Things are quickly going from bad to worse for Chelsea at the moment.

It was just a couple of weeks ago that Enzo Maresca’s side demolished Barcelona and drew with Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Yet, their defeat at the hands of Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday night was their second loss in three games and the third match in a row they were expected to win.

It really was a night to forget for Chelsea, and one that should see the manager make more than a few changes ahead of the weekend.

Chelsea's poor performers

Unfortunately for Maresca, there were plenty of Chelsea players who looked way off the pace in Bergamo on Tuesday night, with Enzo Fernández being particularly poor.

The Argentine international was tasked with playing in the ten again, and while he has had more than a few games in which he’s looked a threat there this season, this was not one of them.

On the ball, the former Benfica star was consistently making the wrong decisions, and off of it, he looked so lethargic that one analyst asked if “someone put weights in Enzo’s boots?”

Minutes

67′

Expected Goals

0.01

Goals

0

Expected Assists

0.42

Assists

0

Key Passes

1

Crosses (Accurate)

1 (0)

Passes (Accurate)

24/33 (73%)

Lost Possession

15

Dribbles

0

Duels (Won)

10 (3)

By the time he was taken off in the 67th minute, he had completed just 24 of his 33 attempted passes, which is nowhere near good enough for someone in his position.

Moving a little deeper, it was also an uncharacteristically poor performance from the club’s record signing, Moises Caicedo.

Due to his three-match ban only applying to the Premier League, the manager decided to bring the Ecuadorian international back into the team, but he looked way off the pace.

The former Brighton & Hove Albion gem didn’t make a game-costing mistake, but he also felt like more of a passenger, failing to play a single key pass, losing the ball eight times, not taking a shot, committing two fouls and losing four ground duels.

Finally, Wesley Fofana and Robert Sanchez were also disappointing on the night.

The former seemed to completely lose Gianluca Scamacca for the hosts’ equalising goal, and then the former should have done better for Charles De Ketelaere’s winning strike.

Now, all these players were poor, but there is an argument for them keeping their places in the team for the game on the weekend, which cannot be said for the next player.

The Chelsea dud who should be dropped

Jamie Gittens was supposed to be a technically impressive, dynamic attacker who’d come in and make a real impact out wide for Chelsea, but so far, he’s been anything but.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Now, there is still time for him to come good in West London, but Tuesday night was another disappointing display from the former Borussia Dortmund star.

Maresca gave the Englishman plenty of game time, but he just couldn’t make an impact on the game, with or without the ball.

In fact, his one notable moment in the match was a shot in the second half that was comfortably saved. Other than that, he was utterly anonymous.

That might sound harsh, but it’s an opinion shared by football.london’s Bobby Vincent, who gave the 21-year-old a 5/10 match rating at full-time and wrote that he ‘drifted out of the game.’

Minutes

94′

Expected Goals

0.03

Goals

0

Expected Assists

0.23

Assists

0

Key Passes

1

Crosses (Accurate)

1 (0)

Passes (Accurate)

16/18 (89%)

Lost Possession

9

Dribbles (Successful)

4 (2)

Duels (Won)

10 (3)

Unsurprisingly, the winger’s statistics more than back up such an appraisal.

For example, in his 94 minutes of action, the Reading-born ace registered a combined expected goal and assists figure of just 0.26, played a single key pass, took 33 touches – 21 fewer than Sanchez -, lost the ball nine times, lost seven of his ten duels and failed in 50% of his dribbles.

If this were a one-off, just a bad day at the office for the Englishman, then there would be an argument to keep him in the team to get back on his feet at the weekend.

However, the summer signing has had more poor performances than good so far this season, and therefore, Maresca should drop him from the lineup ahead of the Everton game.

Watch out Delap: Chelsea set sights on "one of Europe's most in-form CFs"

The free-scoring forward could spell the end of Liam Delap at Chelsea.

ByJack Salveson Holmes 3 days ago

Pat Cummins says his return to bowling has gone better than expected, with Australia’s captain still eyeing a return for the second Ashes Test

AAP05-Nov-2025Pat Cummins remains on track to return for the second Ashes Test in Brisbane, but has conceded playing through the rest of the series unchanged could be difficult.Cummins has progressed to bowling off a three-quarter run up as he plots a meticulous return from a back injury that has sidelined the Test captain since July.The 32-year-old was able to get through close to eight overs in the nets on Wednesday, and expects to be bowling at full pace by the start of the first Test.Related

• Hazlewood cleared of injury, Abbott out of first Test after hamstring scans

• Cummins ruled out of first Ashes Test due to back injury

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• Konstas dropped, Weatherald called up for first Ashes Test

Cummins has not felt any significant pain since his managed return to bowling, with no signs of any recurrence of the stress injury in his lower back.Officials have been coy on whether Cummins would return for the second Test in Brisbane starting four weeks from now, but the skipper remains a genuine chance.”That’s the aim and we’re building our plan to the second Test,” Cummins said at the Seven Network’s cricket launch on Thursday.  “It’s probably not until you get a bit closer that you can really know where you’re at.”The good thing is that I’m pulling up well and the body is great.”We’re trying to keep that second Test as a live option. I’ll have a really good bowl in Perth, and by then I’ll know where I’m at.”What won’t be so easy, Cummins concedes, is playing every remaining Test this summer once he does return. There is an eight-day gap built in between the second and third Tests, but only four-day gaps between the third, fourth and fifth Tests.Australian officials have already identified that as a pressure point of the summer for bowlers, particularly if Tests go the distance and the hosts spend long periods in the field.”I’m pretty keen to play as much as I can,” Cummins said. “But realistically, if we have a big game and bowl 40 or 50 overs and then there’s a game that starts a few days later, it might be a bridge too far.”I’m trying to get right, and if I get right then hopefully I’ll try to play most of it as I can.”Ashes race: Pat Cummins goes through a running session•Getty Images

Cummins said he did not feel he would need a warm-up match in either the Sheffield Shield, a tour game with the Cricket Australia XI or Prime Minister’s XI against England or England Lions, or a grade cricket fixture to have his body right for Test cricket.Instead, Australia’s pace leader will fly to Perth with the rest of the team next week and spend the Test with the coaching staff.”Before the 2023 ODI World Cup I flew over to South Africa and watched the last couple of ODIs there,” Cummins said. “It was actually a really different view from the coach’s box. It’s a different perspective.”So hopefully I gather some information from being in that position through the Test that later on in the series I can use.”Or maybe Steve Smith needs something and I have seen something differently from up there.”But being close to the game and the conversations, I think I will need that going into the second or third Test.”Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will lead the pace attack in Cummins’ absence, with Scott Boland to keep his spot after taking a hat-trick in Australia’s most recent Test in the West Indies.Australia are hoping allrounder Cameron Green can bowl up to 20 overs in his next Sheffield Shield match, with Beau Webster a chance to stay on as a second allrounder.

Fifteen years ago, Manchester City were so enamoured with the all-conquering Barcelona that they sought to replicate the same structure. They began by hiring chief executive Ferran Soriano and sporting director Txiki Begiristain, before eventually landing Pep Guardiola to manage the team. All that was missing was Lionel Messi – though they nearly signed the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner at the very start of the Abu Dhabi-led project by mistake!

Ever since Guardiola moved to City in 2016, speculation was rife that the coach wanted to prise Messi from Barcelona and bring him to the Etihad Stadium. Throughout his first season with City, the coach had to deny reports that he had tried to sign Messi, as well as Neymar and Sergio Busquets. 

The closest Messi came to being reunited with Guardiola at City was in the summer of 2020 when he informed Barcelona in a Burofax message that he wanted to leave and held a meeting with his former coach at his house, before eventually opting to stay in Catalunya.

Messi was subsequently offered to City in 2021 when he was forced to leave Barcelona due to the club's financial problems, although Paris Saint-Germain showed a greater interest in signing him. On none of these occasions, however, did the Manchester club actually lodge a bid for the Argentine. 

City only reached out to Barca about signing Messi on one occasion, all the way back in 2008, days after the club had been taken over by the Abu Dhabi United group and before the Argentine had won his first Ballon d'Or. The bid, however, caused great confusion both at Barcelona and back at City. That's because it was made in error, all stemming from a misunderstanding amid the excitement of City becoming billionaires overnight…

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  Not fit for purpose

  City had begun the 2008-09 season in gloomy fashion, losing 4-2 at Aston Villa. It was not entirely unexpected, given they had lost the final game of the previous season 8-1 at Middlesbrough. Their transfer business had been unremarkable, signing Brazilian forward Jo from CSKA Moscow and Tal Ben Haim from Chelsea, plus a little-known defensive midfielder from Hamburg by the name of Vincent Kompany for £6 million. But later in the month, it became clear that change was coming and that the club, and indeed English football, would never be the same.

  With City owner Thaksin Shinawatra facing legal trouble back in Thailand and running out of cash due to his assets being frozen, the club were on the brink of financial collapse, leading to them having to ask for a loan from a former owner just to pay their players. Meanwhile, new coach Mark Hughes was shocked at the state of the club he had just landed at. 

  He recalled to : "The training ground was not fit for purpose. I was quite shocked by how run down it was. I assumed that people and facilities would be top quality and it was patently obvious they weren't. I made the switch from Blackburn because I thought City was a club with potential, in a good financial position, and there would be money available. The reality wasn't exactly what was described and sold to me." 

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  Billionaires overnight

  But everything changed on September 1. Hughes was playing golf when he got a call from CEO Garry Cook informing him the club had been bought by the Abu Dhabi United group. He continued hitting balls, but soon he was being followed by a crew from . Suddenly City were a lot more than a club with potential. And oh boy would money be available now, and Cook informed Hughes that the new owners "wanted a marquee signing" as soon as possible. 

  Hughes had the pick of the best players in the world; the problem was that it was also transfer deadline day. There was another issue, too: City were still seen as a bit of a joke of a club.

  "They just asked me ‘Who do you want?’. They had a load of bids out for pretty much every top player in the world," Hughes told the podcast. "They had just put all of these bids out to see if anyone would actually come back, but people forget that at that time, Man City were a mid-table Premier League club – mid-table to bottom if we’re honest. There weren’t that many takers because players were thinking, 'Man City, who?'.

• AFP
  

  From 'getting messy' to 'let's get Messi'

  "They had all these bids out and nothing was happening, then all of a sudden they had a little nibble from Robinho and Real Madrid," Hughes added. "It was a crazy day, there were bids going out for Lionel Messi and all sorts! We finally managed to get Robinho over the line which was a hell of a statement, and the rest is history."

  Robinho left Madrid on the assumption he was going to join Chelsea, and when he headed for Manchester, he assumed it was United, and not their nouveau-riche rivals who he was going to play for. He wasn't the only one who was confused. Although Shinawatra had just sold the club, his right-hand man Pairoj Piempongsant was still involved in City's transfer negotiations. 

  He and Cook jumped on a conference call with the club's then-COO Paul Aldridge to discuss who to sign, as Cook explained to in 2019: "So picture the scene. There's Paul with his London accent: 'Pairoj, you got to tell me what we're doing, it's getting out of control'. Pairoj was lying on a chaise lounge, getting a massage, and shouting: 'Yes, yes, yes! Very messy, messy, it's getting messy.' Something got lost in translation and – on my daughter's eyesight, this is the truth – that was misheard as "We've got to get Messi'.".

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  'Are you mad?'

  "Paul came to me afterwards: 'Garry, this is getting confusing, I don't know what we are doing here.' I said: 'Put the offer in, let's see what we come up with'." According to Cook, City put in a £70m bid for Messi which would have smashed the previous world transfer record of £50m, the fee Madrid had paid for Zinedine Zidane in 2001. 

  Messi was 21 at the time but was well on the way to stardom, having scored a hat-trick against Real Madrid two seasons previously and finished third in the latest Ballon d'Or voting, behind Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo. He had scored 10 goals and provided 14 assists during previous season, but given City's sudden change in fortunes, signing Messi was not as outlandish as it seems now. Indeed, Robinho had scored one goal more than the Argentine for Madrid in 2007-08.

  Such was City's low standing in the global game, Barcelona did a double take when they learned of the bid. Cook added: "Then Dave Richards called me the next day from the Premier League: "Garry, have you put in an offer for Lionel Messi? Seventy million pounds? Are you mad?"'

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla – Lionel Messi waited almost three years to lift his first league title in North America. Now that the Argentine has helped Inter Miami lift their first franchise title, he admitted it was their main objective this season, and he appreciated the team-wide effort by Javier Mascherano's side to accomplish it.

Getty Images Sport'The team made a huge effort'

Messi, after being awarded MLS MVP postgame, acknowledged that the trophy was the culmination of a long effort:

"Three years ago, I decided to come to MLS, and today we are MLS champions,' he said. "We reached the semifinals of the [CONCACAF] Champions Cup. Last year, we went out early in the league and were eliminated in the first round. This year, winning the MLS was one of our main objectives. The team made a huge effort – it was a very long year, with many matches – and we were up to the task all season. This is the moment I had been waiting for, and that we, as a team, were waiting for. It’s very beautiful for all of us. They deserved it."

Messi was brilliant in the deciding game of the season, having a hand in all three of Inter Miami's goals and notching two assists. This is his 48th title. 

AdvertisementGetty Images SportMascherano hails Messi's impact

Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano asserted that Messi had been 'important' in the Herons' MLS Cup run in a glowing post-match summary of his star man's impact. 

"He was making a big effort in these last two, three, four games, which showed how important it is for him to win. I didn't tell him to do that, but it shows how special it is. He came here to win this trophy," the coach said. 

The Herons took the lead against Vancouver, but conceded a second-half equalizer – before a duo of Messi assists gave them daylight and saw off a Vancouver side that didn't quite have enough on the day. 

Getty Images Sport'We faced a very, very good team'

Mascherano admitted, though, that Vancouver were far from a simple opponent, and gave the Herons real trouble throughout. Emmanuel Sabbi hit the post when the game was locked at 1-1, and Mascherano conceded that had he found the net, the game could have been radically different.

"We faced a very, very good team. In the second half in the first 15 to 20 minutes, they put us under pressure. We were very lucky that the ball touched the two posts. But sometimes that's the luck you need to be champions," he said. 

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Getty Images SportSaying goodbye to Alba and Busquets

Messi also took a moment to congratulate departing stars Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets on legendary careers after both announced their upcoming retirements this season. 

“Given what they’ve been – as players, both were among the greatest in history, each in his position, with the careers they had and the titles they won – it’s wonderful that they can retire with this MLS title. I don’t think they’re fully aware yet of what they’re experiencing, of what it means to retire. Today, something very beautiful ends for them, something to which they dedicated their whole lives. Now a new life begins for them. I wish them the very best, because they are two friends I care for deeply. I’m happy they can leave with this title.”

A depleted New Zealand attack – effectively reduced to just two-and-a-half frontline bowlers – was made to toil as a defiant West Indies rearguard stretched the contest into a fifth day on an increasingly docile Hagley Oval surface.Forced off the field on day three by an eye infection, Shai Hope returned with sunglasses under his helmet to compile an unbeaten 116. It followed his first-innings 56 and marked his second century in three innings, a seamless extension of the defiance he showed while stonewalling India for long periods in New Delhi in October.If Hope was the fulcrum, Justin Greaves was the anchor beside him. He reined in his instincts to play a composed, almost uncharacteristically restrained hand to finish 55 not out off 143 balls. His unbroken fifth-wicket partnership with Hope was worth 140 as New Zealand’s attack toiled under the blazing Christchurch sun.Related

• Blundell, Smith, Henry sustain injuries in Christchurch; Jamieson returns to Plunket Shield

Nathan Smith did not come out to bat and spent the entire innings off the field with a side strain. When Matt Henry left the field after the 35th over – later heading to hospital next door for scans – with West Indies 92 for 4, New Zealand may have hoped to finish off the game quickly.But with his bowling resources rapidly thinning, Tom Latham – already standing in with the gloves due to Tom Blundell’s torn hamstring that ruled him out of not just this Test but the next – was left to lean heavily on Rachin Ravindra and Michael Bracewell’s part-time spin around pacer Jacob Duffy. On a surface that only got easier to bat on against the old ball, Hope and Greaves settled in and applied themselves admirably.Having begun with positive intent, Hope was tested periodically with the short ball, Duffy setting a square leg halfway to the rope along with a short leg and fine leg for the pull. Hope mostly swayed and ducked out of harm’s way, and on the rare occasions he was tempted into the shot, he did well to keep it down. He brought up his fourth Test century off 139 deliveries.Duffy employed a similar plan to Greaves, whose natural game is far more instinctive. But to his credit, Greaves appeared to take a cue from Hope, choosing restraint instead. He played only when the ball was at his body, using his height to ride the bounce and fend safely. While he was a lot more enterprising against spin, the fundamental of his knock was crease occupation.Justin Greaves played a composed knock of 55 not out off 143 balls•Getty Images

Hope and Greaves laid down the template for those who perished prior to their arrival. Tagenarine Chanderpaul and John Campbell were put through a stern new ball test by Foulkes and Henry as they repeatedly tested both their edges in an engaging first spell. Chanderpaul’s propensity to shuffle across got him into trouble more often than not, and was out to a short ball that he inside-edged to the keeper for 6 off 45 balls.Campbell – out an over earlier – was taken out by Foulkes as he jabbed at an away-swinger with no feet movement as Bracewell took a superb low catch at second slip. In the overs prior to his dismissal, Campbell wore a blow on his boot as he smashed one back off an inside-edge, making him groan in discomfort. This may have eventually had a hand in his dismissal.Alick Athanaze never got going, and the frustration of being unable to score had him attempt a pull, only to be rushed into the stroke by Bracewell. He only managed to toe-end a pull to mid-on. And when Roston Chase fell in eerily similar fashion to his dismissal in the first innings – nibbling at a Henry away-swinger while being rooted to the crease – West Indies were collapsing swiftly and were 72 for 4.A four-day defeat loomed until Greaves and Hope dug in to give West Indies some hope even as New Zealand’s tired attack wheeled away in the hope of a mistake. That wasn’t to come, as West Indies took the fight into the final day even though hopes of scaling down the 531-run target they were set seem just a pipe dream for now.Earlier in the morning, New Zealand surprised many by choosing to bat on. Perhaps this was to give their bowlers more rest on a placid surface, considering the slew of injuries. Kemar Roach picked up three of the four wickets to fall, finishing with figures of 5 for 78 to take his wickets tally to 290.

Stand-in captain backs Khawaja to bounce back from back spasm; hopeful of Cummins return at Brisbane

Tristan Lavalette22-Nov-2025

Travis Head made a flying start to Australia’s fourth innings•Getty Images

Still in a whirlwind following a frenetic first Ashes Test, skipper Steven Smith was non-committal over whether Travis Head would continue to open the batting after his 69-ball century powered Australia to a crushing eight-wicket victory at Perth. Head opened the batting for the first time in a Test innings outside of South Asia, replacing Usman Khawaja who had spent some time off the ground in England’s second innings due to back spasms.His elevation, after Marnus Labuschagne had been given the task in the first innings, proved a game-changer and he smashed 123 off 83 balls to knock England’s all-out pace attack off the lengths that had proved so effective on the opening day.The opening positions have been a cause for concern for Australia for some time. With Khawaja, 38, under pressure and Jake Weatherald posting scores of 0 and 23 in his debut, there could be a push for Head to take the role on an ongoing basis in this series.”Let’s just digest this first, the last couple of hours have been pretty incredible,” Smith told reporters after the match. “It’s probably too early to say anything on that, but what we just witnessed was quite incredible. I’m glad to have been in the house to see it.”We didn’t like how things functioned in the first innings with Marn going up top and me batting three. So Trav took it on and played one of the great Ashes knocks.”Related

Khawaja's back issues to be examined as Australia float flexible batting order

Smith given out after Real Time Snicko confusion; 'correct decision,' says Taufel

Head: 'It's not going to get much bigger than this'

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Travis Head's 69-ball ton secures remarkable two-day win for Australia

Khawaja was forced off the field during England’s second innings in a recurrence of back spasms he first experienced on day one. He was fit to take the field on day two, but felt further pain after stretching high for a ball that flew above him in the slips.”He was reasonable this morning. I actually thought it was his knee at one point,” Smith said. “Fortunately, it was the same thing [back spasms]. He [Khawaja] said before that it’s probably one of the best back spasms he’s ever had given the circumstances [of Head’s century].Smith said the circumstances around Khawaja’s ill-timed absence in the field in England’s first innings, making him ineligible to open the batting, was a “little frustrating”. Khawaja eventually batted at No.4 and was dismissed for just 2.”Wasn’t ideal, it all happened pretty quickly,” he said. “I got told, I think just before we got the last wicket….that he needed to be on the field to go and bat.”I think that’s why we landed where we landed yesterday [with Labuschagne opening]. Today we had a little bit more time to go through it and work it out.”I mean, those things can happen in the game. No one’s fault. Move on.”Much like Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg, Smith defended Khawaja’s decision to play golf prior to the Test match. “He’s not moving particularly well in there, the old fella, but his preparation was the same as it’s been for every Test match I think that he’s played,” he said.”There was nothing out of whack there by any stretch. Unfortunately, he just pulled up a bit lame early in the game. That happens when your back goes.”I’ve been there myself when your back seizes up and it’s not a nice place to be. So I can feel his pain right now.”Offspinner Nathan Lyon had very little to do in the match, bowling just two overs in the seam-friendly conditions. But he did cop a blow to his hip while batting and was visibly wincing in the field.”He’s got a few bruises, keeps showing them off. He’s tough though, he’ll be fine,” Smith said.There has been no update on quick Josh Hazlewood amid fears that he might miss the entire series with a hamstring injury. But Pat Cummins has revealed that he’s a chance of returning for the second Test in Brisbane starting on December 4, as he progresses well from a lower back injury.”It’s on track and pulling up pretty well. [I’m] half a chance for the next game,” Cummins said on the Fox Sports broadcast. “I’m pretty hopeful and it’s probably better than it was a few weeks ago.”

After Bumrah had bowled three in the powerplay, the spinners put the squeeze almost immediately

Shashank Kishore15-Sep-20251:13

Wahab: Kuldeep always one step ahead of batters

Years later, when round one of India vs Pakistan at Asia Cup 2025 is discussed, it’s likely the no-handshake gesture and the simmering tension will be remembered first. But peel through the layers, and you will uncover India’s spin masterclass that left Pakistan’s young batting line-up searching for answers.At one point, 15 overs into their innings, it seemed as if Pakistan were simply picking through the wreckage. The moment that captured it all came in the 13th when Suryakumar Yadav placed a short midwicket, a silly mid-on, a short cover, a slip and a leg slip as Faheem Ashraf faced a hat-trick ball from Kuldeep Yadav.In the end, Pakistan left with barely a little more than just a few consolatory blows from Shaheen Afridi, as they now walk into a potential must-win against UAE to ensure there will be round two against India next Sunday, a contest that will need them to soul search.Related

Fun and banter but no drop in intensity at India training

Hesson: We were a bit frenzied at the start with the bat and then got squeezed

Suryakumar: Spinners come well prepared so things move 'on autopilot'

Agha skips presentation after India refuse handshakes

Kuldeep makes it worth the wait

Pakistan only need to analyse the match scorecard and India’s robust approach as compared to their diffidence, especially after the powerplay. They didn’t challenge India’s spinners enough for them to think out of the box. From 42 for 2 at the end of the powerplay, they went into their shell, only to eventually collapse.”With the bat we were a bit frenzied at the start,” Pakistan coach Mike Hesson observed. “The ball held on the surface, as we expected. But we didn’t respond as well as we would’ve liked. We got to the end of the powerplay and we were in the game, and we got squeezed.”That built up a lot of pressure during the middle overs. The more big games you play, the more trust you have in your own game. We’ve certainly got players who are finding their feet, but they certainly want to be in the battle, and we’ll come back stronger in a few days.”Between overs 5.3 to 11, Pakistan didn’t hit a single boundary while losing two wickets. ESPNcricinfo pegged their aggressive responses to just eight deliveries (24.24%) in this period. And it didn’t help that India were buzzing through their overs with spin before the dew got heavier, as evidenced by the ground staff trying to mop up the outer pockets at the halfway mark.This was the phase where Axar Patel broke Pakistan’s back. He struck first by beating Fakhar Zaman in flight, tempting him into a big shot that he dragged to Tilak Varma at long-on. Two overs later, he landed the knockout blow of Salman Agha.2:20

How big is the gulf between India and Pakistan?

Stuck on 3 off 11 and increasingly desperate to break free, Agha tried to slog sweep his way out of trouble but top-edged tamely to deep square leg. Those two strikes in quick succession drained the innings of any momentum and left Pakistan tottering at 49 for 4 at the halfway mark.The slowdown, Hesson reflected, was down to their inability to rotate the strike and not because of their inability to read India’s spinners, especially Axar. “I don’t think there was any issue in picking spinners, it’s what you do with it when you pick it,” he said. “Axar’s – there’s no mystery there.”He slides the ball, occasionally turns one. It’s more the accuracy and pressure that they build up, when you build up a lot of dots, sometimes your mind plays tricks and you play big shots. It’s certainly not that they can’t pick it, the fact is we struggled to rotate strike to take pressure off ourselves.”Suryakumar observed there was more to Axar’s success than just picking wickets. He pointed to a focused-training method that has made a difference.”His plans are very clear. Whenever I see him at practice, he bowls a lot to left-handers because that’s a proper match-up,” he said. “You feel if a left-hander is walking in, you can’t bowl a left-arm spinner, but he practices more to the left-hand batters. And when he bowls to the right-handers, he has his own plans. I’m really happy with his clear plans.”Axar’s damage happened to be the prelude to Kuldeep’s a few overs later. In the 13th over, Kuldeep struck off consecutive deliveries, one off a loopy legbreak that bounced extra, and another off a wrong’un to left-hand batter Mohammad Nawaz.Kuldeep’s double-strike underlined how well India had managed their resources through the innings. Having burned through three of Bumrah’s overs inside the powerplay, a tactic Suryakumar has now employed in back-to-back games, India effectively left their spinners with a cushion and attacking fields to work with in the middle overs.And they couldn’t have done it better, with Kuldeep and Axar slamming the door shut.

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