‘We were not able to create those chances,’ Harmanpreet Kaur said after the match
Annesha Ghosh in Melbourne09-Mar-2020Spinners’ dream run endsThrough their undefeated run in the league stage, India’s bowlers, especially their spinners, did the heavy lifting. The slowness of all the surfaces through the group games – at the Sydney Showground Stadium, the WACA, and the Junction Oval in Melbourne – aided India’s four-pronged spin-heavy attack.”It has all panned out really well. It’s just a joke going around that this World Cup is made in such a way that it’s helping us; starting from the wickets to everything,” Veda Krishnamurthy had said on Thursday in Sydney after India made the final via a washout.The MCG turf in the final was on the quicker side, and with conducive bounce, it made for a flat deck that Australia used to notch up their highest total, 154, batting first in a T20 World Cup final across men’s or women’s cricket in just 17.1 overs. Their 184 for 4 became the highest total in a T20 world tournament final.Each of India’s four frontline spinners conceded at least 7.25 runs per over, and the treatment from a rampaging Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney meant Shikha Pandey, India’s only quick bowler in the XI – a combination they stuck with since their second group game – was carted at 13 an over.The big guns never came good with the batTeenager Shafali Verma’s tally of 163 from the five innings in the World Cup was the most from the Indian side. The combined returns of their key cogs in the top five – Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues – was 164 in the 14 innings between them. In the final, opener Mandhana fell for 11 while Rodrigues’ up-and-down campaign culminated in a duck.Kaur’s horror run with the bat, meanwhile, reflected in her scores of 4, 15, 1, 8 and 2. Any hopes of a form revival in a big-match scenario, an apt setting for Kaur’s hundreds in recent world tournaments, were dashed when she holed out to deep square leg off left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen, with India slumping to 30 for 4 in the final over of the powerplay.ALSO READ: ‘I told her she should be proud’ – India hurt but hopefulThe Indian players wear a dejected look•AFP via Getty ImagesCatches win… World Cup finalsVerma dropped Healy on 9 – a straightforward, flat, waist-high chance shelled at cover. Mooney, the highest run-scorer for Australia heading into the final, was on 8 off six when left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad spilled a return catch low to the ground. Healy went on to hammer a 39-ball 75; Mooney finished atop the tournament run-charts with a 54-ball 78.”When you lose half chances, and then it’s hard for a bowler to get that confidence back,” Kaur said after the match. “Then, I guess it’s easy for a batter too because, when they get a chance, then they are just batting freely. They don’t have any pressure.”India sacked their previous fielding coach, Biju George, ahead of the tour of the West Indies in November last year. The work put in by George’s successor Subhadeep Ghosh had held India in good stead heading into the final. Was it the nerves of playing a big match in front of a record crowd, then, that drew errors out of the Indian fielders who had fared relatively better than many of their opponents in the group games?”I don’t think we were fielding under pressure,” Kaur explained. “But unfortunately, we were not able to create those chances because that was very crucial because they both were in great form. You cannot drop the catches. After that, I think they batted very well.”Fit India movementMandhana, who cut out a few fours by throwing herself around in the circle and near the boundary, underscored India have work to do in another key area: fitness.”It’s been a clear indication that we lack in fielding and fitness, that one thing was a major difference between both the teams,” Mandhana said. “We definitely felt that through the tournament but today we didn’t field [up to the mark]. [We] not only dropped the chances, in general throughout the match.”That’s two things [we need to work on]. In batting and bowling, we’ve got the skills; we’re slowly getting into the power-hitting zone. These are two things we need to implement and hopefully, it will help us lift the ICC trophy.”
أعلن نادي برشلونة عبر موقعه الرسمي عن تجديد عقد أحد لاعبيه بعد تقديمه أداء متميزاً في بداية هذا الموسم تحت قيادة هانز فليك.
وتوصل برشلونة لاتفاق لتجديد عقد لاعبه إريك جارسيا مكافأة لما قدمه مع النادي، وكان خوان لابورتا قد أكد صحة التقارير حول ذلك أمس.
وأعلن نادي برشلونة منذ قليل، أن عقد إريك جارسيا الجديد مع برشلونة سيمتد حتى 30 يونيو 2031، وستتم مراسم التوقيع على العقد الجديد يوم الخميس القادم 11 ديسمبر.
أقرأ أيضاً.. ريال مدريد يستعد للتصعيد ضد برشلونة أمام فيفا
وقد أنهى برشلونة اتفاقه مع إريك جارسيا بعد أسابيع من المفاوضات بين ديكو المدير الرياضي وإيفان دي لا بينيا وكيل أعمال اللاعب.
ويعد إريك جارسيا هو اللاعب الوحيد الذي شارك في جميع مباريات هذا الموسم، وكان عقده القديم ينتهي في 2026 ومثل تجديده أولوية للمدرب الألماني هانز فليك والذي منحه ثقة كبيرة ولذلك أصبح مهماً لدى الإدارة الرياضية لبرشلونة، وسيحصل اللاعب على زيادة جديدة في راتبه.
It feels like Chelsea’s momentum is starting to build this season.
Enzo Maresca’s side had a few poor results earlier in the campaign, but have just come off a week that saw them demolish Barcelona in the Champions League.
Then, a few days later, they held Premier League leaders Arsenal to a 1-1 draw, despite being a man down for over half the game.
One of Chelsea’s best players in this uptick in form has been Marc Cucurella, but if reports are to be believed, he could soon have some extra competition for his place in the team.
Chelsea target Cucurella rival
With the winter transfer window now so close, Chelsea have unsurprisingly been linked with a huge number of players.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
For example, the West Londoners have been one of several sides linked with an audacious move for Juventus’ Kenan Yıldız, and if that wasn’t exciting enough, Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga has also been touted for a £70m move to Stamford Bridge.
However, while these two players would most certainly improve Maresca’s squad, if not his starting lineup, they cannot really be described as competition for Cucurella, unlike Castello Lukeba.
Yes, according to a recent report from Caught Offside, Chelsea are one of a number of teams interested in the French defender.
Alongside the Blues, the report claims Liverpool, Manchester United and Newcastle United are all keen on the 22-year-old, but the good news is that it is the West Londoners who are leading the race at the moment.
Interestingly, while he has a release clause worth up to €90m in his contract, which is about £79m, the report has revealed that RB Leipzig may be willing to let him leave for around €60m, which is just £53m.
It could still be a complicated transfer to get over the line, but with how talented Lukeba is, one Chelsea should fight for, especially as he could provide more competition for Cucurella.
How Lukeba compares to Cucurella
Now, the first thing to say is that it feels incredibly unlikely that any defender would come into this Chelsea side in January and immediately displace Cucurella.
After all, the Spaniard is one of the first names on the team sheet at the moment.
However, all great teams need serious competition in all areas of the pitch, and by signing Lukeba, Maresca would be ensuring that he has that at left-back and extra cover at centre-back.
Yes, the Frenchman has spent most of his career playing in the centre of a defence, but he has got some experience out on the left, and players like Jorrel Hato, Jurrien Timber and even Riccardo Calafiori all prove that centre-backs can transition to become more of a full-back.
Moreover, respected analyst-turned-Como scout Ben Mattinson has even described the 22-year-old as a “perfect LB/LCB hybrid for the modern game.”
Mattinon goes on to describe the Frenchman as “defensively exceptional,” pointing out his “outstanding timing of last man tackles” as one of the reasons why.
However, he’s not just a lockdown defender, as u23 scout Antonio Mango has described him as someone who “excels on the ball” and has “that line breaking ability” so many managers want from their full-backs and centre-backs.
With all that said, his most significant advantage over Cucurella, and the reason he could seriously challenge him for game time, is his defensive solidity, and the numbers back that up.
According to FBref, the Leipzig star outperforms the Blues ace in most defensive metrics, including ball recoveries, aerial duels won, blocks, interceptions and clearances.
Lukeba vs Cucurella
Statistics per 90
Lukeba
Cucurella
Blocks
1.91
1.42
Interceptions
1.45
1.00
Clearances
5.82
3.33
Aerial Duels Won
1.18
1.00
Ball Recoveries
5.73
3.83
All Stats via FBref for the 25/26 League Season
Ultimately, Cucurella’s place in Chelsea’s starting lineup is guaranteed at the moment, but were Maresca to get his hands on Lukeba, he could have some serious competition.
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Manchester City have now identified a “top-level midfielder” as a priority target, joining a number of Europe’s top clubs in the race for his signature.
Man City set sights on Yaya Toure-esque midfielder
Despite his well-documented fallout with Pep Guardiola, Yaya Toure is undoubtedly a Man City legend, winning three Premier League titles, three EFL Cups and one FA Cup during his time at the Etihad Stadium.
The Ivorian, who is now working as Saudi Arabia’s assistant manager, posed a threat going forward throughout his time in England, scoring a whopping 20 goals during the 2013-14 Premier League season, while also amassing nine assists.
Since then, City’s style of play has changed, with Guardiola’s side reliant on Erling Haaland to provide the majority of their goals, and the Norwegian certainly hasn’t disappointed so far this season, averaging 1.05 goals per 90 in the Premier League, having found the back of the net 15 times.
However, Man City have now joined the race for an up-and-coming central midfielder with shades of Toure, according to a report from TEAMtalk, which states they have identified Trabzonspor’s Christ Inao Oulai as a priority target.
Bayern Munich and Manchester United are also rivalling City for the 19-year-old’s signature, with all three clubs identifying him as one of their key teenage targets in Europe.
In his hometown of Yopougon in the Ivory Coast, the teenager is known as ‘Le Petit Yaya’, while City view him as a long-term partner for Rodri in midfield, and believe he could replace the Spaniard on a long-term basis.
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It could be difficult to get a deal over the line, however, with Trabzonspor unwilling to sanction a departure in January, and looking to receive £35m.
Christ Inao Oulai already a "top-level midfielder"
Former Premier League midfielder Michael Essien is a keen admirer of the Trabzonspor star, saying: “He’s a top-level midfielder, and he’s only 19 years old. I hope to see him one day wearing the Chelsea jersey.”
The two-time Ivory Coast international has emerged as a key player for the Turkish side this season, displaying his attacking prowess by chipping in with one goal and two assists in eight Super Lig matches.
Bernardo Silva’s future at Man City is up in the air, given that his contract is set to expire at the end of the season, and it has been suggested that Guardiola is willing to let the Portugal international move on.
As such, it could be a savvy move to bring in a central midfielder with attacking qualities in January or the summer, and Inao Oulai is exhibiting very promising signs in the Super Lig.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow left his start against the Pittsburgh Pirates Sunday after just one inning due to right shoulder discomfort.
The injury is only the latest for Glasnow, who has a lengthy injury history. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said a stint on the injured list is "certainly a possibility" for Glasnow according to MLB.com's Sonja Chen.
He went out to the mound to throw warmup pitches before the second inning, but was pulled from the game after he felt discomfort in his shoulder while warming up.
As he threw the warmup pitches, Glasnow said "something grabbed" on his final throws which he related to mechanical changes he made to his delivery over the offseason according to MLB.com. And after leaving the game, Glasnow admitted the latest bothersome injury felt quite crushing.
"Just making a lot of changes, trying to figure out a way to stay healthy, I think some of the changes led to other things kind of taking over," Glasnow said via MLB.com. "And at this point, I'm just trying to figure out what to do. It's just extremely frustrating."
He has dealt with back issues, a serious oblique injury, a forearm strain, multiple elbow problems plus Tommy John surgery in 2021. Last season, he was shut down in August due to a strained elbow and missed the rest of the season.
Glasnow, 31, signed a five-year, $136.5 million contract extension with the Dodgers before the 2024 season which restructered a previous one-year deal. In his first season with L.A. last year, he made 22 starts, which was a career-high. He has made four starts and pitched 17 innings to start the 2025 campaign, but now may be headed for the IL.
Glasgow Rangers finally confirmed their new head coach on Monday afternoon after a search that lasted just over two weeks, following the sacking of Russell Martin.
The Light Blues decided to part ways with the former Scotland international after their 1-1 draw with Falkirk, but they were unable to have a manager in place for their next Scottish Premiership match against Dundee United two weeks later.
Danny Rohl has, now, come through the door at Ibrox, though, and will be in charge of the Scottish giants when they face Brann in the Europa League on Thursday.
The German head coach has signed a deal that will take him through to the summer of 2027, having left Sheffield Wednesday at the start of this season.
After five wins in 18 matches so far this season in all competitions, supporters are understandably lacking in patience and want to see an instant improvement in the team’s form.
So, with this in mind, what can the fans at Ibrox expect from Rohl once his team walks out onto the pitch to play their first game against Brann on Thursday?
What Rangers fans can expect from a Danny Rohl team
The word ‘pragmatism’ is often misused in football. It gets used as a substitute for saying a manager plays defensive or passive football that is awful to watch, instead of the actual meaning of the word, which is to play logical football that makes sense with what you have at your disposal and who you are up against.
Rohl, fans may be pleased to read, is a pragmatist in the literal sense of the word. The German tactician, who worked as an assistant at Bayern Munich and for the German national team, changes his tactics and style of play to give his team the best chance of winning.
An interesting example of this came in March when Sheffield Wednesday travelled to Norwich City. They went direct in the first half, attempting to use physicality to gain possession, and found themselves 2-0 down at the break.
At half-time, Rohl brought on Nathaniel Chalobah and Michael Smith and looked to take control of the game in possession, dominating in midfield, and it led to a brilliant comeback to secure a 3-2 win, capped off by a winning goal from Djeidi Gassama.
League finish
20th
12th
Points
53
58
xG
50.2
62.7
Goals scored
44
60
Goals conceded
68
69
xGD
-8.4
-0.2
As you can see in the table above, the Owls significantly improved from the start of Rohl’s tenure to the end of it, as a result of his pragmatism and willingness to adapt and evolve his side.
Despite his willingness to change styles and formations, one thing that was almost a constant for the German boss was that he played with one striker. Per FBref, 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3, 4-1-4-1, 5-4-1, and 3-4-3 were his most-used formations in the Championship last season.
This suggests that, irrespective of what style he chooses to go with for each match, he is likely to go with one central striker in his team for the Light Blues.
With this in mind, there is a centre-forward on the books at Ibrox who could find himself on the chopping block when the January transfer window opens for business.
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The first player Rohl should look to brutally ditch from his Rangers squad after the turn of the year is Brazilian forward Danilo, as it seems unlikely that he will play a major role for the new head coach.
Why Rangers should sell Danilo in January
Rangers splashed a whopping £8m on Youssef Chermiti and another £4.2m on Bojan Miovski to bolster their options in the number nine position.
This means that the club have spent over £12m on two strikers to be ahead of Danilo in the pecking order, which makes him the third-choice striker for a manager who predominantly wants to play with one player in that role.
Danilo, therefore, is in a difficult position at Ibrox. That is further evidenced by the fact that he has not played a minute in the Scottish Premiership since August, and has been an unused substitute in four of his last five appearances in the matchday squad.
The Brazilian striker started against Motherwell on the opening day of the season, and pundit Kris Boyd immediately stated that it was not working with him in the team.
Danilo has scored one goal and provided one assist in 11 appearances in all competitions this season, per Transfermarkt, so it is hard to disagree with Boyd’s assessment.
The £26k-per-week centre-forward, who was once described as being “sloppy” on the ball by pundit Steven Thompson, is also a constant injury concern for the Light Blues, as he has missed far too many games through injury in the last couple of years.
Type of injury
Broken cheekbone
Knee injury
Knee injury
Date of injury
September 2023
December 2023
September 2024
Return date
October 2023
May 2024
November 2024
Days out
43
171
65
Matches missed
9
32
12
As you can see in the table above, Danilo has missed 53 matches through injury since his move to Ibrox to join Michael Beale’s side from Feyenoord in the summer of 2023.
This means that there should be doubts over both his durability and his quality in a Rangers shirt, which is not a good combination for a player who reportedly earns £26-per-week.
Therefore, Rohl should immediately sell the Brazilian striker from the squad when the January transfer window opens for business, to save money on wages and bring in funds to bring in players in other positions.
As the manager typically likes to play with one centre-forward, it makes logical sense to go with Miovski and Chermiti, who were both signed in the summer, and sell Danilo instead of paying a third-choice striker £26k-per-week to sit on the bench, or miss out on the matchday squad.
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Years from now, as the greatest comeback team in the history of World Series clinchers gathers for reunions, no one will have to lie, exaggerate or stretch the facts like taffy. The truth is wildly entertaining enough.
The Los Angeles Dodgers really did come from five runs down against a Cy Young Award winner working on a no-hitter. Freddie Freeman really did go all Kirk Gibson on one good leg. Shohei Ohtani did play with one good arm while keeping the other in an invisible sling. And Dave Roberts really did make critical strategic decisions once by feeling a man’s heartbeat and once by letting his first baseman make the call with a hand signal.
But when the 2024 Dodgers talk about how they won the World Series, especially with a 7–6 win in absolute lollapalooza of a Game 5 Wednesday, they must begin with the story of the team bus that afternoon. Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler strutted onto that bus as it departed for Yankee Stadium and told Andrew Friedman, the team’s president of baseball operations, and Brandon Gomes, the general manager, “Hey, if things get wonky tonight, I’m good to go.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s great,” Friedman said with an eye roll.
“No, seriously,” Buehler said.
Friedman was thinking to himself,
Buehler had one day of rest after throwing 76 pitches in a Game 3 start, this in his first season back after missing almost two years after undergoing a second Tommy John surgery. He is a free-agent-to-be. In other words, he is the last guy anyone should expect to be cranking his arm voluntarily with such little rest. (His mound counterpart from Game 3, Clarke Schmidt, spent Game 5 in the New York Yankees dugout in sneakers.)
“Well,” Buehler continued, “but what if things get wonky?”
By the sixth inning, the Dodgers had scored five of the zaniest unearned runs the World Series has ever seen and Roberts, the Dodgers manager, had already called on all six of his high-leverage relief pitchers—with nine outs still to go.
At that point Buehler walked into the Dodgers clubhouse and found Friedman, who had been on a telephone trying to find a flight that night to Los Angeles with a lay-flat seat for Game 6 starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, given the likelihood of a Yankees win that would force the series back to Dodger Stadium.
“Um, is this the definition of wonky?” Buehler asked.
Yes. Most definitely yes.
Vincent van Gogh had the south of France. Georgia O’Keeffe had New Mexico. Ernest Hemingway had Spain. The 2024 Dodgers will always have World Series Game 5. Their last game was their signature game, not only because it clinched their second championship in five seasons, but also because it defined their trademark feistiness. When everything went wonky, including a 5–0 deficit to Gerrit Cole and a bullpen quickly running out of pitchers, the Dodgers were at their best.
“In years past we would have lost this game,” Roberts said. “We lost in 2017 in [World Series] Game 7. We were down 4–0 in the second inning. Look what they did now. I’m proud, especially of the little things this team did.”
Friedman has talked about building a “golden era” of Dodgers baseball. Don’t look now, but we are smack in the middle of it already. Over the past 12 years the Dodgers have posted a .613 winning percentage and won two World Series. No other franchise has played that well and won multiple titles over a dozen years.
This Dodgers team, Roberts admitted, trafficked in feistiness unlike the others he has managed. Buehler with a twice-repaired elbow volunteering to walk into the teeth of wonkiness defines that grit. But to find the real beginning of the bus ride story you must go back to Sept. 15 in Atlanta. The Dodgers had lost the first two of four games against the Atlanta Braves. They were 5–7 in their past 12 games. The Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres were making a run at them. The Dodgers had just found out that pitcher Tyler Glasnow was out for the year. Roberts, who generally disdains team meetings, called a meeting.
“The message basically was, I can’t believe more in them than they believe in themselves,” Roberts said.
Then he remembered the cardinal rule of team meetings: always check that day’s starting pitcher before you call a team meeting. The Dodgers’ starter that day was Buehler, who had a 5.95 ERA in 13 starts and was so bad coming back from his Tommy John surgery the Dodgers began to think he might not make their postseason roster.
So Roberts doubled down. He held a private meeting with Buehler.
“Hey, man,” Roberts told Buehler, “I need you to go on a heater. And it has to start now.”
“That’s about the extent of what he said,” Buehler said. “And I did.”
Buehler takes in the scene after recording the final out of the Series. / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Buehler threw six innings that night and gave up one earned run. In his last seven games he would finish with a 3.45 ERA while finding the swing-and-miss magic on his four-seam fastball. The Dodgers won 9–2 that night. They won the next night, too. They finished the year 22–7 after that meeting.
“This team,” Roberts said, “learned what it takes to fight. It wasn’t always the Dodgers’ reputation. But we learned to be street fighters. It’s been the Padres’ M.O. Their reputation is like the UFC. We started playing like that, like brawlers in a street fight. It’s one of the things I’m most proud of about this team.”
The Padres pushed the Dodgers to the brink of elimination in the National League division series. One more loss would have sent Los Angeles to a fourth straight postseason series loss. The Dodgers responded by winning 8–0 and 2–0 and posting 33 consecutive scoreless innings.
“This group definitely had a special thing about them,” Friedman said. “Obviously, it's easy to say it sitting here drinking champagne winning the World Series. But it was very palpable when we were down 2–1 in San Diego. It was, . And there was an edge to the guys calling each other out in good, healthy, productive ways. It was all about making sure that we won the next two games. And it was different.”
Roberts is the renewable energy source of that fight.
“He is relentlessly optimistic,” Friedman said. “Obviously, we went through a lot this year, and a lot of adversity, and his ability during some of our more difficult times to breathe optimism into the group and remind them to look around and see just how talented the guys are that are around them, I think was very significant.”
Privately, the Dodgers liked the World Series matchup against the Yankees. They knew New York cut corners when it came to the finer points of the game. The Yankees did not defend well. Their baserunning was lackluster; the Dodgers scouts wrote up reports about a consistent lack of strong primary leads and fundamental secondary leads. Limit the Yankees’ home runs, the Dodgers knew, and you could out-execute them.
The difference between the two clubs showed at the start. Before Freeman launched the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history to win Game 1, the Yankees facilitated Dodger rallies with stumbling play. Outfielders Alex Verdugo and Juan Soto allowed extra bases by taking poor routes to balls. Second baseman Gleyber Torres carelessly kicked a throw by playing it off the side. A pattern emerged: If the games remained close, the Dodgers would win on a huge edge in fundamentals.
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Freeman homered again in Games 2, 3 and 4, becoming the first player to homer in four straight games to open a series. Roberts punted Game 4, a bullpen game and a 11–4 defeat, by using two rookies, Ben Casparius and Landon Knack, and injury-plagued veterans Daniel Hudson and Brent Honeywell. The plan only made sense if he won Game 5. Nobody expected it would happen in such an outrageous manner.
After Buehler told Friedman and Gomes he was good to go out of the pen in Game 5, Gomes relayed the news to Roberts, who was already at Yankee Stadium.
“Tell him no thanks,” Roberts replied in a text.
When Buehler arrived at the ballpark, Roberts told him, “Dude, we're not going to use you in a f—ing Game 5.”
Roberts, front left, guided the Dodgers to their second World Series title in five years. / Wendell Cruz-MLB
That was before wonkiness ensued. Cole and the Yankees led 5–0 in the fifth when Enrique Hernandez lined a fastball for a single, the Dodgers’ first hit. Tommy Edman then hit a routine, weakly hit liner toward Aaron Judge in center field. As Judge put his glove in front of his face to catch it, he averted his eyes toward Hernandez. Why he checked the runner is a mystery. There was no possible advancement. By taking his eye off the ball, Judge dropped it.
Judge is a competent center fielder, and in the previous inning had made a leaping, acrobatic catch at the wall. But at 6' 7", 282 pounds, he should not be playing as much center field as the Yankees ask of him.
The next batter, Will Smith, rolled a grounder to the right of shortstop Anthony Volpe. Hernandez, in serpentine style, smartly skewed his route to disrupt the sightline of Volpe toward third base, where a force play was in order. A distracted Volpe spiked his throw to third baseman Jazz Chisholm. When Cole struck out Gavin Lux, the inning should have been over. But the errors by Judge and Volpe forced Cole to continue to labor.
Cole did strike out the clearly compromised Ohtani, who went 1-for-12 after suffering a subluxation of his shoulder in Game 2. Cole was huffing and puffing, pawing at the dirt with his spikes and trying to find any kind of breaks by often asking for a new baseball. Suspects in dimly lit interrogation rooms look more comfortable than Cole as this inning of endless would-be outs continued.
Mookie Betts tapped a weakly hit grounder toward first base that looked like yet another easy out. But Cole, withered by the length of the inning and the Yankees’ squandering of outs, made no effort to cover first base. Anthony Rizzo, the first baseman, had no one to throw to after catching the spinning baseball. Cole, plain and simple, suffered from a form of battle fatigue that caused a huge mental lapse. A run scored.
“[With] all that he went through in that inning,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “he was kind of spent and kind of almost working his way out of it. He just didn't react quick enough to get over.”
Freeman slashed a two-run single. Teoscar Hernandez blasted a two-run double. The game was tied as Cole, as if sinking in quicksand, labored through 38 pitches over about 20 minutes on the mound. The Yankees gave Los Angeles three extra outs in that inning alone.
New York recovered, however, with a run in the sixth to take a 6–5 lead. In the seventh, Roberts felt a tap on his shoulder. It was Buehler.
“I'll be in the pen if you need me,” the pitcher told Roberts.
“And he had his game face on,” Roberts said. “So, I was like, ‘Oh f–.’ And then you're looking at counting outs and who we got available. And it was a little bit of that Clayton Kershaw [NLDS] Game 5 in D.C. And I guarantee that was on his mind, right?”
“Hey, Walker is going to the pen,” Roberts told pitching coach Mark Prior.
A few minutes later Prior called Buehler on the bullpen phone.
“How do you feel? Did you throw today?” Prior asked.
“Yeah,” Buehler said. “I feel good.”
“I lied,” Buehler said. “I hadn’t thrown yet.”
Only two days earlier Buehler had thrown 76 pitches to shut out the Yankees over five innings. That game alone was a testament to his willpower. The night before his start he canceled a dinner with family and friends because he was feeling awful with flu-like symptoms.
“He was like, ‘I’m staying in bed,’” said his father, Tony. “He was sick as a dog.”
By the seventh inning of Game 5, Roberts knew he might need to take up Buehler on his offer to pitch. He brought in Blake Treinen, his last available high-leverage reliever, in the sixth and pushed him back out for the seventh and eighth.
The Dodgers scored two in the eighth to take a 7–6 lead, thanks to more ugly baseball by New York. Reliever Tommy Kahnle retired none of three batters he faced: two singles and a four-pitch walk. Gavin Lux tied the game with a sacrifice fly off Luke Weaver and Betts put Los Angeles ahead with another sacrifice fly.
The Dodgers needed six outs for the title, but Roberts had no known path to get there. Predictably, Treinen wobbled from fatigue. The Yankees put runners at first and second in the eighth with one out and Giancarlo Stanton coming up. Roberts bounded from the dugout to check on his pitcher.
Roberts put his hand on Treinen’s chest.
“I wanted to feel his heart,” Roberts said. “I wanted to look in his eyes and see. And I wanted him to tell me he had more in the tank.”
“Hey, dude, how are you feeling?” he asked Treinen.
“I got you,” Treinen replied. “I want him.”
Treinen recorded seven invaluable outs to earn the win in the Dodgers’ World Series clincher. / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Roberts returned to the dugout. On the next pitch, Treinen retired Stanton on a pop-up. Two outs. Rizzo was due next. Roberts stood up and began to lurch toward the mound. He had a weary Daniel Hudson ready to face Rizzo.
Suddenly, Roberts looked across the field and Freeman, his first baseman, was staring right at him. Freeman was slowly pushing both hands toward the ground, the universal symbol indicating “stand down.”
“He’s like, ‘Let him go,’” Roberts said. “And I go, .”
Treinen somehow had enough left in his tank to strike out Rizzo. Roberts sent word to the bullpen that Buehler had the ninth. Friedman saw him warming up.
“This is crazy,” Friedman said aloud. “It is wonky. But Walker is such a competitor that it's not shocking to see.
“I think a lot is going to be written about what Blake did. But it won't do it justice. Those guys are free agents, Blake and Walker. For them to do what they did, the way they put their teammates up on a pedestal, the way they competed and laid it all out there for their teammates, for the fans in Los Angeles, for Dodger Nation, I just don't think enough is going to be written and said about it.”
Buehler pitched a 1-2-3 ninth.
“I actually felt really good out there,” he said. “I was pretty surprised. I didn't do so much with my elbow. As weird as it sounds, it's gotten more black and white after every surgery. You know, he can do it, or he can't.”
The ball did not leave the infield. Ten of his 16 pitches were curveballs, including the last one, a swinging strike three from Verdugo.
“This is the only reason I play, for games like this,” Buehler said. “The whole year—the offseason, spring training, the regular season—it doesn’t matter. Well, it matters, but not like these games. To win championships is why I play. It’s the best feeling in the world. I live for this.”
Buehler has allowed only one run in 19 World Series innings. Only Madison Bumgarner (0.25) and Jack Billingham (0.36) have a lower World Series ERA than Buehler (0.47) among the 177 pitchers with at least 19 innings in the Fall Classic.
As soon as Buehler fanned Verdugo, the righthander turned to his dugout on the third base side and threw his hands out to the side and let his face remain calm as the joy and bedlam erupted around him. He had the pose of .
Later, in the clubhouse, Buehler was asked if this was his best day in baseball.
“Yeah, I think so,” he replied. “Two days ago was pretty fun, too.”
Hernandez then grabbed him around the neck and shouted at Buehler, “Everybody is going to watch this highlight. You're going to be on the mound getting the last out of the World Series for the rest of your f—ing life.
“For the rest of your life you're going to be the guy who got the last out of the World Series. On the mound on one day rest! Who the f— else, huh? Walker, thank you, man.”
Tottenham Hotspur are now showing real interest in signing a “relentless” new midfielder who has “striker-like finishing”, with a number of Europe’s top clubs keen.
Spurs looking to strengthen in midfield
Tottenham have made a patchy start to life under Thomas Frank, most recently drawing 0-0 away at AS Monaco in the Champions League, and they could have lost if not for the performance of Guglielmo Vicario, who received a SofaScore match rating of 10 for his efforts.
The Lilywhites recorded an xG of just 0.88, as a result of only creating one big chance throughout the match, with Lucas Bergvall failing to make an impact, being substituted on the hour mark after failing to complete a single dribble or get a shot away.
Given that Rodrigo Bentancur also has just one goal and no assists to his name in all competitions this term, it wouldn’t be surprising if Frank were to try and bring in a new creative spark, and a new midfielder has now emerged as a target.
That is according to a report from The Boot Room, which states Tottenham are now showing real interest in signing AZ Alkmaar midfielder Kees Smit, having sent scouts to watch him in action for the Eredivisie side last weekend.
At the end of August, it was revealed the Dutch club are looking to hold out for up to €30m (£26m) for Smit, but the price tag could feasibly be driven up amid widespread interest, with the likes of Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Chelsea also keen.
Transfer expert Graeme Bailey adds: “Talking to scouts in Europe, there are not many more names that create as much excitement as Smit.
Thomas Frank names the Tottenham player scoring for fun in training lately
The Spurs boss is very impressed.
ByEmilio Galantini Oct 22, 2025
“Many clubs believe Smit is the real deal and from what I am being told there is a very good chance he moves next year.”
"Relentess" Smit could be real attacking threat for Spurs
Scout Ben Mattinson has waxed lyrical about the threat the Dutchman poses going forward, saying: “For a midfielder, Kees Smit has striker-like finishing in the box. The quality and consistency of his finishing is top drawer. He attacks the box throughout games and gets into some dangerous areas to score from midfield.”
Mattinson has also praised the 19-year-old for his engine and ability in possession of the ball, describing him as “relentless” earlier this year.
Despite still being a teenager, the Alkmaar maestro has already established himself as a regular starter for the Dutch club, chipping in with one goal and two assists in the Eredivisie so far this season.
As such, Smit could be a fantastic long-term addition to Frank’s squad, but it would be a gamble, given that he is yet to prove himself in one of Europe’s major leagues.
Nayeem, Kamindu can see paths to victory for their respective teams in Galle
Andrew Fidel Fernando20-Jun-2025
Nayeem Hasan took his fourth five-wicket haul in Tests•Sameera Peiris/Getty Images
Heading into the final day in Galle, players from both teams can see paths to victory.The most likely outcome feels like a draw, but as the World Test Championship points system discourages draws, home teams are especially motivated to pursue victories.With Bangladesh currently 187 runs ahead, though needing to get ten Sri Lanka wickets to seal the result after setting a target, a Bangladesh win also seems a possibility in this match, particularly as there is dust exploding out of the surface most times a ball pitches, and the spin is beginning to become pronounced and fast.Related
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In any case, both teams think they have a shot.”We have every opportunity to go for the win once we have a good total on board,” Nayeem Hasan, who took his fourth five-wicket haul in Tests, said on day four in Galle. “A lot of things can happen on the fifth-day wicket. We have a positive mindset going into the last day.”Kamindu Mendis, who scored 87 in Sri Lanka’s first innings, thinks pretty much any result is possible. “The match is open to both sides,” he said. “They’ve only lost three wickets for now, but in the morning session if we get two or three wickets early, we will be ascendant. What we wanted in the first innings was a lead of about 150, but we didn’t get there.”But tomorrow, if we can get them out inside a session, or even in the second session, that is enough. We’ve been able to have a higher run rate than them, so a session-and-a-half is enough for us. As a team we have confidence that we can win this. The run rate will change as the pitch changes.”Bangladesh, meanwhile, will focus on setting a tough target first, before setting their spinners loose.”If we can give them a good target, they will be under pressure,” Nayeem said. “There’s a difference between playing normal cricket and playing under pressure. They will also be worried about losing the game. We want to give a good total.”
Lancashire 264 (Harris 77, Balderson 51, Scriven 5-46) and 90 for 3 (Bohannon 45*) drew with Leicestershire 491 for 8 dec (Handscomb 142*, Rehan 100, Hill 64)The Rothesay County Championship match between Lancashire and Leicestershire ended in a draw after the home side’s fourth-wicket pair, Josh Bohannon and Marcus Harris, safely negotiated what could have been a tricky final session at Emirates Old Trafford.Resuming on 16 for 3 at 4.30pm after persistent rain had prevented play getting under way in the first two sessions at Manchester, Bohannon and Harris extended their stand to an unbroken 79 and had taken their side to 90 for 3 by the time the draw was agreed with a minimum of eight overs left to be bowled.At that point, Bohannon was 45 not out and Harris was unbeaten on 34. However, the last session was not without its alarms for the home side. Bohannon was dropped twice in the opening seven overs by wicketkeeper Ben Cox off the bowling of Ian Holland, although neither chance was easy.Leicestershire take 15 points from the game to Lancashire 11 and the visitors will have left the ground disappointed not to have had a longer opportunity to press home their advantage.The home team had gone into the final day still needing 212 runs to avoid an innings defeat and Keaton Jennings’ players might be grateful for the week off they will have before their next game, at home to Gloucestershire on May 2-5, when it is expected that James Anderson will make his first appearance of the season.Leicestershire, on the other hand, are certain to remain among the Division Two leaders after this round of fixtures and will travel to Bristol for their match against Gloucestershire in good spirits.