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People who tuned in expecting one dark horse to set the pace, may have left wondering if they’d witnessed another making a statement.New Zealand, fresh from walloping India a couple of days ago, chose to bowl to have a challenging chase later on, and they got just that. A target of 422, courtesy a century from Shai Hope and contributions from nearly every other batsman.It was a proper chase, all right. Yet New Zealand lost before they could dig their teeth into it. Martin Guptill, playing against West Indies for the first time since the 2015 World Cup quarterfinal where he smashed 237, was out for five, Sheldon Cottrell saluting him off the field. Then they bid farewell to their chances of making a game of this when Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls also failed to get going.Tom Blundell, the wicketkeeper, rose to carve out a fine century to reduce the margin of defeat. When it did wrap up, New Zealand had managed a respectable 330, but the 91-run loss means no one will take West Indies lightly at the tournament proper.Getty Images

For West Indies, the lament has long been that two or three fire, but find themselves having to make up for the failures of their colleagues. On Tuesday, nine of the 11 players scored more than 20, and nine of the top 10 produced strike rates of 110. It was a batting performance inevitably evocative of England over the last four years, and if they manage to replicate this with consistency, their 23-year wait for a World Cup semi-final berth may finally draw to a close.Hope stroked 101 off 86, without looking aggressive at almost any point during his innings except the start, where he dispatched Trent Boult – otherwise the best bowler of the game on either side – for 19 in his fifth over. The class of his shots, aided by the natural talent he oozes helped him score runs while not taking too many risks or generating the type of eye-catching power one expects to see from West Indies.New Zealand’s bowling performance was, to put it mildly, as ordinary as they’ve been all year. Boult kept a lid on a total that still ballooned to 422, but Matt Henry couldn’t reprise Tim Southee’s duties from the other end, with Chris Gayle teeing off in the opening six overs. At the death overs, when Henry returned, he was mercilessly savaged, conceding an eye-watering 107 in the nine overs he bowled.Ish Sodhi, too, was ordinary, and while Mitchell Santner played the holding role as well as a certain other bespectacled left-arm spinner has done for New Zealand over countless years, the consistency required against a side like the West Indies was missing throughout the innings. The attempted Yorkers regularly became low full tosses or half-volleys, and with the margin of error almost non-existent, the runs rate never seemed to fall even as New Zealand began to take wickets reasonably regularly over the last 20 overs.That batting performance was deftly backed up by the pace trio of Cottrell, Jason Holder and Kemar Roach, and the game was over before anyone else had rolled their arm over. Holder and Roach in particular gave the batsmen nothing with their lines and lengths, and with New Zealand wary of taking too many risk early on, particularly after the early departure of Guptill, the result was a constant buil-up of pressure.Getty Images

By the time Kane Williamson and Blundell put on a refined 120-run partnership, all they were doing was bolstering their confidence, instead of threatening to make a meaningful difference to the outcome of the game in hand.It was that sort of day for New Zealand where even this chic, high-class partnership would end in ugly, ungainly fashion. A mix-up when Blundell attempted a suicidal tthird run somehow ended up with Williamson stranded in the middle of the crease with all the hope of a three-toed sloth on the autobahn. To Blundell’s credit, he did put that out of his mind and went on to compile an aesthetic 106 of his own.With Tom Latham’s availability in doubt following a broken finger, Blundell’s form will be a sight for sore eyes within the New Zealand dressing room and among their fans.While New Zealand’s last seven wickets put up perfectly respectable resistance in the face of a no-win cause, one could argue West Indies had lost their intensity long before New Zealand officially lost the game. With the result a foregone conclusion within the first 10, West Indies’ focus dropped off in the middle, and as a result Oshane Thomas and Carlos Brathwaite will fell they didn’t give their best with the ball. There’s little doubt that won’t happen when there’s an actual World Cup game on the line.These might just have been warm-ups, but a quietly resurgent West Indies are showing they aren’t practice swat-aways for any side now. The team that reached the final in all of the first three World Cups in England are unlikely to be group stage cannon fodder any longer.

India and Mumbai Indians fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been cleared of serious injury after hurting his left shoulder in the IPL match against Delhi Capitals on Sunday. It is understood that it was an impact injury and Mumbai exercised precaution, so Bumrah did not bat in the failed chase against Delhi.There is no clarity yet on whether Bumrah will travel with the Mumbai squad to Bengaluru on Tuesday, for their match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on March 28, but the franchise said his recovery was going smoothly.”Bumrah is in Mumbai along with team physio Nitin Patel, continuing with the assessment,” a Mumbai spokesperson said. “His recovery is on track and fortunately no sign of stress.”The incident occurred off the last ball of Delhi’s innings, when Rishabh Pant dug out a yorker from Bumrah, who attempted to intercept the ball with his left hand in his follow-through but could not pick it up cleanly. As the ball rolled away, Bumrah scrambled to stop it, but immediately pulled up, grimacing in pain and clutching his left shoulder. He didn’t come out to bat thereafter even as Mumbai’s innings ended on 176 in reply to Delhi’s 213 for 6 with four balls to spare.With the World Cup starting on May 30, Bumrah’s fitness became an immediate talking point; he has developed into India’s first-choice strike bowler across formats, and is currently ranked No. 1 in the world in ODIs.

As the season heads into the final weeks, several Americans could be the difference between success and failure for their respective clubs

We've reached the final few weeks of the European seasons, and so much has already been decided. Bayer Leverkusen's dominant run through Germany has ended Bayern Munich's reign; Real Madrid have run away with La Liga; Inter have lifted Serie A, while the U.S. men's national team's PSV trio have claimed the Eredivisie.

However, while Sergino Dest, Ricardo Pepi and Malik Tillman are celebrating their title – and Tillman surely celebrated – several of their USMNT teammates will be fighting to the final whistle this season. There's still much to play for all over Europe, and several American stars find themselves right in the middle of some of the sport's tightest races.

From cup finals to relegation fights, here's a look at the USMNT stars that are still fighting in Europe heading into these final weeks:

Getty ImagesGio Reyna & Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest)

It remains to be seen what kind of role Reyna, in particular, plays down the stretch, but Forest still have a relegation fight on their hands. With two games remaining, Nuno Espirito Santo's side are three points clear of the Premier League's bottom three, which a perilous position.

Up next on Saturday is a clash with Chelsea, and, if they lose, it may all come down to the final day when they face another relegation contender in Burnley. Turner is locked in as the backup goalkeeper, but Reyna may get a chance to make his mark before the campaign is over.

AdvertisementGettyWeston McKennie & Tim Weah (Juventus)

Juve still have to secure their place in next season's Champions League via their Serie A position, but for now, all eyes are on the Coppa Italia final. Weah helped them get there with a fine assist, giving the Bianconeri a huge opportunity to end the season with some silverware.

McKennie, Weah and co. are set to face Atalanta on May 15 with a trophy on the line. The Scudetto is long gone and, with no European soccer on the schedule this season, the Coppa Italia is the big one for the Old Lady. A win there, paired with a top-five finish, would make Juve's season a success.

GettyJosh Sargent (Norwich City)

Sargent's initial run in the Premier League wasn't a good one, but having dominated the Championship all season long, he has a chance to seal a top-flight return.

Sargent and Norwich kick off the promotion playoffs on Sunday when they play host to Leeds United in the first leg of their semifinal. Should they get past Leeds after two legs, either Southampton or West Brom would await them to fight for a spot in the Premier League.

With 16 goals in just 26 matches this season, Sargent has earned his way back to the Premier League, with or without Norwich. He now has the chance to drag the Canaries with him as they eye a return to the top table of English soccer.

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Getty ImagesJohnny Cardoso (Real Betis)

He's still new to La Liga, but Cardoso sure is thriving and, as a result, there's a real hope that Real Betis will claim a European place. Heading into the final four games of the season, Betis sit seventh, just two points behind sixth-place Real Sociedad. That sixth-place finish will earn a spot in next season's Conference League, which would see Betis book their spot in Europe for a third consecutive season.

Either way, Cardoso could be on the move amid links to Barcelona. He'll hope to secure continental qualification for his current club first, however.

A Mumbai age-group player has been banned for three years for “gross misconduct” towards a team-mate during an all-India tournament in December. The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) took the decision after a complaint was raised against the player by his team-mate on December 22. The ban will last till January 14, 2022, during which the player will not be allowed to participate in any cricket organised by the MCA, or represent Mumbai in any BCCI tournament.The player’s details are being withheld given that he is a minor.ESPNcricinfo understands that the in addition to using bad language, something the player admitted to during the inquiry by an ad-hoc committee set up by the MCA, the player exposed himself in front of his team-mate. It is understood that the player will appeal to the MCA to review the ban.This is believed to be the first such case where a player in India has been punished for a sexually offensive act in front of, and following a complaint by, his peers.The MCA’s verdict did not specify the offence. But in the notice sent to the player, the MCA said he was guilty of “gross misconduct and bringing the name of the association to disrepute”. It also pointed out that the player had resorted to “the ugliest behaviour, which has shocked the entire team. In fact, this [incident] also affected the team atmosphere and is against the very principles of sportsmanship and healthy atmosphere amongst the team members.”The verdict was reached by the ad-hoc inquiry committee, after a meeting held at the MCA office on January 14. In addition to hearing the player and the complainant, the committee also spoke with the team coach, manager and chairman of the age-group selection committee. The ad-hoc committee comprised MCA secretary Unmesh Khanvilkar, CEO CS Naik, and managing committee members Naveen Shetty, Ganesh Iyer and Shah Alam Shaikh.

The future of Shaun Marsh, the quest for an allrounder, Matthew Wade’s chances and the fast-bowling back-up were all areas addressed by Trevor Hohns

Andrew McGlashan09-Jan-2019There was another Australia squad with plenty to digest as the selectors brought in a new-look top order to try and overcome the batting woes for the Sri Lanka series. Shaun and Mitchell Marsh, Peter Handscomb and Aaron Finch have been dropped – their Ashes hope now hanging by a thread – with Joe Burns, Matt Renshaw and the uncapped Will Pucovski taking their place. National selector Trevor Hohns addressed the media to cover various issues, both in terms of the immediate selection and the bigger picture, and here’s how he reacted to the major talking points.Hohns: “Shaun hasn’t done what we’d like him to have done over the last period and I am sure he would say the same thing. As far as the Ashes go that’s a long way off, he now has the opportunity in one-day cricket to get some form back. But the door is certainly not closedHohns: “Joe Burns has a good record in Test cricket and has been in good form leading up to when the Big Bash started. Matt Renshaw on the other hand is very, very highly regarded young player, he’s scored a lot of runs in England when he went over there and played county cricket. With the Ashes in mind it’s probably time now to get him back and around the group.”Hohns: “With Matthew Wade it’s fantastic to see him scoring a lot of runs. It wasn’t long ago that he was in our Test squad, he struggled and we dropped him. He was wicketkeeper at that stage, he’s playing as a wicketkeeper-batsman for Tasmania and it just so happens we have a wicketkeeper-batsman in our Test side who is the captain. If Matthew wants to be considered as a straight out batsman it would be nice to see him batting a little higher up for Tasmania and that conversation has been had.”Mitchell Marsh takes a breather•Getty ImagesHohns: “There’s always talk about having an allrounder in your side. My only answer to that is if the allrounder isn’t performing and you don’t have a good allrounder, well maybe we shouldn’t have one and go back to the stock standard six batsmen, four bowlers. But if you have a match-winning allrounder, they’re like gold. If we can unearth one, that’d be fantastic.”Hohns: “They are definitely our best three fast bowlers, I don’t think anyone would argue that. Whether they are operating as the best unit, I’m sure there’s some improvement that can be had there. There are fringe bowlers there’s no doubt about that and three of those are in the CA XI squad. We also have Jhye Richardson who is seen as a very bright prospect. But we think it’s essential that we have Pete around. He’s such an experienced campaigner and he’s great around the group.”Hohns: “Of course a lot will depend on the availability of Smith, Warner and Bancroft for that matter as well. Our players right now and through the Indian series had a great opportunity – we saw it like that and we hoped that they would see it like that – to make it difficult for us if and when these players come back and are available. There are still positions available of course, particularly given the revamp of the squad for now. So these guys now have the opportunity to cement a place or at least make it difficult for us to leave them out going forward.”

Some new comments from Leeds United journalist Phil Hay suggest that some of Michael Beale's Rangers players were not fully fit during his time as manager earlier this year.

Philippe Clement replaces Michael Beale at Rangers

The Gers went into the new Scottish Premiership season hoping to narrow the gap between themselves and rivals Celtic, but it was clear early on that there were problems in the camp.

Beale was under pressure to get some positive early results in the campaign, but instead they stuttered on the pitch, slipping up against the likes of Kilmarnock and Aberdeen, not to mention being dumped out of the Champions League by PSV Eindhoven after a 5-1 defeat in the Netherlands.

Rangers decided to relieve the 43-year-old of his duties in early October, with a change badly need in the Ibrox hot seat, and Philippe Clement has come in as his replacement, steadying the ship and picking up some important wins.

The Gers are still eight points adrift of Celtic in the league table but have a game in hand, and the club feels in a happier place than it did a few months ago, with the decision to get rid of Beale a good one.

One player who Rangers lost during the summer transfer window was Glen Kamara, who moved south of the border to join Leeds United.

Worries over fitness of Kamara at Rangers

Speaking on The Square Ball Podcast [via Leeds United News], the reliable Hay praised the fitness level of Glen Kamara in Leeds' 1-0 win away to Leicester, hinting that there were concerns about his fitness levels coming from Rangers, when Beale was of course in charge:

"Really strong, really good at disrupting what Leicester were trying to do. Got both sides to his game. The fact he hadn’t been involved at Rangers was one of the reasons why it took so long to go through.

"Leeds were in two minds over whether he would come down here and be lacking in fitness that would have stopped him contributing to the season. But that hasn’t looked like a problem, he looks really fit."

It's fair to say that Beale wasn't a popular figure with Rangers supporters by the time he was sacked and replaced by Clement – interestingly, Beale has the second-highest win rate (72.1%) of any Gers manager in history – and Hay's update will only add fuel to the fire.

While there is no guarantee that the Englishman was failing to get his players in the best possible shape at Ibrox, there are certainly suggestions here that that was the case, hence Leeds' reluctance to make a move for Kamara, who had largely been collecting dust under the former QPR boss.

Ultimately, Beale was out of his depth as Rangers manager, considering the size of the job, and he has still predominantly made a name for himself as a coach, impressing at Liverpool and always being admired by Steven Gerrard, who once called him an "expert".

وجه راضي شنيشل، المدير الفني لمنتخب العراق الأولمبي، رسالة تحذيرية إلى نظيره منتخب المغرب قبل مباراتهما المرتقبة غدًا في أولمبياد باريس 2024.

ويلتقي المنتخبان في لقاءات الجولة الثالثة من منافسات كرة القدم في الأولمبياد.

وتمثل المجموعة الثانية وضعًا معقدًا، حيث تمتلك كافة المنتخبات الأربعة، وهم الأرجنتين، المغرب، أوكرانيا والعراق، 3 نقاط.

وقال شنيشل في تصريحاته اليوم لوكالة الأنباء العراقية: “أغلب التوقعات كانت تشير إلى أننا سنذهب من أجل المشاركة فقط وليس المنافسة، هذا أمر طبيعي، نحن نلعب في مجموعة هي الأصعب مقارنة بباقي المجموعات”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. ماسكيرانو بعد فوز الأرجنتين على العراق: واجهنا فريقًا قويًا.. ولا نختار خصومنا

وأضاف: “ولكن عطاء ومثابرة لاعبينا نجحت في تغيير الموازين، خاصة في المباراة الأولى التي فزنا بها على منتخب قوي وعنيد (أوكرانيا)، هو خصم صعب والدليل فوزه على المغرب، لتعود كافة المنتخبات إلى نقطة الصفر مجددًا، سيكون الحسم في المواجهتين الأخيرتين”.

وواصل: “مباراتنا أمام المغرب للتاريخ، نحن نحترم إمكانيات وتاريخ الكرة المغربية التي تضم نجومًا كبارًا، لكن لدينا القدرة والإمكانية على الحد من خطورتهم”.

وشدد: “سنلعب بشكل مغاير تمامًا لأنها مباراة حاسمة ولا تقبل القسمة على اثنين، مع أمنياتنا بأن تكون النتيجة لصالحنا ومواصلة المشوار إلى أبعد نقطة”.

1:19

Was it a lack of self-belief that cost Pakistan?

Those who have been following cricket for only about the last ten years, those who don’t know the history between the two countries, must be wondering what all the fuss around India-Pakistan matches is about. Yet another mismatch added to a long list of forgettable recent matches between the two teams as Pakistan failed to compete with an efficient India line-up. From the time they won the toss, Pakistan hardly put a foot right: they batted first at a bowl-first ground, they started and ended their innings poorly, the fielding was pedestrian, and India did what good sides do: keep giving an error-prone opposition every possible reason to make another mistake. They were all but through to the final of the Asia Cup.India were thoroughly professional and dynamic under their stand-in captain Rohit Sharma. The fast bowlers executed their plan of cramping up the left-hand openers, a legspinner came on early enough in a data-based decision, Jasprit Bumrah thwarted a Shoaib Malik fifty with four overs of excellent death bowling, and for the second match in a row against Pakistan, Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan almost had a net in the middle to seal an easy win.The game began with the continuous fascinating examination of Fakhar Zaman. India hardly gave him any room to hit the ball through off side in the first seven overs, giving him just six off 24 balls. Straight bowling has been a weakness for Zaman, but as he showed in the Champions Trophy final last year, he can catch up as the innings progresses. Rohit, though, changed things around just as Zaman would have started to settle down. As early as the eighth over, India had Yuzvendra Chahal on. Though the wicket – Chahal’s first in Powerplays in ODIs – was that of Imam-ul-Haq’s, Zaman has been out twice to Jeffrey Vandersay and once to Adil Rashid already in his short career. Legspin against Zaman was a good match-up.Zaman, though, showed good awareness and backed himself to catch up later, much like Rohit himself has done after many a tough start. He began to turn it around with a slog-swept six and four off Kuldeep Yadav, taking his strike rate past 70, but fell in a double unfortunate manner. Looking for a regulation sweep this time, he slipped as his front foot landed, and in the process, failed to feel the impact of the ball on the glove before it hit his pad. Given lbw, he was suggested by non-striker Babar Azam to not review, which is fair because he looked adjacent and there was no way for Azam to tell there was glove involved when the batsman himself didn’t know.Under-pressure captain Sarfraz Ahmed – one fifty in the last year – promoted himself and began by selling Azam a dummy, making it two run-outs for Pakistan in two matches against India. Malik, though, got back to scoring runs against India after a spell of eight India matches without a score of 50. That was an extraordinary delay as he had scored 14 of those in 40 matches previously.It was a trademark Malik innings. He was barely seen scoring those 78 runs in 90 balls. Quietly a gap would be picked and he would be at the other end. If there was a dry spell, he would break it with a calculated risk and then go back to accumulating. Towards the final overs, there seemed to be a crescendo building. Asif Ali hit Bhuvneshwar for a six, four and six to consign him to his worst over in ODIs: 22 runs. Rohit again went to legspin: when playing seam, Asif’s strike-rate in ODIs is twice that of against spin; the dip is significant in PSL too. Chahal delivered the wicket, and Bumrah took over with an exceptional spell of 4-0-15-2. Yorkers came out perfectly as he kept things simple against a lower-middle order that didn’t show the ability to innovate.Only 38 came off the last seven overs, which had all but ended the contest half an hour after you felt Pakistan, for the first time in these two matches, had managed to reach parity. Worst fears were about to come through. The ball did nothing for Pakistan bowlers, and the pitch only quickened up under the lights, making stroke-making even easier. There was no swing for Mohammad Amir even though the 18-year-old Shaheen Afridi created a little bit of excitement. Soon he was in for the Amir treatment as he drew a catch from Rohit with a slower ball, Imam made it the fourth one dropped off the pacer’s bowling in two games.Amir was taken out, Hasan Ali struggled with the new ball, Amir came back, Afridi kept trying, but Rohit and Dhawan kept dispatching them all without a bother. Rohit now handled even Shadab Khan easily despite his recent troubles against legspin. Another catch went down. Amir has now gone 35.4 overs without a wicket in ODIs.With their wives sitting next to each other, Rohit and Dhawan went on to put together India’s biggest opening stand against Pakistan; their 13th hundred stand was now the second-most for India openers. Unlike in the previous game, there were enough runs for the duo to get hundreds. Otherwise, the chase was as easy as the 163 the other night.

أعلن مجلس إدارة النادي الأهلي، برئاسة محمود الخطيب، التعاقد مع مدير فني جديد لقيادة فريق كرة القدم النسائية خلال الفترة القادمة.

وكان النادي الأهلي، أعلن تكوين فريق الكرة النسائية، بعدما أصبح أحد المتطلبات الرئيسية للحصول على رخصة الأندية المحترفة من قبل الاتحادين المصري والإفريقي لكرة القدم.

وكلف مجلس إدارة النادي الأهلي في الفترة الماضية، لاعب الفريق السابق شادي محمد، أن يكون مديرًا لجهاز الكرة النسائية بالنادي.

طالع.. خاص | بطولات يكشف مدى صحة اهتمام الأهلي بضم صفقات عراقية هجومية

ووفقًا للموقع الرسمي للأهلي، أعلن أمير توفيق، القائم بأعمال المدير التنفيذي لشركة الأهلي لكرة القدم، ومدير التعاقدات عن تعيين الفرنسي ديميتري لوبوف مديرًا فنيًّا لفريق الكرة النسائية لمدة ثلاث سنوات.

وقال توفيق: “لوبوف سوف يحضر للقاهرة خلال أيام لاستلام المهمة والتنسيق مع الكابتن شادي محمد، رئيس جهاز الكرة النسائية، استعدادًا للموسم الجديد”.

Alexi Lalas claimed that Lionel Messi's Inter Miami have successfully established themselves as 'the villains' of MLS 2024.

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• Lalas claimed Inter Miami are 'the villains' of MLS 2024
• Messi lifted the club's stature
• Unbeaten in their first three MLS matches

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Fox Sports analyst agreed that since Lionel Messi arrived at the club last summer, the standard of Inter Miami has rise. He also claimed that the team are slowly attaining the 'super club' status' and that may supporters now wish for The Herons to fail.

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• WHAT HAS BEEN SAID

  Responding to a user's statement on X that read "Inter MLS have established themselves as this years Villains," Lalas wrote, "Yup, @InterMiamiCF is must-see because of Messi…and they keep producing moments and results. The mark of a SuperClub™ is as many people want to see you fail as succeed…but they all want to see you."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  After the Argentine joined the David Beckham-owned club, they lifted their first-ever trophy last season by winning the inaugural edition of the Leagues Cup beating Nashville in the final. They have also made some significant signings with former Barcelona stars Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez following Messi to the MLS.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR INTER MIAMI?

  Gerardo Martino's side are off to a flying start in the new season having secured seven points from the first three matches. The Eastern Conference leaders will be next seen in action against Montreal on March 10 in the MLS.