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أعلن الدولي الإنجليزي ماسون ماونت، رحيله عن تشيلسي بعد نهاية موسم 2022-2023، رغم أنه يتبقى سنة أخرى في عقده مع البلوز، ليقترب من الانضمام إلى مانشستر يونايتد.

وقال ماونت خلال فيديو عبر حسابه بموقع “إنستجرام”: “مرحبًا جماهير تشيلسي، نظرًا للتكهنات على مدار الأشهر الستة الماضية، قد لا يكون هذا مفاجئًا لكم، لكن هذا لا يجعل من السهل إخباركم بأنني اتخذت قرار الرحيل عن تشيلسي”.

وأضاف: “أشعر أنكم تستحقون أكثر من مجرد بيان مكتوب، لذلك أردت أن أخبركم مباشرة عن مدى امتناني لكل دعمكم على مدار الـ18 عامًا الماضية، أعلم أن بعضكم لن يكون سعيدًا بقراري، لكن هذا هو المناسب لي في هذه اللحظة من مسيرتي”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. زياش يسخر من سبب فشل انتقاله إلى النصر السعودي

وتابع: “انضممت إلى تشيلسي عندما كنت في السادسة من عمري وقد مررنا بالكثير معًا، فزنا بكأس الشباب، وجائزة أفضل لاعب في العام، وكأس السوبر، وكأس العالم للأندية، وبالطبع تلك الليلة التي لا تُنسى عندما فزنا بلقب دوري أبطال أوروبا”.

Mason Mount x Chelsea fans. 🔵 #CFC pic.twitter.com/73A5ZIdKuV — Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 4, 2023

وأكمل: “أود أن أشكر أكاديمية جيم ونيل على تأثيرهما في هذه السن المبكرة، والمديرين الذين عملت تحت إشرافهم، فرانك وتوماس وجراهام، طاقم العمل في الغرف الخلفية”.

واختتم: “وكذلك جميع زملائي في الفريق على مر السنين الذين أصبحوا إخوتي، عائلتي من أجل الحب والدعم المستمر، والأهم من ذلك أنتم يا رفاق للبقاء معي طوال الوقت، أتمنى لكم الأفضل”.

وتوصل مانشستر يونايتد لاتفاق مع تشيلسي للتعاقد مع ماونت مقابل 55 مليون جنيه إسترليني بالإضافة إلى 5 ملايين أخرى كإضافات.

Surrey claimed three bowling points but Notts fought back well in the final session, or at least Steven Mullaney did

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge15-May-2013
ScorecardJames Taylor made 47 before playing on as Notts struggled with the bat•Getty Images

Nottinghamshire would be attracting as much attention as Surrey for reasons they had not anticipated but for their points tally having been inflated by a win over Derbyshire.Neither side has shown much so far to justify pre-season optimism yet they produced an opening day of compelling intensity that suggested better to come from both. Surrey claimed three bowling points but Notts fought back well in the final session, or at least Steven Mullaney did.Mullaney stepped in neatly where Notts usually look to Chris Read as the man to pull them out of a tricky spot. They could not on this occasion as, rarely, their wicketkeeper and captain is injured, which might be mentioned merely in passing but for the fact that Read had not previously missed a Championship match since he was trying to forge a Test career in 2006. He had made 98 consecutive appearances since the start of the 2007 season and there was talk of a presentation being made had he completed a century. Sadly, a nagging neck injury has put paid to that.In his absence, therefore, someone else had to step up after Notts, asked to bat first, had struggled to 181 for 7 as a Surrey attack, in which there was no place for Chris Tremlett, made them work hard for runs, even on a pitch that looks essentially sound.Mullaney, who has shown before that he has something of Read’s doggedness in his mindset, provided what was required in an eighth-wicket stand of 66, although there was much merit too in the support offered by Ajmal Shahzad, whose restraint and discipline reflected well on him. He faced 84 balls for his eight runs, barely striking a blow in anger, and was cross with himself in the end for failing to resist a Jade Dernbach bouncer that had him caught behind off a top edge.It was a second wicket for Dernbach, who had looked as though he might be the bowler of the day when he wrecked Alex Hales’ stumps in his second over. Hales, who earned compliments for the new discipline in his batting after an unusually patient half-century in the win over Derbyshire, has since returned scores of 4, 2, 0 and 4, much to his own frustration.In the event it was not Dernbach but Stuart Meaker and Tim Linley who did most to justify Gareth Batty’s decision to field. Meaker, whose high ambitions for this season have not been helped by a thigh injury, ended Ed Cowan’s hopes of building on a morning of hard graft when he bowled him off an inside edge shortly before lunch, and struck again soon afterwards when Michael Lumb, beaten three times by Dernbach in the preceding over, tried to work him through midwicket only to be caught off a leading edge at mid-off.The pressure on the home side had grown through a string of maidens — seven in his first 10 overs — from Tim Linley, who was unlucky to go wicketless before lunch but was rewarded in the afternoon when Samit Patel, forced to defend on the back foot, edged to first slip, where Gary Wilson took a good catch.Of the front line batsmen, only James Taylor had looked in any way at ease. Captain for this match, Taylor’s innings had for the most part been a mix of well-judged leaves and sweetly timed boundaries until, three short of a half-century, he misjudged a ball from Linley that he chopped on to his leg stump.Meaker by then had beaten Riki Wessels for pace and claimed a fourth wicket when Paul Franks was drawn into nibbling at one outside off stump, at which moment Notts were not well fancied even to scrape a solitary batting point.In the end they picked up two thanks to Mullaney, who drew confidence from six fours and a second half-century in as many games to take on even Dernbach ultimately, taking 12 in one over, including six pulled over midwicket, although those were the last of his runs before he was leg before to Linley for 68 in the next over.Wessels will keep wicket in place of Read, while Franks’s first appearance of the season will be curtailed should England decide to go without Stuart Broad or Graeme Swann at Lord’s.

MatériaMais Notícias

A estreia do Botafogo foi marcada pela fraca atuação da equipe de Zé Ricardo, derrotada por 3 a 1 diante da Cabofriense, de virada, no Estádio Moacyrzão.
Mais longevo do elenco em campo neste domingo, Gatito analisou o revés e, ao canal Premiere, não escondeu a sua insatisfação com o rendimento do time, recheado de garotos.

– Acho que faltou um pouquinho de tudo, começando pela atitude. Acho que a gente pecou um pouco na marcação. A Cabofriense teve um pouco mais de vontade na marcação. Agora é pensar no próximo jogo, sabendo que o campeonato está começando e ainda tem muita coisa pela frente. É melhor que aconteça isso agora do que lá na frente – comentou o paraguaio, que completou 78 partidas pelo Glorioso.

O goleiro conseguiu realizar boas defesas, sobretudo quando o jogo ainda estava 1 a 0 para o Botafogo. Agora, para se recuperar do tropeço na estreia, o atual campeão carioca volta a campo nesta quarta, quando recebe o Bangu, às 19h15 (de Brasília), pela segunda rodada da Taça Guanabara.

RelacionadasBotafogoBotafogo perde para a Cabofriense de virada e inicia o Carioca com derrotaBotafogo20/01/2019

أرجعت صحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو” الكتالونية الفضل لصحوة الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي ليفربول في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز إلى قائد منتخب مصر، محمد صلاح.

وكان ليفربول يعاني قبل بطولة كأس العالم قطر 2022، حيث احتل الفريق المركز التاسع في ترتيب الدوري الإنجليزي وابتعد قليلًا وقتها عن إمكانية التأهل إلى بطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا في الموسم المقبل.

ولكن منذ فبراير الماضي، كان الفارق بين ليفربول والمركز الرابع 10 نقاط ومع هزائم مانشستر يونايتد ونيوكاسل يونايتد، أصبح الريدز في المركز الخامس متأخرًا عن مانشستر يونايتد بفارق نقطة وحيدة.

اقرأ أيضًا.. فاولر يواصل المديح: محمد صلاح أسطورة بالفعل في ليفربول

وترى الصحيفة أن هناك 3 أسباب جعلت ليفربول يعود من بعيد ليقترب من التأهل إلى دوري أبطال أوروبا رغم موسمه المتذبذب من حيث النتائج…

1- التركيز على الدوري الإنجليزي بعد الخروج من دوري أبطال أوروبا، منح الفريق الفرصة على تصحيح الأخطاء وارتفع المستوى وحصد العديد من النقاط.

2- استعاد ليفربول العديد من اللاعبين المصابين دفاعًا وهجومًا، والذين لم يلعبوا في بداية الموسم بانتظام مثل ديوجو جوتا ولويس دياز.

3- الفضل الأكبر في عودة ليفربول ترجع إلى عودة محمد صلاح لمستواه المعهود وتسجيله الكثير من الأهداف، لقد سجل 10 أهداف في مارس وأبريل، منحت الفريق الكثير من النقاط، لديه 18 هدف في الدوري الإنجليزي.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMitchell Starc improved greatly in his second spell, finding the perfect length and just enough swing a few minutes before lunch•Getty Images

Though Perth is three hours behind the rest of Australia, the nature of the WACA ground pitch is to encourage a match in fast forward, and so it was again. A dramatically recast Australian team rued Faf du Plessis’ composure for the second time in the space of four days as South Africa scrambled to 225 then snipped the top off Australia’s batting order on day one of the third Test.Twelve wickets fell for 257 runs, but with enough evidence between several rushes of wickets to suggest that batsmen will prosper at some point during the match. Du Plessis’ exemplary, unbeaten 78 was compiled after he came to the wicket amidst the fall of 5 for 14 either side of lunch. It granted South Africa some sort of total to bowl at, enough for Dale Steyn and the fit-again Vernon Philander to nip out Ed Cowan and Shane Watson before the ball had lost its shine.The WACA ground rose mistakenly to laud Ricky Ponting at the fall of Watson’s wicket, but it was the nightwatchman Nathan Lyon who walked out instead. He did Ponting a major good turn in the 37-year-old’s final Test by accompanying a somewhat jumpy David Warner to the close at 2 for 33.Aside from the aforementioned period of frenzy, Australia found breakthroughs difficult to extract on a bouncy but true surface. The Australia bowlers shared the spoils, Mitchell Starc perhaps the pick with a pair of late inswingers to bowl Alviro Petersen and Jacques Kallis in the closing minutes of the morning session. Lyon vindicated his inclusion with 3 for 41, the debutant John Hastings and vice-captain Shane Watson contributed important wickets, while Mitchell Johnson claimed two of his own and intimidated at times with well-directed short balls.Lacking James Pattinson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus due to their Adelaide exertions, Starc and Johnson were recalled while Hastings made his debut as the into-the-wind trundler so often favoured at the WACA ground.Having been 12th man in Brisbane and Adelaide, Starc found himself taking the new ball at the start of the Test. There was some early swing for him and Petersen was given out lbw by the umpire Richard Kettleborough when one delivery curled back into the opener’s pads, but a review had the ball passing high and wide of the stumps.That ball was not representative of the opening spells for either Starc nor Hastings, who both erred on the short side to give plenty of sighters to Petersen and Smith. Clarke called on Watson at first change and followed up with Johnson at the other end, and their spells signalled a change in the morning. Watson found a little movement either way and bowled a far better length, rewarded when Smith pushed out at ball going across him and edged to Clarke at slip.

Smart stats

• Faf du Plessis has become the first batsman to score more than 70 in each of his first three Test innings. The batsman who got nearest to achieving it was Australia’s Herbie Collins, who scored 70, 104 and 64 in his first three. Andrew Strauss was close too, with scores of 112, 83 and 62.

• This is the third successive instance of the team batting first scoring less than 300 in a Perth Test, following India’s 161 earlier this year and Australia’s 268 in the 2010 Ashes.

• Dean Elgar has become the first South Africa top-order batsman (batting in the top 7) to score a duck on Test debut since Gerhardus Liebenberg in 1998.

• In nine Tests when AB de Villiers has played as wicketkeeper, he has an average of 29.23 with a strike rate of 39.62 and one half-century in 15 innings. When he doesn’t keep wicket, he averages 50.42 at a strike rate of 55.01.

• Nathan Lyon’s 3 for 41 are the third-best figures by an Australia spinner in the first innings of a Perth Test, after Bruce Yardley’s 5 for 107 in 1982 and Shane Warne’s 4 for 83 in 1997.

Johnson produced some nasty deliveries to Smith and some compelling ones to Amla, beating the No. 3 for pace and length on more than one occasion. Having been given a firm idea of how to bowl by two more experienced WACA ground exponents, Starc improved greatly in his second spell. A few minutes before lunch he found the perfect length and just enough swing to burst through Petersen’s drive, and in the next over produced a near identical delivery to do the same to Kallis.South Africa thus ended the session in far worse shape than they had seemed likely to for most of its duration. Starc had learned quickly, helped by the examples of Watson and Johnson. On resumption Hastings commenced an excellent spell up-wind, finding useful outswing in addition to sharp bounce.Amla was fortunate when he flicked Hastings straight to midwicket in the first over, Ed Cowan dropping a simple chance, but in the next he was caught somewhat short of the appropriate gear when de Villiers called a quick single – David Warner’s direct hit found Amla short and saved Cowan the blushes. Unnerved by the run-out, de Villiers walked into a delectable, swerving ball from Hastings in the next over and edged to Clarke at slip.Elgar’s first appearance at a Test batting crease was not pretty – Johnson worked him around the crease with a hostile spell – and he completed a 12-ball duck by gloving a short ball tamely to Wade when trying to hook. The first ball Peterson faced was full, fast and far too quick for him, but it narrowly missed off stump.Slowly du Plessis and Peterson regathered somewhat less shaky ground, punching the ball through the field and taking advantage of Perth’s typically quick outfield. De Plessis eluded a concerted lbw appeal and referral by Watson when ball-tracking had the ball missing leg stump, and the pair had caught a glimpse of tea when Lyon was introduced.There was evidence of loop, bounce and turn in Lyon’s first over, and in his third a shortish ball bounced enough to draw a fatal error from Peterson. Philander contributed another nuisance lower-order innings to follow up, however, advancing to loft Lyon into the crowd at wide long on before he skied to Michael Hussey when attempting a repeat. Lyon had moved around the wicket, and was rewarded further when he claimed the last man Morne Morkel, who had clumped a trio of boundaries from the bowling of Johnson after Steyn played on.Left with a little under an hour to bat, Warner flashed absentmindedly at Steyn’s first delivery. His third angled teasingly across Cowan, who pushed at the line in expectation of some swing, but finding none succeeded only in edging to Kallis at slip for a golden duck. Watson late cut his first ball to the fence, but his tendency to plonk the front pad down the pitch was exploited by Philander, who had the plumbest of lbw decisions bizarrely refused by Asad Rauf. The inevitable review set that call right, and left Lyon to bravely protect Ponting until stumps.

Indian foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai has said the resumption of India-Pakistan bilateral cricket ties is dependent on the BCCI and the PCB. Speaking after a meeting with Pakistan foreign secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani on Thursday, Mathai said the joint statement issued by the officials after their meeting emphasised the need for the two countries to engage in sporting activities.”The resumption of cricketing ties, this is a matter between the BCCI and the PCB,” Mathai was quoted as saying by . “As you will see in the joint statement, we have emphasised the need to promote sports between the two countries.”Jilani confirmed that cricket had come up for discussion during the meeting. “I had a discussion on the revival of cricket ties between the two countries,” he said.Bilateral ties between India and Pakistan have been severed since the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. BCCI president N Srinivasan and PCB chief Zaka Ashraf have held several discussions this year regarding resumption of ties, with Pakistan hoping to fit in a series at the end of the year, during the Christmas break in England’s tour of India. After the last of those meetings, on the sidelines of the ICC’s annual conference in June, Ashraf had said Pakistan were ready for progress on the series but Srinivasan said he would only be able to commit after checking with Indian authorities.It is Pakistan’s turn to host a bilateral series between the two. But there has been no international cricket in the country between Full Members since the March 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka team bus and it is understood that India are not keen to play at a neutral venue, as has been the case with all Pakistan’s ‘home’ series since the attack. Subsequently, Ashraf said India had the prerogative to decide on the dates and host the series, but the PCB would want the BCCI to share revenue because the PCB has apparently not yet recovered from the financial loss suffered when India pulled out of their planned tour in 2009.

عقد المدرب البرتغالي جوسفالدو فيريرا المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي الزمالك، جلسة مع اللاعبين قبل انطلاق التدريبات الجماعية اليوم الخميس.

المران يخوضه الزمالك على ملعب عبد اللطيف أبورجيلة بمقر القلعة البيضاء استعدادًا للقاء إنبي المقبل في الدوري، باستاد القاهرة الدولي ضمن منافسات الجولة الحادية والعشرين لمسابقة الدوري المصري الممتاز. 

وطالب المدير الفني، اللاعبين خلال الجلسة، بغلق ملف مباراة الترجي وبطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا بشكل مؤقت، والتركيز فقط من أجل تحقيق الفوز أمام إنبي.

طالع | محمد عبد المنصف يكشف تفاصيل مفاوضات الزمالك مع تاكيس جونياس

ومنح فيريرا تعليمات خاصة لأحمد فتوح، الظهير الأيسر على هامش التدريبات الجماعية للفريق.

وشرح فيريرا مجموعة من المهام الفنية للاعب، بجانب توضيح بعض الأدوار المطلوبة على مستوى بناء الهجمة والارتداد الدفاعي.

وواصل عمر جابر لاعب الفريق البرنامج التأهيلي الموضوع له من الجهاز الطبي، إذ أدى مجموعة من التدريبات التأهيلية في صالة الجيمانيزيوم، وذلك عقب مشاركته مع اللاعبين في فقرة الإحماء، في ظل الإصابة العضلية التي تعرض لها مؤخراً.

وخاض لاعبو الفريق الأساسيين الذين شاركوا في مباراة الترجي التونسي الأخيرة بدوري أبطال أفريقيا، مجموعة من التدريبات التأهيلية.

وعقد أيمن طاهر مدرب حراس المرمى بالفريق، جلسة مع محمد صبحي، على هامش المران الجماعي.

وشهدت الجلسة إشادة مدرب الحراس بمستوى محمد صبحي خلال مواجهة الترجي الأخيرة في بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا، بجانب شرح بعض المواقف الفنية التي تعرض لها الحارس خلال اللقاء.

وكان الزمالك قد حقق فوزًا على الترجي التونسي في رابع جولات دور المجموعات ببطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

MatériaMais Notícias

Com problemas de defesa durante grande parte do ano, o Vasco está bem próximo da contratação do zagueiro Leandro Castan, que já está no Rio de Janeiro para realizar exames e assinar contrato com o cruzmaltino. O técnico Jorginho, em entrevista coletiva nesta sexta-feira, elogiou o defensor, além de também citar o atacante Vinícius Araújo, que chegou a um acordo salarial.

– Sabemos como é importante ter jogador experiente na zaga. Castan ainda tem muita força e vitalidade, está numa idade boa. Ele vai ser apresentado, e espero que tudo seja resolvido com o Vinícius, porque vai agregar muito para a gente. Vinícius tem característica que não temos, tem facilidade e aprendeu a jogar pelo lado. É um atacante de área e muita velocidade – disse.

A semana de treinos foi totalmente focada no São Paulo, atual vice-líder do Brasileirão, que será o próximo adversário do Vasco. No Morumbi, o Gigante da Colina se reencontrará com Nenê, atleta que foi um dos pilares técnicos da equipe nos últimos anos. Sobre o camisa 10 do Tricolor, Jorginho elogiou sua qualidade, alertando também sobre os comandados de Diego Aguirre.

– Parar o Nenê não é fácil, porque é extremamente inteligente, sabe se posicionar. Para mim, era duro ver o Nenê no banco no Vasco. Fico feliz com o sucesso dele. É um craque, vi o jogo do São Paulo ontem. É uma equipe sempre muito perigosa dentro de casa. Não vai ter facilidade. Foi muito bom a gente ter esse período de trabalho, porque vínhamos numa batida muito forte – completou o treinador.

Terceira pior defesa do Campeonato Brasileiro – ao lado de Sport e América-MG -, o foco de Jorginho é mudar esse panorama, que vem sendo uma dor de cabeça desde o começo da temporada. Contra o São Paulo, a provável dupla de defesa será Breno e Oswaldo Henríquez.

– É um desafio. Temos que mudar essa história, e é isso que estou trazendo para eles. Temos condições de mudar isso. Breno temos que ter todo um cuidado com ele, com o joelho. Já conversei com ele sobre o cartão. Mas temos um jogador experiente como o Henriquez, que organiza bem, fala bastante – afirmou.

Confira outros trechos da coletiva:

DUELO CONTRA O CORINTHIANS E TREINOS
– Depois de um resultado que nós tivemos, não podemos tomar quatro gols no segundo tempo. Semana foi importante para corrigir esses erros. Tomamos gols com posicionamento errado. É questão de atitude, de se posicionar e se organizar. Não podemos jogar bem no primeiro tempo e se perder no segundo. Isso foi muito cobrado e trabalhado.

LENON
– Sabíamos que a contusão era um pouco mais grave. Me falaram sempre em três semanas. Na próxima, é muito provável que ele esteja apto.

RILDO
– Rildo talvez consiga jogar neste ano. Talvez em outubro seja possível. Vai ter que ganhar condição física.

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Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim frustrated Pakistan in a truncated morning session, but the visitors levelled the game over the next two sessions

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran18-Dec-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsTaufeeq Umar confidently handled the bowling on his way to 44 not out•AFPShakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim frustrated Pakistan in a truncated morning session, but the visitors levelled the game over the next two sessions. Bangladesh’s fragility was once again on display after lunch, as the final five wickets went down for 33 runs after which Pakistan’s top order responded strongly.Until the Bangladesh lower-order collapse in the afternoon, the only impediment to the home side’s progress had been the fog in Mirpur, which wiped out an hour’s play. Shakib and Mushfiqur crafted a slow-and-steady stand once it cleared, to give the small but vocal crowd something to cheer about on a chilly morning.Shakib made his highest first-class score and was headed for Bangladesh’s record individual Test effort when he was run-out. Mushfiqur took a few quick steps before stopping and sending Shakib back, but a direct hit from Taufeeq Umar, running in from mid-on, was enough to snap the partnership at 82. Shakib walked off, after several glares at his captain over the poor calling.Whether that had an effect on Mushfiqur is hard to tell, but the very next delivery, he gloved a catch down the leg side to the wicketkeeper which left two new lower-order batsmen at the crease, and Pakistan sniffing a quick end to the innings. Elias Sunny and Shahadat Hossain rode their luck in a brief, entertaining stand – Sunny survived as an Umar Gul delivery kissed off stump without disturbing the bails, and Shahadat was put down by Abdur Rehman at deep midwicket.The innings ended in a hurry, though, as Saeed Ajmal’s doosra proved too much for the tailenders, and a run-out curtailed Nazmul Hossain’s first Test knock in seven years to a single delivery.In contrast, Pakistan had little to celebrate in the morning. There was little movement on offer for the quick bowlers and even with the second new ball Gul and Aizaz Cheema couldn’t get any major deviation. With the old ball, Pakistan’s dangerous spin pair of Ajmal and Rehman got some turn, but were blunted by Shakib and Mushfiqur.Shakib hit only one boundary in the first session, and survived several lbw calls and an outside edge that landed short of slip. While he was circumspect, Mushfiqur was more enterprising. There was a powerful swipe over midwicket for six off Ajmal, and he picked up several boundaries with his favoured cut shot. They took Bangladesh past 300 in Tests for only the second time since May 2010, but their back-to-back dismissals restricted the innings to a far lower score than expected.There was something to buoy the home side as they went in for tea. They removed Mohammad Hafeez, who has had a great run in 2011, including a big century in the previous Test. He had begun ominously, swatting consecutive boundaries in the third over, but nicked Nazmul’s first ball in Tests in seven years, to be dismissed for 14.Bangladesh’s bowlers gifted easy runs till late in the final session, when the spinners Shakib and Mahmudullah kept the batsmen in check. There was an early close call for Azhar Ali, who unwisely shouldered arms to a delivery that nipped in from Robiul, narrowly avoiding a supremely confident shout for lbw. He wasn’t at his most assured against the spinners either, beaten several times by the big turn Shakib was extracting, and once edging just wide of the slips.Taufeeq Umar was more confident, initially capitalising on the loose deliveries on offer. There were plenty of cuts and drives as he picked up eight boundaries on his way to 44, before bad light expectedly ended play an hour early. There’s still plenty of work to do for the Pakistan batting but with their increasingly reliable middle order, they will fancy their chances of overhauling Bangladesh’s total.

ESPNcricinfo previews the Champions League Twenty20 qualifier between Kolkata Knight Riders and Somerset in Hyderabad

The Preview by Dustin Silgardo21-Sep-2011Match factsKolkata Knight Riders v Somerset, September 21
Start time 20.00 (14.30 GMT)Jacques Kallis will hope to lead Kolkata into the main draw•Associated PressBig PictureRemember West Germany-Austria in the 1982 football World Cup? FIFA changed its rules after that match, scheduling the last round of group matches simultaneously to avoid a team having the advantage of knowing exactly what to do to at the very least to qualify. It isn’t so in the Champions League Twenty20. Kolkata Knight Riders and Somerset have a clear advantage playing the final game of the qualifiers. Depending on what happens in the Leicestershire-Ruhuna match, both teams could qualify via a close contest that ensures the loser’s net run-rate does not dip too low. Neither will want to risk anything of the sort, though, and knowing a victory guarantees qualification is enough incentive to ensure aggression from both sides.For Kolkata, elimination is unthinkable. They have the tournament sponsors’ logo splashed across their t-shirts and their superstar owner will arrive in Hyderabad for the match. Even without Gautam Gambhir and Eoin Morgan, they still have more players with international experience than Somerset, and will want to win in a more convincing fashion than they did in the first game. Their high-profile batsmen let them down against Auckland and Kolkata may think about rejigging the batting order.Somerset arrived in Hyderabad only a day before their first game, but a last-ball win is just the tonic you need to shake off the jet-lag. Kolkata will be a tougher test though: Somerset’s slow bowlers, who stifled Auckland, may not have as much success against Yusuf Pathan, and Steve Snell may not deal as easily with Brett Lee’s yorkers as he did with Kyle Mills’ length balls.Team newsJacques Kallis averages 34.78 in Twenty20 cricket, but scores of 33 off 35 balls are not quick enough at the top of the order. He may drop down with Manoj Tiwary moving up. Jaidev Unadkat’s one over against Auckland went for 14 runs, so L Balaji may replace him.Somerset are missing several players due to their international commitments and are struggling to put out an XI, never mind having reserves. They are likely to go in with the same side that beat Auckland.Watch out for …Rajat Bhatia conceded only 14 runs off four overs in Kolkata’s first match. Somerset won’t have seen him before and may find his slow cutters a challenge.Somerset’s middle order got them through their first game but they will be hoping for more from the top order. Roelof van der Merwe, who has a strike-rate of 133.39 in Twenty20s, could be the key to a swift start.Key contestEvery time Murali Kartik bowls in a high-profile tournament in India, there is talk about him having a point to prove. If he can get rid of Yusuf Pathan, it will add further validity to the claim he should have played more for India.Stats and triviaJacques Kallis is third on the list of players with most half-centuries in Twenty20 matches. His 21 is behind only Brad Hodge’s 26 and David Hussey’s 23.Quotes”We tried too hard and got into trouble. So there were some lessons to take there.”
“Expectations were low from outside the team. However, the side themselves were always confident they could win.”