, aligning with Nike's broader initiative to revive this iconic design across its elite teams.
This Tottenham 2025–26 third kit is anticipated to launch in August 2025.
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Tottenham 2025-26 goalkeeper kit, release date & priceShop Spurs 2025-26 kits at NikeBuy now
There is no information available about the 2025-26 Tottenham goalkeeper kit – not even leaks are available. Watch this space to find out about the kit when it is announced.
Hampshire are staring at an innings defeat despite facing just 32 overs on day three
ECB Reporters Network28-Apr-2024
Kemar Roach took the vital wicket of Hampshire skipper James Vince•Getty Images
Hampshire 151 and 116 for 5 (Vince 26, Worrall 2-30, Roach 2-31) trail Surrey 359 (Burns 113, Clark 106*) by 92 runsHampshire lived to fight another day against champions Surrey at the Kia Oval, but are still facing heavy defeat after losing three top-order wickets in the 32 overs eventually bowled in south London following overnight and early morning rain.Resuming 177 runs behind at 31 for 2 in their second innings, Hampshire slid further to 116 for 5 on the shortened third day of their Vitality County Championship fixture – still a deficit of 92.James Vince and Tom Prest were dismissed within four balls of each other after resisting for 20 overs in a gritty 46-run stand following the early loss of Nick Gubbins, caught in the cordon off Dan Worrall.Prest, dropped head-high by Ollie Pope at second slip off Gus Atkinson on 22, had added only a single when he fell for 23 – this time caught in front of his face by Pope as he pushed hard at a ball from Atkinson that shaped away from its original line just outside off stump.And then former England Test batsman Vince, who reached 26 after resuming on four not out, was beaten by an in-swinger from Kemar Roach and departed leg-before to leave Hampshire’s second innings in real trouble at 87 for 5.Surrey’s reaction to his dismissal underlined just how important they felt getting the Hampshire captain out was after Vince had punctuated some assiduous defence with a number of quality strokes, including an early clipped four off his pads off Jordan Clark and a lovely back foot force to the square cover boundary off Atkinson.Vince had also showed grit following some on-field attention from the Hampshire physio after being struck a glancing blow on the shoulder by a vicious Atkinson lifter when on 21.Ironically, given the early gloom of the day, most of the single session had been played in bright sunshine but the Oval floodlights were on by the time Liam Dawson, on 18 not out, and Ben Brown, unbeaten on seven, saw out the final overs with Surrey’s seamers still very much on top.Play had finally begun at 4.30pm after heavy overnight rain had ruled out any prospect of cricket before lunch and then further light showers in early afternoon had delayed further mopping up operations.But it took Worrall only ten balls to add to his overnight scalp of Ali Orr, with Gubbins edging one angled across him to second slip, where Pope fell to his right to scoop up a fine low catch.Gubbins, out for 10, had added only four runs and Prest was beaten first up by a brute of a delivery from Worrall, which lifted and left him, when he came in on a king pair.To his credit, though, Prest knuckled down and was soon into double figures with driven fours off Clark and Worrall as he and Vince did their best, for over an hour, to defy Surrey’s four-pronged pace attack.
“They need a little more time, little more freedom as well”, India captain says the youngsters will learn with time
ESPNcricinfo staff05-Feb-20242:48
Have India got their tactics right against Bazball?
India drew level in the five-match series with a 107-run win over England in Visakhapatnam, but the batting performance remains an area of concern. Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a double-century in the first innings and Shubman Gill hit a hundred under pressure in the second, but no other batter could get a big score. Captain Rohit Sharma said that is something the team needs to look at, while also pointing out that it is a young squad that will learn with experience.”The wicket was really good to bat on. That’s where, if I have to point anything, a lot of the batters got the start, but didn’t convert into a big score, and [that’s] something that we really need to look into,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation.”But, again, having said that, I do understand they’re very young, [and] they’re very new to this form of the game. So obviously, it will take some time for us. It’s important from our side to give them confidence, and this win, obviously, will give them a lot of confidence, and [tell them] just to go out there and play freely.”Related
Stats – Jaiswal and Lara in a club of their own
A Gill century that showed his struggle and growth
Gill: 'Very important and satisfying to be able to score runs at No. 3'
Rohit emphasised on winning against an in-form England side with a relatively inexperienced squad.”Very, very proud of such a young squad in terms of the Test matches that they’ve played. To come up against a team like that, [who] won the first Test match, and then to come out and play like that for us, [it’s] very, very positive,” he said.”Like I said, a lot of the guys are quite young in terms of playing this form of the game for us. So it’ll take some time, obviously, to be absolutely spot on, but you’ve got to give it to them. [They need] a little more time, little more freedom as well. And that is something that we are constantly talking in the changing room that we want these guys to have some time in the middle, go and play freely without any pressure.”Among the Indian players with limited Test experience is Rohit’s opening partner Jaiswal. In just his sixth Test, the 22-year-old followed up his 80-run knock in the first Test with his second Test century, and went on to convert it into a double. Rohit hailed the innings of 209 as “an exceptional knock”, and said Jaiswal is looking to make the most of every opportunity.”Looks like a very good player, understands his game really well,” Rohit said about Jaiswal. “He’s got a long way to go, of course. He’s just coming to the side now, and every opportunity he’s trying to make the most of it.”That was an exceptional knock, what he did in the first day. Long way to go, like I said. He’s got a lot to offer to our team, and I hope he stays quite humble and focuses on what is needed for the team.”
Australia allrounder Sophie Molineux made a triumphant return to ODI cricket in a six-wicket trouncing of Bangladesh.Molineux, in her first ODI since 2021, claimed 3 for 10 from 10 overs to help bowl Bangladesh out for 97 in 44.1 overs in Mirpur.Australia were 39 for 3 in the 13th over of the chase but got home comfortably to take a 2-0 lead in the three-game series.Molineux returned to the Australian set-up last month for the first time since October 2021 after suffering a foot stress fracture and then a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in a knee.After being overlooked for game one of the Bangladesh series, the 26-year-old on Sunday produced a top-shelf spell of left-arm spin bowling which included five maiden overs.Molineux claimed three of the initial five wickets to fall and Bangladesh at one stage had slipped to 61 for 8 in the 32nd over. It followed a successful WPL where she was a key part of Royal Challenger Bangalore’s success with a player-of-the-match display in the final. It’s form she has carried forward.”It’s definitely helped,” she said. “I think just getting some match experience in as well. I think that’s one thing you sort of miss out on when you don’t play for a while. Trying to keep up and catch up with the game. So I think going over there, [it] probably helped to have a few more matches under my belt, with some intensity as well.”Her feats came as Megan Schutt, Ashleigh Gardner, Georgia Wareham and Alana King collectively overwhelmed the Bangladesh batters.Only No. 9 Nahida Akter passed 11 runs with 20 extras – 18 wides and two leg byes – the next-highest contributor.”We just want to keep asking questions of the Bangladesh girls,” Molineux said. “We know that they’ve got a really solid defence and put a price on their wickets. So, we knew it was going to be hard to take all ten wickets today and we’d have to stay pretty patient. There wasn’t too many bad balls in there and I think the spinners were able to adjust and use their variations particularly well.”Australia’s batters then reeled in their target with Ellyse Perry top-scoring with an unbeaten 35 from 50 balls.Phoebe Litchfield’s lean run continued when she was run out for 5 while Tahlia McGrath also went the same way. But Perry combined with Gardner to steer the Australians to a comfortable victory.Australia won the opening ODI by 118 runs three days ago with Wednesday’s third game to be followed by three T20Is.
RCB are 10th and in desperate need of a win, but is there any stopping Travis Head and co at the moment?
Sruthi Ravindranath24-Apr-20242:23
Aaron: ‘In-form Siraj perfect bowler to get Head and Abhishek out’
Match detailsSunrisers Hyderabad (3rd) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (10th)Hyderabad, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)Big picture – Can RCB out-SRH SRH?If Travis Head doesn’t get you, Abhishek Sharma will. If Abhishek doesn’t get you, Heinrich Klaasen will. If neither gets you, one of the middle-order batters will.Or they will all come at you together, just like they did against Royal Challengers Bengaluru about ten days ago.There were doubts about the Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers being able to support their star batting line-up. There have been a few noteworthy performances, even though their bowlers have been taken for runs. But in their most recent match, against Delhi Capitals, T Natarajan had an effect in the end overs, and their captain Pat Cummins has been instrumental in slowing the pace down in the middle overs. Mayank Markande has also shown promise.Related
Du Plessis on RCB's bowling: 'We don't have as many weapons'
Maxwell takes a break to refresh after asking to be rested by RCB
It's too many runs, somebody make it stop
The good man Pattie and the scoundrel Cummins
In a way, SRH and RCB operate similarly: their batters have done the heavy lifting to compensate for their bowling deficiencies. SRH, though, have been more fearless and consistent with the bat. RCB, meanwhile, have had to toil harder. Their captain, Faf du Plessis, had even acknowledged that his bowlers did not have “as many weapons” to restrict the flow of runs.One positive for RCB is that they have fought hard with the bat despite two consecutive losses in their last two games while chasing large totals. They scored 262 in a record 288-run chase against SRH and fell one run short in the 223 chase against Kolkata Knight Riders. They have had some great individual performers too. But they are missing a key player who, on his best day, is capable of SRH-ing the living daylights out of SRH. Is out-of-form Glenn Maxwell feeling rejuvenated enough to return? RCB can only hope, as that will be critical if they don’t want to give up their slim chance of staying alive this season.Form guideRoyal Challengers Bengaluru LLLLL
Sunrisers Hyderabad LWWWWPrevious meetingSRH bested RCB on an evening that produced the highest IPL total and the highest match aggregate in all T20s. They posted a record 287 for 3 on the back of Head’s 102 and Klaasen’s 31-ball 67. RCB then finished on 262 for 7, Dinesh Karthik leading the way with 83 off 35 balls as they eventually fell 25 runs short at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.1:40
‘Shahbaz, Samad have given SRH top order confidence’
Team news and impact player strategySunrisers HyderabadSRH are unlikely to change their XI barring any injuries. Head has been the player subbed out when they have batted first and subbed in while chasing. In their last game, against Delhi Capitals, they brought in Washington Sundar as the Impact Player.Sunrisers Hyderabad (probable XII): 1 Travis Head, 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Aiden Markram, 4 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 5 Abdul Samad, 6 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 7 Shahbaz Ahmed, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Pat Cummins (capt), 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Mayank Markande, 12 T NatarajanRoyal Challengers BengaluruRCB brought back Mohammed Siraj, Cameron Green and Karn Sharma for the previous match in place of Vyshak Vijaykumar, Reece Topley and Saurav Chauhan. If Maxwell is good to go, he might slot in for Green. They got Suyash Prabhudessai in as the Impact sub in their second innings, swapping out Yash Dayal.Royal Challengers Bangalore (probable XII): 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Faf du Plessis (capt), 3 Will Jacks, 4 Rajat Patidar, 5 Cameron Green/Glenn Maxwell, 6 Suyash Prabhudessai, 7 Mahipal Lomror, 8 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 9 Karn Sharma, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Mohammed Siraj, 12 Yash Dayal/ Vyshak VijaykumarIn the spotlightAbhishek Sharma has been making heads turn. His explosive starts have been crucial in SRH setting up massive totals, his strike rate of 215.96 the second-best for a batter who has faced over 100 balls this season. He’s scored 257 in seven matches so far, but has only one half-century. He will be keen on converting those starts and putting up big scores to strengthen his case with the national selectors.RCB have not been able to get the best out of Rajat Patidar, having used him as a floater in the first few matches of the season. In the last three matches, though, he has played at his usual No. 4 position and has scored two quick fifties, including a 23-ball 52 against KKR in the last match. Patidar has showcased his big-hitting abilities in the past for RCB, his best being a match-winning effort of 112* off 54 against LSG in the 2022 eliminator. RCB’s Nos. 3 to 5 have the lowest collective average of the season (15.7) among all teams, but Patidar’s continued good form in the No. 4 position may help them turn it around.1:29
McClenaghan: Important for RCB to get their angles right
Pitch and conditionsThe match will be played on the same pitch as the first game of the season at this ground, where SRH plundered a record 277 for 3 batting first against Mumbai Indians, who in turn made 246 for 5, so expect a high-scoring game. It is expected to be hot on Thursday evening in Hyderabad.Stats that matterVirat Kohli scored 100 off 63 balls at this venue last season and has registered 50-plus scores in each of his last three T20 appearances here. Overall in T20s, he averages 59.20 at this venue. How can Sunrisers stop Kohli? Call Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He has dismissed Kohli four times in 15 meetings in T20s. Sunrisers batters have struck at 177.79 this season. This is the first time the combined strike rate of batters from a single team has breached the 170 mark in the IPL. Quotes”I think the quality of Travis and Abhishek at the top and their their fearless attitude [has been the reason for aggressive batting style]. And I think once the openers do it, it’s pretty contagious. So those two in particular have been fantastic and then we’ve had some players have been really complementary to that style.”
“I think as a batting group, we may have lost the last two games but we scored 262 in a tough chase and then the other night 220 again. We know we’ve got the high scores in us. We’ve been playing with the freedom of chasing a high score. You know you have no option but to go after. We’ll be looking to continue that and play with the same freedom as if we were chasing a 220-plus score.”
Rahul Dravid made a brave decision to employ the second Powerplay in the 29th over. It was a move that could so easily have backfired but as it turned out, it was the masterstroke that swung the game India’s way
George Binoy06-Apr-2006Rahul Dravid has made some curious decisions against England this season – bowling first in the Mumbai Test, and using Gautam Gambhir for one over that cost 13 runs in the second ODI at Faridabad. Today, he made a brave decision to employ the second Powerplay in the 29th over. It was a move that could so easily have backfired but as it turned out, it was the masterstroke that swung the game India’s way.England were 59 for 2 in the tenth over and Kevin Pietersen’s ominous form prompted Dravid to delay the second Powerplay. However, the runs kept coming and England added 50 runs in the next ten overs. Even when Paul Collingwood departed at 117 for 3, Dravid had several boundary riders because big-hitting Andrew Flintoff had joined Pietersen.The overs ticked by and no wickets were forthcoming and Dravid could have waited and waited for a breakthrough. Instead he chose to gamble in the 29th over, when England were 148 for 3, by opting for the Powerplay. Flintoff slogged Harbhajan Singh’s first ball to the long-on boundary and took a single off the next. Pietersen, having used the power-sweep so effectively, tried to repeat the stroke but the extra bounce resulted in a catch to square leg. Flintoff’s wicket soon followed and Ramesh Powar produced a ripping offbreak to make it three wickets for India, and just 40 runs for England, in the ten overs of the second and third Powerplays. The following graphic shows England’s progress between overs 19 and 38, the last ten of which were the final Powerplays.
The regular Monday column in which Steven Lynch answers your questions
about (almost) any aspect of cricket
Steven Lynch05-Mar-2007
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I had an interesting question the other day: apparently five players
from the 1992 World Cup are also playing in the 2007 one, who are they? I
got Lara, Tendulkar, Inzamam and Jayasuriya, but can’t find the fifth, who
is it? asked Mark Wilson
The fifth one is not obvious: it’s Anderson Cummins, who played
for the West Indies in 1992 and is now turning out for Canada. Cummins,
who is now 40, made his official one-day debut for Canada in January 2007,
more than 11 years after playing the last of his 63 one-day internationals
for West Indies, which included most of the games at the 1991-92 World Cup
in Australia and New Zealand.Will Anderson Cummins be the first man to play for two sides in the
World Cup if he plays for Canada this year? asked Prasad Yavalkar
from India
Assuming that Anderson
Cummins plays a match for Canada in the forthcoming tournament, he
will become only the second player to represent two different teams in the
World Cup: Kepler Wessels
played for Australia in 1983, and for South Africa in 1991-92. Graeme
Hick, who played for England in 1991-92, 1995-96 and 1999, was in the
Zimbabwe squad for the 1983 World Cup, when he was only 17, but was rather
surprisingly not chosen in any of the matches, when Zimbabwe’s captain was
Duncan Fletcher.How many pairs of brothers have played for India in Tests?
asked Bhiman from India
Seven pairs of brothers have won Test caps for India, starting in their
very first Test, against England at
Lord’s in 1932, when the side included Wazir and Nazir Ali. In India’s
next Test, in Bombay in 1933-34,
Amar Singh played alongside his brother L. Ramji, and in the next Test, at Calcutta, CS Nayudu played
alongside his brother CK. Since then the brothers have been spaced out
rather more: in the late 1950s/early 1960s there was Arvind and Madhav
Apte, Subhash and Baloo Gupte, and Kripal and Milkha Singh, while in the
1970s Mohinder and Surinder Amarnath played together several times. The
Amarnaths have a good claim to being India’s foremost cricketing family,
as their father Lala captained India, and scored their first Test century
(in that Bombay match mentioned above). For a full list of related Test
players from all countries, click here.Who called his autobiography Flying Stumps? asked Darren
Wilcox from Canterbury
My first thought was that it was the former Lancashire and England fast
bowler Brian Statham, but when
I had a look on the bookshelves it turned out that his 1961 book was
actually called Flying Bails. He’d been beaten by seven years to
the title Flying Stumps: that was written by the Australian fast
bowler Ray Lindwall. Both books
were published in the UK by Stanley Paul.I remember David Smith of Sussex scoring a century but not getting the
Man-of-the-Match award in a NatWest final a few years ago. Has anyone else
made a century in a Lord’s final but ended up missing out on the match
award? asked George Parker from Brighton
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David Smith made 124 for Sussex in the NatWest final in 1993, but ended up on the
losing side: Warwickshire won, and Asif Din, who also scored a century,
picked up the Man-of-the-Match award. Sussex had made 321 in their 60
overs, the sort of score that usually guaranteed victory back then – times
have changed a little since, as Australia found out last week! The only
other man to make a century in a domestic final at Lord’s but not carry
off the match award was Nick Knight, whose 118 failed to take Warwickshire
to victory in the C&G Trophy final in
2005: Sean Ervine won the award for his 104 for the winners,
Hampshire.How does the Duckworth/Lewis system for rain-affected one-day matches
work? asked Shabbir Khan from Karachi
To explain it properly would take rather more space than we have here –
the official explanation runs to more than 3000 words. The simplified
version is that the method calculates the resources left (the number of
overs left and the number of wickets standing) to the side batting second,
and adjusts the target accordingly. The full regulations for the system
can be found on the
official ICC website.And there’s an update to last week’s question about one-day
internationals played in whites, from Vivek Srinivasan and
others
“The last one-day series played in whites was not the Texaco Trophy series
in 1998, which was the last one played in whites in England. It was the
India-Zimbabwe series in India in December 2000.”
It has been error-strewn match so far, with batsmen being given not out when they should have been out, and given out when they were not
Sambit Bal at Trent Bridge29-Jul-2007
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You know all’s not well when umpires become the topic of discussion during a match and a good day for India in the field, their third in succession, will inevitably be overshadowed by the debate over the two decisions that denied two of their batting stars, most certainly on the their last tour of England, what would have been well-earned hundreds.Umpiring decisions, it is said, even out in the end and England – who were at the rough end yesterday – got two lucky breaks today. Umpires, like players, are entitled to poor matches, and Simon Taufel, who has been adjudged the best umpire in the world by the ICC, got two dreadfully wrong today.Players are usually far less exercised by the odd umpiring decision than fans, for they have a far greater appreciation of the difficulty of the job, but both Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly left fuming today. It could have been because both were in sight of hundreds but it could equally be because the decisions were so obviously wrong.Without doubt, Taufel has had a bad series so far. At Lord’s he gave Rahul Dravid and Kevin Pietersen out wrongly. Those were marginal decisions though, compared to the poor ones today. Tendulkar had reason to feel aggrieved because, even though he offered no stroke, he seemed to have read the line of the ball correctly. It didn’t look out and the fact that Taufel deliberated his decision would seem to indicate uncertainty. It is not criminal to have the benefit of the doubt extended to the bowler occasionally, particularly when he has beaten the batsman with a good ball, but it wasn’t the case with Paul Collingwood.James Anderson was even less deserving of Ganguly’s wicket. He had been England’s worst bowler of the day, unable to hold his line and serving up boundary balls with regularity and the ball that got Ganguly was almost as much a shocker as the decision that followed. Not only did the bat not make contact with the ball, there was no other contact, either with the pad or with the ground, that could have persuaded the umpire in favour of the appeal.
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In the end, the decisions perhaps squared things a bit. The point isn’t about which side benefited more, but that it has been an error-strewn match so far, with batsmen being given not out when they should have been out, and given out when they were not |
Later, Ian Howell’s two leg-before decisions to Monty Panesar proved that tailenders are not often awarded the generosity extended to top-order batsmen. RP Singh was no more out than Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik, who got away yesterday, and Sreesanth, the last man, was not out.In the end, the decisions perhaps squared things a bit. The point isn’t about which side benefited more, but that it has been an error-strewn match so far, with batsmen being given not out when they should have been out, and given out when they were not.Not that India should lose sleep over these decisions because it has been the perfect Test for them otherwise. Even though none of their batsmen got to a hundred, it has been a wholesome batting performance. The openers exceeded expectations and the middle order lived up to it. Batting has grown progressively easier this match but the point is the pitch has been absolutely flat. It has been the kind of a pitch on which settling in hasn’t been easy but each of India’s top order did, and five of them scored half centuries. It wasn’t as dominating or sumptuous a performance as in Headingley in 2002 but it was attritional, skilful and, at times, gorgeous.Most importantly, only twice in the innings did two top-order wickets fall in quick succession. The openers added 147, but got out within two runs, Dravid and Tendulkar then added 97, which was followed by a 96-run partnership between Tendulkar and Ganguly and a 67-run one between Ganguly and Laxman. And after Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni had fallen within the space of five runs Laxman and Anil Kumble added 50 runs. With the pitch never absolutely benign, a collapse was never out of question, but Indians averted it with alacrity.It was the second successive time Tendulkar has been dismissed in the 90s at Trent Bridge but, in contrast to his 92 in 2002, which came off 113 balls and featured a number of scintillating strokes, this was a battling effort. He didn’t score a run off Chris Tremlett for 18 balls yesterday and this morning Ryan Sidebottom kept him on the edge for more than an hour. Off the 48 balls he received from Sidebottom in the morning Tendulkar scored a mere seven runs, with three scoring shots, and was beaten six times outside the off stump and had three vociferous appeals turned down. At the first drinks break, Sidebottom was on his back as if saying, “what more do I need to do to get you out?”To Tendulkar’s credit, though, his concentration never wavered; he was alert to tuck and square drive Anderson for fours, and danced down the wicket to hit Panesar inside out over extra cover. It was a stroke reminiscent of his dominance of Shane Warne. Centuries are sometimes accorded exaggerated value; this was an innings far more significant, both in quality and importance to his team, than Tendulkar’s last two hundreds.The most fluent innings of the day, however, came from Ganguly. His footwork was decisive, his leaving outside the off stump was assured and his timing impeccable. While Tendulkar faced Sidebottom almost exclusively through the morning session, Ganguly took over the scoring at the other end, dealing mainly in boundaries between gully and extra cover. Michael Vaughan posted two gullys and two more men square of the wicket on the off side but Ganguly still eased balls into gaps and, when Panesar came, cover-drove and cut him exquisitely.The lead of 283 is India’s highest, batting second outside the subcontinent. Their bowlers haven’t allowed England to go past 300 in the series so far. They will have to earn their wickets because bowling will perhaps be hardest on the fourth day, but the stage is now set for them to go one-up.
Stats highlights from the Delhi Test between India and Pakistan, which India won by six wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series
S Rajesh26-Nov-2007
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