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MatériaMais Notícias

Na última rodada, o Vasco perdeu a invencibilidade na temporada ao ser derrotado pelo Botafogo, no Maranhão. Com o revés, o clube também deixou a liderança a caiu para a quarta colocação do Carioca. Nesta quinta, o Cruz-Maltino medirá forças com o Bangu, às 20h30, em São Januário, no reecontro com um de seus maiores ídolos: Felipe, técnico da equipe alvirrubra.

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Para o duelo desta quinta, Zé Gabriel, novo reforço cruz-maltino, não estará à disposição por causa do regulamento do Carioca. Ele foi regularizado no BID da CBF, porém depois do prazo estipulado pela entidade – 48 horas antes do início da rodada. Diante disto, o LANCE! listou cinco pontos importantes para o torcedor ficar de olho no Vasco contra o Alvirrubro.

Ainda não é assinante do Cariocão-2022? Acesse www.cariocaoplay.com.br, preencha o cadastro e ganhe 5% de desconto com o cupom especial do LANCE!: GE-JK-FF-ZSW

+ Confira e simule a tabela do Campeonato Carioca

– Efetividade ofensiva: No último domingo, o Vasco subiu de produção no segundo tempo e teve mais volume de jogo que o Botafogo. No entanto, a equipe não foi letal nas finalizações e deixou pontos importantes pelo caminho. Diante do Bangu, os comandados de Zé Ricardo precisam mostrar que aprenderam a lição e necessitam aproveitar as chances.

– Volta de suspensão: O lateral-direito Weverton desfalcou o time no clássico contra o Botafogo. Em seu lugar entrou o experiente Léo Matos, que falhou no gol da vitória do Alvinegro. Para enfrentar o Bangu, o camisa 17 estará de volta entre os titulares. Cabe destacar que o Gigante da Colina tem sete jogadores pendurados para o duelo:Bruno Nazário, Thiago Rodrigues, Raniel, Ulisses, Matheus Barbosa, Nene e Juninho.

– Reencontro com o ídolo: A partida desta quinta marcará o reencontro do Vasco com um dos seus maiores ídolos: o maestro Felipe. O ex-jogador comanda o Bangu e estará à beira do campo em São Januário. Será interessante observar a recepção da torcida com um dos atletas mais importantes da história do clube e que conquistou mais títulos com a Cruz de Malta no peito.

– A força de São Januário: Desde que iniciou a temporada, o Cruz-Maltino tem duas vitórias (Nova Iguaçu e Portuguesa) e um empate (Boavista) na Colina Histórica. O time tenta reconquistar a torcida e transformar seu estádio em um fator decisivo na temporada. Algo que faltou na campanha da Série B no ano passado.

– Irregularidade da defesa: Zé Ricardo tenta encontrar o equilíbrio de seu sistema defensivo. Mesmo com a zaga Anderson Conceição e Ulisses tendo boa sintonia, o time sofreu sete gols em seis jogos. No último domingo, o problema foi a falta de recomposição pela direita e uma cobertura ineficaz. O comandante citou que houve desatenção no lance, algo que deve ser corrigido para a sequência da temporada.

رفض المدير الفني لفريق كرة القدم الأول بنادي نيوكاسل، تناول اللاعبين للكحول أثناء الاحتفالات ببطولة كأس الرابطة بعد التتويج على حساب ليفربول.

وفاز نيوكاسل في نهائي كأس رابطة الأندية الإنجليزية “كاراباو” بثنائية مقابل هدف على ليفربول، وحقق أولى ألقابه منذ 70 عامًا.

وخلال الأسبوع الماضي، استعرض فريق نيوكاسل لقب كأس كارباو في شوارع المدينة، من خلال السير بحافلة بين المشجعين، للاحتفال باللقب الذي غاب عن الماكبايس.

طالع أيضًا | إيدي هاو: صنعنا التاريخ لـ نيوكاسل.. وشعرت بالقلق بعد هدف ليفربول

صحيفة “ذا صن” البريطانية، أكدت بأن إيدي هاو، المدير الفني للفريق، منعهم من تناول الكحول، أثناء الاحتفال، رغم اعتياد اللاعبين في إنجلترا وبعض الدول الأوروبية على استخدامه في مظاهر الاحتفال.

وأصدر إيدي هاو القرار قبل السير بالحافلة، مشيرًا إلى أنه لا يرغب في أن يستمر تأثير الكحول على اللاعبين لفترة طويلة، من خلال الإفراط في تناوله.

يأتي ذلك، في ظل رغبة المدرب باستمرار المنافسة في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي على مركز مؤهل لبطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا، بداية من مواجهة برينتفورد غدًا الأربعاء.

Arsenal are eyeing a £50 million Barcelona target who Aston Villa manager Unai Emery rates “extremely highly”, with the north Londoners in the market for a new creative force.

Arsenal targeting new attacking midfielder for Arteta

The departure of crucial sporting director Edu Gaspar, who oversaw significant deals for the likes of Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice during his tenure, provides a fresh challenge for Arsenal when it comes to tackling the transfer market.

Related Arsenal chiefs think they could mimic Odegaard signing in £25m playmaker

They’ve emerged as serious contenders to sign him.

Posts ByEmilio Galantini Nov 19, 2024

As per some reports in the press, Arsenal are eyeing Luis Campos (PSG) and Simon Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen) for the sporting director role, with Jason Ayto currently taking the position on an interim basis.

Arsenal’s next five Premier League games

Date

Nottingham Forest (home)

November 23

West Ham United (away)

November 30

Man United (home)

December 4

Fulham (away)

December 8

Everton (home)

December 14

Ayto was involved in a high-profile Arsenal transfer meeting in the USA last week (Charles Watts), where the topic of 2025 incomings was under discussion.

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta, managing director Richard Garlick, director Tim Lewis and the Kroenkes were also in attendance for the sit-down, and recent rumours suggest that an attacking midfield player could be on the agenda for next year.

Arteta has apparently floated the idea of a deal for Raphinha, amid the Brazilian’s exceptional run of form right now, while it is also believed that Arsenal have emerged as serious contenders to sign Arda Guler from Real Madrid.

Emirates Stadium officials apparently believe they could replicate the signing of Odegaard by tempting Guler to the Premier League, so this could be an interesting story to monitor considering the Turkey international’s struggle for game time at the Bernabeu.

More names are continuing to be linked in the build-up to January and next summer, with Villarreal star Alex Baena in the frame as well.

The Spaniard was called up to represent the eventual Euro 2024 champions for their tournament triumph earlier this year, off the back of an incredible season where he finished 2023/2024 with more assists than any other player in La Liga.

His contract also includes a £50 million release clause, meaning Arsenal and Ayto could bypass club talks and head straight to the player himself to discuss terms.

Arsenal eyeing move for Emery and Barcelona target Alex Baena

As per The Boot Room, Arsenal could rival Aston Villa for the signing of Baena, who ex-boss Emery rates “extremely highly”.

The pair worked together at Villarreal, so he could be tempted by a reunion with his former manager, but the pull of a move to title-chasing Arsenal may also be hard to ignore.

Baena is also a wanted man at Barcelona, which sums up the 23-year-old’s sheer quality, and there are few players who’ve had a better 2024 than him.

“I defy you to find a U-23 player who’s had a better 2024 than Álex Baena,” wrote journalist Zach Lowy on X.

“May 26: Finishes as top assist provider in La Liga,

“July 14: Wins the Euro title with Spain,

“August 9: Scores a goal & assist in the Olympic final vs. France,

“Oct 15: Scores on his full Spain debut.”

On a surface aiding spin, the South African spinners were on point in the first game – can India’s pair match them this time around?

Saurabh Somani20-Jan-20221:50

Can Aiden Markram find some form? Will Venkatesh Iyer bowl?

Big picture About three weeks ago, India were riding the crest of a wave. They had breached a South African fortress in Centurion, were 1-0 up in the Test series, and had every prospect of turning that into a series-winning lead. However, that belonged in 2021. In 2022, India haven’t won any game in South Africa. Defeats in the last two Tests have been followed up by a loss in the opening ODI, and now India find themselves within one game of returning home with defeats in both the series, a prospect that would have seemed somewhat far-fetched at any point before the tour began or even after the first Test.The second ODI follows close on the heels of the first one, and at the same venue too – Boland Park in Paarl. The heat and the dryness of the pitch meant spinners found purchase, and the South African duo of Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi (combined figures of 20-1-94-3) comfortably out-performed India’s pair of R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal (20-0-106-1). And if you add Aiden Markram’s part-time spin to the mix, South Africa’s spin figures become an even more impressive 26-1-124-4.Apart from expecting more from their spinners, India will also have to deal with the familiar issue of the middle order lacking runs. It has been the flip side to having a top three of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli – who have piled on runs relentlessly – that the middle order remains slightly uncooked, and it is not a problem with easy solutions.Related

van der Dussen, Bavuma feed off each other in fine partnership

Dhawan's knock underlines his value in India's ODI side

For South Africa, the theme that ran through their success in the Test series held good in the first ODI too: they are a team without too many superstars but one that still gets the job done. Rassie van der Dussen has played 30 ODIs so far, and averages a whopping 73.62 in them. In the first ODI here, he showed what he could do with inventive and attacking batting. His innings swung the game decisively South Africa’s way, with the run rate floundering until he took charge.While it is unrealistic to expect him to sustain this level of run-scoring in ODIs, it is not as if these numbers are completely out of the blue for van der Dussen. In a List A career spanning 119 matches, his average is just shy of 50.Form guideSouth Africa WLWLW (last five completed matches; most recent first)
India LLWWW
Runs haven’t been coming for Aiden Markram, and South Africa have other options in the squad•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight KL Rahul will face the heat as captain and opening batter. On the eve of the first ODI, he had lauded Venkatesh Iyer’s all-round utility to the ODI side, but then opted not to call him up for a single over with the ball even when the others were being dealt with easily by Temba Bavuma and van der Dussen. It left the question as to why Iyer was preferred to Suryakumar Yadav or Ishan Kishan, who arguably offer more as batters alone. And while batting, Rahul opted for some caution even though South Africa opened the bowling with Markram’s part-time offspin.A favourable match-up against a non-regular bowler with the field up during the powerplay and a steep target to chase should have unlocked Rahul’s free-stroking persona. Instead, he brought out the IPL image of recent vintage: the captain intent on caution. Tactically too, it wasn’t the best move as it allowed South Africa to get six overs out of the fifth bowler’s quota first up, and gave them much greater freedom to use their main bowlers at key moments. How Rahul responds to these as captain and batter will be interesting to see.While Aiden Markram’s bowling offered an unexpected bonus, and his fielding at point remains top notch, his main suit has been in trouble lately. He isn’t short of class but the runs haven’t been coming for Markram, and that is something that could trouble South Africa on another day. Hence, they could well consider a swap with a bowler. In the likes of George Linde and Dwaine Pretorius, they have bowlers who can bat.If they want to go for a pure bowler, there is Sisanda Magala. In effect, if Markram is not contributing via runs, there is an argument to be made that his part-time bowling can be replaced by someone with greater pedigree.Team news South Africa are unlikely to make changes to a winning combination from the first ODI. They followed the same philosophy in the Test matches, where Maharaj played the second and third Tests despite having little to do.South Africa (likely): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Janneman Malan, 3 Temba Bavuma (capt), 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Rassie van der Dussen, 6 David Miller, 7 Andile Phehlulwayo, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Tabraiz ShamsiRahul had said before the series began that while India would look to be flexible tactically, they would ensure those selected got a good run. On that basis, it is not likely that they will make any changes to the side from the first ODI either.India (likely): 1 KL Rahul (capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Venkatesh Iyer, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Yuzvendra ChahalPitch and conditions It is set to be another hot day in Paarl. The surface is slow and aiding spin already, and the heat will dry it out further. The slowness of the pitch is balanced by the shorter boundaries. And so, like in the first ODI, the team winning the toss will look to bat in all probability.Stats and trivia Among the top ten pace bowlers in terms of ODI wickets since Jasprit Bumrah’s debut in January 2016, only he has an economy rate below five. Bumrah has the second-most wickets in this period, but his average and economy rate are both better than Trent Boult, who has the most. Keshav Maharaj has played six of his 16 ODIs at home – all in the last two years – and in four out of those six, he has paired with Tabraiz Shamsi. This is a pointer to the South African pitches not always being spin-unfriendly, as well as to South Africa having two quality spinners to call on. Quotes “Our thought process is that we are building a team for the 2023 World Cup. So there are going to be a few hiccups here and there. But we all have good clarity that we have got this bunch of players and how we have to refine them. It doesn’t matter if we lose an odd game while trying to do that because we are looking at the bigger picture.”
“Definitely a lot more in favour of the Indian players, more like a subcontinent pitch rather than a South African pitch. So that’s what makes the victory even sweeter, basically in foreign conditions, we outplayed them.”

MatériaMais Notícias

O Palmeiras treinou na tarde desta sexta-feira em preparação para o duelo com o Santo André, neste sábado, às 16h, no Allianz Parque, pela oitava rodada do Paulistão-2022. No entanto, o dia foi marcado pela presença do ídolo alviverde César Sampaio, que integra a comissão técnica da Seleção Brasileira e realizou uma visita para captar informações visando as próximas convocações.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasFutebol InternacionalConmebol anuncia aumento da premiação para campeão e vice da Recopa Sul-AmericanaFutebol Internacional18/02/2022VídeoVÍDEO: Assista aos bastidores da vitória do Palmeiras sobre a Ferroviária pelo PaulistãoVídeo18/02/2022PalmeirasPalmeiras apresenta balanço de 2021 com superávit de R$ 123,4 milhõesPalmeiras18/02/2022

TABELA
> Veja classificação e simulador do Paulistão-2022 clicando aqui

> Conheça o aplicativo de resultados do LANCE!

GALERIA
> Veja quanto o Palmeiras faturou em premiação com Abel Ferreira

– Dentro da comissão técnica, temos uma distribuição de visitações nestes períodos pré-convocatórios. Quando temos tempo e disponibilidade, fazemos o pré-jogo e o jogo. A gente procura entender não só o universo em que os jogadores estão envolvidos como, também, caso haja alguma convocação, informações para que o atleta possa fazer uma função próxima à que ele está acostumado no clube. A ideia é que a mudança não seja tão drástica na Seleção e que possamos, assim, facilitar essa adaptação quando ele é convocado.

Vale lembrar que o ex-meio-campista é bicampeão paulista em 1993 e 1994, bicampeão do Torneio Rio-São Paulo em 1993 e 2000, bicampeão brasileiro em 1993 e 1994 e capitão na conquista da Copa Libertadores de 1999. O ídolo também não poupou elogios à sua eterna casa, onde já foi dirigente.

– É inevitável a minha identificação com os valores do clube e é um prazer enorme voltar ao lugar onde, apesar de ter jogado nos quatro grandes de São Paulo, a minha imagem está totalmente atrelada. Isso é histórico e nunca será apagado. É gratificante ver agora esta estrutura de nível mundial em todos os segmentos, não só física e metodológica, como também os funcionários de alto nível – declarou o ex-volante alviverde.

– O Palmeiras é um clube que está sempre tentando inovar e se atualizar tanto dentro quanto fora de campo. É uma referência na América do Sul e tudo isso que o clube vem vivendo não é por acaso, é sim por esta estrutura sólida e, continuando desta forma, estará sempre entre os melhores – concluiu Sampaio, que, ao todo, somou 307 partidas, com 175 vitórias e 25 gols pelo Verdão.

A Seleção Brasileira volta a jogar nos dias 24/3 e 29/3, contra Chile e Bolívia, respectivamente, pelas duas últimas rodadas das Eliminatórias da Copa do Mundo. A próxima lista de convocados será divulgada no dia 11 de março, e além de Weverton, pelo jeito, jogadores do Palmeiras podem pintar na lista.

Nottingham Forest travel to face a Manchester City side who could be there for the taking after their recent poor form, something unheard of during the Pep Guardiola reign.

City come into the clash on a run of six losses and a draw in their last seven matches, with Nuno Espírito Santo undoubtedly wanting to inflict more pain on the hosts at the Etihad.

The Reds come into the clash full of confidence after returning to winning ways in the Premier League at the weekend after defeating Ipswich Town 1-0 at the City Ground.

Chris Wood bagged his ninth league goal of what’s been an impressive campaign for the club, potentially jumping ahead of the defending champions tonight should they claim all three points.

Numerous key selection calls lie ahead for Nuno tonight, with the 50-year-old looking to claim a famous victory once again, as they did against league leaders Liverpool back in September.

Nottingham Forest team news ahead of Man City clash

Despite returning to first-team training in recent days, Brazilian midfielder Danilo will miss the clash with Guardiola’s side tonight but is said to be making good progress, according to the Reds boss.

As for fellow midfielder Ibrahim Sangare, his return to action may be a little further away, with the Ivorian still yet to recover from his hamstring issue that has seen him miss the last ten league outings.

The aforementioned duo are the only two absentees from Nuno’s squad with everyone else fit ahead of the trip to the North West.

However, the game does present some similarities to the clash against Arne Slot’s side a few months ago, with the Reds boss having a couple of selection headaches.

The win at Anfield saw a more pragmatic defensive approach, before hitting the opposition on the counter-attack, as seen with Callum Hudson-Odoi’s superb strike that day.

Despite this, Liverpool demonstrated at the weekend that the best approach to beating this current City side is by utilising the huge space available in wide areas, isolating their defenders one on one.

Should Nuno opt for a similar approach, he will need to recall one player who could be the Reds’ own version of a City star who may cause them such issues this evening.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Expand Collapse The player Nuno must unleash against Man City

City attacker Phil Foden is one of the most dangerous attackers in England’s top flight, as demonstrated by his tally of 27 goals and 12 assists in all competitions last term.

However, he’s struggled in the Premier League this season, failing to score a single goal, and only registering one assist in the process.

Regardless, he will be a huge threat in the meeting later on this evening, but Nuno could unleash his own version of the England international in the form of Anthony Elanga.

The Swede, like Foden, came through at an academy in Manchester, with the current Forest star having the pace and creativity in the final third to inflict yet more pain on Guardiola.

Elanga, who’s previously been dubbed as “frightening” by journalist Laurie Whitwell, has failed to replicate his displays from the previous campaign, but he’s still notched 14 chances created this season, the third-highest of any player in the first-team squad, numbers that a certainly Foden-esque.

Anthony Elanga’s for Forest in the PL (2024/25)

Statistics

Tally

Games played

13

Minutes played

707

Goals & assists

2

Chances created

14

Pass accuracy

79%

Successful crosses

11

Shots taken

10

Stats via FotMob

He was subsequently dropped to the bench for Jota Silva in the last outing, but Elanga’s rapid pace and direct nature could make him perfect on the counter for the Reds, in a game where they will undoubtedly have less of the ball.

The 22-year-old has previously shown that he’s capable of producing the goods against the very best sides in England, registering the assist for the winner against Liverpool, with the youngster needing a similar display tonight.

It’s a huge chance to extend their current winning run tonight against an outfit who are in the worst form of their manager’s reign at the Etihad.

Direct and quick transitions will be the key for Forest, with Elanga having all the tools to do just that and be at the centre of another memorable night for the supporters.

Related Nottingham Forest hit gold selling £15m star who's now worth less than Boly

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Posts ByEthan Lamb Nov 28, 2024

MatériaMais Notícias

O Botafogo já está em compasso de espera para a chegada de Luís Castro. Segundo informação do “GE”, atendendo aos pedidos do treinador e do Al-Duhail, o Alvinegro aceitou esperar até o fim da Copa do Emir, que tem decisão marcada para 18 de março.

RelacionadasBotafogoMesmo com ‘injeção financeira’, Botafogo vai ao mercado em busca de acordos de alto custo-benefícioBotafogo05/03/2022

Diante disto, o acordo deixa em segundo plano a tentativa de negociação para reduzir a multa de R$ 7 milhões para que o treinador deixe o Qatar antes de 30 de junho. A gestão alvinegra vê com bons olhos esta negociação.

Ainda não é assinante do Cariocão-2022? Acesse www.cariocaoplay.com.br, preencha o cadastro e ganhe 5% de desconto com o cupom especial do LANCE!: GE-JK-FF-ZSW

A avaliação da conversa entre as partes é que o Botafogo vê esta opção como uma forma de retribuir “retribui, com paciência, a honestidade do treinador””. Além disto, a gestão alvinegra acredita que o fato de Luís Castro seguir no Al-Duhail até o final da Copa do Emir demonstra que o treinador tenta fazer as coisas de maneira correta.

Luís Castro comandou, neste sábado (5), o treino da equipe para o jogo com o Al-Saiylia, pelas quartas de final da Copa do Emir, que acontecerá no dia seguinte. Não está descartada uma antecipação da vinda do português em caso de eliminação do Al-Duhail. Porém, a tendência é que sua chegada só seja debatida depois do fim da temporada do clube.

حجز نادي ماميلودي صن داونز الجنوب إفريقي بطاقة التأهل إلى دور نصف النهائي من بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا، عقب تعادله السلبي مع الترجي الرياضي التونسي في لقاء إياب ربع النهائي، الذي جمع بينهما مساء اليوم على ملعب “حمادي العقربي” برادس.

وكان صن داونز قد حقق الفوز في مباراة الذهاب على أرضه بجنوب إفريقيا بهدف دون رد، ليحسم التأهل إلى نصف النهائي مستفيدًا من نتيجة مجموع المباراتين (1-0). 

دخل الترجي اللقاء بأفضلية الأرض والجمهور، وفرض سيطرته على مجريات اللعب في العديد من فترات اللقاء، ساعيًا لتعديل نتيجة الذهاب وخطف بطاقة العبور، بينما تمسك صن داونز بأداء دفاعي منظم وسعى لتأمين تأهله دون مخاطرة.

80 مليونًا من خارج النادي.. الأهلي يكشف لـ بطولات تفاصيل عقد زيزو

وشهدت الدقيقة 63 من عمر المباراة تسجيل الترجي هدفًا عن طريق اللاعب أشرف الجابري وسط فرحة عارمة لجماهير “باب سويقة”، إلا أن الحكم قرر إلغاء الهدف بعد الرجوع إلى تقنية الفيديو المساعد (VAR) بداعي وجود مخالفة، مما أثار جدلاً واسعًا في المدرجات. 

ورغم الضغط المتواصل من الترجي في الدقائق الأخيرة، فشل الترجي في اختراق دفاع الفريق الجنوب إفريقي، الذي حافظ على شباكه نظيفة حتى صافرة النهاية.

بهذا التأهل، يضرب صن داونز موعدًا ناريًا مع الأهلي الذي تأهل على حساب الهلال السوداني إلى دور نصف النهائي من البطولة، لتتجدد المواجهة بين الفريقين بعد سلسلة من اللقاءات المثيرة في السنوات الأخيرة.

ومن المقرر أن تُقام مباريات ذهاب نصف النهائي لـ بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا يومي 18 و19 أبريل، فيما تُلعب مواجهات الإياب الحاسمة يومي 25 و26 من الشهر ذاته.

ويطمح صن داونز لاستكمال مشواره نحو اللقب القاري الثاني في تاريخه، بينما يسعى الأهلي لمواصلة تربعه على العرش الإفريقي ومواصلة كتابة التاريخ بعد تأهله على حساب الهلال السوداني.

Marnus Labuschagne also ended unbeaten on 69 after fifties from both openers, as Khawaja fell for 97

Tristan Lavalette06-Mar-2022

Stumps Usman Khawaja fell agonisingly short of a century in the country of his birth, but an under-pressure Australia mustered a strong batting response on the third day of the first Test against Pakistan. In reply to Pakistan’s massive first innings of 476, Australia were 271 for 2 at stumps in their long road back into the series-opener in Rawalpindi.Marnus Labuschagne, the No.1-ranked Test batter in the world, lived up to top billing and relished the flat pitch to be unbeaten on 69 while Steven Smith also looked untroubled on 24 not out at stumps.Just before the close, Smith, who averaged just 30 in the Ashes at home last summer, was left startled after Shaheen Shah Afridi lost control of a full toss which was deemed a no-ball, with the left-arm quick also receiving a warning.Play ended an hour early due to bad light for the second consecutive day, although 72 overs were bowled on a day three predicted to be impacted by rain.After enduring almost two full days in the field during a tough start to their first overseas tour since mid-2019, Australia’s top-order responded to the challenge with gusto to claw back into the historic contest.They showed an aggressive appetite in a contrast to Pakistan’s top three’s measured batting, as openers Khawaja and David Warner would have been left frustrated not replicating the big tons of Azhar Ali and Imam-ul-Haq.Recalled as opener, Khawaja, who was on the cusp of a third Test century in five innings since his comeback, was dismissed on 97 by left-arm spinner Nauman Ali after bungling a reverse-sweep which hit the glove and popped to short leg.The originally not out decision on the field was overturned after replays showed that the ball had hit high on the glove of Khawaja, who had until then played the risky stroke to good effect throughout his 159-ball innings.Having quickly mustered 70 in the first session, Khawaja was held in check after lunch by tighter Pakistan bowling as the hosts hit back by removing Australia’s openers during a combative second session.Marnus Labuschagne remained unbeaten on 69 at stumps•AFP/Getty Images

After a brisk 156-run opening partnership, where Australia’s aggression rattled an increasingly wayward Pakistan attack, Warner fell for 68 having missed a skidding delivery from offspinner Sajid Khan which smashed his middle stump. Having started slowly, Warner showcased renowned aggression as his innings wore on, but might rue backing away in an error of judgement.But Labuschagne, who has played just seven of his 24 Tests away from Australia, looked in ominous form, mixing gorgeous drives with reverse-sweeps to negate the spinners. He had looked less comfortable at the start of his innings when he was pitted in an intriguing contest with quick Naseem Shah, who hit him with a thunderbolt on the arm during a withering spell in the second session.Labuschagne struggled initially against left-armer Nauman, who had a disastrous spell pre-lunch, but settled and unleashed his reverse-sweep effectively against the offspin of Sajid, who had started to conjure spin off the flat pitch.Labuschagne and Smith, who traditionally bat so well in tandem, will be aiming to build on their blossoming 68-run partnership with Australia still needing work to do to approach Pakistan’s huge total.But it was a patchy performance from Pakistan’s bowlers who created more opportunities than Australia’s pedestrian effort with the ball, as they mostly struggled to rein in the scoring. They will especially rue reprieving Khawaja on 22 when a luckless Afridi set him up perfectly with a full-pitched delivery, only for Fawad Alam to shell a straightforward chance at gully.Pakistan lost their early momentum after Afridi and Naseem conjured pace, bounce and movement in a blistering start. Helped by cool and cloudy conditions, Afridi found away swing and bowled a gem of an opening over to Warner to kick-start a dangerous spell.After a tough initiation where he scored just 11 off 45 balls, Warner cracked Naseem for consecutive boundaries through the off side to get him rolling. The fired-up quick then went around the wicket and struck Warner on the back of the shoulder with a nasty bouncer. Naseem then went down the pitch to give him an earful only for Warner to diffuse the situation with a laugh.The barnstorming morning session yielded 138 runs and contrasted with a dour opening two days, when an unwavering Pakistan had blunted tight bowling and batted for 162 overs.And although Australia were unable to maintain that rapid scoring pace after both openers fell, but should be pleased with their first dominant day of the series on their first tour to Pakistan since 1998.

“If Chennai were to think back, they wouldn’t have let go of Faf du Plessis”

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Apr-20227:52

Runorder: Will Super Kings make the playoffs?

If MS Dhoni had been thinking of giving up the Chennai Super Kings captaincy, the franchise should not have released Faf du Plessis and, instead, should have passed on the reins to him, according to Ravi Shastri. That, according to the former India head coach, would have let Ravindra Jadeja – Dhoni’s replacement – play freely, and “things could have been different for Chennai” this IPL season.”I feel that someone like Jadeja, he should focus on his own game. If Chennai were to think back, they wouldn’t have let go of Faf du Plessis,” Shastri said on ESPNcricinfo’s T20 Time Out Hindi after Super Kings lost their fourth match on the bounce, this one by eight wickets to Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday afternoon. “He [du Plessis] is a match-winner, he has won the IPL with Chennai, he has a lot of experience.”Super Kings are being led by Jadeja after Dhoni, who had captained them since the start of the IPL in 2008, bar the two seasons when the team was suspended, stepped away from the role two days before the start of the 2022 edition. Jadeja was given the job even though he came into it with little leadership experience – his only past gig as captain at a representative level was with the India Under-19 team, for a while, in 2007. One of the premier all-format allrounders in the world, Jadeja has since had four results go against him, leaving the four-time – and defending – IPL champions in an uphill battle to make the playoffs.At the time the news about Dhoni’s resignation became public, Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan had told ESPNcricinfo that Dhoni had been thinking about giving up the top job, and that “he felt it is the right time to hand over captaincy to Jaddu [Jadeja]”.Shastri argued, “If Dhoni was thinking of giving up the captaincy, then Faf should have been given the job, and Jadeja should have continued as [just] a player. He would have played freely, without the pressure of captaincy. Things could have been different for Chennai then.”As it is, du Plessis was released by Super Kings before the 2022 auction, and was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore and appointed their captain; Virat Kohli too had given up the job after the 2021 season. Royal Challengers have started the season with two wins in three games.du Plessis had also played a key role with the bat for Super Kings in their run to the title in 2021, hitting 633 runs at the top of the order at 45.21, with a strike rate of 138.20 and six fifties in 16 innings.