Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson took a swipe at the physical size of Tony Pulis’ Stoke City side ahead of their clash today, as reported by The Sun.
Sir Alex claimed that former United striker Michael Owen would have to ‘bring his ladder’ if he had any chance of playing and he called Pulis’ team the ‘jolly green giants’.
Somehow we can see the Stoke manager having a quiet word with the Manchester United boss when the two meet on the touch line today.
Sir Alex told The Sun: “The jolly green giants are coming to play against us tomorrow.”
“Michael is not allowed to play unless he brings a ladder. They are the biggest team in Europe.
“You can get yourself all in a fangle about that because they are a handful at set-piece play and with their long throw-ins.
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“But you can’t make a terror for yourself. Hopefully we can play our game and get the result we want.”
According to Foot Mercato, Middlesbrough youngster Bilal Brahimi is a transfer target for Newcastle United, Liverpool and Everton in this summer’s window.
What’s the story?
Middlesbrough impressed for long stages of their 2017-18 Championship season, and ultimately finished in fifth position, which secured a spot in the playoffs.
Tony Pulis’ side lost out to Aston Villa in the semi-finals, however, and are therefore facing at least one more season in the second tier of English football.
As a result, they may find it difficult to keep in-demand players this summer, particularly if interest from the Premier League arrives.
According to Foot Mercato, Middlesbrough will have to hold off interest from Newcastle, Liverpool and Everton if they wish to keep youngster Brahimi at the club this summer.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”252976″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch 21 things that will definitely happen at the World Cup”]
The 18-year-old is seen as one of the brightest young players in the English game, and it has also been reported that at least three La Liga clubs are closely monitoring developments.
Can Middlesbrough keep him?
Brahimi moved to Middlesbrough from Portuguese outfit Leixoes last summer, and is yet to make his first-team debut for the club despite his obvious talent.
The attacker scored three times in 15 appearances for Middlesbrough’s Under-18 team, however, and also featured for the Under-23 side during the 2017-18 campaign.
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The Paris-born teenager can play as a central striker, but has largely operated as a winger during his short time at Middlesbrough.
The length of Brahimi’s contract is currently unclear, but Middlesbrough will find it difficult to keep him if the Premier League trio decide to make a move.
That said, Brahimi really should be looking for first-team football at this stage of his career, and there is absolutely no reason why he cannot play a key role in his current team’s 2018-19 Championship campaign.
Mauricio Pellegrino will hope the 1-1 draw with Tottenham on Sunday proves to be something of a turning point in Southampton’s relegation-threatened campaign.
Saints are still winless in the Premier League since November but there has been a noticeable upturn in performance recently and with the top six so far away from the rest of the division this season, a point against a Tottenham side boasting the top flight’s leading goalscorer, Harry Kane, is almost as good as a victory. In any case, it breeds vital confidence into a squad that knows it has underachieved this season and knows results must improve instantaneously.
And yet, a point against Tottenham isn’t the real litmus test of Southampton’s survival credentials. We know this Southampton side can defend well and give top opposition a run for their money – they’ve conceded just four goals to Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City so far this season – and in many ways, Tottenham’s tendencies played perfectly into their hands on Sunday as Mauricio Pochettino’s side tried to play their way through a sturdy and resolute engine room in central areas.
Indeed, the real barometer of whether Southampton can move clear of the drop zone comes next weekend when they host a Brighton side equally fearful of dropping into the Championship. In stark contrast to decent defensive displays against the top six – barring the reverse with Tottenham that ended in a 5-2 defeat at Wembley and a 3-0 loss to Liverpool – Southampton have averaged just 0.9 goals per game against sides in the bottom nine this season. If Saints are to avoid what would be a shock relegation, they need to start breaking down sides who will let them have the ball and won’t allow them space on the counter-attack.
Brighton certainly fall into that category. This season, only five Premier League sides have averaged less possession than the Seagulls, who have spent the most time of any top-flight team, 32%, in their own defensive third and the least time, 23%, in the opposition’s third. Chris Hughton’s policy is, understandably, to protect the point his side already have rather than open the team up in search of two more – and, perhaps because they’re still viewed as something of a big drawer by bottom half sides, that’s where Southampton have really struggled this term.
The good news though, is that from the remaining 14 games, Southampton face five non-top-six teams away from home. While that gives them less chance of victory, in theory, it does mean the likes of Swansea, Newcastle, West Brom and Burnley will be more open than they were when they visited St. Mary’s earlier this season. But Southampton are still due to host Brighton, Stoke and Bournemouth and Pellegrino will know his best chance of avoiding the drop is claiming all nine points from those games – that will push Saints up to 31 and leave them needing just a handful more to ensure survival.
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In order to do that, however, Southampton will have to improve upon their biggest failing this season – making clear-cut chances and actually putting them away. It’s certainly true that finishing has been a problem for Saints; they’ve averaged just one goal per game in the Premier League despite creating the seventh-most chances; but it’s a question of the quality of those scoring opportunities as well. Just 21% have ended in goals or qualified as a big chance missed, so it’s not as if Southampton’s creators have been consistently laying it on plate for the strikers in front of them.
Southampton are currently 16th in the home table and still to face Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City at St. Mary’s, it’s clearly home results against the Premier League’s more ordinary sides that have let them down this season. In many ways, that’s symptomatic of the Premier League right now – the middle order who try to play more expansive football, the likes of West Ham, Stoke and Crystal Palace, have all suffered with the likes of Burnley and Leicester replacing them as the top six chasers.
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But there are signs of that trend coming to an end as we reach the business portion of the campaign and Southampton cannot afford to be excluded from that revival. Whether it requires a change of mentality, formation or personnel, Pellegrino needs to find a way of ending Southampton’s struggles against the Premier League’s lesser sides when Brighton come to town. Fail to do so, and relegation becomes a frighteningly real possibility.
t’s that time of the week again. Time to start preparing your betting slips for another epic weekend of Premier League football.
Thomas of Footballtips.com gives us three essential bets.
Before the tips, let’s just have a quick word on the Champions League and the criticism directed at Arsenal. Let’s be honest, they came up against a European super power and their players are shattered.
It baffled me how Arsene Wenger didn’t get a striker in January and from the moment Mesut Ozil had his penalty saved on Wednesday – it was game over. That was their chance.
In defence of the Gunners though, they are playing their part in one of the best Premier League title races in years. They are tired, because they play in the most entertaining and competitive league in the World.
Bayern are 16 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga and coasting. I think it’s fair to say, as English football fans, we’d rather have a competitive league than one team running away with it.
Until there’s a winter break, this could cost us having a Champions League winner, or at least a team as good and dominant as Bayern. If that’s the case – so be it!
Anyway, onto the tips…
Eden Hazard to score first
What a player Eden Hazard is. The best youngster in the World according to Jose Mourinho and just like a broken clock is right twice a day – you can’t argue with the Special One here.
I had the privilege of being invited to go and watch a game at Stamford Bridge recently and Hazard was a different class. Everything is effortless and he will go on to become one of the best ever.
As a result, he’s a good shout for first goalscorer this weekend. Chelsea host Everton and you can back him at 6/1 with Coral. He lacks a top striker to provide, so looks set to do it all himself!
Wayne Rooney to score twice or more
Wayne Rooney has signed a new contract at Manchester United and although the weekly wage is a massive £300,000 – you can’t argue with it. Think the Champions are struggling now? Take Rooney out of it and it would only get worse.
With Rooney on board, United can build with David Moyes, both in the short-term and the long-term. Immediately, it should get the team and Rooney himself a lift ahead of the trip to Palace.
It will be a tough evening for the Red Devils at Selhurst Park, but Rooney will celebrate in some style, bagging his first goals since returning from injury.
You can back Rooney to score twice or more at a very generous 7/1 with Paddy Power
Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal to win
Lastly, it’s worth pointing out an excellent enhanced treble at 188BET. You can get full details of this offer here, but essentially you get 2/1 for Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal to win on Saturday.
All you have to do is sign up to 188BET and boom – you have yourself a banker for this weekend.
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While Man City are at home to Stoke, Arsenal take on Sunderland and Chelsea – with a fantastic home record – take on Everton at Stamford Bridge.
It’s definitely worth a few quid!
Have a great weekend everyone.
Thomas Rooney is the editor of Footballtips.com, the best place for Premier League tips.
You perhaps knew that Tottenham Hotspur were in for something of a tough day as soon as the starting line-ups were filed, before their 4-2 defeat at the hands of Chelsea last Saturday.
The subsequent losses of both Gareth Bale and Mousa Dembele left Andre Villas-Boas’ side looking somewhat anemic on paper, and so it proved in practice, too, as the Lilywhites came unstuck at the hands of Roberto Di Matteo’s classy Blues side.
But although there was a rightful sense of overwhelming of disappointment come the final whistle, there shouldn’t be any need for overwhelmingly drastic post mortems. Spurs suffered a tough day under even tougher circumstances but fans shouldn’t start basing a catalogue of gloomy seasonal predictions off the back of the Chelsea result. It’s time to harness a little perspective at White Hart Lane.
So often it feels that those who frequent White Hart Lane, inhibit an almost perpetual inability to do things by halves. When a defeat occurs, it has to be deconstructed, picked apart and used to forecast a whole series of potential long-term issues ahead. A league loss to the outstanding team of the Premier League so far has produced some pretty startling forecasts from a small section of supporters. Take your pick from AVB’s inability to set a team up to a perceived need to invest £50million in players come January.
The truth is that, of course, both the team and the manager made mistakes during the weekend. Spurs again appeared to sit back after taking the initiative; despite his limitations against the Chelsea midfield, taking off Tom Huddlestone for Jake Livermore proved to be a poor substitution and none of the Tottenham back four came out the game with much to shout about. Especially not William Gallas, with the Frenchman suffering his second roasting against his former employers of the calendar year and perhaps his most chastising in recent times.
Yet, you don’t even need to prefer your glasses half full, to gauge a sense of perspective about Saturday’s events. Spurs’ loss of Gareth Bale would be somewhat akin to Chelsea losing their most potent attacking outlet and had Juan Mata not been playing, you can play devil’s advocate as to how well they would have done. Throw in the very glue that bonds Villas-Boas’ 4-2-3-1 together in Moussa Dembele, and you’re already facing something of an uphill battle.
But while the aforementioned pair rightly have taken prominence in Spurs’ list of absentees, let’s not forget the others that have been missing in action. Throw in Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Younes Kaboul and forgotten man Scott Parker, and you can forgive Villas-Boas for being a little proud with how his team coped on the weekend. That’s your first choice left winger, central midfielder, left back, centre half and current club player of the year, all out on the sidelines.
And still, Spurs can count themselves more than a smidgen unlucky to come away from the game without taking anything. The Lilywhite’s amassed 23 shots against Chelsea, even with the loss of their two creative lynchpins in Bale and Dembele and although you can attribute every goal conceded to a mistake somewhere along the line, both Gallas and Kyle Walker picked an unfortunate day to produce a couple of real howlers at the back.
While there has been a degree of reactive disdain towards the Frenchman, despite performing nowhere near as bad as what some have discredited him with in recent weeks, you couldn’t escape the feeling that his performance against the Blues was a watershed one for all the wrong reasons.
For Kyle Walker, his goal-producing cock-up in injury time had been coming for a number of weeks now and this time, he didn’t get away with it. The stick he’s received from some has gone well over the line but there’s no getting away from the fact he needs to raise his game considerably in the coming weeks. Hopefully with help from both fans and management, we’ll slowly see him coaxed back into form.
And although impatience may be growing in some quarters, the truth is that this team are still finding it’s feet under a new system, especially at home. Spurs have steadily grown in confidence, but they remain a cautious prospect when playing at White Hart Lane and after another improvement in their last home tie against Aston Villa, a visit from the league leaders was never going to represent a tie to incrementally improve their performance. Villas-Boas is getting there, but there’s no magic wand to get their home form going. It takes time.
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Furthermore, the context of the loss certainly does nothing to keep expectations well within balance, either. The home support were loathsome to endure chants of ‘Champions of Europe, we know what we are,’ but the fact remains that their London rivals are a better side, however much that may hurt fans to utter. The next time Tottenham come up against an attacking unit as talented, mobile and devastating as Chelsea’s, might not be till they go to Stamford Bridge in the April of next year.
If losing to a team that could well end up Premier League champions- while their own starting XI were depleted by injury- constitutes a terminal issue for Spurs’ season, then there isn’t much hope for the rest of the league, is there? Let’s not forget, on the same day Spurs were sunk by Mata’s magic, there was another team in North London that put in an abject performance in a 1-0 defeat away to Norwich City.
The nature of the defeat on Saturday and the opponents who inflicted it upon Tottenham, have made the wounds of the weekend’s proceedings a little bit sorer than usual. But fans can’t let the pain of a one-off game catalyze an outrageously gloomy forecast. A win against Southampton on Sunday can see Villas-Boas’ side hop into fourth and regain momentum in the push for Champions League football. For a side that is very much one still in transition, that’s not too bad at all.
Are you reading much into Spurs’ defeat at the hands of Chelsea during the weekend? Let me know what you think on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus and bat me your views on all things Tottenham.
Marko Arnautovic is a fan-favourite mostly because he’s been West Ham’s best player in a season where there have been precious few positives to hold onto.
David Moyes managed to ‘get a tune’ out of the Austrian in a way that Mark Hughes failed to do, and indeed Slaven Bilic at the start of the campaign. But although his revival should be celebrated, we shouldn’t totally forget the first few months of the year when Arnautovic had first joined the club.
Like many temperamental talents, Arnautovic can be both a talisman and a liability. His petulance is the flipside of his inspiration, ‘the mad side of genius’ is how Jonathan Pearce described it when commentating on Eric Cantona’s infamous ‘kung-fu kick’ against Crystal Palace in 1995.
For Arnautovic, his highs are not as high so his lows are not quite so low. The worst this season was a thuggish elbow on a Southampton player in one of the season’s opening games.
The problem wasn’t so much the force behind the misdemeanour, though, but the stupidity of the act. With his team 2-0 down, just a week after being thumped 4-0 at Old Trafford in the opening game of the season, the very worst way to compound the misery would be to get yourself sent off.
Worse still is doing it with only 33 minutes on the clock – they say a two goal lead is the most dangerous (though that’s clearly rubbish), and there was always a chance the Hammers could get back into the game.
Indeed, they did. Two goals from Javier Hernandez saw them level it up before a last minute penalty from Charlie Austin gave the points to Southampton. But you have to wonder just what would have happened had the Austrian stayed on the pitch. And what effect it might have had on the rest of the season.
The point here is not to castigate Arnautovic but rather to ask whether or not Manuel Pellegrini – a manager whose personality exudes calmness and moderation – would be disgusted at seeing one of his recognised star players sold off to Manchester United before the Chilean has even had the pleasure of managing a game.
Sure, Arnautovic would be a forceful and potent weapon under a manager with a penchant for attacking – almost perfect for ‘the Engineer’ in some exciting ways. But losing him may not be the end of the world – so long as he was adequately replaced.
So should West Ham sell? Well, therein, most probably, lies the problem.
West Ham fans would not (very justifiably) be delighted at seeing one of their best players sold but the main issue would surely stem from the fact that recruitment in recent years has been absolutely terrible – there is no reason to trust the board to bring in a proper replacement.
But think of the players Manuel Pellegrini relied on at Manchester City: Jesus Navas, Gael Clichy, Eliaquim Mangala. They are certainly not considered top players – indeed, some are probably punchlines in English football – but they are also ‘nice boys’ who don’t do petulance, they are players who follow the manager’s orders and buy into how he wants to play.
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You wonder if Arnautovic’s mentality wouldn’t be a recipe for disaster with a manager like that.
For what it’s worth, if I were Pellegrini, I wouldn’t sell. But only because of the Hammers’ history with new signings.
But then why would you take the job if you didn’t trust the board? And that’s why – if there’s any truth to the rumour – we might well see Pellegrini sanction a sale on the basis that there’s money available for a more down-to-Earth replacement.
As Arsenal prepare to take on Bournemouth this weekend, all eyes are nominally focused on last season’s encounter between the two. But that’s just a ploy.
Last January, Arsenal and Bournemouth played out a 3-3 draw which saw the Gunners come back from three goals down to equalise with just minutes to go. Perhaps the biggest story from the game was Olivier Giroud’s equaliser, which he celebrated with a scorpion kick celebration, wasting time as the Gunners looked to find a winner in the closing seconds.
If that was the biggest story, the lasting image, however, was that of Alexis Sanchez throwing a strop on the pitch at full-time, clearly frustrated at his side’s lack of ability to fight on in the Premier League title race.
That, and Sanchez’s rumoured interest in a move to one of the two halves of Manchester is the focus of the interest in this game. Which rather leaves both managers off the hook.
After so long in charge it’s only natural for Arsene Wenger to have had many potential proteges who have come and gone, falling by the wayside. For a long time, potential successors to the Frenchman have included the likes of Patrick Vieira and Remi Garde in the past. There are plenty of other examples, and this weekend’s opponent Eddie Howe has been mentioned in the same sort of way for a long time now.
Yet in the last few months, Howe’s achievements at Bournemouth have started to be questioned slightly. From heralding the fact that this was a man who was able to bring a team of players he picked up in League One to Premier League safety, Howe hasn’t really kicked on. The Cherries are in the midst of a battle for survival again this season, but the telling part isn’t in their league position – outside of the top six, pretty much everyone is involved in the survival battle royale – but the squad.
Bournemouth’s team is hardly the same side as when they came up, but Howe’s ability to succeed in the transfer market is certainly questionable.
Since their arrival in the Premier League Bournemouth have broken their transfer record each summer. That’s thoroughly unsurprising, and indeed exactly to be expected. Most promoted teams do that, and when you get established you can spend even more thanks to your season in the big time. Over the last two or three years – happily enough for the Cherries – Premier League spending has gone through the roof thanks to the recent TV rights deals.
And yet despite bringing in nominally better players, Bournemouth’s transfers haven’t changed their squad to the extent you might have expected. Max Gradel, Juan Iturbe, Lys Mousset and Lewis Grabban are just some of the names to have come into the Bournemouth side since their promotion, and all have been either bought in or loaned with the aim of boosting the profile of a side which was still filled with players who came up with the club.
By now, then, that’s the main point to stand against Howe’s management.
Indeed, you might think that a modern manager is only partly to blame for failed transfers. After all, directors of football and chief scouts – people Arsenal fans are hearing more and more about these days – are the ones bringing in the players at most clubs. Most managers just manage. But that’s the point: Howe was perfectly adept at getting the most out of the players he took to promotion. Since they achieved that heady success, he’s been unable to build further.
Not being able to build more than one winning team at a club is hardly the worst crime in the world. But the whole point of suggesting Howe as Wenger successor was the fact that he seemed so suited to carrying on Wenger’s work, ushering in a new dynasty. The evidence of what he’s achieved at Bournemouth shows that whilst he’s done a great job, it’s questionable whether he’d be a good fit at the Gunners. And as such, the links seem to have cooled.
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When Wenger does finally leave – we’ve been saying that for years, but he can’t go on forever… – it looks like it’ll be a coach with the worldwide profile of a Carlo Ancelotti or a Thomas Tuchel, not one like Howe. And that’s not because the Premier League is biased against English coaches, it’s simply because there are now serious questions over Howe’s abilities to manage at the very top level.
This weekend’s game will see all eyes on Alexis Sanchez, and last season’s game gives media outlets a chance to focus on that. But if it weren’t for that thriller of a game, we’d more than likely be talking about Wenger, and probably Eddie Howe’s fitness to succeed him. And the Cherries’ coach certainly has the Gunners’ current fine mess to thank for that.
On the other hand, for the Gunners, the list of possible successors has changed: whereas it used to be about men who could carry on the Wenger dynasty, it’s now starting to look like a list of men who can fix years of rot.
Tonight sees Arsenal welcome Manchester United to the Emirates Stadium for a pivotal game in what has been an unusual season for both sides.
United, so used to being at the top of the tree, a team that had an inevitability about them every time they pushed for that late winner, are now a shell of their former selves.
Arsenal on the other hand, were a team that wasn’t just always the bridesmaid, but more of a flower girl, content with qualifying for the Champions League season on season – a club which rarely dipped into their swelling coffers to buy their way to success. That was until Mesut Ozil.
And both are now experiencing differing fortunes. While Arsenal have often lead the way in the Premier League this season, Manchester United have bumbled from disaster to disaster, culminating in the 2-2 draw with bottom of the pile Fulham last time out.
But it’s not all rosy at Arsenal. After getting hammered by Liverpool and failing to make any additions in the January transfer window apart from an injured Kim Kallstrom, people are starting to question their ability to make a real title push.
Which is all the more reason why tonight’s game is so important for both sides. An Arsenal win and their season is back on track, while United fans will find it increasingly hard to defend David Moyes. On the other hand, a United win and dour Scot Mark II will buy himself some time, while Wenger will rue not breaking the bank in January to sure up their tilt at the Premier League.
And a draw? Well there’s only been two draws in the last 10 Premier League matches between these two, but if that does happen tonight, we’ll be no closer to an answer.
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If you can’t wait till kick off, here’s our big question of the day for you to get involved with: Is David Moyes the right man for the Manchester United job?
Remember you can follow it all in real-time on our LIVE Blog here!
Liverpool youngster Suso has revealed he wishes to stay at Anfield and does not want to leave under the Bosman ruling when his deal expires at the end of this season.
The Spanish teenager was brought to the club in 2009 by ex-Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez. The winger admits he feared for his chances at the club following Benitez’s exit in the summer of 2010.
“Rafa was the one that called me and convinced me to go to Liverpool when I was at Cádiz but soon after he left. The truth is, I thought that might be a problem and that things might get worse,” he said.
Three bosses later, Suso has finally progressed to finding a role in the first team under Brendan Rodgers, who has fielded the talented youngster three times in the Premier League so far this season.
The Spaniard appears to be enjoying life under Rodgers, and is happy at Liverpool.
“Brendan Rodgers is a coach that if you prove to him that you can perform, if you work hard, he has no problem in putting young players in the team. I have started three times and things are going well.
“I’m happy here, very comfortable. This is the ideal club for me in every sense. This is like a dream for me.
“We have been talking about a contract since the start of the season. We’re nearly there – we’ll sign soon” he added.
The Liverpool manager clearly rates Suso highly, and admits he rejected offers for the winger over the summer.
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“We did have a couple of offers for Suso in the summer, but I always said I didn’t want him to go.
“He’s in the last year of his contract, and it’s something we will look at,” said Rodgers.
India’s assistant coach said that the team will have to assess the misfiring batting but praised the impact of Jeffrey Vandersay
Andrew Fidel Fernando05-Aug-20241:43
Nayar on batting order change: ‘Perceived as left-right combination’
Dropping a match to this Sri Lanka was a surprise, sure. But the conditions also made for fickle cricket. Abhishek Nayar, India’s assistant coach, has, like the rest of us, not watched Sri Lanka take many games off India lately. But these were his takeaways from the second ODI, which India lost by 32 runs.He also pointed to opposition spinner Jeffrey Vandersay’s excellent lengths, and Sri Lanka’s tenacious lower order batting as reasons for the defeat. For the second match in a row, the pitch took substantial turn, enabling even less-proficient spin bowlers to become threats.Related
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Vandersay brings the vibes back for Sri Lanka
“Was it a shock? I would say yes, there is a surprise,” Nayar said. “But you anticipate and understand that in these conditions the game can turn on its head because there is so much spin on offer.”Even if you look at the last game, it was relatively easy to score against the new ball. As the ball got older, the conditions when batting second got slightly tougher. Sometimes in tough conditions, especially in the 50-over format, this happens.”We want to go back and understand, and rectify, why it happened twice in a row. The day before yesterday, we were able to stitch partnerships. But today we lost quite a few wickets in a bundle.”That bundle of wickets came between overs 14 and 24, when India lost their six wickets – all against Vandersay – for 50 runs. Vandersay had the ball turning big from the outset, as many of India’s spinners also did. But he bowled tight lines too, and kept batters pinned in the crease with his lengths and flight.”They bowled well – I think Vandersay bowled the ideal length in these conditions,” Nayar said. “In such conditions, when the ball is turning – and the way Vandersay bowled today, used his finger, and bowled stump to stump – you get these phases when there is assistance from the pitch. I feel today we should give more credit to Sri Lanka.”India faded dramatically after a fast start to the chase•AFP/Getty Images
When batting, Sri Lanka had been 136 for 6, and potentially looking at a score under 200. But for the second match in a row, Dunith Wellalage produced arguably Sri Lanka’s best innings, hitting 39 off 35 balls from No. 7. Then Kamindu Mendis, a batting allrounder who frequently bats as high as No. 4, also struck 40 off 44 at No. 8. Sri Lanka clambered their way up to 240 for 9, which always seemed a serious score on this pitch.”When you are batting first, there is less pressure,” Nayar said. “When you are chasing, the pressure is more because you have to keep an eye on the run rate, wickets. Whenever you bat first, you often have partnerships. Wellalage batted really well, both in the last game and this game. They scored important runs in the lower order.”India’s own mixing up of their batting order – Shivam Dube pushed up to No. 4, Shreyas Iyer down to No. 6, and KL Rahul at No. 7 – Nayar did not believe was especially radical. Safeguarding a left-right combo at the crease was what they were trying.”My belief is that in any sport, position only matters if you’re playing in different areas of a game. We lost wickets in the middle phase, and that’s where the middle order batters batted. It’s not as if middle order batters batted towards the end.”If you look at numbers like four, five, or six, maybe sometimes it can play games in your head. It was more about keeping a left-and-right combination, keeping in mind that there were offspinners, and a legspinner in the Sri Lanka team.”The thought process was right. When it doesn’t work out, these questions are asked often. But I’ve always believed that if a middle order batter bats as a middle order batter, it is the right decision.”