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MS Dhoni’s men lost five wickets in the powerplay and all but crashed out of the playoffs

Saurabh Somani23-Oct-20202:38

Will Sam Curran be a key part of the Chennai Super Kings revamp?

IPL 2020 began with these two teams. Mumbai Indians were everyone’s favourites, and then the Chennai Super Kings, like they do, upended the script. Since then, there’s been a reversion to the mean. Mumbai haven’t lost a single match in regular time: six wins in eight games, one defeat in a Super Over, one defeat in a double Super Over. The Super Kings are the opposite: two wins in their next nine games, qualification hopes hanging by a thread – a thread that needs other results to go their way too. It’s going to take 37 minutes to kill all those possibilities.7.30pm
Trent Boult to Ruturaj Gaikwad. Boult is on target. Gaikwad is one of three changes for the Super Kings as they look for the “spark” that MS Dhoni said was missing. It’s an important game for him, because he’s getting a chance at the top of the order, where he’s got all his runs for India A. He looked slightly unsure in the middle order, thrown into the deep end in an unfamiliar role in the most competitive, intense T20 tournament in the world.Boult brings the first ball in, but then starts bending it away. Beaten, beaten, defensive push into the offside. Take your time Ruturaj, this could be your chance.7.34pm
It was the set-up. Three balls away, next one curving in. Gaikwad is late. The ball has hit pad. Has it taken an inside edge? Is it going down leg? Boult is pleading for an lbw. The umpire doesn’t listen. Kieron Pollard does. Boult and Pollard are on the money and Gaikwad’s day is over. Ambati Rayudu comes in and has to deal with a ‘perfume ball’ – so called because you can smell it under your nose – first up.ALSO READ: Dhoni: Next three games ‘preparation for next year’7.37pmOh hello, what do we have here? Jasprit Bumrah has taken the new ball just once for Mumbai in this IPL, against the Rajasthan Royals. He got Steven Smith out in the first over then. Pollard, leading in place of an injured Rohit Sharma, has decided to go to Bumrah due to what happened in Boult’s first over.”Jasprit, we weren’t thinking about using with the new ball but after that over from Trent and getting that early wicket… you know Rayudu has batted well against us the last couple of times and over the last couple of years. So we just decided to go for him, and it worked for us,” Pollard will say after the match.”We were thinking of having Trent open the bowling and maybe go either Nathan (Coulter-Nile) or a spinner. But, seeing a couple of balls swing and getting that early wicket, having Rayudu come in. I just thought of using our most experienced bowler and one of our better bowlers against their main batsman.”Rayudu won the Super Kings the opening match of IPL 2020 with 71 off 48. He has a couple of 40s too, one in 2018 and one in 2019.7.39pm
It takes two minutes and two short balls from Bumrah to prove Pollard’s hunch spectacularly right. The first one is back of a length, the second is banged in harder. It starts to home in just below Rayudu’s left shoulder like a heat-seeking missile. It gets too big, too fast, and is too good for him. There’s nowhere near enough room to pull, but Rayudu’s committed to the shot. The ball is committed to tangling him up into a top-edge that floats into Quinton de Kock’s gloves.Pollard and Bumrah exchange smiles while he’s walking back to bowl the next thunderbolt. The plan has worked. Not just the plan to bowl Bumrah first up, but to target Rayudu with the short stuff.The new man is N Jagadeesan. Can he show the spark Dhoni wanted? Not tonight. You feel for him and Gaikwad. They’ve put in the hard yards in domestic cricket. They’ve got their opportunity on the big stage. But they’re up against a pair of bowlers who are too hot to handle for most batsmen. Jagadeesan’s swishing at his first ball, feet not moving – they’ve not had time to move yet, to get the rhythm going yet – and it’s an outside edge to first slip.Another day, another failure with the bat for MS Dhoni•BCCI7.47pm
The Super Kings are under the pump but they have the two men best suited for a rebuilding job in Faf du Plessis and Dhoni. Both like to take their time. Both are capable of big hits later. Both have the evenness of temperament to ride out the storm. But not tonight. Not tonight.It’s an uncharacteristic du Plessis stroke. It’s a characteristic Boult strike. He’s been doing it regularly for Mumbai upfront. Bowling coach and countryman Shane Bond will say Boult had promised “he was going to peak for this game”. Some peak. Swinging full and across du Plessis, whose normally sure footwork has gone AWOL. Maybe it’s the wickets. Maybe it’s the reality of the Super Kings’ season. Maybe it’s the bowling. Or all three. A waft and another catch behind.The Super Kings have lost more wickets than they have runs on the board: 3 for 4.The dugout looks more shocked than glum. Even in the midst of their worst season ever, they hadn’t quite expected their worst start ever to a game.”We’re pretty stunned really… It was tough watching,” coach Stephen Fleming will say after the match. He’ll repeat ‘it was tough’ three times in the same answer.7.59pm
It’s only an 18-run partnership but after what went before, the fifth-wicket stand between Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja is starting to feel like hope for the Super Kings. Bumrah’s second over has been negotiated. Krunal Pandya replaced Boult. There could yet be a rearguard.Turns out, Boult has not been taken off, he’s merely switching ends. Jadeja’s been in good ball-striking form this tournament. A counter-attack against Boult incoming? Not quite. Jadeja steps down the track, goes for the flat-batted pull. It only comes off the toe-end and into midwicket’s hands.The Super Kings are wrecked. They’re 21 for 5 inside the powerplay. All the power and the play has been enforced by Mumbai’s bowlers.8.07pm
The one glimmer of hope is the captain. Dhoni has just hit Rahul Chahar for a straight six, right out of his 2011 playbook. Maybe he can salvage something?No he can’t.The next ball’s tossed up wider outside off, and Dhoni’s going hard at this too. But it’s not in his hitting arc. It’s, in fact, in his edging arc. Caught behind. It’s 30 for 6 and the dream is officially done for the Super Kings.”It does hurt,” Dhoni will say after the game. “I think all the players are hurting.”

****

Mathematically, the Super Kings retain a ghost of a chance to make the playoffs. Practically, a spotless record of qualifying 10 times in 10 seasons is over. It doesn’t take 37 minutes for a legacy to crumble. But these 37 minutes provided the hammer-blow soundtrack to one of the great records in the IPL ending.

In search of a much-needed attacking spark, Newcastle United are now reportedly among the most active clubs in the race to sign a Champions League wonderkid.

Howe: Benfica win "sets the standard" for Newcastle

Bouncing back from their Brighton defeat in style, Newcastle eased past Benfica in the Champions League to make it two wins from three. In contrast to their Premier League displays, the Magpies were in free-scoring form and sealed a comfortable 3-0 victory over Jose Mourinho’s side at St James’ Park thanks to Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes.

After a mixed week of results, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe admitted that his side’s victory over Benfica “sets the standard” for what he expects going forward.

Howe told reporters: “I think it is that kind of game that sets a standard. That we have to take forward to our next few games that we’ve got coming up. That’s the level that we have to be at.

“I thought we’ve been threatening putting a performance like that together. Even at Brighton, there were some really positive moments, but that gets lost in the result. Today, we got both. We got another clean sheet and we scored some goals. Confidence returned to our attacking players, so it’s a great night for us.”

Howe can forget Barnes to unleash Newcastle teen who's "similar to Mbappe"

Newcastle are not short of options in wide areas, with Harvey Barnes impressing in midweek

ByJoe Nuttall Oct 23, 2025

Finding that attacking spark in the Premier League is now the challenge for those in Tyneside. Even with record signing Nick Woltemade already firing on all cylinders and Yoane Wissa to return from injury, however, they may yet turn towards the January transfer market for some much-needed quality going forward.

In a World Cup year, there are certainly plenty of players who could do with a chance, including one teenage sensation who’s been compared to Cristiano Ronaldo.

Newcastle active in race to sign Endrick

According to reports in Spain, Newcastle are now active in the race to sign Endrick in January now that Real Madrid are willing to let the Brazilian leave on loan.

The 19-year-old wonderkid has not played a single minute under new manager Xabi Alonso and desperately needs a winter move if he is to secure a place in Carlo Ancelotti’s World Cup squad next summer.

Given Newcastle’s attacking struggles, welcoming a player as exciting as Endrick wouldn’t exactly be a bad idea, either. Whilst he has struggled to impress enough to get Alonso’s attention, he could yet find his feet at St James’ Park in January.

If the praise of former Palmeiras sporting director Joao Paulo Sampaio is anything to go by, then Newcastle have a rare opportunity to land a generational star on loan this season.

The door has opened for the Magpies to make their move and they should take full advantage when the January transfer window arrives.

They have received plenty of stick for it over the years, but Chelsea’s transfer strategy is starting to pay off.

The likes of Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo, Estevao, Enzo Fernández and Marc Cucurella all joined the Blues under the current ownership and have been exceptional.

However, it also has to be said that the club have made their fair share of dud signings over the last few years, with Raheem Sterling and Mykhailo Mudryk among the most high-profile.

Unfortunately, there is a player in Enzo Maresca’s squad who could end up going down the same road, a player who has to be dropped ahead of this weekend’s game.

Sterling and Mudryk's Chelsea careers

Chelsea paid around £50m to sign Sterling from Manchester City in the summer of 2022, and while it’s easy to say that was a mistake today, it looked like pretty good business at the time.

After all, he was a multiple league winner, still just 27 years old, and in 339 appearances for the Citizens, had scored 131 goals and provided 86 assists.

Unfortunately, while he has certainly had moments of real brilliance with the Blues, they have only ever really been moments, and his tally of 19 goals and 15 assists in 81 games doesn’t really justify his mammoth weekly wage of £325k.

The West Londoners hoped that by sending him on loan to Arsenal last season, he’d put himself back in the shop window for a move away, but he ended up further damaging his reputation and is now stuck in the club’s ‘bomb squad.’

Unfortunately, the situation with Mudryk is even worse.

The Ukrainian international joined the Pensioners in January 2023 for a fee of up to £89m, and there was understandable excitement around the deal, helped in part by Arsenal’s failure to secure his services.

The hype only increased when, on debut, he came off the bench against Liverpool and looked electric, so much so that Gary Neville claimed that he “wouldn’t like to play against him!”

However, that performance ended up being something of a flash in the pan, as the 24-year-old ended the season with just two assists in 17 appearances.

The following campaign was not much better, as in 41 appearances, he scored just seven goals and provided four assists.

Appearances

73

Minutes

3612′

Goals

10

Assists

11

Goal Involvements per Match

0.28

Minutes per Goal Involvement

172′

Unfortunately, things somehow got even worse for the player and the club as he was provisionally suspended after failing a drugs test last December, and was then charged by the FA in June, which could see him handed a four-year ban.

Now, while Chelsea don’t have anyone in the team in danger of something that bad, they do have a previously hyped winger who is underperforming and needs to be dropped.

The Chelsea ace Maresca must axe

Unfortunately for Maresca, you could probably make an argument for why several players need to be dropped following Chelsea’s dire display against Leeds United.

Chalkboard

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

However, while the defence was obviously a massive problem, the attack was not much better.

Moreover, while he wasn’t the worst player on the pitch, far from it, to be fair, Jamie Gittens once again offered very little.

Last season, the then Borussia Dortmund star was scoring and assisting goals for fun, so much so that he ended the campaign with 17 goal involvements and was even labelled “England’s best left winger” by Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley.

However, aside from the odd bit of skill here and there, the Stamford Bridge faithful have seen very little to get excited about from the 21-year-old, so much so, in fact, that one analyst has gone as far as calling him a “pointless signing.”

Appearances

32

11

Minutes

1784′

401′

Goals

8

0

Assists

4

2

Goal Involvements per Match

0.37

0.18

Minutes per Goal Involvement

148.66′

200.5′

Now, that is almost certainly too far at this point in the season, but with just one goal and five assists in 17 games for the West Londoners, it’s not hard to see where he is coming from, especially considering how hyped Sterling and Mudryk were before they arrived and eventually disappointed.

So, with all that said and a must-win game against Bournemouth this afternoon, Maresca has to take the Englishman out of the team.

Granted, the other options are not ideal either, but at least Alejandro Garnacho has more league goal involvements in fewer games.

Moreover, the manager could return to the winger pairing of Pedro Neto and Estevao, which did reasonably well against Arsenal.

Ultimately, while there is still plenty of time for Gittens to make good on his vast potential, it is hard not to think of the likes of Sterling and Mudryk when watching him struggle to stamp his authority on games.

Chelsea hold talks with defender's camp as Moises Caicedo offers thoughts on signing

The midfielder is playing a role in this potential transfer.

ByEmilio Galantini Dec 5, 2025

With just one win picked up across their last five Premier League games, Manchester United now look short on confidence again heading into a bumper December.

Everything looked to be smooth again with three victories secured on the bounce in October, but the boos would ring out at the full-time whistle when the tired Red Devils could only muster up a 1-1 draw versus relegation-threatened West Ham United last time out.

It will be very interesting to see where United sit in the ever-changing league standings when the hustle and bustle of the Christmas period is over, with the up-and-down outfit still only three points off fourth position, despite their recent stumbles.

Whatever does play out, United will surely use the January transfer window to their advantage, as several standout signings are tipped to move to the Theatre of Dreams, despite their hot-and-cold nature.

Man Utd's number one January target

Amorim will just have to hope he is still in the United dug-out by the time January window rolls around, with ESPN reporter Rob Dawson stating that he needs “time and patience” amid shouts he should be given the axe.

Even with this uncertainty in the air, plenty of transfer rumours are circulating, with the likes of Adam Wharton alleged to be on the Premier League outfit’s radar, as they try and win themselves some fresh blood in the middle of the park.

Of course, there is also one incessant piece of gossip that Elliot Anderson could swap Nottingham Forest for the Red Devils, with a statement double deal now even in the works involving Anderson, according to Football Insider.

As per Mick Brown, via Football Insider, United are chasing after the signatures of both the England international and AFC Bournemouth ace Antoine Semenyo, with the duo named as top targets in a combined £170m deal.

£65m of that alone could be spent on securing Semenyo, as is the Cherries attacker’s previously mentioned release clause, with Amorim loving the idea, surely, of the Ghananian forward moving to Old Trafford, especially with Bryan Mbeumo off to the African Cup of Nations shortly.

Brown said: “Semenyo is the one they’ve been looking at. United need to spend in January to improve the squad, and he’s somebody they wanted to bring in during the summer before he signed that contract. If the opportunity comes up when the window opens, it would make a lot of sense because he would also be able to plug that hole left by Mbeumo.

“You’re looking at people like Semenyo and Elliot Anderson to come in, they’re the top targets for Amorim because both of them would be real improvements in key areas of the squad.”

While United are desperately searching for some fresh blood centrally, Semenyo might well go down as an even better signing than Anderson, particularly as Amorim is no doubt cursing his side’s ineffectiveness in front of goal as of late.

Why Semenyo could be a better signing than Anderson

Immediately after the poor 1-1 draw versus the Hammers, Sky Sports’ Roy Keane would heavily criticise the disappointing United attackers, stating that they’re not “nasty enough” or “clinical” enough to kill off a game.

With Mbeumo set to link up with Cameroon soon at the AFCON, Amorim’s options in attack could soon become even weaker, with the former Brentford striker way out ahead as United’s strongest attacker of the season so far, having powered home five Premier League goals.

In stark contrast, both Joshua Zirkzee and Matheus Cunha only have two league strikes between them this season, while Benjamin Sesko has just two goals, himself, when fit, with Semenyo’s arrival on the scene finally gifting United that deadly, rampaging attacker that Keane, and presumably Amorim, is crying out for.

Indeed, just in the Premier League alone this season, the blistering attacker has managed to conjure up a devastating nine-goal contributions, with Pep Guardiola even going out of his way to herald Semenyo as an “extraordinary” talent who can change games, which is what United are in dire need of, to avoid any more underwhelming draws.

Semenyo’s PL numbers by season

Season

Games

Goals + Assists

25/26

14

6 + 3

24/25

37

11 + 6

23/24

33

8 + 3

22/23

11

1 + 0

Sourced by Transfermarkt

Of course, against West Ham, the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro weren’t at their best, but they are still some of the more consistent performers in the United ranks through the middle, with the ex-Real Madrid man managing to win a high 11 duels to keep up his United resurgence.

Moreover, with two goals and five assists next to his name this season, Fernandes will feel he’s done enough to be kept in the United starting XI for the foreseeable future, away from Amorim and Co splurging out £100m on Anderson.

Whereas, if the Red Devils were to splash out a more reasonable £65m on Semenyo, their attack could be taken to that next level, with Chris Waddle even hailing the vibrant number 24 as “the best winger in the country”, as he now sits on a mighty 26 goals and 12 assists from 95 Premier League outings.

Anderson’s arrival could well gift United a fantastic, well-rounded midfield presence for the long run, but in the immediate, with Amorim and Co fluffing their lines consistently up top, Semenyo feels like the more pressing purchase, especially if they’re left short during the AFCON.

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Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Walker Buehler has left the team in Toronto to head back to Boston to be evaluated for a sore right throwing shoulder, manager Alex Cora told the media on Thursday night.

Buehler was scheduled to start on Friday at Fenway Park against the Minnesota Twins, but the Red Sox will skip his turn in the rotation. Once Buehler is further evaluated, it will be determined whether or not he needs to go on the injured list.

Bryan Bello will start in Buehler's place on Friday.

Buehler is 4–1 with a 4.28 ERA in six starts this season for the Red Sox. The two-time All-Star is in his first season with the franchise after spending the first seven years of his career pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

India batter Hanuma Vihari has signed with Tripura as one of their three professionals ahead of the 2025-26 domestic season. Vihari, who finished as Player of the Tournament at the recently concluded Andhra Premier League, has been granted a no-objection certificate (NOC) by the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA).ESPNcricinfo understands Vihari’s contract is for a season to begin with, and is extendable by mutual consent. It’s a decision, he says, that stemmed from a desire to play all formats, something Andhra couldn’t promise him.”I was keen on other opportunities since I believe I’m good enough to play all three formats,” Vihari told ESPNcricinfo. “Andhra made it clear they were looking at youngsters for the T20 format. That was why I decided it didn’t make sense playing even the 50-over format, so I sat out of the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well. I also wanted to play in a new environment.”Related

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Vihari’s signing marks closure to a slightly tumultuous past few years with Andhra. A full-blown public spat after their 2023-24 Ranji campaign had left him “humiliated and embarrassed” at the treatment meted out to him by certain factions within the ACA. At the time, Vihari alleged “political interference” as one of the reasons for him stepping down as captain at the start of that season.Ahead of the 2024-25 season, Vihari was in talks to move to Madhya Pradesh (for a second year in a row) but was talked out of it by Nara Lokesh, general secretary of Andhra’s ruling party, TDP. Vihari’s u-turn had left the MPCA upset.”For the last two seasons, I’d been talking of going out [he’d been in talks with Madhya Pradesh], but I stayed back,” Vihari said of the previous season. “I felt given the circumstances around me, and also where my own cricket is at, this was the best time to sign with an upcoming team. This year they approached me first, and I felt it’ll be a challenge worth taking up.”