Retiring Jharkhand stalwart hopes to realise his dream of winning the Ranji Trophy by “helping the team from the outside”

Rajan Raj20-Feb-2024A day before the start of the Jharkhand vs Haryana Ranji Trophy fixture at Jamshedpur’s Keenan Stadium, while the local Jharkhand boys were training, a young boy strolled out to the turf. When a securityman stopped him, he teared up and said he only wanted a selfie with Saurabh . Saurabh Tiwary wasn’t around at the time, but the fans didn’t know that. After the boy, a few others attempted to get into the ground to try and meet him.Tiwary’s popularity in the Jharkhand cricket circles has to be seen to be believed. Plus, of course, a few days earlier, it had become known that Tiwary would retire at the end of Jharkhand’s run in the ongoing season, which came on February 19, also at the Keenan, as Jharkhand beat Rajasthan to finish their Ranji Trophy campaign. When Tiwary went out to bat a second time in that game, the opposition players lined up to give him a guard of honour.”Saying farewell to your favourite thing isn’t easy, my friend,” Tiwary, now 34, said afterwards. “When I left the dressing room and was entering the ground, it was very emotional. My whole journey, from the time I was a kid to now, flashed before my eyes. I started my career here [at Keenan Stadium] and am finishing here too. My favourite people, including my coach [Kajal Das] had come to be part of the occasion. Sometimes, it’s difficult to express the feeling.”Related

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Once the farewell match got over, Tiwary walked over the pitch, tears in his eyes, bent down and kissed the turf. Das, who has also coached the Jharkhand team in the past, was in attendance, and recalled an old story that gives you a glimpse into Tiwary the person.”He must have been 15 or 16, and a ball hit his head during training. He needed some stitches. He went to the hospital and came right back to me. I told him to pad up and go bat in the nets [and he did so] – I wanted to see if he was scared and wanted to test him,” Das said. “I have never had a student as dedicated as Saurabh. His keenness to be at the ground and his hunger for runs is unmatched.”Tiwary wore the India cap – in three ODIs, in late 2010 – and had a lengthy run in the IPL, playing 93 matches across 11 seasons between 2008 and 2021, missing out only in 2014, 2018 and 2019. The only time Jharkhand won a domestic tournament, the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2010-11, Tiwary was the captain. Add to that 8076 first-class runs, 4050 in List A cricket, 3454 in T20s… one dream, however, remained unfulfilled.”Cricket has taught me two things. One is that you have to fight for everything, and the second is that you need to understand you won’t get everything in life. Some things will remain out of reach,” Tiwary said. “I had a dream that we will win the Ranji Trophy but I couldn’t achieve it. That takes us back to the thing about fighting for everything. I will now try to play my part in helping the team win the Ranji Trophy, but from the outside. And I will do whatever I can to make it happen.”

Derbyshire have signed Daryn Dupavillon, the South African seamer, as an overseas player for the majority of the 2024 season. Dupavillon effectively replaces Mohammad Amir, whose international recall will limit him to six appearances for the county in the T20 Blast.Dupavillon is expected to join Derbyshire in time for their County Championship fixture against Sussex, which starts on May 3, following his commitments with the Dolphins franchise in South African domestic cricket. The club say he will be available across formats until the penultimate Championship fixture of the season in mid-September.He joins Blair Tickner, the New Zealand international, as one of two overseas fast bowlers in the Derbyshire squad for the first three months of the season. Tickner will feature in the Championship and the first eight Blast group games, before Amir replaces him after the T20 World Cup.Amir blindsided Derbyshire last month when he reversed his international retirement, three-and-a-half years after his most recent appearance for Pakistan. He was initially due to play for Derbyshire as an overseas player but had been exploring the possibility of becoming a local player through his marriage.Related

• Amir comes out of retirement for T20 World Cup

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“We felt we needed one more fast bowler to be part of our attack, particularly in red-ball cricket, and Daryn is an experienced option who will bring real pace and skill into the fold,” Mickey Arthur, Derbyshire’s head of cricket, said. “I’m delighted to welcome a player of Daryn’s quality, he is highly regarded in the South African game and has experience in international and franchise cricket. He will be a real asset for us in all forms of the game.”We have a very strong squad for the coming season, with Blair Tickner being here for the first half of the campaign, Daryn coming in from May and we’re keen to have Mohammad Amir for the second half of the Vitality Blast, after the T20 World Cup.”This will be Dupavillon’s first stint in county cricket. He said: “I’m really excited to be joining Derbyshire, I’m not sure there’s a cricketer around who would not want to work with a coach like Mickey Arthur, and the opportunity to play in England is one I want to make the most of.”Mickey has spoken to me about the ambition he has for the club and there’s some real quality in the squad, so I’m looking forward to getting started and helping to put some positive results on the board.”Derbyshire’s season had a false start last week, with a four-day wash-out at home to Gloucestershire. They will hope the weather allows them to get on the pitch in the second round of games from Friday, when they play Glamorgan in Cardiff.

USA captain feels beating Pakistan in the World Cup is “going to open many doors for us”

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jun-20242:08

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After their win over Pakistan, USA captain Monank Patel said they should have finished the game in the regular time instead of taking it to the Super Over.Chasing 160, USA needed 56 from the last seven overs with Monank and Andries Gous well set. But Monank got out on the very next ball, allowing Pakistan to make a comeback and tie the game.”When I got out, we were still in the game,” Monank said after the match, “and I thought we should have finished the game and we should have never gone to Super Over. But the way we kept our nerves and in the Super Over particularly, scoring 18 runs itself gave us a big upper hand to defend the target.”Related

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Apart from those last few overs, everything else went as per the plan for USA, right from winning the toss.”The plan was to win the toss and bowl first,” Monank said. “And we knew initially first half an hour it would help pace bowlers and the way we kept them quiet and took the crucial wickets in the powerplay, it helped really well. And yeah, 160 on this wicket with one side short boundary, I felt we were always in the game.”For the Super Over, USA went with left-arm seamer Saurabh Netravalkar instead of Ali Khan, who is arguably more used to bowling at the death. It proved to be the right choice as Netravalkar conceded only 13.”The plan was we wanted to make sure that we utilise the conditions,” Monank said. “And the condition was a left-arm bowler bowling cutters and wide yorkers with left-arm over angle going out. Ali Khan usually attacks the stumps, but we wanted to make sure that we make them play outside off stump. And for a left-armer, the angle helps. Saurabh had had a good day, and I backed him.”1:05

Monank Patel praises USA bowlers for historic win over Pakistan

Before the World Cup, USA had beaten Bangladesh 2-1 in a three-match home T20I series. In the World Cup opener, they beat Canada and now have two wins in two games. Their remaining matches are against India and Ireland. One more victory will put them in contention for the Super 8. But Monank is not thinking too far ahead.”We know what we have worked and what capability we have,” he said. “And we just focus on the particular game. And we don’t want to keep our emotions too high or low. We’ll make sure that whatever the win today is, we’ll enjoy it and make sure that next day we come fresh.”We want to focus on one game at a time. And our focus would be on playing against India now. We don’t even want to think about the Ireland right now. Super 8 is far ahead.”But Monank agreed beating Pakistan was a big achievement that could open many doors for them.”I am happy with the win, playing against Pakistan for the first time in the World Cup and beating them it was an unbelievable performance from our side,” he said. “So yeah, I would say it’s a big day for Team USA and for the USA cricket community too.”Of course, beating Pakistan in the World Cup is going to open many doors for us. Obviously hosting the World Cup in USA and performing here as a team, it helps us to grow the cricket in USA.”

da betobet： Ahead of the summer transfer window, a La Liga club’s President has now confirmed that sit-down talks have been scheduled with Manchester United to sign a highly paid attacker.

Man Utd ease into Europa League final

da winzada777： After some unforgettable chaos against Lyon at the quarter-final stage, it seemed unlikely that Manchester United would be in for a simple affair against Athletic Bilbao in the final four. Yet, as the final whistle sounded at Old Trafford last night, there was no sigh of relief thanks to a stressful encounter. Instead, it simply confirmed what the Red Devils had known for some time following a 7-1 aggregate mauling of the Spanish outfit.

Into the Europa League final as a result of their impressive victory, Manchester United will now square off against Tottenham Hotspur in a game that both sides desperately need to win to salvage what have otherwise been disastrous campaigns.

United boss Ruben Amorim had his say on the final following the Bilbao game, telling reporters: “I’m just worried about the next game, trying not to get any injuries for the final. We need to win it. If we don’t win it, it means nothing for us. So let’s see.

“We have to have a full squad, that is really important. And we need to study the game quite well. And we need to have a little bit of luck. Today we suffered a goal, but we had so many transitions to score a goal and we didn’t.

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“We have to be clinical. It’s quite similar for me and Ange [Postecoglou]. It’s a tough moment, one of us is going to win. But it’s going to be a big final and we are going to try to win.”

Meanwhile, whether they win the Europa League or not, Manchester United could be set to bid farewell to one particular player with talks now reportedly scheduled over his exit.

Real Betis chief confirms Antony talks

As confirmed by club President Angel Haro, Real Betis have now scheduled sit-down talks with Manchester United about signing Antony for another season. The Brazilian, who makes over £10m-a-year in wages, has enjoyed a revived spell away from Old Trafford – taking his tally up to nine goals in all competitions – and could now spend another campaign away from the Premier League.

Haro told El Partidazo, as relayed by Sport Witness: “Keeping Antony as our own is very, very complicated.We’ll have a meeting with Manchester United to extend the loan for another year, to be able to share a percentage of the player. It’s about seeing the willingness of the player and Manchester United.”

Dubbed “special” by Betis boss Manuel Pellegrini during his loan spell at the club, the Antony revival may only be set to continue if he stays put in Spain for another season, but it seems clear from Haro’s comments that the La Liga outfit cannot afford his wages and transfer fee for a permanent move.

Well aware that they need a major overhaul this summer, one agent has now reportedly offered Manchester United a fresh chance to sign a Premier League-winning winger at a bargain price.

Amorim hints at more change at Man Utd ahead of Europa League final

Away from potential incomings, Ruben Amorim and Manchester United have their full focus on next week’s Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur. In a game that is make or break for their season and summer transfer plans, the Red Devils could qualify for the Champions League by securing victory, despite sitting as low as 16th in the Premier League.

Amorim previewed the most important game of his tenure so far earlier this week, telling reporters: “A final is different but you can understand this season has been really tough on everybody.

“The results and also the changing in the staff, and you can feel it in our club. We are addressing that during the season, we are changing the way we play during the season. We had so many bad results in the Premier League.

“So, the environment is tough in the moment but I guarantee you, when we are preparing in the Europa League, the environment is different and you can feel the excitement. But you can understand the environment this year is really tough.”

A piece of silverware would certainly ease the pressure on the former Sporting Club boss, who has endured a nightmare six months at Old Trafford. Sat closer to the relegation zone than the European places in the Premier League, Amorim and Manchester United can ill-afford to lose out next week.

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It’s not just on the pitch that victory would be celebrated, either. Away from the action, victory and subsequent Champions League victory would allow Manchester United to go in pursuit of certain targets.

Man Utd offered fresh Sane chance

According to transfer reporter Santi Aouna, Manchester United have now been offered the chance to sign Leroy Sane this summer. The German’s agent has reportedly tabled a proposal to a number of European clubs following failed contract talks with Bayern Munich, which could yet see those at Old Trafford land an impressive free transfer.

A Premier League winner at Manchester City, Sane wouldn’t be the first player to cross the divide in Manchester, but he would be the latest to steal such headlines. And as Amorim looks to rebuild, the winger could become one of the most important players that the Red Devils have on offer. Even on a free transfer, however, the deal wouldn’t come cheap thanks to Sane’s steep £243,000-a-week salary.

Casemiro

£350,000

Bruno Fernandes

£300,000

Mason Mount

£250,000

Leroy Sane

£243,000

Matthijs de Ligt

£195,000

Instantly becoming their fourth-highest earner when Sir Jim Ratcliffe is attempting to cut costs, Sane would have to find his title-winning form fairly quickly if he completed a move to Manchester United this summer. After scoring 13 goals and assisting a further six for Bayern this season, however, he could do exactly that in the Premier League.

Match details

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (tenth, P10, W3, L7) vs Gujarat Titans (eighth, P10, W4, L6)
Bengaluru, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)

Big picture – Will Kohli boss Titans spinners again?

Spin has been Virat Kohli’s nemesis in T20s for a few years now, but he produced a masterclass against one of the IPL’s best spin attacks in their last match to keep RCB’s hopes alive in the season, albeit barely so. On Saturday, he will go up against the same attack again when Gujarat Titans visit the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.Before the first match against GT, Kohli was striking at 123.57 against spin this season, and in IPL 2023, his strike rate against spin was 112.8. But in Ahmedabad, Kohli scored 61 of his 70 runs against spin, at 179.41. In fact, Kohli’s last innings was one of the most dominant performances against spinners by an opener in IPL history, with no other opener getting a higher proportion of their runs against the slower bowlers while scoring 50 or more.And Kohli looks ready to bring on more of the same, having had an extended session against the spinners on the eve of the match, focusing on his range-hitting against them.Kohli’s takedown of GT’s spinners, and later Jacks’ incredible acceleration, meant RCB cruised in their chase of 201 without their two designated spin hitters – Rajat Patidar and Glenn Maxwell – having to go out to bat.R Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad all went for more than 10 runs an over, and now they will face the same opponents at a ground that’s been a graveyard for spinners. With GT being a bowling-heavy team, they will need to revise their plans and come up with a way to stop RCB from making it three wins in a row.

Form guide

RCB – WWLLL (last five matches, most recent first)
GT – LLWLW

Previous meeting

An 86-run stand between Sai Sudharsan and Shahrukh Khan took Titans to 200 for 3 after openers Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha were dismissed within the first six overs. Despite Faf du Plessis falling to R Sai Kishore in the fourth over, the chase turned out to be an easy one in the end for RCB. Will Jacks struggled early on, but Virat Kohli ensured the visitors did not lose the momentum. At 16 off 16 at one point, Jacks suddenly exploded, smashing 84 runs off his next 25 deliveries. That included going 6, 6, 4, 6, 6 against Rashid to bring up his maiden IPL century and seal an NRR-boosting win in the 16th over.

Team news and impact player strategy

Royal Challengers BengaluruWith back-to-back wins behind them, RCB will likely stick to the same combination they used last time, with the option of bringing in Mahipal Lomror or an extra bowler in Vyshak Vijaykumar or Akash Deep.Probable XII: Faf du Plessis (capt), Virat Kohli, Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal, , Gujarat TitansGT are unlikely to tinker with their team, although they may be tempted to play an extra pacer in Josh Little or Spencer Johnson ahead of Noor Ahmad in Bengaluru.Probable XII: Shubman Gill (capt), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), , Shahrukh Khan, David Miller, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, R Sai Kishore, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad/Josh Little,

In the spotlight – Glenn Maxwell and Shubman Gill

One of RCB’s batting mainstays in recent years, Glenn Maxwell has been uncharacteristically off-colour in IPL 2024, scoring just 32 runs in six innings, 28 of which came in one knock. He was out of the XI after being asked to drop, and after a break, he was back in action against GT last Sunday. While he did not get a chance to bat in Ahmedabad, he got the wicket of the opposition captain Shubman Gill. With Patidar and Jacks hitting form for RCB, Maxwell will have a reduced burden in that middle order, and could benefit from being able to play with more freedom.Will Shubman Gill get back in form at the Chinnaswamy?•BCCI

Shubman Gill, captaining in the IPL for the first time in his career and coming into this season on the back of scoring almost 900 runs in the last edition, has not quite had a tournament to remember. He has made just 320 runs in 10 matches so far, and scored just the two half-centuries. A return to the Chinnaswamy might just be the spark he needs to return to his form from last year – he scored his third century of IPL 2023 on his previous visit to the venue.

Stats that matter

• Kohli loves playing against Gujarat Titans. In four innings, his lowest score against GT is 58 and he averages 151 against them
• GT’s Afghan spinners may be key against RCB skipper Faf du Plessis. He has got out to Rashid twice in 13 innings and twice to Noor in two innings
• Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan are the only batters in IPL 2024 to face 100 balls or more in the powerplay and strike lower than 140. This has resulted in GT being the slowest scorers in the powerplay this season

Pitch and conditions

There was plenty of rain in Bengaluru on Friday afternoon, although it subsided in the evening. The forecast is the same for Saturday, so while it is expected to be cloudy, rain should not interrupt play.

Quotes

“We are moving along in the right direction. It is a shame it didn’t happen a few games earlier but there is still a chance for us. We have four games left. We are going to try and give our best, one by one. We will try and win this and one by one after that and it [getting into the playoffs] can happen if we perform in the next four games.” Will Jacks “It’s not a huge concern for us. Having Wriddhi [Wriddhiman Saha], we all know the kind of player he is. I don’t really, especially you guys, need to educate Shubman, we all know what his abilities are. It’s just a matter of us really playing that pace we’re looking for. Hopefully, we’ll make 300 as everybody is taking about. But we’ll be there and thereabouts on a ground like this.” GT assistant coach Naeem Amin on their top order not firing