Lionel Messi was asked for a selfie by his own team-mate during Argentina's latest camp, while he swapped shirts with a rival that he nutmegged on two occasions while helping to deliver a 2-0 victory over Angola. The eight-time Ballon d’Or showed once again before and after that contest why he remains a star attraction, with everybody wanting a piece of him.

• Will Messi play at the 2026 World Cup? No decision made as yet

  Messi, much like eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo, is aware that he cannot go on forever. He has signed a new three-year contract at MLS side Inter Miami, taking him through 2028, but has hinted at international retirement being close.

  He has earned 196 caps, scoring 115 goals, but is yet to decide whether he will form part of a World Cup title defence next summer when FIFA’s flagship event heads to the United States, Canada and Mexico. The expectation is that he will grace that tournament.

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  Starstruck! Panichelli asks for selfie with Messi

  Coaches and colleagues are, however, looking to make the most of every opportunity that they get to work with the all-time great. For Argentina new boy Joaquin Panichelli – who made his senior debut against Angola – that means getting a picture with the GOAT when the chance presents itself.

  He has told of working with Messi: “I grew up watching him, for so long. To be here, to see him in person. Not only him but all the superstars here, it's really great. It's still a football team, it's football, and I tried to be prepared and do my best. I asked him for a photo; it was really nice to be able to share these moments with him.”

  Panichelli added on making his bow against Angola, with the nine goals that he has scored in France for Strasbourg this season earning the 23-year-old his big break: “It's a dream come true to be here, and today I got to play some minutes. It's an incredible joy to be here and get some playing time. I consider myself more of a centre-forward. I feel I have the qualities and I can do it well. I'm tenacious; I like to fight and tackle.”

• Getty
  

  Shirt swap: Which Angole star landed Messi's jersey?

  Panichelli was one of several debutants in a friendly clash with Angola, as Kevin Mac Allister – the brother of World Cup-winning Liverpool star Alexis – Maximo Perrone and Gianluca Prestianni also earned their first caps.

  They got the opportunity to rub shoulders with Messi prior to seeing the Inter Miami superstar replaced as Lionel Scaloni rang the changes. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner was on the pitch long enough for one lucky opponent to claim a notable memento.

  Angola captain Fredy Ribeiro made sure to land Messi’s fabled No.10 jersey, with a shirt swap taking place after they had exchanged nutmegs during the opening 45 minutes of a contest that took place at the Novembro Stadium.

  Ribeiro told : “I swapped jerseys with him at half-time. I'll keep it for my kids. It's something they'll cherish. They asked for a photo, and I brought them a jersey! He nutmegged me twice, but then I nutmegged him. Two against one.”

  He went on to say of the game itself, which saw Messi and Lautaro Martinez find the target: “Very difficult. They have a lot of quality, you can see it in their starting eleven . We tried to do good things and I think we had some positives. I believe we showed a good image to the world, but Argentina's quality is very different.”

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• International retirement: When will Messi bow out with Argentina?

  Argentina have wrapped up qualification for the 2026 World Cup, with the defending champions expected to go well again regardless of whether Messi is involved or not. They would prefer to have their talismanic captain on board, with one last dance against Ronaldo being mooted.

  Messi will likely bow out of international football after that competition, with more historic achievements having been achieved when representing his country. He has already taken in a final outing on home soil, with his wife and children in attendance, and is assured of a place among the sporting immortals.

تأهل فريق إنبي إلى دور الـ16 من بطولة كأس مصر للموسم الحالي 2025-2026، بعدما حقق فوزًا في الدقائق الأخيرة أمام المقاولون العرب، اليوم الأحد.

وتواجه فريقا إنبي والمقاولون العرب، على ملعب استاد بتروسبورت، في إطار مواجهات دور الـ 32 من منافسات بطولة كأس مصر.

طالع.. فيديو | هاتريك سعيدو سيمبوري يقود البنك الأهلي لسحق بور فؤاد في كأس مصر

وفاز فريق إنبي بهدف دون رد، سجله لاعبه زياد كمال في الدقيقة 90+4 من عمر اللقاء، ليخطف بطاقة التأهل إلى دور ثمن النهائي في الثواني الأخيرة من المباراة. هدف فوز إنبي القاتل أمام المقاولون العرب في كأس مصر

ومن المقرر أن يلتقي إنبي مع البنك الأهلي في دور الـ16 من بطولة كأس مصر، في موعد سيحدده اتحاد الكرة المصري في وقت لاحق.

وتأهل حتى الآن إلى دور الـ16 من بطولة كأس مصر، كل من سموحة والبنك الأهلي وبتروجيت وكهرباء الإسماعيلية وفاركو.

MatériaMais Notícias

O volante Allan, do Flamengo, está fora da partida contra o Bolívar, da Bolívia, pela terceira rodada da fase de grupos da Libertadores. O clube informou no início da tarde desta terça-feira (23), que o jogador tem “traços falcêmicos que podem prejudicar a alta performance em altitude”. Mas o que é este termo que tirou o atleta do jogo? Entenda abaixo.

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➡️Mengão vai subir a montanha! Aposte R$100 no Lance! Betting e ganhe R$300 para vitória do Flamengo sobre o Bolívar-BOL

➡️ Tudo sobre o Mengão agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso canal Lance! Flamengo

O Lance! entrou em contato com o médico Michael Simoni, ex-Fluminense e Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (CBF), que explicou de maneira que o torcedor pudesse entender. Segundo o especialista, Allan não tem a mesma capacidade respiratória e de carregar esse oxigênio para o corpo, o que poderia colocar o volante em risco.

Existe uma doença chamada anemia falciforme, onde as hemácias têm um formato diferente, consequentemente, de uma forma bem leiga, têm dificuldade em carregar o oxigênio para as partes do corpo. Quando a pessoa tem traço falcêmico, não quer dizer que ela tenha anemia falciforme, mas ela geneticamente tem um traço de aproximação para esta doença. Com falta de oxigênio pode levar a dificuldade dessas hemácias a carregarem o oxigênio pelo corpo

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disse Michael Simoni. E elogiou a postura do Flamengo:

– A decisão foi muito inteligente por parte do Departamento Médico e Fisiologia em preservar a integridade do jogador e não correr riscos. Ele (Allan) seria um atleta com dificuldade de carregar o oxigênio e, se você vai jogar em 4000 (metros de altitude) há uma tendência para a falta de oxigenação. Um cara não tem a mesma capacidade respiratória e de carregar esse oxigênio para o corpo. Poderia colocar o atelta em risco e foi muito prudente e inteligente por parte do Flamengo.

Além de Allan, o Flamengo também não vai contar com outros sete jogadores para a partida contra o Bolívar. São eles: Pedro, Arrascaeta, Everton Cebolinha, Léo Pereira, Erick Pulgar, Ayrton Lucas e Varela.

continua após a publicidade

O Flamengo vai encarar o Bolívar a quase 4 mil metros de altitude. A bola vai rolar para este jogo da terceira rodada da fase de grupos nesta quarta-feira (24), às 21h30, no Estádio Hernando Siles.

Tudo sobre

AllanBolívarFlamengoLibertadores

The Colorado Rockies have found wins hard to come by during the 2025 MLB season. A lot of the time, it's due to their own shortcomings or lapses in judgement.

They managed to escape with a win on Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6–5, but they came dangerously close to throwing the game away. Juan Mejia was on the mound looking to secure the first save of his career, and he managed to do so, though in no ordinary fashion.

With two men out and runners on second and third, Mejia got Ketel Marte to hit a pop up in the infield. Rather than let his teammates make a play on the ball, Mejia took off from the mound and bolted towards first base to attempt to field the fly ball. Not expecting his pitcher to be in the area, Rockies first baseman Warming Bernabel also chased down the ball and ended up running straight through Mejia like a safety flattening an unsuspecting wide receiver.

Fortunately, Mejia was able to hold onto the ball despite taking the full brunt of a hit from his teammate. He remained on the ground for a few seconds before getting to his feet with a grin on his face and celebrating with his teammates.

His teammates shared a good laugh over the play in the aftermath, though they may have been wearing plenty different expressions on their faces had the game-winning run crossed the plate as a result of Mejia's unnecessary defensive efforts.

That's how you end a game, Rockies style.

Third base umpire Clint Vondrak couldn't get out of the way of a fair ball during Friday afternoon's game between the Cubs and Pirates at Wrigley Field, leading to a very unfortunate out for Pittsburgh.

Sitting on a 2-2 count in the top of the fifth inning, Pirates catcher Henry Davis ripped one down the third base line off pitcher Colin Rea. The ball proceeded to bounce over the bag and under third baseman Matt Shaw's glove before hitting off of Vondrak's lower leg.

Shaw smartly stayed with the play and was able to throw Davis out at second as he tried to stretch a single into a double.

Here's a look at the play:

An unfortunate turn of events for the Pirates, who entered Friday's contest on a five-game losing streak and sit at just 51-71 on the season.

The good news? Pittsburgh was able to bounce back and take a 2-1 lead in the seventh thanks to an RBI double from Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

Pakistan’s captain Fatima Sana and India’s bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi did not dwell on the tensions between the countries ahead of Sunday’s fixture

Andrew Fidel Fernando04-Oct-2025A day out from what will likely be one of the most-followed matches of this Women’s World Cup, both teams are insisting they are focused on the cricket. Pakistan captain Fatima Sana appeared to suggest that as far as Pakistan are concerned, India are a team like any other. She also spoke briefly about the good relations these teams have enjoyed in the past.India bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi said, meanwhile, that in a big tournament “the area of focus is only cricket”. There have been no indications on whether the India players would decline to shake the hands of the Pakistan players on Sunday, as the men’s team had done during the recent Asia Cup, although BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia did not rule out the possibility in an interview this week. Both teams also requested that questions at the pre-match press conference be constrained to the cricket.Sana did, however, speak briefly on the camaraderie between the players in past tournaments. At the 2022 World Cup in New Zealand, for instance, several India players were seen interacting with then-Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof’s six-month old daughter, as players comforted the toddler on their shoulder, in what was one of the most heartwarming moments of that tournament.Related

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Political tensions between the nations have worsened substantially since then. India’s male players were previously seen interacting with Pakistan players at earlier Asia Cups but refrained from doing so during the most recent edition, which ended last week.”We have great relationships with all other teams, and we try and keep good relations with everyone,” Sana said a day ahead of the match against India. “We’ll try to do everything within the spirit of the game.”Those pictures in the past with everyone mingling with each other around Bismah’s daughter – those scenes look good and everyone enjoys seeing that. But, of course, our focus has to be on what we’re here for – to play.”Both teams were keen to stress that they were doing their best to ignore the politics of this moment. “We’re like a family of 20-22 people here,” Sana said of the Pakistan team environment. “We don’t really worry about what’s going on outside our bubble. We get to hear about things happening external to cricket, but we focus on our game. The World Cup is something every player waits for, so we just want to focus on the thing we’ve come here for.”Salvi’s comments on the eve of the match echoed that sentiment. “The area of focus is cricket,” he said. “We want our girls to bring that ‘A’ game to the day. We want them to take it just as a game, because the World Cup is a long campaign. It’s a long campaign – there will be a lot of games coming up.”

Jurgen Klopp has already delivered his verdict on completing a return to Liverpool, who endured yet another disastrous afternoon in the Premier League as Nottingham Forest secured a dominant victory.

It’s hard to believe that the Reds were Premier League champions in May, and impressive ones at that. Arne Slot arrived and quickly conquered to shock the rest of English football. It looked like Michael Edwards had performed another act of recruitment genius, but now uncomfortable questions are beginning to emerge.

Liverpool have lost five of their last eight games and now sit in the bottom-half after 12 league games, all but ending their title defence before January has even arrived. After breaking their transfer record twice to welcome Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, it is a run of form that no one saw coming.

It’s now up to Slot to prove his credentials in a crisis. Victory over Real Madrid and Aston Villa proved that there is still plenty of quality in this Liverpool side, it’s just a question of when that quality will be on show.

Just how long Slot will have to turn things around is also a big question. Liverpool have never rushed managerial decisions and Slot has much more credit in the bank than others have done in the past, but the current run of results needs to end – especially if they come at Anfield.

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The Reds know all about his quality.

ByTom Cunningham Nov 21, 2025

With the pressure building, Liverpool are set to play host to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Wednesday. Defeat there would certainly do further damage to the credit that Slot banked last season and perhaps send a timely reminder about Klopp’s answer about if he’d ever make a shock return.

Klopp's seven-word answer when asked if he was returning to Liverpool

Just before leaving the club, Klopp was asked if he’d ever make a return to the Anfield dugout if Liverpool needed him.

At the time and certainly for the entirety of last season, it was simply a throw-away answer and one that looked unlikely to rear its head again. Now, however, those at Anfield could do with their iconic manager’s energy more than ever.

They won’t and shouldn’t panic about Slot’s current run, but Liverpool should ensure that the Dutchman channels his very own version of Klopp. When Klopp’s sides were up against it, he had that unique ability to pull off what many still deem miracles to this day. He turned doubters to believers to champions. Slot must now remind his very own champions just who they are in similar fashion.

Meanwhile, if the manager’s run continues then Edwards could yet turn back towards one of the best managers in the club’s history for a stunning second stint.

£280,000-a-week Liverpool star slammed for "anonymous" Nottingham Forest display

Also includes the ball used, team and venue details, and more on the first WTC final to not feature India

Vishal Dikshit09-Jun-20256:55

Philander: ‘SA will put up massive fight against favourites Australia’

What exactly is this WTC final?

It’s the game deciding the winner of biggest title in Test cricket. The ICC started the World Test Championship (WTC) in 2019 that would run on a two-year cycle with nine teams competing in a league. At the end of the cycle, the top two teams on the points table face off in the final to get their hands on the ICC mace.

So which two teams are playing this time?

The defending champions Australia and South Africa, who will play their maiden WTC final. South Africa topped the table for the 2023-25 WTC cycle by winning their last seven Tests on the bounce that helped them overtake at least four other teams.Related

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• Bat down, hunger up: Smith ready for Lord's after American reset

Australia are the current title-holders, having thrashed two-time finalists India in the 2023 final at The Oval. Australia had won by a massive margin of 209 runs with centuries from Steven Smith and Travis Head in the first innings, before their bowling attack restricted India to sub-300 totals in each innings. Head was named the Player of the Match, just a few months before he repeated the feat against the same opponent in the ODI World Cup final in November 2023 in India.

When and where is the WTC final 2025?

After Southampton in 2021 and The Oval in 2023, the 2025 final is set to be played at the historic venue Lord’s, June 11 onwards. It’s for the third time in a row that the venue has turned out to be a neutral ground for the finalists, as the first WTC final was played between New Zealand and India. The 2025 WTC final will start at 10:30am local time, which is 09:30am GMT.Temba Bavuma and Pat Cummins with the Test mace ahead of the WTC final•ICC via Getty Images

Who are the captains of the finalists and what do the squads look like?

Pat Cummins will lead Australia whereas Temba Bavuma will captain South Africa.There is a lot of intrigue around who will open with Usman Khawaja for Australia. The 19-year-old Sam Konstas was named in the side, but he was left out in Sri Lanka earlier this year. The other option is to open with Marnus Labuschagne, which seems like the likeliest option right now, with Cameron Green set to slot in at No. 3 as a batter only. The bowling attack looks more straightforward with Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon all set to start, with Scott Boland also in the side, and Matt Kuhnemann as Lyon’s cover.Australia squad: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Beau Webster, Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon, Matt Kuhnemann. Travelling reserve: Brendan DoggettSouth Africa also named a familiar-looking side featuring senior players such as Bavuma, Kagiso Rabada, Aiden Markram and Keshav Maharaj. Rabada recently returned after completing a one-month suspension for failing a drug test, after which he played in the IPL in India and then the four-day tour game against Zimbabwe in Arundel. Rabada will lead a six-man pace pack at the WTC final which includes Lungi Ngidi, who has not featured in Tests since August last year. There was, however, no place for Gerald Coetzee, who was ruled out of the home summer with an injury, 19-year-old left-arm seamer Kwena Maphaka, Anrich Nortje and Nandre Burger. The two spinners in their squad are Maharaj and allrounder Senuran Muthusamy.South Africa squad: Tony de Zorzi, Ryan Rickelton, Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma (capt), David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy

What is the prize money for the WTC winners?

The prize money for the 2025 winners has more than doubled compared to the last two editions, from US$ 1.6 million to $3.6 million. The 2025 runners-up will take home $2.1 million this time, compared to $800,000 in the last two editions. While announcing the increase in prize money last month, the ICC had stated in a release it was their effort “to prioritize Test cricket.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

What happens if the Test is drawn, tied or abandoned?

In any of those scenarios, Australia and South Africa will have to share the WTC trophy. However, to reduce the possibility of a draw, the match has a reserve day in place.

So will they use the reserve day if there’s no clear winner in five days?

That’s not quite it. The sixth day after the match starts – June 16 – has been kept as a reserve day. It will be used only if time has been lost to bad weather across the five days and they are unable to make up for it in those five days, and no result has been reached by the end of the fifth day.This was the case in the 2021 final when the first day’s play had been washed out in Southampton and the reserve day was used to cover for the time that had been lost. There were bad light and rain interruptions on other days, too.

So tell us now what’s the weather forecast like?

The first day is likely to be a little overcast but there is some rain forecast on the second day, June 12. The three days after that should be a lot better to play with sunny conditions and some clouds thrown in.

What ball will they play with in the final?

As was the case in the last two finals, it will be the Dukes ball again, which is used primarily in England, Ireland and the West Indies for Test cricket. Australia and South Africa both are used to playing with the Kookaburra at home.

Where can we watch the WTC final

There are different international broadcast partners who will bring the live coverage and the highlights to you. Here’s the list:India: Star Sports & Jiostar
Australia: Amazon Prime Video
South Africa: SuperSport TV
UK: Sky Sports Cricket
USA & Canada: Willow TV and Willow TV app
Caribbean & South America: ESPN Caribbean and ESPN Play Caribbean
New Zealand: Sky Sport Network
Middle East & North Africa: TSM via Nagorik TV, e&
Pakistan: PTV and Ten Sports
Afghanistan: Ariana Television
Sri Lanka: Maharaja TV
Singapore: StarHub
Malaysia: Astro
Hong Kong: PCCW
Pacific Islands: PNG Digicel
Rest of the World: ICC.tv

Liverpool have now reportedly held concrete talks to sign Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth, as they look to the January transfer window in an attempt to solve their problems.

The Reds are in a crisis, that can no longer be denied. Defeat against Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Saturday slammed home just how much trouble Arne Slot’s side find themselves in. Their crown has evaporated, their dominance has subsided and they sit in the bottom half after 12 games in the Premier League.

Liverpool legend and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher had his say on the Reds’ problems on Monday Night Football, saying that he would like to see Mohamed Salah come out and speak for the side.

“A year ago this weekend, Mo Salah wasn’t shy in coming out and speaking about his own situation, about the club not offering him a contract.

“I only ever hear Salah speak when he gets man of the match or he needs a new contract. I would like to see Salah come out as one of the leaders, one the legends of Liverpool, come out and speak for the team. It shouldn’t always be the captain.”

The Egyptian, however, may decide to let his football do the talking as Liverpool desperately look to get back on track against PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday night.

The Champions League has often handed the Premier League champions some much-needed reprieve this season, with victory over Real Madrid the best win of their season last time out.

Now, the visit of PSV presents Slot’s side with a similar opportunity to turn results around, before squaring off against West Ham United this weekend.

"I'm told" – Romano shares what Slot thinks about his own Liverpool future

Arne Slot is under pressure at Liverpool and Fabrizio Romano has delivered a telling update on his future.

1

By
Sean Markus Clifford

Nov 24, 2025

Meanwhile, in the middle of their dismal period of form, Liverpool have reportedly been getting to work off the pitch on much-needed reinforcements.

Liverpool now "seriously working" on Semenyo deal

As reported by Sky Sports’ Florian Plettenberg, Liverpool are now “seriously working” on a deal to sign Semenyo from Bournemouth in the January transfer window.

Despite suggestions he has chosen to join Manchester United, those at Anfield have reportedly held “concrete talks” in pursuit of the winger, who has a release clause worth around €70m (£62m).

There is plenty of competition, but Liverpool should go all out to land Semenyo in January. They’ve missed the direct ability that Luis Diaz provided them – the ability that draws fouls, breaks low blocks down and evades an opposition press. Semenyo, however, can offer them exactly that.

The Bournemouth star has enjoyed 10 more successful take-ons than Salah so far this season and has earned high praise from ex-Liverpool man Jamie Redknapp as a result. The Sky Sports pundit described Semenyo as “unique” earlier in the campaign.

Who is to blame for Isak's form at Liverpool?

Also, some numbers on India’s left-hand batting dominance and KL Rahul’s role

Sampath Bandarupalli27-Jul-20252:09

Manjrekar: ‘Warriors’ keep sprouting for India when needed

2 – Number of Tests involving England ending in draws since Brendon McCullum became their head coach. This was the 40th Test under McCullum. The other draw was against Australia in 2023, also at Old Trafford.ESPNcricinfo Ltd7 – Number of 350-plus totals for India in the four Test so far, the most for a team in a Test series. The previous best was six, by Australia, who have done it three times in the Ashes, in 1920-21, 1948, and 1989.This series is also the first instance of India crossing 300 on seven occasions in a series. Eight is the record.0 – Instances of a team winning a Test match at Old Trafford after choosing to bowl first. Teams electing to bowl first here have lost three of the 12, while nine ended in draws.The latest result continued India’s winless run at Old Trafford, where they have played ten matches, the most by them at a venue without a win.ESPNcricinfo Ltd4 – Number of hundreds for Shubman Gill in the series, the joint-highest by an India batter in a series. Sunil Gavaskar had four hundreds against West Indies in 1971 and 1978-79, while Virat Kohli also scored four on the 2014-15 tour of Australia.Gill is also only the third captain with four hundreds in a Test series, following Don Bradman against India in 1947-48 and Gavaskar against West Indies in 1978-79.Gill’s four hundreds are also the joint-highest in a series in England. Bradman (in 1930) is the only other visiting batter with four hundreds in a series in England.ESPNcricinfo Ltd722 – Runs scored by Gill in this series. Only Gavaskar has scored more runs in a Test series for India – 774 in 1970 and 732 in 1978-79; both against West Indies.188 – The partnership between Gill and KL Rahul is by far the highest third-wicket stand in Test cricket history after being two-down for zero. The previous highest was 105 by Mohinder Amarnath and GR Viswanath against Australia in Melbourne in 1977.Gill and Rahul batted 417 balls together during their partnership. It is the longest Test partnership for India in England since 1998.9 – 50-plus scores for Ravindra Jadeja in Tests in England, all while batting at No. 6 or lower, the joint-highest by a visiting player alongside Garry Sobers. Jadeja and Sobers are also the only visiting players with 1000-plus runs from No. 6 or lower in England.Jadeja also has 34 wickets in England. Only two visiting players have taken more wickets while scoring 1000-plus runs in a country: Wilfred Rhodes (1032 runs and 42 wickets in Australia) and Sobers (1820 runs and 62 wickets in England).511 – Runs aggregated by Rahul in this series so far. He is the first visiting opener to score 500-plus runs in a Test series since Graeme Smith’s 714 in 2003. Only Gavaskar among India openers (542 in 1979) has scored more than Rahul in a series in England.Four India batters have aggregated 400-plus runs in this series – Gill, Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Jadeja, the first such instance for them. The previous series in which four (or more) batters scored 400-plus runs for a team was in 1993 – six Australia batters did it in the Ashes that year.4 – Instances of India knocking off a 300-plus first-innings deficit to draw a Test match. The highest is 368 against England – also at Old Trafford in 1936 – while they overhauled 334 against Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad and 314 against New Zealand in Napier, both in 2009.3 – Century-makers in the second innings for India at Old Trafford – Gill, Jadeja and Washington. It is the first instance of three batters scoring hundreds for India in the second innings of a Test match.Ravindra Jadeja celebrates his well-deserved century•Getty Images1 – Five left-hand India batters – Yashasvi Jaiswal, B Sai Sudharsan and Pant in the first innings, while Washington Sundar and Jadeja in the second innings – had 50-plus scores in the Old Trafford Test. Only once before have five left-hand batters scored at least 50 for a team in a Test.Seven left-hand batters got at least 50 runs at Old Trafford, including Ben Duckett and Ben Stokes, the most for a Test match.A total of 12 batters got past 50 across both teams. This is the joint-second-highest, behind the 13 by South Africa and England in Durban in 1939.Seven of them at Old Trafford were by India batters, the joint-most for them in a Test match. Only Pakistan (eight vs India in 2006 in Karachi) had more players with 50-plus scores.5 – Number of sessions where India batted 20-plus overs without losing a wicket at Old Trafford. Since the start of 2014, only one team has had as many wicketless sessions in a Test match – six by Pakistan against Australia in 2022 in Rawalpindi. No other team have been as strong in more than three sessions in a Test match in this period.ESPNcricinfo Ltd12 – Batters who have scored a century in this series. Australia’s tour of the West Indies in 1955 is the only other series to feature 12 century-makers.A total of 18 centuries have been scored in this series so far, the third-highest in a Test series. Eleven have come from India, the joint-highest for them in a Test series, alongside the 1978-79 home series against West Indies.