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He will always be associated with this team, a team that has created its brand and its identity around him

Matt Roller27-Apr-2023Walking along Cubbon Road in Bengaluru at six o’clock on Wednesday evening, I had a stray thought. Is this what Naples was like in the time of Diego Maradona?Everyone in front of me has the same thing written on the back of their shirt: 18 VIRAT. Every ten metres I walk, someone else is trying to sell me a cheap replica of a Royal Challengers Bangalore jersey, each and every one emblazoned with the same print.If it was not already clear who the 40,000 fans at the Chinnaswamy Stadium had come to see, it was confirmed by his emergence for the warm-ups. As he walked on to the outfield, Virat Kohli’s face popped up on the big screen, and the crowd came to life.Related

• Chinnaswamy treat – the joy of Virat Kohli vs Jofra Archer

• Eight balls, 28 to get, and Kohli does a Kohli – it was just meant to be

• Kohli on RCB's loss to KKR: 'That's what you call a freebie'

I had witnessed the same love for Kohli during the previous Sunday afternoon’s game, a hard-fought victory over Rajasthan Royals. After his dismissal, pinned lbw first ball by Trent Boult, the ground fell silent. The TV broadcast cut to an older woman in the stands, who put her hand on her head then turned to her neighbour in utter disbelief.But all was forgotten by the time he was patrolling the long-on boundary, temporarily back as RCB’s captain, with Faf du Plessis managing an injury. Kohli blew a kiss to the crowd, towards the executive box where his wife Anushka Sharma was sitting; the big-screen, slow-motion replay drew a louder cheer than the catch itself.Having witnessed Sunday’s game behind the insulated glass of the press box, I moved to the stands on Wednesday night to hear the crowd at full throttle. The Chinnaswamy is an old, enclosed, concrete stadium with remarkable acoustics; it seems to amplify the noise created by its crowd, which is invariably a sell-out for IPL games.As Wanindu Hasaranga bowled the fifth over of Kolkata Knight Riders’ innings, Kohli positioned himself at mid-off. After each delivery, as he walked back towards the edge of the ring, the lower tier of C Stand cheered as one, hoping beyond hope that he would acknowledge them. He only touched the ball once, but was still the centre of attention.’18 VIRAT’: Who wouldn’t want it?•Associated PressThe PA announcer knows who is in charge of this city, and plays up to it. In the previous over, he had declared to the fans that it was time for an apotheosis: “When I say ‘King’, you say ‘Kohli’!” he instructed, and so they did. It is a remarkable status for anyone to even begin to live up to.But Kohli is RCB, and RCB is Kohli. He is the only player to have featured for the same franchise in all 16 IPL seasons, playing in all but four of their 235 IPL matches. He was here as a 19-year-old boy on the competition’s opening night, playing for the same team against the same opposition, and he is still here now as a 34-year-old man. He will always be associated with this team, a team that has created its brand and its identity around him.When Kohli gave up the RCB captaincy 18 months ago, he appeared to unilaterally and indefinitely extend his contract with the franchise: “I will only play for RCB until my retirement,” he had said in a statement. Nobody batted an eyelid. As if they would ever dare to let him leave?He is front and centre of every sponsorship photoshoot, his face plastered on every billboard in the surrounding area. Kohli is not only a cricketer, but also a brand: you can buy suitcases, tyres, wellness supplements, orthodontic aligners and air-conditioning units which come with his seal of approval, and are reminded to do so every time you switch on your television.So when Kohli came out to bat alongside du Plessis, a 201-run target in their sights, there was a sense that this was why everyone was here. KKR’s innings had felt like a necessary inconvenience, a support act to warm the crowd up before the main event.As he has throughout this season, Kohli started positively. He slashed the first ball he faced to deep third for four, and after hitting Suyash Sharma for back-to-back fours at the start of the fifth over, he had raced to 30 off 15 balls with five boundaries, strutting around the crease with a characteristic swagger.Silence enveloped the ground after Virat Kohli was given out against KKR•Associated PressIn doing so, Kohli set a new record for the most runs by a T20 batter at a single venue. The landmark went largely unnoticed, but was fitting: along with MS Dhoni playing for Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk, and Rohit Sharma representing Mumbai Indians at Wankhede, Kohli playing for RCB at Chinnaswamy is one of this league’s iconic combinations.But after the soft dismissals of du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell, the two other superstars in this RCB batting line-up, Kohli was almost on his own. There were few qualms about his now-characteristic slowdown against spin; given the circumstances, it seemed their only chance of hauling down this target was for Kohli to bat deep into the innings.When Shahbaz Ahmed, Mahipal Lomror and Suyash Prabhudessai’s names were read out, they hardly drew a response. The contrast in reception for RCB’s big three and the rest of their middle order emphasised the over reliance on a select few that this franchise has always faced, one reflected in their supporters’ adoration of their established stars but apparent ambivalence towards their young players.Lomror provided an effective foil. He dominated a 55-run stand with Kohli for the fourth wicket, hitting 34 off 18 balls before he was caught on the rope, falling just short in an attempt to strike back-to-back sixes off Varun Chakravarthy.Kohli’s method – trying to build a partnership to attack at the death after losing three early wickets – left the game in his hands. And when, on 54, he swung Andre Russell out towards midwicket after a lull, there was a brief moment when he seemed to have got enough power into his pull shot to clear the ropes.He hadn’t. Venkatesh Iyer dived forward and clung on to a difficult catch, and the game was as good as done. Silence enveloped the ground as the TV umpire confirmed that Iyer’s catch was clean. Kohli trudged off, taking a realistic chance of a third consecutive victory with him.Forty-five minutes later, Kohli was in front of the cameras again, sending his team a rocket after a sloppy performance in the field. As he spoke, Cubbon Road was full of people again. They traipsed towards the metro station or hailed auto rickshaws, having witnessed a defeat that must have been all too familiar for supporters of a franchise who have always fallen just short.But those same supporters had witnessed a hero in the flesh, cutting and pulling, living and breathing. And in three weeks’ time, when RCB return home after five consecutive away games, there is no doubt that the road will be filled with shirts emblazoned with ’18 VIRAT’ on their backs once more.

Qalandars’ icon player showed little signs of rust as he took 2 for 16 to set up a big win against Team Abu Dhabi.

Barny Read31-Jan-2021Day three of the Abu Dhabi T10 League saw its full quota of stars finally arrive in the UAE capital, with former Pakistan allrounder and Qalandars icon player Shahid Afridi the last man out of quarantine to star on Saturday night.Afridi had been held up by an expired UAE residency visa which forced him to briefly return to Pakistan before re-entering the country. But just hours out of mandatory isolation, he had taken 2 for 16 as Qalandars reduced Team Abu Dhabi to 100 for 5 in the second match of the day.Related

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That bowling display teed up the Qalandars batsmen to see their side home with nine wickets and nine balls to spare. Understandably, Afridi was pleased to be out of the makeshift gym of his hotel room and making his mark on the pitch.”Quarantine wasn’t bad because I was missing cricket but I tried to keep myself fit in the hotel room doing some different activities,” he said. “The good thing is that I’m still enjoying my cricket and I’m still passionate about it and my fans, they want to see me playing cricket so because of my fans I love to play and love to continue for maybe one or two years.”Despite the short turnaround moving from quarantine to playing, Afridi didn’t appear to have any rustiness to shake off with the ball. He said it is essential for him to stay razor sharp if he’s to continue performing at the highest level.”If you want to play cricket, you should be 100% and you should stay fit because cricket is full of skill. I’m trying my level best to not disappoint my fans.”Afridi’s instant impact was in contrast to Team Abu Dhabi’s own star man Chris Gayle, who followed up his 4 in the opening game with 5 this time around. It represents a sluggish start with the bat for Gayle but one his captain Luke Wright is certain will soon be addressed.”It’s only been two innings and you obviously have to have a good go at it early,” Wright said after his team’s second loss in as many days. “Hopefully he gets going in the comp, he obviously needs to start doing it soon but it’s not just about Chris, we’ve got other players that can do it as well. Chris is obviously world class so fingers crossed he gets going and we get some wins because we need to.”Seeing both players in action will have been a fillip for the league where Shoaib Malik also played his first game of the tournament, although he neither bowled nor batted as his Maratha Arabians side were comprehensively dismissed in a six-wicket Bangla Tigers victory.A thought must be spared for South Africa’s Colin Ingram who patiently waited for almost a week in Dubai before being told he couldn’t take part due to the local travel ban placed on his home country. However, the involvement of the likes of Gayle, Afridi and Malik are box office, and Wright is delighted with the quality of players on show, believing it raises the game of all the players in the tournament.”It’s great, isn’t it? I think for everyone, they want to play with the best players and they’re the best players that have probably ever played T20 so we’re all very lucky that we get to learn from them,” Wright said.In the final game of day three, Northern Warriors captain Nicholas Pooran became the eighth of nine captains to be put into bat first, but the first to win setting a target. Pooran hit a brutal 54 from 21 balls before Rovman Powell (24*) and Fabian Allen (28*) between them contributed 52 runs from just 18 deliveries as the Warriors hit the highest total of the competition.Their 137 for 3 was ultimately too great for Delhi Bulls, especially when Wayne Parnell (3 for 15) – their icon player who replaced Andre Russell at short notice ahead of the competition – took the third hat-trick in the T10 League’s now four-season history.”To even get wickets in T10 cricket is difficult, to get a hat-trick is fabulous,” Pooran said of Parnell’s contribution. “He’s been working hard and planning a lot, so I’m really happy for him.”

MatériaMais Notícias

Com a vitória do Palmeiras sobre a Ponte Preta nas quartas de final do Paulistão, o Santos está garantido na Copa do Brasil de 2025.

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Após a redistribuição de vagas feita pela Federação Paulista de Futebol (FPF) em 2023, apenas os cinco melhores times na classificação final do Paulistão garantem participação para a Copa do Brasil do ano seguinte.

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Mesmo sem entrar em campo, o Santos garantiu pelo menos a quinta melhor campanha e não poderá ser ultrapassado por nenhum adversário na tabela do estadual. A equipe de Fábio Carille terminou a fase de grupos em segundo lugar e encara a Portuguesa por uma vaga na semifinal.

Caso entre os cinco primeiros do Paulistão houver times com a vaga via Libertadores ou Copa do Brasil, o sexto colocado do Campeonato Paulista vai para o torneio nacional, e assim por diante.

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Rebaixado à Série B do Brasileirão, o Santos não conseguiu vaga para a atual edição da Copa do Brasil. Andrés Rueda, ex-presidente do Santos, acreditava que a CBF faria um convite para o clube jogar a competição. Contudo, o regulamento do torneio não prevê convites para clubes.

➡️ Veja confrontos do mata-mata do Paulistão

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Australia coach Andrew McDonald has said there will be further investigation into Usman Khawaja’s back issue in the lead-up to the Brisbane Test and admitted the selectors have “a lot to consider” around the batting order after Travis Head’s match-winning performance as a stand-in opener.Australia’s players and staff flew to their home cities on Sunday after the first Ashes Test finished inside two days in Perth.Khawaja’s back spasms have become a major talking point, with the 38-year-old unable to open in both innings and only able to bat once in the game. He also dropped a catch at slip before leaving the field in England’s second innings.Related

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McDonald confirmed that the medical staff would look into the injury further as Khawaja has never suffered a back spasm of that nature in his lengthy career.”There was discussions around further investigation to whether it was more serious than what we sort of first anticipated,” McDonald said on Monday. “So we’ll work through that. We’ll get a squad together. We’ll step through everything that we normally step through.”We get to camp in six days’ time. It’s a long way out, a lot of information to gather between now and then, and hopefully Usman is fit and available for selection.”I think anytime you spasm, it’s a result of something going on in your back. So I think that further investigation is just due diligence around that. You spasm for a reason. He hasn’t had it before, so that’s what will probably entail a bit more further investigation.”My gut feel is that it should be okay, but as I said, we’ll wait for that information to present.”McDonald dismissed Khawaja’s age as a reason for the back issue flaring up. Khawaja did play 18 holes of golf on each of three days leading into the Test match (54 holes in total), something he had done previously leading into a Test without issue. But McDonald, like CA chief executive Todd Greenberg, reiterated that it had never caused a problem before.”These things can happen,” McDonald said. “And I don’t think you can join the dots to something around his age. I think it’s just one of those things that’s happened.”Travis Head smashed his way to an extraordinary 69-ball century•Getty Images

McDonald was asked whether Head’s extraordinary performance in the second innings, where he made 123 off 83 balls to win the Test match, would cause a rethink about a permanent change at the top of the order.”We’ve got a lot to consider,” McDonald said. “Batting orders are always debated heavily over a period of time. Middle order players haven’t been sort of the ones that have been the popular ones to open the batting. So we’ll discuss and work through what it looks like.”I think it gave us a little bit of a lens potentially to the future in terms of adjusting batting orders in second innings, which is something that we have discussed. To be able to put different people in different positions with the scenario that was presented. So this one happened probably through a bit more chance and obviously the unfortunate injury to Usman. But I think it really probably opens up that discussion more than, more than anything else for us.”Australia’s selectors do not have a history of making a change off a sample size of one innings. Steven Smith made 91 not out in an unsuccessful fourth innings chase in his fourth innings as an opener but the experiment was shelved after he averaged 28 across eight Test innings in the role.The impact Head had on the pink-ball Test in Adelaide last year, where he made a match-winning century at No. 5 in Australia’s first innings having been shielded from batting in a difficult period under lights on the first night, will also be a key factor in any decision to move him permanently to the top for Brisbane. Head had looked reasonably good in the first innings in Perth when he entered in the 16th over before shovelling a pull shot to mid-on.The potential to be flexible with Head looks more appealing to the coach.”We’ve sort of hypothesized around a middle order player going up to the top order if the second innings happened to flatten out,” McDonald said. “In particular, if we needed quick runs, and the wicket was going to deteriorate. So in our strategy and our planning, we have tabled that from time to time.”We’ve had a conversation around Travis opening the batting for a long period of time, and Trav’s has been on the record this week and previously around that also. I suppose, now that it’s out there, yeah, happy to talk about it. Will we do it? If it presents at the right time, potentially.”

A BCB spokesperson confirmed the news, saying that the board has received a letter from the BCCI saying that the white-ball series will be scheduled at a later date

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2025

Bangladesh’s tour of India to play a series of three ODIs and three T20Is in December has been “postponed”.A BCB spokesperson confirmed the news to ESPNcricinfo on Tuesday, saying that the board has received a letter from the BCCI saying that the white-ball series will be scheduled at a later date.No specific reason has been given for the postponement but it is understood that the prevailing political tensions between India and Bangladesh was a key factor.The series, a part of the ICC’s future tours programme, was meant to be India’s last set of games before the start of the next edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) and the only series between their triumphant ODI World Cup campaign and the WPL. The matches were expected to be played in Kolkata and Cuttack, with the ODIs kicking off the new cycle of the Women’s ODI Championship for both sides.Earlier this year, India men’s white-ball tour of Bangladesh, originally slotted for August 2025, was pushed to September 2026.”This decision has been reached following discussions between the two boards, taking into account the international cricketing commitments and scheduling convenience of both teams,” the BCCI had said in a statement at the time. “The BCB looks forward to welcoming India in September 2026 for this eagerly anticipated series. Revised dates and fixtures for the tour will be announced in due course.”

Leeds United are on the lookout for attacking potency in January and could be set to back Daniel Farke in his pursuit to bring a talented forward to Elland Road.

The Whites find themselves embroiled in a fight against the drop, and not everyone is feeling wholly confident in the former Norwich City boss, even if his side has produced some encouraging moments this term.

All too often, fine margins determine the outcome of Premier League matches, and Farke’s side has been on the wrong side of them, leading some to question his ability to lead the Whites forward.

With that in mind, Leeds are keen to source proven quality in the form of Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling, even if his £325,000 wages may prove to be a stumbling block in negotiations.

Signings or no signings, Farke has vowed that his side won’t change as they aim to secure top-flight football for next term, claiming that their approach to being successful will pay off in the long run.

He said before his side took on Aston Villa: “If you follow our way of working over the past two and half years, you know exactly what we are doing, how we try to approach a game and try to be successful. This won’t change at all.”

Sticking by your principles can be the defining choice that determines whether a manager is successful in keeping their job. Farke has been a nice fit for Leeds since arriving at Elland Road, though he has routinely come under scrutiny and is now back under the spotlight.

Either way, the January transfer window is creeping closer, and the 49ers could now be set to back their man as they pursue an exciting striker.

Leeds in pursuit of Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Garcia

According to The Mirror, Leeds are willing to sign Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Garcia on an initial six-month loan with a £20 million mandatory purchase option in the summer as the 49ers aim to back Farke in the New Year.

However, there has been a twist as Los Blancos boss Xabi Alonso is said to have blocked the move, notifying the forward that he is still part of his plans both in the immediate term and further down the line.

Gonzalo Garcia at Real Madrid – all competitions

Appearances

21

Goals

5

Assists

3

Intriguingly, Leeds were confident that they could lure Garcia to England before the ex-Liverpool star’s intervention, and the Spain Under-21 international was also said to be keen on a move to the Premier League after finding regular minutes at the Santiago Bernabeu hard to come by.

Alonso is aware he will need to utilise his whole squad, potentially offering more openings for the 21-year-old to feature as Real Madrid chase more silverware both domestically and in Europe.

Leeds are also eyeing an alternative £20m forward

Bursting onto the scene at the Club World Cup, Garcia would certainly be a viable option in the Leeds attack if they were able to complete a deal, though any chance of that now looks to be unlikely unless circumstances change.

Shoot for the stars and at least you’ll land on the moon, or so the saying goes. But for Sri Lanka, their high-flown aspirations barely cleared the stratosphere (to stay with the metaphor), as they were restricted to 133 for 8 by Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.Even that required an intervention by Kamindu Mendis, whose 50 off 44 was the only thing keeping the innings from devolving into farcical territory. His partnerships, first with Wanindu Hasaranga – 22 off 28 – and then Chamika Karunaratne – 43 off 39 – dragged Sri Lanka’s innings to respectability if not competitiveness, as he helped his side recover from being 58 for 5 midway through the eighth over.Kamindu eventually fell, trapped lbw by a Shaheen Shah Afridi toe-crusher, a decision that needed to be overturned on review. It was Afridi’s third wicket of the innings, as he finished with figures of 3 for 28; he had earlier picked up both openers in the powerplay.Pakistan dominated all phases of the innings, with Sri Lanka paying the price for their reckless abandon, having been put on what seemed like a good batting track. In the powerplay, despite scoring 53 runs, Sri Lanka lost each of their top three cheaply.Then any notions of a middle overs consolidation were just as quickly snuffed out by Hussain Talat’s double-wicket opening over, in which he got rid of a dangerous-looking Charith Asalanka and Dasun Shanaka off consecutive deliveries.This gave way to a period in which Sri Lanka’s scoring slowed to a trickle, with Abrar Ahmed in particular proving tough to get away as he bowled his four overs on the trot, giving away just eight runs and picking up the wicket of Wanindu Hasaranga.Between overs six to 16, Sri Lanka struck just 44 runs, and then in the death overs they struck a further 36. With 180 being targeted prior to the start of the game, Sri Lanka will know they’ve fallen well short of expectations.

ESPN analyst Ben McDonald offered some major praise of Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Seth Lugo's ability to induce soft contact during Wednesday's Game 2 of the wild-card series against the Baltimore Orioles.

While rattling off some stats about the lack of home runs hit against Lugo this year, Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins quickly made him eat those words.

"He's only allowed 16 home runs this year in 210 innings of work. Now, that is a low number. He keeps the ball in the ballpark," said McDonald of Lugo.

On the very next pitch, Mullins deposited Lugo's offering into the right field seats.

That's some truly unfortunate timing for McDonald, and Sean McDonough captured the moment flawlessly while seated next to him in the broadcast booth.

"If you are a Royals fan, you are blaming Ben McDonald and the announcer jinx," he said as Mullins trotted around the bases, having tied the game at 1–1.

Mullins's solo shot was the first run scored by the Orioles this postseason after they were blanked by Kansas City in Game 1.

Lugo had only surrendered one home run in the month of September, during which he made five starts and pitched a total of 27 2/3 innings. McDonald was clearly impressed with what he'd seen from the 34-year-old, though he may be wishing he'd waited a few more seconds before offering his praise.

Happy Monday!   

There are 10 games on the MLB slate today, and plenty of ways to get in on the action. Here are a couple of wagers we are targeting tonight.  

MLB Best Bets Today for Monday, Aug. 19

• Baltimore Orioles ML (+120)
• White Sox at Giants NRFI (-125)

Baltimore Orioles ML (+120) vs. New York Mets

It’s not often we get the option to take the Baltimore Orioles as underdogs, so we are going to grab the chance tonight against the New York Mets.

The Orioles have a 36-24 road record this season and are 43-27 vs. teams above .500.  Meanwhile, the Mets are just 33-32 at home and 25-35 vs. teams above .500.  

Baltimore will start Trevor Rogers tonight, and on the surface that gives them a big disadvantage. The lefty has struggled this season, and especially since the All-Star Break. Since the break he has an ERA of 5.55 while allowing hitters a .330 batting average. That is not good.   

His xERA and exit velocity allowed are in the bottom 9% percent of MLB.

New York will start lefty David Peterson, which could line up nicely for the O's.

Peterson has a 2.97 ERA since the All-Star Break, allowing just a .222 batting average to opposing hitters. However, taking a peek under the hood, Peterson could be due for regression. Peterson’s xERA is in the bottom 7% of the league, which is even higher than Rogers', and his exit velocity allowed is in the bottom 20% of the league. 

It’s far from a sure thing that he can keep this Orioles team that’s scored the sixth-most runs since the All Star Break at bay. 

Both teams are strong vs. left-handed pitching. The Orioles and Mets are top-five in OPS and both teams are hitting .260 (tied for seventh) vs. southpaws. However, the Orioles lead MLB in SLG vs. lefties and they are seventh in ISO as compared to the Mets in fourteenth. 

The Mets have the bullpen and home advantage, too. So, yes, they should be favorites. But, for +120, I’m willing to bet the Orioles can pull this one off in Queens.  

Chicago White Sox at San Francisco Giants NRFI (-125)

The Chicago White Sox were officially eliminated from playoff contention this weekend, and they have scored an MLB-worst 3.10 runs per game this season.  

They have also only scored 18% of the time in the first inning. 

San Francisco Giants pitcher Kyle Harrison has a home ERA of just 3.64, and a first inning ERA of 4.29, but that’s good enough for me to trust him against an anemic offense. 

The Giants have scored just 4.08 runs per game in August, which is the ninth-fewest in MLB, and they are also not prone to scoring early.  

San Francisco has scored in the first inning just 23% of the time this season. Jonathan Cannon will start for the White Sox tonight, and he has been good since the All Star Break with an ERA of just 3.34.