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Match details

Kolkata Knight Riders (2nd; W3 L1) vs Lucknow Super Giants (4th; W3 L2)
Kolkata, 3.30pm IST (10am GMT)

Big picture – KKR’s home run

Which IPL team has their headquarters only six kilometres from Eden Gardens? If you’re thinking Kolkata Knight Riders, that’s wrong.That honour belongs to Lucknow Super Giants, whose owners are based in Kolkata. They have a majority stake in another local team with a strong fan base – Mohun Bagan – and the last time they played at Eden Gardens, LSG turned out sporting that football team’s iconic maroon, leaving local KKR fans split over who to root for.In that sense, Kolkata is LSG’s home away from home, and they have enjoyed a 3-0 streak against KKR. Their last two victories, by two runs and one run, cemented this fixture as a rivalry worth earmarking for the future. Even now it takes special prominence when you factor in the presence of Gautam Gambhir – LSG’s mentor in 2022 and 2023 – returning to KKR ahead of this season.Related

• Why Phil Salt bats for a good time

• Injured Mayank Yadav 'unlikely to play' next two games for LSG, says Justin Langer

Off-field developments aside, LSG are in a good space with their six points in five games. Despite losing to Delhi Capitals on Friday, they are still in the top four on the points table and would be pleased with the coolness shown by Ayush Badoni and Arshad Khan to drag the side from an insipid 94 for 7 to a final score of 167. Their only real concern is Devdutt Padikkal’s form; he has scored only 25 runs in five games.KKR had their first defeat of the season in their previous game, against Chennai Super Kings in Chennai. But like LSG, KKR are also in a comfortable position, just two points behind table-toppers Rajasthan Royals and with a game in hand. In the first leg of the schedule, they had three away games and won two of those. The quirk of scheduling in an election year now sees them based at home for their next five fixtures, which means, if they can exert dominance at home the way CSK, Mumbai Indians or Gujarat Titans do, they could have one foot in the playoffs by the end of it.

Form guide

Kolkata Knight Riders: LWWW
Lucknow Super Giants: LWWWL

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Kolkata Knight RidersVice-captain Nitish Rana (hand injury) and seamer Harshit Rana (shoulder injury) were spotted in training and could return. Nitish would likely replace Ramandeep Singh.Suyash Sharma is the likely impact player, but they may use left-arm spinner Anukul Roy instead if KKR need runs from a No. 9.Likely XII: 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 , 4 Venkatesh Iyer, 5 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 6 Ramandeep Singh/Nitish Rana, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Rinku Singh, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Vaibhav Arora/Harshit Rana, 11 Varun Chakravarthy, 12 Shreyas Iyer hasn’t been at his fluent best•Associated Press

Lucknow Super GiantsPadikkal is close to losing his place and Deepak Hooda is already on the bench due to poor form. That means, one of Arshin Kulkarni, Yudhvir Singh and Prerak Mankad may play if LSG want to keep the same overseas quartet. There are more creative options if LSG drop an overseas batter or Naveen-ul-Haq, like the inclusion of Shamar Joseph to make up for Mayank Yadav’s absence. Both Mayank (hip injury) and Mohsin Khan (shoulder injury) are unavailable.Spinner M Siddharth is the likeliest impact player in place of Quinton de Kock.Likely XII: 1 , 2 KL Rahul (capt, wk), 3 Devdutt Padikkal/Prerak Mankad, 4 Marcus Stoinis, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Krunal Pandya, 7 Ayush Badoni, 8 Ravi Bishnoi, 9 Arshad Khan, 10 Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Yash Thakur, 12

In the spotlight – Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul

Shreyas Iyer has two scores in the 30s but he hasn’t been at his fluent best. He has also been dismissed exclusively by left-arm seamers – Mustafizur Rahman, Khaleel Ahmed and T Natarajan – so Arshad could be an early match-up against him. Shreyas could counterattack by dominating spinners from the other end, but historically, he has struggled to put away Ravi Bishnoi and Krunal Pandya in T20s with strike rates of 117.64 and 90.47 respectively.Strike rates and KL Rahul share a love-hate relationship but he appears to be changing his powerplay approach. In his latest outing, Rahul made 30 off 14 against Capitals. Never before has he scored as many runs in the powerplay as an LSG player. Will he continue in the same vein?KL Rahul hit a six on the third ball he faced against Capitals•Associated Press

Stats that matter

• Mitchell Starc has dismissed Nicholas Pooran twice in four innings. However, Pooran has dominated Andre Russell, hitting him for 105 runs in 69 balls, and Varun Chakravarthy, striking 51 runs in 29 balls.
• Should KKR bat Russell higher? Since IPL 2018, his entry point has not made much difference to his strike rate. It is 182.2 when entering after the 14th over, and 177.6 when he comes in before the tenth, and 173.3 when he comes in between overs 10 and 14.
• Bishnoi loves facing KKR. His nine wickets are his highest against any team, and he has a favourable average (19.2) and economy (6.40) too.

Pitch and conditions

With an afternoon start and temperatures expected to cross 35°C at the time of the toss, fielding in the first innings will be excruciating. However, chasing could still be the preference as historical numbers suggest, in addition to the possibility of drizzle in the evening. Expect lots of runs.

Quotes

“They know me as well . First of all, everyone knows each other very well. It’s more about how we play for three and a half hours in the field is more important. It is not like I will plan something different for them. Even they know quite a lot about me. I have planned against KKR for the last two seasons so it’s probably even-stevens. It’s the best team that wins not the team that plans best.”
“He [Mayank] is feeling good. He looks good but we do not want to rush him. We need to protect his body. But he’s itching to go. Need to make sure that he is 100% fit before he comes back.”

MatériaMais Notícias

da pinnacle： A chegada de Jorge Sampaoli já teve impactos positivos no Flamengo. Apresentado de maneira oficial na segunda-feira, o argentino está perto de completar uma semana à frente da equipe profissional e mudou boa parte do dia a dia dos jogadores. As mudanças, por sua vez, foram bem aceitas no Rubro-Negro.

O LANCE! apurou que, entre as principais mudanças com relação ao período em que Vítor Pereira esteve no comando, Sampaoli tem feito trabalhos intensos para que a parte física do Flamengo esteja impecável. No campo tático, o novo treinador gosta de explorar a posse de bola e jogadas de triangulação nos lados do campo.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasFora de CampoÍdolo do Flamengo comenta possível volta de Jorge Jesus no futuro: ‘Só pode dar errado’Fora de Campo21/04/2023Lance! BizApós fim da janela, Palmeiras volta a ter o elenco mais valioso do futebol brasileiro; veja listaLance! Biz21/04/2023SantosFelipe Jonatan, do Santos, rompe ligamento do joelho e deve perder restante da temporadaSantos21/04/2023

da premier bet： FOCO NA PARTE FÍSICA

A principal fraqueza do Flamengo, identificada pela comissão técnica de Sampaoli, é a parte física. Nos primeiros quatro meses da temporada, o Rubro-Negro sofreu com diversos problemas musculares, e um de seus principais jogadores, Arrascaeta, por exemplo, está fora por lesão no adutor. Por isso, o argentino chegou com o “pé na porta” no quesito.

+Entenda o planejamento do Flamengo com Bruno Henrique; atacante está fora contra o Internacional

Os trabalhos na academia, no entanto, não têm sido protagonistas no Flamengo. Sampaoli prioriza os treinos no campo, com intuito de trazer duas valências importantes para a equipe: a parte física apurada, assim como a técnica. Vale destacar que, nesses moldes, os atletas também se alimentam no Ninho do Urubu, de maneira mais regrada.

METODOLOGIA

Bebendo da mesma fonte que nomes como Guardiola e Cruyff, Sampaoli é adepto do jogo posicional, e seu estilo já está sendo sentido no Flamengo. As primeiras atividades tem sido focadas na posse de bola e adaptação ao esquema conhecido. O trabalho com os pontas é o mais presente na semana de abertura do argentino.

+Todos os jogos do Brasileirão você encontra no Prime Video. Assine já e acompanhe o seu time do coração!

Nos treinamentos, as triangulações tem sido ponto chave. Como visto no jogo diante do Ñublense, Vidal se aproxima de Marinho na direita, assim como Gabigol, para iniciar as jogadas em passes vindos dos zagueiros. O mesmo foi feito no lado esquerdo, com Ayrton Lucas, Gerson e Pedro. O entrosamento da equipe como um todo é fundamental para Sampaoli.

+VÍDEO: Sampaoli pede ‘respeito’ com a bola e passa orientações durante treino do Flamengo

Por enquanto, ainda não é possível sentir a “cara” de Sampaoli no Flamengo, mas os retoques iniciais já estão sendo realizados. Depois de vencer o Ñublense, o treinador argentino terá seu primeiro grande teste pelo Rubro-Negro neste domingo, quando enfrentará o Internacional, pelo Campeonato Brasileiro. O duelo acontecerá às 11h (de Brasília), no Beira-Rio.

continua após a publicidade

The emergence of Shakib Al Hasan, Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan as a potent trio of spinners, coupled with a move towards result-oriented pitches, has helped Bangladesh grow into a formidable side in home conditions

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur28-Aug-2017There is nothing mysterious or sexy about Bangladesh’s spinners. Two left-arm orthodox spinners and an offspinner. It is not a country where anything other than conventional spin is encouraged. The country has three legspinners in first-class cricket, all of whom are routinely condemned. Left-arm bowlers who fancy bowling wristspin are told to become serious about their life.But the cream of their crop – Shakib Al Hasan, Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan – are accurate, receptive and patient. They can turn the ball a mile but are effective because they know how to control the degree of turn they impart. Bowling out Australia for 217 certainly showed how they are becoming tougher to face in home conditions.Shakib, who became only the fourth bowler to take five-wicket hauls against nine Test teams, uses the arm ball effectively against right-hand batsmen. He is also mastering the art of bowling the one that slides away from the left-handers, a difficult skill to acquire. Taijul has his limitations but he brings the batsman forward regularly, which allows him the chance to catch them on the hop at times. A straight run-up, a jump, and a delivery stride that’s all arms and legs. Yet, he ties up one end more often than not. He is underrated, hardly ever spoken about even when he takes an ODI hat-trick on debut, but he does the job.Mehidy, like Shakib and Taijul, is an accurate fingerspinner. Nothing more, nothing less. He will keep forcing the batsmen to drive but those who decide to play back to him do so with the threat of getting trapped lbw. He bowls quicker than Taijul and Shakib in Tests, and when he pitches it fuller at that pace, he can deny batsmen time to take a long stride forward, and sucker them into playing on the up.In this Test, he already has two big scalps in the first innings, illustrating that he is a competitive bowler at the highest level.David Warner, facing Mehidy, was getting troubled by deliveries that turned sharply away from him before playing back to a full one. Steven Smith, who ended up yorking himself against Mehidy, must have felt the tossed-up delivery was innocuous enough to jump at, but ended up paying the price. Mehidy said that the plan was in place to pitch it up right up at Smith, but from an angle dictated by his captain.”We had a plan for Smith,” Mehidy said. “When I bowled to him yesterday, Mushfiqur [Rahim] told me that I should bowl around the wicket to him. If I can bowl in the right place, we can stop him. He won’t be able to use his feet. There will be a chance to get him out stumped or get a catch somewhere. I listened to him, bowled around the wicket, and it made my job easy.”But there are aspects that this spin attack, despite their success in the first innings in Mirpur, have trouble grappling with. Against top-order batsmen who don’t move around too much in the crease, like Matt Renshaw and Pete Handscomb, or against tailenders who will either block or bash, they look one-dimensional, hanging back on a more defensive line.Perhaps they can be bolder in the face of a lengthy partnership, telling the captain to have more fielders around the bat, especially on a helpful pitch. Maybe they can be a bit more simplistic in their plans against tailenders, slipping in the occasional yorker or luring them out by slowing it up.But their overall skill level, coupled with a more productive batting line-up against top attacks, has coincided with a move towards preparing more result-oriented pitches. When the Shere Bangla National Stadium was relaid entirely earlier this year, the top two layers of the pitches were taken off. What has resulted is a more brownish surface that starts off hard but breaks up rapidly. There are no puffs of dust flying off the surface but certainly plenty of bite.There is no fault in having home advantage and in the last 12 months, for the first time as a Test nation, Bangladesh have ventured into that path. The spinners, however plain they may look or sound, are helping them take giant strides. They have given a great account of themselves by bowling Australia out cheaply in their first innings, and they now have the obligation to keep doing their job, simply.

da pinnacle： Liverpool have reportedly reached an agreement to allow a 22-year-old to leave Anfield outside of the transfer window.

Alexander-Arnold agrees Liverpool exit as Carragher urges Reds to make six signings

da aviator aposta： It has been an eventful few days behind the scenes at Anfield, with Trent Alexander-Arnold edging closer to a move to Real Madrid when his Reds contract expires in the summer.

An agreement has reportedly been reached and a move to the Bernabeu is “99% done”, with Jeremie Frimpong the rumoured top target to come in to replace the right-back from Bayer Leverkusen. Arne Slot appears to be driving the move and has held talks with Frimpong’s representatives.

It promises to be an active summer window for Liverpool, and Jamie Carragher wants to see up to six players signed over the coming months, with a replacement for Alexander-Arnold on the to-do list.

“I’m excited to see where Arne Slot will take Liverpool because it looks like they’re going to win the league, but there are still so many areas to improve. He needs a centre-back as back-up to the two that we have, he’ll need a right-back with Trent Alexander-Arnold likely to leave.

“I think he needs a centre midfielder to replace Endo, someone younger and that he trusts, a centre-forward to play and a left-winger. There are at least five or six players he needs to get in – three to go straight in the team and three to be strong back-ups.”

Related Liverpool and FSG make contact to sign new £40m+ forward to replace Nunez

He’s a cheaper option than Alexander Isak.

Posts ByCharlie Smith Mar 27, 2025

Alexander-Arnold isn’t the only player who could leave for nothing, with Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah’s futures yet to be resolved either.

Meanwhile, Liverpool are happy to loan out forward Federico Chiesa ahead of the 2025/26 season, however, the Reds have already agreed to loan out one youngster in an out-of-window transfer.

Liverpool agree deal to loan out 6ft 4 gem until summer

According to reports in Sweden, relayed by Sport Witness, Liverpool have reached an agreement with Utsiktens BK for Jakub Ojrzynski. The update states that the 22-year-old goalkeeper will be loaned out to the Swedish side until the summer.

Ojrzynski, who stands at 6 foot 4, made the move to Merseyside from Legia Warsaw back in 2019 but is yet to make a senior appearance for the Reds.

In recent years, the Polish youth international has been on loan with Caernarfon Town, Radomiak Radom and Den Bosch and was supposed to join Cypriot second-tier side Spartakos Kitiou last summer.

However, a transfer fell through and Ojrzynski remained with the Reds, where he has since trained with Slot’s first team. Now, though, it looks as if he’ll get the chance to play first-team football in Sweden over the coming weeks, with Liverpool accepting the loan offer presented by Utsiktens BK.

Promotion was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with the initial promise that it would return after six tournaments.

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Ten Liga de Expansión clubs have officially taken their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.CAS has yet to confirm whether it will take on the caseThe last team to be relegated was Jaguares de Chiapas in 2017Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

Amid ongoing controversy over the suspension of promotion and relegation in Mexican football, the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) has issued a formal response to an appeal filed with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) by ten Liga de Expansión clubs demanding the reinstatement of these mechanisms.

The suspension was agreed upon in April 2020, during the height of the pandemic, providing a six-season period during which Liga de Expansión clubs could focus on consolidating their projects without the sporting pressure of promotion and relegation. According to Íñigo Riestra, FMF’s Secretary General, this measure was requested by the clubs themselves to avoid bankruptcy, as many were operating at a deficit and facing precarious financial conditions.

“The FMF General Assembly approved this temporary suspension to protect the economic stability of the clubs,” Riestra explained in an official video. Additionally, a financial rescue fund was created at the clubs’ request to ensure their survival.

To complement this strategy, an Improvement Fund was established, distributing significant resources for infrastructure and strategic development within the Liga de Expansión teams—investments that can sometimes go under the radar. This fund mandates an annual investment of 20 million pesos (1,036,418 million) from 2020 onwards to modernize stadiums and enhance sporting facilities.

At the same time, in 2022, a Certification Committee was created to set administrative, sporting, and infrastructure requirements that clubs must meet to be eligible for promotion. Starting in the 2023 season, only certified clubs that win the Campeón de Campeones are eligible for promotion; however, so far, only two clubs have met these standards.

The 10 clubs involved in the appeal—Atlante, Morelia, Leones Negros, Atlético La Paz, Alebrijes, Cimarrones, Cancún, Mineros, Venados, and Tampico Madero—argue that the absence of promotion and relegation has negatively impacted their ability to secure commercial agreements and television broadcasting rights.

In summary, the FMF maintains that the suspension was a necessary measure to prevent the economic collapse of several clubs and that the pathway for promotion remains open, albeit conditioned on meeting certain criteria that only a few teams have fulfilled so far.

AdvertisementOssiel Compeán / Imago7THE BIGGER PICTURE

The legal action comes amid growing frustration among Liga de Expansión clubs, who claim that Liga MX has failed to provide transparency regarding the promotion and relegation system. The issue has been further complicated by ongoing controversies in Mexican football, particularly surrounding the topic of multi-club ownership.

There has been ongoing debate about whether reinstating promotion and relegation could raise the competitive level across all tiers of Mexican football. However, it is evident that Liga MX has presented significant obstacles for Liga de Expansión teams, many of which have spent recent years striving to meet the league’s demanding certification requirements.

Getty Images SportWHAT MEXICAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION SAID

"Promotion remains active through certification. A club will be promoted once at least four clubs are certified at the start of the season and one of them wins the Campeón de Campeones," reads the official statement posted on the FMF’s X account.

AFPDID YOU KNOW?

In 2020, due to the global crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Mexican football executives decided to temporarily suspend the promotion and relegation system in Liga MX. This decision was made to support franchise owners in the first division and strengthen Liga Expansión, with the idea that, years later, the system would return with a stronger second division. However, it seemed that this reform would remain permanent.

This decision mainly affected the teams in the second division. Teams like Atlante, Leones Negros de la UDG, Venados de Mérida, and Atlético Morelia are among those that have expressed their dissatisfaction in recent years with the suspension of promotion and relegation. But, according to Liga MX, these teams do not meet the necessary requirements to be First Division clubs. It's a stance that has been heavily criticized by executives from the mentioned teams, who have even taken the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Pakistan’s IPC ministry asks for “immediate termination of services of all heads of institutions appointed on political basis”

Danyal Rasool23-Aug-2023

Political developments could make their impact felt on the PCB yet again after Pakistan’s Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) ministry sent a note to the Prime Minister’s office that places the spotlight on the future of PCB head Zaka Ashraf.The letter references guidelines issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan, asking to “ensure immediate termination of services of all heads of institutions appointed on political basis and to send all such cases to the commission for approval of termination or otherwise”. Ashraf is highlighted as the first such case worthy of consideration, denoting him as a political appointee with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).The letter was signed off by the secretary of the IPC, Ahmed Orakzai, on August 15, and was addressed to the caretaker government, but only came to light a week later. The caretaker Prime Minister, Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, was appointed the day before the communication was written. It is worth noting that the IPC, the ministry which sent the note to the PM’s office, does not currently have a sitting minister and in such cases, the PM assumes temporary charge of the ministry; effectively, Kakar is head of the ministry that issued the letter, as well as the one that received it.While caretaker governments have historically shown little desire to interfere with the workings of the PCB, there are reasons to believe it could be different this time around. The primary task of caretaker governments in Pakistan is to facilitate conditions for elections to be held within 90 days. But days after the caretaker government was set up, the Election Commission of Pakistan announced that elections scheduled for no later than November would be postponed by several months. That means this caretaker government could take on the role of a regular government, and make decisions on a wider remit of things beyond just election preparations.While the note was issued over a week ago, serious ramifications have not yet been felt at the PCB. The board officials are confident that Ashraf’s position remains safe, and ESPNcricinfo understands that the government had offered the current PCB setup assurances they were not looking to bring about changes at the top. A PCB source criticised what it called “the recent campaign against the PCB’s head” as “malafide”, and said it was intended “to destabilise Pakistan cricket”.It has been pointed out that Ashraf resigned from the PPP on June 19, and therefore could not be considered a political appointee. It was also pointed out that the PCB has never played any part in Pakistan’s national or federal elections, and thus no caretaker government had any cause to make changes at the board.Ashraf was approved as head of a management committee by former PM Shahbaz Sharif to take charge at the PCB for a period of four months in July, after Najam Sethi resigned from the position. At the time, the political implications of the move were significant, with Sethi specifically citing a desire not to cause a rift between the PML(N)’s leader Shahbaz Sharif, and the PPP leader Asif Zardari, with the latter preferring Ashraf to Sethi as PCB head.In the coalition between the two parties, the sports ministry was held by Zardari’s PPP government, who insisted that meant they had the right to appoint a PCB head of choice. Two weeks later, Ashraf assumed charge at the helm of the PCB.

The team have adopted an aggression-first, high-risk-high-reward approach this season. Is it paying dividends?

Matt Roller28-Apr-2022Punjab Kings are the IPL’s mavericks. Their matches this season have been appointment-to-view TV, ranging from convincing wins to blow-out defeats with nail-biting final-over drama in between.Kings have the IPL’s third-best balls-per-six ratio, third-highest dot-ball percentage, and second-lowest batting average. It was obvious from their auction strategy that they would be a boom-or-bust batting team, and their totals this season have borne that out: they have made five totals of 180 or more, and three of 151 or less.Only Kolkata Knight Riders have a batting style that is high-risk, high-reward to the same extent but that has been their identity for a number of years; Punjab, by contrast, are the franchise whose captain described strike rate, perhaps T20 cricket’s most fundamental metric, as “very, very overrated” 18 months ago.Related

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But after seven consecutive seasons without reaching the playoffs, it was clear something needed to change. Their research and development consultant, Sankar Rajgopal, put together an auction team focused on exploiting market inefficiencies and recruiting six-hitters. Of their six most expensive auction purchases, five were bought primarily for their attacking ability with the bat: Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan, Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow and Odean Smith.The result was a squad filled with power, as Kings sacrificed bowling strength for batting depth and backed their hitters to succeed. The first two matches showed the trade-off involved in their approach: in their opening game, they chased 206 with an over to spare against Royal Challengers Bangalore; in their second, they were bowled out for 137 by KKR.