When Celtic return to action on 22 November for a rare Saturday night extravaganza against St Mirren, who will be sat in the away dugout in Paisley?

Well, interim manager Martin O’Neill has done a pretty good job since being parachuted in following Brendan Rodgers’ shock resignation, winning both Premiership matches 4-0, with goals from Johnny Kenny, Kieran Tierney, Daizen Maeda and Arne Engels downing Kilmarnock on Sunday.

​​​​​​Now, as we head into an international break, the Celtic board are surely intensifying their search for a permanent head coach, with last Thursday’s 3-1 Europa League hammering at the hands of Midtjylland perhaps underlining O’Neill’s shortcomings.

So, which of the leading candidates for the Parkhead hot seat should they prioritise appointing?

What Wilfried Nancy would bring to Celtic

In recent days, the surprise, left-field candidate who has emerged for the Celtic job is Wilfried Nancy.

The 48-year-old’s entire coaching career, to date, has come in North America, his first managerial role coming in 2021, succeeding Thierry Henry as CF Montréal head coach.

With the Impact, who are one of the lowest spending teams in Major League Soccer, Nancy miraculously led them to second in the Eastern Conference in 2022, thereby third in the overall standings, having also won the Canadian Championship the year before.

Manager Focus

However, he has seriously made a name for himself since joining Columbus Crew.

Since swapping Québec for Ohio, Nancy has enjoyed huge success in charge of the Black and Gold, winning MLS Cup in his first season and then Leagues Cup in 2024, also leading the Crew to their first-ever CONCACAF Champions Cup Final, ousting two Mexican juggernauts en route, ultimately beaten 3-0 by Pachuca in the final.

At the weekend, Columbus’ 2025 campaign came to an end, dumped out of the MLS play-offs by Hell is Real rivals FC Cincinnati, which may mean Nancy is more available now than he would have been a week ago.

This though should not denigrate what Nancy has achieved in Columbus.

Joe Lowery believes he is the most talented coach in MLS history, describing the Crew’s “patient possession” play as “so much fun to watch”, but does this mean the Frenchman would succeed in Glasgow?

Well, the step from Major League Soccer to top-level European football is massive.

Other coaches such as Gerhard Struber, Jaap Stam, Raphaël Wicky, Bob Bradley and Patrick Vieira, who have made the jump, have often struggled to make their mark at the top level, meaning it is impossible to tell if the 2024 coach of the year would fare any better.

So, who knows, appointing Nancy would certainly be a massive risk, so is there another manager already operating at the top level in Europe the Celts should chase first?

Who should be Celtic's first choice to replace Martin O'Neill

Given the current economic climate in European football, it is increasingly difficult for clubs outside Europe’s big five leagues to compete, a reality Celtic supporters experience every season, despite the fact their side have won 13 of the last 14 Premiership titles.

Well, a club who have continued to punch above their weight are Bodø/Glimt, hence why, as reported by Sky Sports, Celtic’s managerial shortlist features Kjetil Knutsen, with the report outlining that he still remains among their lengthy list of targets.

The 57-year-old has been in charge of the Yellow Horde since 2018, when they were still a second-tier outfit, but has transformed them into Norway’s dominant force.

Bodø/Glimt, who had never won the league before, have picked up four of the last five Eliteserien titles, including setting the league’s single-season points record of 81.

With two matches remaining of this campaign, which concludes on 30 November, they are second, one point below Viking, who are seeking their first title since 1991, but the race will go down to the wire.

This domestic domination has given Bødo/Glimt a platform on which to shine in Europe, which is where their most eye-catching results have come.

2021/22

Conference League

Quarter-finals

2022/23

Europa League

Group stages

2023/24

Conference League

Knockout stages

2024/25

Europa League

Semi-finals

2025/26

Champions League

League phase

As the table documents, Bodø/Glimt have been European regulars over the last five seasons, most notably reaching the Conference League quarter-finals and last season’s Europa League semi-finals, before qualifying for the Champions League proper for the first time ever earlier this year, smashing Sturm Graz in the play-off round.

These are performances Celtic can only dream of, considering the Hoops have not won a European knockout tie since 2004, one of their numerous defeats coming at the hands of Bodø/Glimt in February 2022, Knutsen’s team demolishing Postecoglou’s side 5-1 on aggregate.

The Norwegian champions have also enjoyed noteworthy victories over Roma, Beşiktaş​​​​​​​, Crvena zvezda, Porto, Olympiacos and Lazio, while they have lost only seven of their last 38 European home matches, winning 29 of them, making Aspmyra the fortress that Celtic Park yearns to become once more.

Looking at Knutsen specifically, across his 351 matches in charge, he has always deployed an attacking 4-3-3, with width provided by adventurous full-backs, allowing wingers, including current star Jens Petter Hauge, to drift inside and score goals.

Former Norway international Jan Åge Fjørtoft praised Knutsen’s “clear philosophy” and “attractive” style of play, forecasting that he is destined to land one of the biggest jobs in European football.

So, as Celtic aspire to be as competitive on the continent as Bodø/Glimt have become, Knutsen would be a statement appointment, surely one an entire divided fan base could get behind.

Nancy has his own credentials, but it is Knutsen who might just be the ideal pick.

117 touches, 96% passing: Celtic star just had his best game all season

Celtic demolished Kilmarnock 4-0 in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday, and one of Martin O’Neill’s players enjoyed their best game of the season.

ByBen Gray Nov 9, 2025

A 61-run third-wicket stand held the Hong Kong innings together

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Sep-2025Hong Kong clambered to a respectable 149 for 4, as Nizakat Khan drove them through the middle and back end of the innings, after Anshy Rath had held down the fort in the early overs. The two combined in the middle for a partnership worth 61 off 43 balls – Nizakat contributing 33 off 22, while Rath went at a slower pace.Nizakat was not out at the crease on 52 off 38 balls at the end. It was his 12th T20I half-century, and his first against a Full Member (ICC or ACC), plus Hong Kong’s second ever fifty at this event. He’d been reprieved twice in the 17th over, bowled by Nuwan Thushara, but with so many wicket left, he was perhaps right to try low-percentage shots. Rath had fallen two runs short of 50, and struck at 104.34. He scored almost exclusively in front of square.Sri Lanka may have hoped to blow Hong Kong away when they asked them to bat first, but they didn’t have a lot of luck in the early overs. Zeeshan Ali scored boundaries off the outside and inside edge, and Dushmantha Chameera dropped off Thushara’s bowling.Chameera would go on to put in another strong performance, however, eventually dismissing Zeeshan, and later, Rath. He took the innings’ best figures of 2 for 29, but the spinners also delivered some economical overs. Maheesh Theekshana conceded only 22 off his four overs, while Wanindu Hasaranga took 1 for 27.

Folarin Balogun scored a crucial goal to put the United States Men’s National Team ahead 2-1 against Paraguay during the November 2025 international window. The strike was Balogun’s third goal in his last four appearances, with Gio Reyna creating the chance moments after ending his own scoring drought with the USMNT’s opener – his first goal since March 2024.

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  USMNT’s aggressiveness

  The goal originated from Diego Luna’s aggressive pressing, which forced Paraguay into a turnover deep in their own half. Luna’s pressure allowed the USMNT to regain possession in a dangerous area, setting the stage for a swift counterattack. Reyna picked up the ball from Balogun’s hold-up play and attempted a cutback pass. Although the initial pass was blocked, it deflected back to Balogun, who quickly slashed a left-footed shot into the net.

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  Balogun’s scoring form

  Balogun’s goal reinforces his growing importance to the USMNT attack. With three goals in his last four appearances, the Monaco forward continues to show reliable scoring form at the international level. His link-up with players like Reyna also underscores the expanding attacking options for Mauricio Pochettino ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

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  USMNT builds momentum

  The goal against Paraguay and their subsequent 2-1 win reflects the USMNT’s growing confidence and attacking dynamism under Pochettino’s guidance. They will face Uruguay next on Nov. 18 in their final international game of the calendar year.

The rougher squares this year have fulfilled the precondition for reverse swing in a span as short as 20 overs

Sidharth Monga06-May-2025Rajasthan Royals (RR) have had their mental fortitude questioned to the extent that pundits have been criticising their decision to chase even when it is plain to see they should. This kind of message comes with the territory: you play a popular league, you fail to close out two matches from nine required in the last over, and the first diagnosis is likely to be around mental strength and the first prescription is to tell you to stop doing what you have been doing.We can’t fact-check the pundits. There could well be a block, for all we know. However, what we know and can verify is that in both those games the ball reverse-swung appreciably, playing a part in what is popularly known as a “choke”.Mitchell Starc started the turnaround in the Delhi Capitals (DC) game. The ball to get a set Nitish Rana swung in 1.83 degrees. On average, Starc drew 1.2 degrees of swing in his last two overs as opposed to 0.8 in his first two with the new ball.Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) Avesh Khan’s last two overs to deny RR featured even more reverse swing. The yorker to get Yashasvi Jaiswal swung 2.21 degrees. The yorker to beat Riyan Prag’s ramp swung 1.86.Related

• Archives: Reverse swing – a rough guide

• Mohit Sharma: Use of saliva is 100% helping the ball reverse swing

• Reverse swing for Arshdeep or drier ball for Chahal – PBKS have to decide

There is enough anecdotal evidence of reverse swing in IPL 2025 at various ages of the ball. If Starc and Avesh swung it right at the end, there was a game when Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) Eshan Malinga reversed the ball in the 12th over and then right at the end. In the 18th over, he swung two balls at 2.59 degrees each, and took out Mumbai Indians’ (MI) Naman Dhir’s toe with one that swung in 1.84 degrees. Last year, 11% of deliveries, excluding slower balls, swung more than 1.5 degrees after the tenth over; this year it’s 18%. It has almost gone from one in ten to one in five.However, before we conclude that there has been more reverse swing than in the Covid-19 years, when the use of saliva to shine the ball was banned, we need to first acknowledge that degrees of swing is a flawed measure. The average swing is even worse. Aaron Briggs, who has done a PhD in the aerodynamics of swing bowling, has been advocating a “swing coefficient”, which measures swing independent of the time the ball spent in the air.The fuller you bowl, the more chance you give the ball to swing. So the degrees need to be normalised for length for it to be comparable. That, though, is the easier part. Briggs points out a bigger drawback in data collection in cricket: we don’t record the bowler’s intent or skill. We don’t yet record different seam orientations bowlers try. Did the bowler really intend to swing the ball? Was the release good? To account for that, the best we can do is exclude slower balls.Himanish Ganjoo, a physicist and data scientist, made the data somewhat comparable by normalising the degrees of swing for length. He considered only balls bowled at more than 128kph, and the following graphic emerged.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is poised to be without a big-name forward for the North London Derby against Tottenham on November 23, and he’ll be the last out of their long line of attackers to return from injury.

The Gunners’ majestic run of eight consecutive wins in all competitions without conceding a single goal came to an abrupt end at the Stadium of Light last weekend, with newly-promoted Sunderland dampening Arsenal’s air of invincibility and continuing their unbelievable start to 2025/2026.

Dan Ballard gave the hosts a surprise lead around 10 minutes before half-time, finally putting an end to David Raya’s run of clean sheets which stretched all the way back to September.

Bukayo Saka’s neat finish and Leandro Trossard’s piledriver did spark a fightback from Arsenal with Arteta’s side battling their way into the ascendency, much like they did at Sunderland’s North East rivals Newcastle nearly two months prior.

Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest

Athletic Bilbao 0-2 Arsenal

Arsenal 1-1 Man City

Port Vale 0-2 Arsenal

Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal

Arsenal 2-0 Olympiacos

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham

Fulham 0-1 Arsenal

Arsenal 4-0 Atletico Madrid

Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace

Arsenal 2-0 Brighton

Burnley 0-2 Arsenal

Slavia Prague 0-3 Arsenal

Sunderland 2-2 Arsenal

However, an acrobatic, last-gasp equaliser from Brian Brobbery ensured that the Black Cats would maintain their unbeaten run at home and break Arsenal hearts in the process.

Man City, who put Liverpool to the sword at Eastlands the next day, will be given some real encouragement as Pep Guardiola’s side now close the gap to four points.

The north Londoners had a few other golden chances in the match with Martin Zubimendi striking the crossbar for good measure, but they arguably ran out of steam creatively and couldn’t kill the game off at 2-1.

This is largely owing to Arsenal’s plethora of injury absentees in the final third.

Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard, Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres were all forced to miss the clash, with some being unavailable for weeks as Arteta’s squad depth is seriously tested akin to last season.

Havertz has impressed Arsenal rehab specialists with his recovery from a knee problem, while Madueke is in line for an earlier than expected return to the fold after working hard behind-the-scenes.

In a boost for Arteta, journalist Simon Collings of Standard Sport has revealed that the aforementioned duo, Martinelli, Odegaard and Gyokeres are all racing to be fit for Arsenal’s looming clash with Tottenham right after the international break.

However, the same cannot be said for Jesus.

Gabriel Jesus poised to miss North London derby and last to return from Arsenal injury

Collings reports that, while the others could be available for Tottenham, Jesus “will be the last to return” from his Arsenal injury despite resuming full training last week.

The £265,000-per-week star ruptured his ACL in an FA Cup defeat to Man United in January and hasn’t played since then, with Jesus since stating that it is the worst injury of his career.

The Brazil international has also been heavily linked with a January exit in the last two months, but Arteta moved to quash these rumours by expressing his delight over Jesus’ imminent comeback.

The 28-year-old has missed a total of 54 games for Arsenal since that injury against United, so he’ll now be relishing the prospect of contributing towards their potential first Premier League title in 22 years.

Will Celtic appoint a new manager during this international break?

Following Sunday’s 4-0 Premiership victory over Kilmarnock, interim manager Martin O’Neill honestly admitted that he does not know whether or not he will still be in charge when the Hoops are next in action against St Mirren in Paisley a week on Saturday.

Reports this week suggest the board are intensifying their search for Brendan Rodgers’ long-term replacement, currently in London holding talks with candidates, with a leading target having now emerged.

Whoever takes charge, considering Celtic will play 11 matches, including a League Cup Final, before the transfer window opens, will need to get the best out of the Hoops’ current squad, so could landing their dream target be good news for the club’s best attacker?

The 'frontrunner' to become Celtic manager

As has been widely reported, Kieran McKenna, Wilfried Nancy, Craig Bellamy and Robbie Keane are among the candidates to become Celtic manager.

Manager Focus

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However, their dream candidate all along has been Bodø/Glimt boss Kjetil Knutsen, who, according to a report by TEAMtalk, ‘remains a frontrunner’.

They claim that a move to Glasgow is viewed as the ‘perfect next step’ for the 57-year-old, who is out of contract in the Arctic Circle later this year, having worked miracles with Bodø/Glimt since being appointed in 2018.

His team demolished Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic 5-1 on aggregate in a Conference League tie back in February 2022, so could he soon be returning to Parkhead, only this time in the home dugout?

And would his arrival help to get the best out of Daizen Maeda?

Why a change of manager could revive Maeda

Earlier this season, Maeda revealed that he had asked to leave Celtic this summer to take the next step in his career, but was not allowed to do so, following the sales of Nicolas Kühn and Adam Idah, while no replacements for them were even brought in until the final hours of the window.

Well, after scoring 33 goals last season, the Japanese forward has not been at his scintillating best this time round, scoring only four goals so far, most notably nodding home the stoppage time winner against Motherwell, also on target against Killie last weekend.

Overall, most of Maeda’s statistics have decreased this season, as the table below highlights.

Goals

0.6

0.5

Assists

0.4

0.3

Shots

1.8

2

Conversion rate %

32.65%

21.43%

Big chances missed

0.6

0.83

Chances created

1.5

1.2

Big chances created

0.35

0.28

Forward passes

3.6

2.1

Touches

43.2

44.8

Touches in the box

6.6

6.6

Average rating

7.31

6.87

As the table documents, the majority of Maeda’s numbers have endured a downturn this season, including goals, shooting accuracy and chance creation, missing more big chances on a per-90 basis too.

When the Japanese international is at his best, he is able to ferociously close down defenders and burst into space, as this goal in last season’s League Cup Final highlights, something he has not been allowed to do very often this season, hindered by the Celts’ stodgy style of play.

However, could that all be about to change, allowing Maeda to rediscover his best form?

The reason Knutsen is the outstanding candidate is that he has completely transformed Bodø/Glimt.

When he was appointed manager in 2018, the Yellow Horde were still in the Norwegian second tier, but they have now won four of the last five Eliteserien titles, chasing another with two games to go of this campaign.

Having said that, Bodø/Glimt have really made a name for themselves in Europe, reaching the Conference League quarter-finals in 2022 and last season’s Europa League semi-finals, qualifying for the Champions League group stages for the very first time earlier this year.

Michael Stewart believes Knutsen has done an “incredible” job in the Arctic Circle, while Jan Åge Fjørtoft praised Knutsen’s “clear philosophy” and “attractive” style of play.

Across his 351 matches in charge, Bodø/Glimt have always used a fluid 4-3-3 formation which, as outlined by Total Football Analysis, features attacking full-backs, thereby allowing the wide-attackers to drift inside and score goals.

Meantime, as documented by the Coaches’ Voice, Knutsen’s team consistently rank highly in terms of ‘most dribbles and 1v1 moments’, favouring quick interplay and direct attacks.

Well, all of this sounds like it would suit Maeda’s skillset, whether the Japanese forward was to be deployed centrally or out wide.

Concerningly, Maeda may still harbour hopes of a move away in January, with a World Cup on the horizon, but Knutsen, should he arrive, surely would not sanction the sale of Celtic’s best attacker, while his appointment may represent such a coup that the forward is convinced that the Celts are heading in the right direction once again.

Better than Nancy: Celtic shortlist "attractive" Rodgers replacement

With Wilfried Nancy among the favourites to become the new Celtic manager, should the Hoops instead appoint a 4-3-3 boss with an “attractive” style?

ByBen Gray Nov 12, 2025

If Rangers are going to reestablish themselves as both Scottish football’s dominant side but also a force in Europe once again, their recruitment simply must improve.

Sporting director Kevin Thelwell gave an interview to the club’s official TV channel this week, his position very much under the microscope from supporters following a very underwhelming transfer window.

Summer signings such as Emmanuel Fernandez, Joe Rothwell, Jayden Meghoma, Thelo Aasgaard and others have either made little impact or not impressed so far.

Rangers supporters won’t like this, but they’re going to have to replicate Celtic’s largely successful player trading model, with the side from across the city regularly selling players on for a sizable profit, something the Gers rarely do.

In fairness to them, the Light Blues did manage this with Hamza Igamane who departed this summer, so could an “exciting” new recruit be the next one to follow?

Hamza Igamane's impact at Rangers

When Igamane arrived at Rangers, he was a complete unknown quantity, signing from Botola club AS FAR in his native Morocco for £1.7m.

Well, the young striker certainly impressed during his one season in Govan, scoring 16 goals across all competitions, of which four came in the Europa League, while also bagging a hat-trick against Hibernian at Easter Road back in January.

He will though be most fondly remembered for this thunderous strike at Parkhead in March, snatching a 3-2 Old Firm victory over Celtic during Barry Ferguson’s interim tenure, awarded the club’s goal of the season.

Igamane though did not plan on sticking around in Glasgow, sold to Ligue 1 side LOSC Lille for a reported fee of £10.4m in August, which may prove to be an absolute bargain as far as les Dogues are concerned.

He scored twice on his Ligue 1 debut against Lorient at Stade du Moustoir, netting seven times for Lille to date overall, including three in the Europa League, featuring a brace against PAOK last month.

Meantime, Igamane scored his first two senior goals for Morocco in September, on target during World Cup qualifiers against Niger and Zambia, set to be a key figure in Walid Regragui’s squad for both the Africa Cup of Nations on home soil next month and then the World Cup in the summer.

Consequently, Rangers supporters may actually feel as though they let the striker go on the cheap, albeit there was nothing the club could do once his release clause was met.

So, who could be the Light Blues’ next bargain signing to depart for a huge profit, after exponentially improving his value and reputation at Ibrox?

Rangers' next Hamza Igamane

As already noted, many of Rangers’ summer signings have not impressed, hence why Russell Martin was sacked after just 17 games in charge, while, despite improvements under Danny Röhl, they remain fourth in the Scottish Premiership and rock-bottom of the Europa League standings, still yet to pick up a point.

However, almost inarguably, the best-performing of all their summer recruits has been Djeidi Gassama.

The Mauritania-born French youth international arrived from Sheffield Wednesday for just £2.2m, available at a cut-price given that now-ousted owner Dejphon Chansiri was running the EFL Championship club into the ground at the time, which looks like being a complete bargain, with the table below documenting the winger’s importance.

Gassama’s Rangers statistics 25/26

Stats

Gassama

Rangers rank

Minutes

1,733

4th

Goals

6

1st

Assists

2

4th

Shots per 90

2.3

1st

Key passes per 90

0.9

4th

Successful dribbles per 90

1.8

1st

Stats via Transfermarkt & SofaScore

Indeed, only Jack Butland, John Souttar and captain James Tavernier have played more minutes than Gassama so far this season and rightly so.

The Frenchman ranks first when it comes to goals, shots per 90 and successful dribbles per 90, with five of his six goals to date coming in European competition, on target home and away against Panathinaikos, at the double when Viktoria Plzeň visited Glasgow, while also on target in defeat at Sturm Graz.

Upon his arrival, then-manager Martin labelled Gassama an “exciting player who will get supporters on the edge of their seats”, while the winger expressed his delight in being reunited with manager Röhl, who’d also been his boss at Hillsborough, describing the German as “like a father to me”.

Earlier in the campaign, when Rangers’ form was diabolical, former right-back Alan Hutton asserted that Gassama had been their “shining light”, now only likely to get better under Röhl, the coach who kick-started his rise at Sheffield Wednesday.

Well, according to Football Transfers, Gassama’s estimated market value has already increased to around £4.5m, more than double what Rangers paid to sign him.

Scoring goals in Europe will certainly attract interest, proving that the attacker can perform at a higher level than just the Scottish Premiership.

Thus, still only 22 years old, Gassama appears destined to become Rangers’ next Igamane-like sale, while, for now, Röhl has to build a cohesive team to get the best out of his star forward.

Related Not Chermiti or Miovski: £4.5m flop is one of Rangers' worst ever signings

Rangers recruitment has been poor for many years, so which “insane talent” not Youssef Chermiti nor Bojan Miovski is one of the club’s worst signings.

Posts ByBen Gray Nov 13, 2025

Three overs of hypnotic, new-ball swing was all it took for LSG to be blown away in the mountain air

Karthik Krishnaswamy04-May-20251:04

Rayudu: Skilful Arshdeep takes pitch out of the equation

It helps to swing the ball both ways, but if you are a left-arm quick in a world dominated by right-hand batters, you don’t have to. Most left-arm swing bowlers only shape the new ball into the right-hand batter, with their usual angle – across the batter from over the wicket – allowing them to test the outside edge should the odd ball refuse to swing, or swing less than expected.The away angle, the inswing, and natural variation are enough by themselves to turn the task of facing a new ball delivered by Trent Boult or Mitchell Starc into a hellish test of alignment. If you’re a right-hand batter, you’ll want to open your stance up to get a clear sighter of the left-arm bowler thundering in from over the wicket. But you can’t get too open, because you’ll just be throwing your hands at the ball slanting away from you if you don’t line it up with your front shoulder. And you can’t get too closed-off either, because here comes that inswinger, threatening your front pad and stumps.Imagine, then, the effect of a left-arm fast bowler not just angling the ball one way and swinging it in the opposite direction but also getting the odd one to bend the other way. Imagine that this left-armer is doing this while maintaining perfect length, and with enough control over his wrist that he barely ever strays down leg with his inswinger or offers width with his outswinger.Related

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Prabhsimran 91, Arshdeep's new-ball spell take PBKS towards playoffs

Spin resurgence: Lengths and speeds the key, says Chawla

Ball after ball, going one way or the other, at pace, always finishing on top of your stumps or in the corridor outside off.Arshdeep Singh bowled a spell like this on Sunday night, a spell from hell that transformed the contest between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Until his intervention, there had been nowhere for bowlers to hide in Dharamsala’s first match of IPL 2025. The pitch was benign, the boundary only a miscue away. PBKS had hit 16 sixes – the joint second-most in an innings this season – on their way to 236 for 5.Then Arshdeep, barely needing the pitch at all, took 3 for 10 in three overs of hypnotic new-ball swing. The wickets were of Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh and Nicholas Pooran, a top three who, coming into this game, had scored nearly 63% of LSG’s runs off the bat this season.And Arshdeep made a profound impact even before he picked up his first wicket. He forced both Markram and Marsh into hurried blocks to keep out full inswingers. He beat Marsh’s outside edge with a jaffa that started outside leg, finished outside off, and forced the keeper to collect the ball over his head. He got Marsh to swing in vain at another awayswinger.”I think his first over tonight really set the tone for our bowling innings,” PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting later said. “It was a fantastic first over. The ball bounced and moved around. So, you know, he’s a, he’s a star, no doubt about it. And we’re very lucky to have him in our team.”Where other formats allow batters to watch the bowler’s release and seam orientation and adjust to the second line and defend, this was a T20 chase of close to two runs a ball. It almost forced LSG’s batters to commit early and hope.2:39

Are PBKS primed for a top-two finish?

Marsh had fallen for a golden duck to Arshdeep’s awayswinger when these teams last met, on April 1, squaring up and sending a leading edge ballooning to short third. He fell in similar fashion on Sunday, swinging harder this time but miscuing just as badly. A duck of prolonged agony to follow a first-baller.Three balls later, Markram was gone too, with Arshdeep profiting from the ball stopping on the batter and contributing to a chop-on.LSG were two down, but their most dangerous batter was in the middle. Arshdeep, therefore, was called on to bowl a third powerplay over for the first time this season.The over began with a rare half-volley, the outswinger to the left-hand batter, and Pooran drove it handsomely past mid-off. But no ball is a bad ball if you have the right follow-up: Arshdeep went full again, but corrected his length so it wasn’t quite as full as the previous ball, and swerved this one the other way, into the stumps. Pooran swung, looking to go leg side, and missed.Arshdeep had only bowled 14 balls, and LSG had only faced 26. The match would stretch on for 94 more balls, but the contest was over.”Yeah, once again, great stuff by the captain to bowl him that third over,” Ponting said. “I think once we had the two early wickets and then I think Rishabh [Pant] and Pooran together, I think Shreyas [Iyer] understood how important it was to try and break that partnership early.Arshdeep Singh accounted for both LSG openers in an over•BCCI”So he gave Arshdeep the third over and bang, he knocks Pooran over. And at that stage, with Pooran out and them being three down inside the powerplay, it was always going to be hard work for them to get back into the game.”This was the high point of Arshdeep’s season, but a performance like this was coming. The two-way swing hasn’t always looked as dangerous as it did on Sunday – Arshdeep noted that the low night-time temperatures in Dharamsala may have contributed to more swing being available – but there’s usually been enough of it to keep batters on their toes. Of all bowlers to have delivered at least ten overs in this phase, only one – Sandeep Sharma (6.83) – has a better powerplay economy rate in IPL 2025 than Arshdeep’s 7.00.He now has the wickets to go with the economy: eight in the powerplay as of Sunday, level with Mohammed Siraj with only Khaleel Ahmed (nine) ahead. Overall, Arshdeep has now moved to 16, which puts him third on the Purple Cap leaderboard.Three more league matches remain for PBKS, two of them in the swing-enabling mountain air of Dharamsala. With Arshdeep in the rhythm he’s in, the top orders of Delhi Capitals (DC) and Mumbai Indians (MI) might have a task on their hands.

Dan Lawrence battles with unbeaten 44 but weather has the final say in Superchargers’ campaign

Matt Roller30-Aug-2025It will be Trent Rockets, not Northern Superchargers, who face Oval Invincibles in Sunday’s Hundred final at Lord’s after a soggy night in south London ended in an abandonment. Showers delayed the start by 20 minutes, prompted two hour-long interruptions, and eventually wiped the game out altogether, with Rockets progressing by virtue of their higher group-stage finish.The final call came at 9.52pm, nearly four hours yet only 80 legal balls after the scheduled 6pm start. Rockets twice started to chase adjusted targets – 134 off 75, then 105 off 55 – only for the drizzle to turn into rain, and the crowd had thinned by the time a final heavy downpour prompted umpires James Middlebrook and Martin Saggers to finally pull the plug.The final will start barely 20 hours after the Eliminator ended, and a stop-start night hardly served ideal preparation. “It’s been a long day… I thought you had to wait until the rain stops before you start,” reflected Rockets’ Marcus Stoinis, who removed Harry Brook and David Miller before the rain took over. “It’s a bit of chaos, but I think it will be fine.”Invincibles, by contrast, have had since Monday to prepare for Sunday’s final as table-toppers, and will welcome back Stoinis’ close friend Adam Zampa as a handy replacement for Rashid Khan. Jordan Cox and Sam Curran helped them to surge home against Rockets in the stand-out match of the group stage, and they are gunning for a third successive title.David Willey struck with his third ball to remove Zak Crawley•ECB/Getty Images

“It was a good contest last time,” Stoinis said of their meeting at The Oval earlier this month. “We probably had the better of them for the majority of that game and they played really well. Credit to them for winning… It was some of the best hitting that there’s been in any cricket, really. But to be honest, we haven’t really thought about it – we haven’t had a chance!”This was a cruel end for Brook’s Superchargers, but one they could have avoided. These two teams were level on points heading into the final week of the group stage, but Superchargers lost their last fixture on Tuesday, and Rockets clinched second place with a win on Wednesday. With no reserve day for the Eliminator, it proved enough for them.”I think everybody in the world knew that was going to happen,” Brook said, ruefully. “Everyone saw the forecast was going to be shocking from about five or six o’clock. It is what it is. We can’t do anything about it.”It’s easy to say loads of things when you’re sat on the losing side. You could say we could have played last night, knowing that it was going to rain tonight; or we could have brought the game earlier, say the girls play at 11 and we play at 2. But this is how they’ve set the schedule… There’s so many things you could say.”Harry Brook was cleaned up by Marcus Stoinis•ECB/Getty Images

Rockets shaded the limited action there was, with captain David Willey setting the tone after winning what looked like an important toss. He struck with his third ball, which Zak Crawley edged to slip, and frontloaded his 20-ball allocation into the first 40 in the knowledge that the innings was unlikely to last its scheduled duration.Dan Lawrence top-scored with an unbeaten 44 from No. 3 around cameos from Dawid Malan and David Miller as Superchargers reached 76 for 3 after 50 balls at the first rain break, and 119 for 5 after 75 at the second. Lawrence was unusually due to keep wicket, but the discarded Michael Pepper took the gloves as a substitute fielder after Malan tweaked a muscle.After the first long delay, Jacob Duffy pushed the first ball of Rockets’ chase past Tom Banton’s pad; after the second, Banton slashed him over slip for four and picked up four leg-byes from an attempted scoop. But no sooner had Matthew Potts removed his cap to bowl the second set, than the rain returned with a vengeance, sending Superchargers’ season down the drain.