Chelsea have reached an agreement worth in excess of €40 million (£34.5m/$46m) to sign Ajax defender Jorrel Hato.
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Arsenal are making an effort to restructure and revitalize their squad ahead of an all-important 2025/2026 campaign, with Mikel Arteta under some pressure to deliver a trophy after five years without major silverware, discounting the Community Shield.
Arteta delivered the FA Cup at the end of his first campaign in charge, but since then, Arsenal have had precious little to shout about despite some very close calls.
Fabrizio Romano says "deal is agreed" for "perfect" player to join Arsenal
Everything is in place for a move to be finalised.
1
By
Emilio Galantini
Jun 10, 2025
Arsenal registered an incredible 89 points during the 2023/2024 season, which would have been enough to win the Premier League title in many of the previous campaigns, but Man City’s imperiousness ultimately thwarted Arteta.
It was a similar story during the 22/23 campaign, but Arsenal were miles off this year’s eventual title winners Liverpool, having missed out on the domestic crown by a seismic 10 points.
|
Arsenal transfer spending under Arteta (via Sky Sports) |
Money on new signings |
|---|---|
|
19/20 – winter |
£0 |
|
20/21 – summer |
£81.5m |
|
20/21 – winter |
£900k |
|
21/22 – summer |
£156.8m |
|
21/22 – winter |
£1.8m |
|
22/23 – summer |
£121.5m |
|
22/23 – winter |
£59m |
|
23/24 – summer |
£208m |
|
23/24 – winter |
£0 |
|
24/25 – summer |
£101.5m |
|
24/25 – winter |
£0 |
The Gunners have also failed to deliver in all other domestic and European cup competitions since 2020, with Arteta now facing a vital next season where he simply must deliver glory to the Emirates after many years of building an elite-level squad.
“There’s no doubt next season the pressure will be on Arteta massively in terms of winning something and winning something big,” said Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher.
“If they don’t do that, the Arsenal board will have a massive issue, because they won’t want to change the manager, but there will be lots of people saying ‘five or six years without a trophy’ and they will be looking at how many managers can make that next step.
“The problem with changing Mikel Arteta is that Arsenal could easily become what Chelsea are now, a team finishing second year in, year out, to a team not getting into the Champions League.
“That’s the big conundrum Arsenal will have in 12 months if they go close again but don’t get over the line. It feels like next season has to be the season.”
Trimming the deadwood and making room for vital new additions is imperative, and they’ve now managed to get previous highly-rated youngster Marquinhos off the books for good.
The 22-year-old Brazilian, according to Arteta, was actually a “very popular” player behind-the-scenes at London Colney, but he could never quite cement himself as a part of the manager’s long-term plans on the field.
Marquinhos has been on loan at Brazilian side Cruzeiro since January, which included an obligation to buy based on certain conditions, and that now appears to have been triggered.
Arsenal announced on Monday that Marquinhos has joined Cruzeiro on a permanent deal, bringing an end to his three-year stay at N5, which initially brought so much promise, only for the forward to be deemed surplus.
“He’s very popular, with no English, just with his smile and attitude,” said Arteta about Marquinhos in 2022.
“He has earned the respect and admiration of everybody here.”
Marquinhos’ move to Cruzeiro was initially under threat, according to some reports in South America, but he’s now officially set to start a new chapter back in his homeland.
Arsenal are reportedly stepping up their pursuit of Crystal Palace midfielder Eberechi Eze after almost sealing a deal for Viktor Gyokeres. Having spent the past two months working to bring Gyokeres to North London, Arsenal are now ready to turn their full attention to bolstering their midfield by targeting Eze, who has emerged as one of their top priorities in the summer.
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سجل السلوفيني نيتس جراديشار، لاعب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي الأهلي، هدف للقلعة الحمراء أمام بتروجيت في اللقاء الذي جمع بين الفريقين اليوم وانتهى 1-1.
والتقي الأهلي مع بتروجيت، ضمن منافسات الجولة الثانية عشر من مسابقة الدوري المصري الممتاز، على ملعب الكلية الحربية.
وجاء هدف جراديشار في الدقيقة 60 بعد عرضية من محمد هاني أرسلها داخل منطقة الجزاء ليمهدها بن رمضان إلى جراديشار ويسددها برأسه إلى داخل الشباك، ليصل رصيده إلى 3 أهداف.
طالع.. فيديو | بخطأ من الشناوي.. حامد حمدان يسجل هدف بتروجيت الأول أمام الأهلي
أما هدف بتروجيت جاء في الدقيقة 11 عن طريق اللاعب حامد حمدان بعد عرضية قابلها اللاعب برأسه مستغلًا تأخر محمد الشناوي في الخروج من المرمى. ترتيب هدافي الدوري المصري
– صلاح محسن – المصري – 5 أهداف.
– محمود حسن تريزيجيه – الأهلي –4 أهداف.
– عبد الرحيم دغموم – المصري – 4 أهداف.
– عمر الساعي – المصري – 4 أهداف.
– نيتس جراديشار – الأهلي – 3 أهداف.
– أحمد سيد زيزو – الأهلي – 3 أهداف
– عدي الدباغ – الزمالك – 3 أهداف.
– محمد السيد شيكا – كهرباء الاسماعيلية – 3 أهداف.
– أحمد فاروق – وادي دجلة – 3 أهداف.
– صديق أوجولا – سيراميكا كليوباترا – 3 أهداف.
– أشرف بن شرقي – الأهلي- هدفين
– محمد شريف – الأهلي – هدفين.
-فيستون مايلي- بيراميدز- هدفين
– ياسين مرعي – الأهلي – هدفين.
– محمد الشيبي – بيراميدز – هدفين.
– عمرو السولية – سيراميكا كليوباترا – هدفين.
– عبدالله السعيد- الزمالك- هدفين.
– شيكو بانزا – الزمالك – هدفين.
-ناصر ماهر- الزمالك- هدفين.
– وليد الكرتي – بيراميدز – هدفين.
Offspinner’s 15 wicketless overs undid seamers’ hard graft on second afternoon
George Dobell05-Mar-20211:40
What’s gone wrong for Dom Bess?
Just for a moment, it seemed England might get away with it.Just for a moment, after they had claimed a sixth Indian wicket with the hosts still 59 runs adrift, it seemed England may get away with their inadequate first-innings total, their ill-balanced team selection and a domestic system which has left them with an unprecedented weakness when it comes to both bowling and playing spin.But this can be a brutal game. And, in the evening session, as England were forced to endure the slow agony of seeing the hard-won gains of their day’s work slip away from them, it became apparent that each of these chickens was coming home to roost. You can’t waste first use of a surface like this. You can’t make do with a spinner learning his trade in India. And you can’t ask a sick man – even a sick superman – to plug the gaps by bowling for so much of the day in this heat.England did a huge amount right on the second day of this match. They knew they had squandered the chance to set a match-defining total on the first day, but they showed admirable resilience in clawing their way back into match with an outstanding performance in the first two sessions on the second.At the heart of that performance were England’s two seamers. At one stage Ben Stokes bowled 10 overs in a single spell broken only by a change of ends, while James Anderson provided a masterclass in skill and frugality and was into his 14th over before he conceded a boundary. Given steady support from Jack Leach, who continued his remarkable domination over Cheteshwar Pujara, they probably had their noses in front at one stage. With batting likely to become more difficult, the possibility of a series-levelling victory was very much alive.But there was a problem. Having gone into the game with only four main bowlers – plus the part-time spin of captain Joe Root – they needed each of them to contribute.Try as he might, Root was struggling to introduce Dom Bess into the attack. Having given him one over at the end of the first day – a decent chance to settle, you would think, with India playing for stumps – he waited until minutes before the lunch break on day two before asking him for another bowl. Again, while the plan might have been to allow him to settle with the batsmen playing for a break, those two overs conceded two boundaries – one from a long full toss – and can have done little to boost Root’s confidence in his young bowler.Still, Root retained patience with him after the break. Resisting the temptation to bowl himself, he perhaps reasoned that Bess required a show of faith if he was to play the required role in the fourth innings of the game. So, Root gave him another five overs after the break. And while the total of 26 runs conceded from those five overs (containing two boundaries off the bat from over-pitched balls plus four byes when he fired a long-hop down the leg side) might not seem dramatic, in the context of a low-scoring match, each of them was a body blow to England’s hopes.Dom Bess endured a tough day•Getty ImagesRoot tried him again just before tea. While the two overs before the break were largely uneventful – and he was unfortunate not to win a leg-before decision against Rishabh Pant, with the on-field ‘not out’ call upheld by a fine margin – the overs afterwards were not pretty. With the pitch offering assistance and two left-handers at the crease, it was not only an opportunity for him to settle into the game but a moment when England needed him to contribute.But his first over after the break, containing a full toss and two long-hops, was taken for 10. And if that doesn’t sound so bad, it should be remembered that, after 15 overs, Anderson had conceded just 11 runs and, after 11 overs, Stokes had conceded 13. After one more over – which contained two more low full tosses – Root had little choice but to withdraw him once more. With the match on a knife edge, bowling him felt like a liability.In a four-man attack, though, there are knock-on effects to such decisions. Although Leach bowled nicely enough, he is less effective against left-handers and was carted for a boundary that suggested Pant might launch the sort of assault we saw in Chennai.So Root was persuaded, once more, to turn to Stokes. But by bringing him into the attack for the 76th over, right before the second new ball was available, England were eating their sandwiches on the way to the picnic. Stokes had, by then, bowled 15 overs in the day – a day in which temperatures rose above 40 degrees – having suffered an upset stomach two nights before. Stokes has showcased his immense stamina in the recent past, but there are limits to what can be expected.Here, eventually, Stokes hit the wall. His 19th over, containing a head-high full toss and two boundaries, cost 12 runs and saw India creep into the lead. But even then, with his team requiring more, he bowled on until, across his 20th, 21st and 22nd overs, he conceded five boundaries in eight deliveries. All that work, all that progress had been undone. India’s first-innings lead is already threatening to stretch beyond the horizon.The simplistic reaction would be to blame Bess for all this. And it’s true, he proved unable to fulfil the role England had for him. While he is certainly young enough to come again, there should be no pretence that things “just didn’t work out for him today” as Jeetan Patel, England’s spin-bowling coach, loyally described it later.Bess has struggled with length across most of this tour. He was flattered by his five-wicket haul against Sri Lanka and he bowled more than 20 full tosses during the first Test in Chennai. It really does look as if he requires an extended spell back at county level to master his trade. Andrew Strauss, working as a pundit for Channel 4, described it as “painful to watch” and that seems about right. Bess is a talented young man. But he’s been picked too early and, on this tour, it has showed.Wait there, you may be saying: he conceded 3.73 runs per over. That isn’t so bad, is it?But that’s because, for large stages of the innings, his captain didn’t trust him enough to throw him the ball. And while Patel was no doubt right to praise the manner in which Pant, in particular, played him, the truth is most Test batsmen play the full toss well. Bess has delivered 10 of them so far. Consider the 11 short balls he has delivered and the three boundaries he conceded from other over-pitched balls that did at least pitch and you’ll begin to understand how tough life was for Root. Really, this was a performance to compare with Simon Kerrigan at The Oval in 2013 or Ian Salisbury in Pakistan in 2000.But you have to remember why Bess was in this position. You have to remember that he has never been the first-choice spinner for his county side. You have to remember that he is 23 and has been asked to learn on the job in a huge series against the strongest of oppositions. That he was dropped, just a couple of games ago, and such was the lack of confidence in him, England asked another player to change his plans at the last minute and stay on the tour.Related
Rishabh Pant has been handled well by India. Ollie Pope and Dom Bess not so much by England
Pant's first home Test hundred cuts England down to size
Bess insists he's ready for fourth Test
The Pant playbook: There's no room for boring
Bess' fate sealed by inconsistency and fatigue
And, when Moeen Ali declined, England demonstrated their continuing lack of confidence in Bess by declining to pick him for the third Test on a track as ideally suited for spin as you will ever see. None of that can have been especially helpful for his confidence.But the seeds of this problem were sown much longer ago. They were sown when the ECB squeezed a generation of experienced spinners out of their game with their incentives for playing young players. They were sown when the County Championship programme was pushed into the margins of the season, reducing opportunities for first-class spinners to learn their craft. They were sown when Bess was picked for England on the back of impressing as much with his fielding and batting as his bowling and despite the fact that he averages 47.66 in the Second XI Championship. His selection was always a hunch. And while there have been moments – notably in South Africa in January 2020 – when it has looked as if it could work, ultimately the increased exposure has done him few favours.More than that, this is a problem sown by the poor management of Moeen which saw him dropped and lose his red-ball central contract while the top wicket-taker in the world over the previous 12 months. Those 56 wickets in his last 11 Tests at a cost of 25.69 don’t look so bad now, do they?With all that in mind, it is increasingly hard to escape the conclusion that Bess – with his positive demeanour and willingness to embrace the challenge – has been asked the perform the impossible task of filling the void at the heart of the English game where spinners should be. It’s not Bess at fault; it’s a system. And that is what came back to bite England on the second afternoon of this match.
Perth Scorchers 108 (Hinkley 32, King 23, Capsey 5-25) beat Melbourne Renegades 106 for 8 (Dottin 40, King 3-23, Ainsworth 2-18, Devine 2-22) by two runsAlana King’s all-round contributions proved decisive in a low-scoring thriller at the WACA as hosts Perth Scorchers completed a two-run win over Melbourne Renegades while defending only 108.King first scored a crucial 15-ball 23 for the Scorchers from No. 8 amid a batting collapse triggered by the Renegades pair of Milly Illingworth and Hayley Matthews (2 for 15 apiece). Alice Capsey then ran through the tail to claim her career-best figures of 5 for 25 while skittling the Scorchers for 108.However, the Renegades’ batting failed to complement their bowling effort, losing wickets through their innings. Needing 15 runs off the last three overs – 11 off two overs and eight off the final six balls – they failed to hit a single boundary and finished their innings on 106 for 8.The pressure was put on Renegades early in the chase by seamer Chloe Ainsworth when she dismissed opener Courtney Webb and first-down Capsey for first-ball ducks in the first over. Sophie Devine and King then accounted for Naomi Stalenberg and Matthews respectively, and when Amy Edgar removed Georgia Wareham cheaply too, Renegades were 47 for 5 in the ninth over.Deandra Dottin counterattacked with a 27-ball 40 that included three fours and three sixes from No. 6 to lift the Renegades briefly, but King sent her back for the second of her three wickets. King also removed Illingworth in the 18th over to finish with 3 for 23.Tasked with defending 10 runs off the last two overs, Edgar and Ebony Hoskin closed out the game for the Scorchers, conceding only eight singles. Sarah Coyte, who finished unbeaten on a 31-ball 21, needed three for a tie or a boundary for a win off the final ball, but Hoskin kept the last delivery down to just one.Heather Knight played another vital hand•Getty Images
England captain Heather Knight cracked an unbeaten half-century and Sam Bates snared 4 for 25 to lead Sydney Thunder to a 19-run WBBL victory over Brisbane Heat at the WACA Ground.Knight, Phoebe Litchfield, and Chamari Athapaththu, all fired to lift the Thunder to a formidable 170 for 5. In reply, Charli Knott and Grace Harris threatened to pull off the run chase, but the Heat were eventually bowled out for 151 after Bates weaved her magic.After being sent in to bat, Thunder were 13 for 0 in the third over when Georgia Voll was dropped by Laura Harris on 2. Voll would go on to score 22, but more importantly she combined with Athapaththu for a quick-fire 52-run opening stand to give Thunder the perfect platform to launch.Athapaththu and Litchfield cracked seven boundaries apiece, and Knight went into overdrive later in the innings as Heat’s bowlers struggled to contain the star-studded battling line-up.Heat spinner Jess Jonassen was superb with 3 for 22 from her four overs, and Shikha Pandey was economical. But the rest of the bowlers struggled, with Grace Parsons and Nadine de Klerk copping the brunt of the punishment.Heat needed to make a fast start to their run chase, and opener Grace Harris received three slices of luck during her blistering knock. She was on 5 when she gloved a spinning Bates delivery through to the keeper. The appeal was turned down, and Thunder decided not to review it, but replays showed it clearly came off her glove. Harris was then dropped on 26 and 32, but was eventually out when she was caught in the deep from a Taneale Peschel full toss.Knott cracked six fours and a six to notch her maiden WBBL half-century and give Heat a chance, but their victory hopes came crumbling down when she was bowled by Bates who now has 12 wickets from four games in what has been a sizzling start to the season for the 28-year-old.”I don’t know if there’s a real secret behind [my form]. It’s nice to be contributing finally,” Bates told . “I had a pretty ordinary season last year, so I reflected quite a bit on that. I changed some little things and they’re paying off, which is nice.”
Ruben Amorim will come face-to-face with his former player Viktor Gyokeres when Manchester United host Arsenal on the opening weekend of the Premier League season. The pair lifted two league titles together at Sporting CP, but while the Sweden international has since moved to the Gunners in a £63.5 million deal, Amorim insists United are focused on the team and not just one player.
Gyokeres faces former coach Amorim in Premier League openerPortuguese downplays striker's solo threatArsenal star expected to spearhead Gunners' title challengeFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty WHAT HAPPENED?
Arsenal signed Gyokeres this summer after his record-breaking spell under Amorim at Sporting CP, where he netted 39 league goals and 54 in all competitions last season. Manchester United were briefly linked with a move, given the striker’s history with their current manager, but went for Benjamin Sesko in the end. Now, Gyokeres will line up against his former boss in a blockbuster Old Trafford opener.
AdvertisementWHAT AMORIM SAID
Speaking to , Amorim was clear that United’s preparations won’t revolve around his former striker, saying: "We just plan like any other, on other team. We just need to understand what kind of player he is in that position… because that can be different movements, and we need to explain that to the team. I think he is going to adapt really well to England. He's a very good player, a very good kid. But he's one more player, and on Sunday, he's going to be on the other side, and [laughs] I don't care about Viktor."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Gyokeres is expected to be a central figure in Arsenal’s Premier League title challenge this season, but Amorim is determined not to let sentiment distract him. The Portuguese coach has overseen a summer rebuild at United, spending big to add Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo to his frontline. He has claimed that Old Trafford has to become a fortress again if United are to mount a serious challenge over the coming few years.
Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT?
United kick off their Premier League campaign at home against Arsenal on Sunday. All eyes will be on Gyokeres as he makes his competitive debut for the Gunners. For Amorim, the test is ensuring his new-look United side can make a winning start at Old Trafford.
Wrexham are currently preparing for a season in the Championship after they finished second in League One to earn promotion up to the second tier.
The Red Dragons are yet to make their first signing since the end of last season, but there will be plenty of work going on behind the scenes to identify targets to improve the team.
Phil Parkinson will have to judge which of his players are ready to make the step up to the Championship after a season in League One, which means that some difficult decisions could have to be made.
Why Thomas O'Connor may be replaced
One player who could be replaced as a regular starter is left-sided central defender Thomas O’Connor, who has been at the club since they were in the National League.
The former Southampton academy graduate has never played above League One level in his career to date, and was a regular starter – starting 25 of his 31 appearances in the 2024/25 campaign – for Wrexham this season.
O’Connor was, however, an unused substitute in five of the last seven matches and it remains to be seen whether or not he will be able to handle the step up to the Championship, a level that he has never played at before.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
The BBC reported earlier this month that Wrexham, Norwich, Birmingham, and Sheffield United are among the teams interested in a deal to sign Harry Darling on a free transfer from Swansea City.
His contract with the Welsh side is due to expire at the end of this month, and the Red Dragons are one of the sides looking to snap him up for nothing.
Why Darling would be an upgrade on O'Connor
Parkinson must push to convince Darling to make a move across Wales rather than joining Birmingham, Norwich, or Sheffield United, as he would improve the club’s options at the back.
Despite being right-footed, the 25-year-old Englishman often plays on the left-side of a centre-back pairing and this means that he could take O’Connor’s place as the left-sided centre-back in a back three at Wrexham.
Unlike the current Red Dragons defender, Darling is an experienced Championship defender who has made 108 appearances at that level, which means that he would arrive at the Racecourse as a proven second tier star.
He would be a relatively risk-free signing as someone who has been there and done it and could immediately improve Wrexham’s team, particularly when you take his performances this season into account.
Appearances
31
39
Goals
0
5
Clearances per game
2.9
5.0
Dribbled past per game
0.5x
0.3x
Ground duel success rate
53%
66%
Aerial duel success rate
57%
64%
As you can see in the table above, Darling’s defensive work in the Championship, in terms of his success rate in duels and how often he was beaten by opposition attackers, was more impressive than O’Connor’s was at a lower level.
This suggests that the Swansea star, who was hailed as “outstanding” by former boss Luke Williams, is a big upgrade on the current Wrexham left centre-back, particularly from a defensive perspective.
Darling also, as shown in the table, scored five goals from centre-back, compared to O’Connor’s barren return in League One, and this suggests that he would offer a much greater goal threat in the 2025/26 campaign.
The English titan, who ranked in the top 31% of centre-backs in the league for progressive passes per 90 (3.70), is a ball-playing defender who has shown that he can mix technical quality and class on the ball with strength and reliable out of possession at Championship level.
Big Rathbone upgrade: Wrexham still in race to sign "outstanding" PL star
Wrexham could be about to land a big upgrade on Oliver Rathbone by signing this Championship-experienced ace.
ByKelan Sarson Jun 12, 2025
Therefore, he would be the perfect signing, as a proven second tier star, to come in as a big upgrade on their left-sided centre-back position this summer.
أصدر عمر عصر لاعب منتخب مصر لتنس الطاولة، بيانًا رسميًا بعد الأزمة الأخيرة في بطولة إفريقيا لتنس الطاولة.
وكانت مباراة مصر ونيجيريا في بطولة إفريقيا لتنس الطاولة، شهدت مشادة وأزمة كبيرة بين اللاعب عمر عصر وزميله محمود أشرف، نجل رئيس اتحاد اللعبة.
طالع.. وزارة الرياضة تصدر بيانًا رسميًا بشأن واقعة عمر عصر ونجل رئيس اتحاد تنس الطاولة
وجاء بيان عمر عصر على النحو التالي:
“أتقدّم بخالص التهنئة لـ منتخب مصر لتنس الطاولة على تحقيق إنجاز تاريخي غير مسبوق منذ أكثر من عشرين عامًا، بعد الفوز بجميع الميداليات الذهبية في بطولة أفريقيا الأخيرة، هذا الإنجاز هو ثمرة جهد جماعي مميز من اللاعبين والجهاز الفني والإداري، ويعكس المكانة الحقيقية لتنس الطاولة المصرية على الساحة القارية”.
وأضاف: “بصفتي كابتن المنتخب الوطني، أُدرك تمامًا حجم المسؤولية الملقاة على عاتقي، ليس فقط في الأداء داخل الملعب، بل أيضًا في تمثيل المنتخب والقيم التي نعتز بها جميعًا، وقد صدر مني في بعض اللحظات ما لم يكن في الإطار الذي تعوّدنا عليه داخل المنتخب الوطني، وهو ما يدفعني دومًا للتأكيد على أهمية الحفاظ على الصورة التي تليق بمصر”.
وتابع: “إن تمثيل مصر شرف عظيم، ويستوجب دائمًا أعلى درجات الانضباط والالتزام، وأعد جماهيرنا العزيزة وكل من يساند المنتخب أن أكون عند حسن الظن، وأن أعمل بكل طاقتي ليبقى اسم مصر في الصدارة”.
وواصل: “كما أتقدّم بخالص التقدير والاعتزاز للجهاز الفني والإداري، ولمجلس إدارة الاتحاد المصري لتنس الطاولة، وللجنة الأولمبية المصرية، وكذلك لمعالي وزير الشباب والرياضة الدكتور أشرف صبحي على دعمه المتواصل”.
واختتم: “أؤكد من جديد التزامي الكامل بدوري ككابتن المنتخب، وحرصي الدائم على أن يكون ما نقدمه داخل الملعب وخارجه انعكاسًا لقيمة مصر ومكانتها، وتفضلوا بقبول فائق الاحترام”.
Also: why didn’t Gayle play and what exactly happened with Mujeeb’s review
Matt Roller08-Oct-20201:23
Agarkar: Kings XI need Rahul the batsman more than Rahul the captain
Why did Rahul not play with more intent?KL Rahul has been tasked with batting through the innings for Kings XI Punjab, but the effectiveness of that role was up for debate in a chase of 202. After selling Mayank Agarwal down the river with a run-out in the second over, and seeing Prabhsimran Singh crunching Khaleel Ahmed straight to cover point, Rahul ticked over in the powerplay: he was 11 off 15 balls after six overs, without playing a single attacking shot according to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data.When he eventually freed his arms, it was a poor option: the left-hand batsman Nicholas Pooran had hit left-arm spinner Abishek Sharma’s first two balls for six, then taken a leg bye, and the right option for Rahul was to pinch a single to get Pooran back on strike to continue exploiting a good match-up for the batting team. Instead, he took on the sweep, and top-edged a catch to Williamson at deep backward square leg.Why did Gayle not play?Wasim Jaffer, Kings XI’s batting coach, had suggested ahead of this game that Chris Gayle and Mujeeb Ur Rahman would come into the side, so it was a surprise to see Gayle miss out when they named their side.But Anil Kumble, their head coach, clarified during the game that Gayle would have played if he had been available. “He was going to play,” he told Star Sports, “but he’s sick. He’s down with some food poisoning so last couple of days he’s not had a good time.”How did Mujeeb use a review after the third-umpire’s decision?The scorecard read: Mujeeb Ur Rahman c Bairstow b Khaleel 1. But that only tells part of the story. Mujeeb edged behind, the on-field umpire Anil Chaudhary gave it not out, but Sunrisers Hyderabad didn’t review the decision. Chaudhary, however, referred the decision to third umpire Yeshwant Barde to confirm whether it had been a bump-ball.Barde, using the spin-vision replay, confirmed that the ball had bounced only before passing the bat, and therefore decided to overrule the on-field decision and give Mujeeb out. But Mujeeb, after he had started walking back, then reviewed that decision, since UltraEdge cannot be used for an umpire review. When it eventually was, it showed that he had edged the ball.”So the umpire’s original decision, overturned by the umpire himself, is reviewed by the batsman, who is in fact, out,” wrote Varun Shetty on our ball-by-ball commentary. “At the end of it all, KXIP are a review short. Welcome to cricket.”Should Bishnoi have bowled sooner to Sunrisers’ openers?Jonny Bairstow has an intriguing record against legspin across his IPL career: coming into this game, he had scored at an impressive strike rate of 173.21 against it, but was also dismissed once every 18.67 balls. Dig into his record, and you’d notice that his overall numbers were enhanced by some particularly brutal overs against inexperienced players – 41 off 15 balls against Prayas Ray Barman, for example, but two dismissals and 16 runs in 18 balls against Yuzvendra Chahal.As a result, Ravi Bishnoi could have been a good match-up to Bairstow early on, but with so many new-ball bowlers to choose from, KL Rahul did not use him until the eighth over. By that point, both Bairstow and David Warner were set. Bairstow hit Bishnoi for three boundaries in five balls, and Rahul pulled him out of the attack. Bishnoi returned for the 16th, and then dismissed both openers within the space of four balls; it seemed like a mistake to only give him three overs, two of them late in the innings.The 16th over, and the dismissal of Warner, also brought the end of the longest wicketless streak by a team within a single IPL season, spanning 219 balls, or 36.3 overs.Kings XI Punjab’s bowling woes continued against opposition openers•ESPNcricinfo LtdSunrisers’ death-over struggles with the bat continueIt is no secret that Sunrisers’ batting is top-heavy, but that was demonstrated in dramatic fashion when they stumbled in the final five overs of their innings having been 160 for 0 after 15. Abdul Samad was promoted to No. 3, but made only 8 off seven balls, while Rashid Khan, a useful boundary-hitter against pace bowlers in particular, didn’t face a single ball.Sunrisers added 41 in the last five overs, for the loss of five wickets. It was the third time this season that they had added 45 runs or fewer in the final five overs while batting first, while the other seven teams have done it only twice among them. Even after a massive opening stand and a rejigged line-up, they fell back on Kane Williamson, who was pushed down to No. 5, to score 20* off 10 for a 200-plus finish which proved that their over-dependence on the big names continues.Why did Warner bowl spin to Pooran early on?Sunrisers’ team combination meant that Warner needed to share four overs between Sharma, Samad and Williamson. When he turned to his occasional bowlers, he was perhaps anticipating Pooran and Glenn Maxwell would look to consolidate after the powerplay. In fact, they are two of the fastest-scoring batsmen in the middle overs in IPL history, and Pooran – an exceptional player of spin, and the ball turning into him in particular – was in no mood to nudge and nurdle.ESPNcricinfo LtdAfter those two sixes off Sharma, Pooran pounded a four and four more sixes in Samad’s only over, the ninth, fulfilling the desire he expressed to ESPNcricinfo before the tournament to hit the fastest IPL fifty of the season. Perhaps, having taken three early wickets and with only Mandeep Singh and the bowlers to come, Warner could have looked to kill the game by attacking with his seamers or Khan, rather than looking to get through the fifth bowler’s overs so early.What was Cottrell’s new-ball plan?Both Bairstow and Warner have punished anything full from seamers this IPL, which must have influenced Sheldon Cottrell’s decision to bowl short and back-of-a-length early on. In his first two overs, not a single ball was classified as ‘full’ according to ESPNcricinfo’s length data. If that was Kings XI’s plan, it didn’t work: Cottrell is at his best when pitching the ball up and giving it the chance to swing or seam, and by dragging his lengths back he removed any chance of that happening.Instead, his two powerplay overs disappeared for 28 runs combined, and Sunrisers were up and running. With Kings XI front-loading – picking several new-ball specialists in Cottrell, Mujeeb and Mohammed Shami – in order to tie Bairstow and Warner down, they could not have anticipated such a poor start with the new ball.