S Abbas Ali scored the first half-century for the Delhi Giants in a six-wicket win over the Lahore Badshahs at Gurgaon

Cricinfo staff26-Oct-2008
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Ali Murtaza’s 4 for 7 stifled Lahore before Azhar Mahmood’s pyrotechnics © ICL
S Abbas Ali scored the first half-century for the Delhi Giants this ICL season in a six-wicket win over the Lahore Badshahs at Gurgaon. Chasing 148, thanks largely to Azhar Mahmood’s belligerent 69 after Ali Murtaza had Lahore reeling at 63 for 5, Delhi were taken across the finishing line with nine deliveries left. Ali scored a composed 52 and added a match-winning 80 in 11.1 overs with Abhinav Bali to make short change of a competitive total.Having opted to bat, Lahore’s trigger-happy top order fired blanks. Two flashy boundaries and Imran Nazir was on his way, smartly stumped by Phil Nixon off TP Sudhindra’s medium-pace. Imran Farhat was dropped by Murtaza on 13, cutting Shane Bond straight to point, but the bowler had his revenge with his first ball. Imran charged down and swung the ball to long-on, where Bond, running backward, showed Murtaza how it was done.An exceptional stumping from Nixon sent back Humayun Farhat for 7, and in the same over from Murtaza Shahid Yousuf failed to pick an arm ball. A trademark elegant six over deep midwicket hinted that Inzamam-ul-Haq, Lahore’s captain, may be onto something finally but he became Murtaza’s fourth victim. Struck dead in front of the stumps, Inzamam was a goner. Murtaza’s miserly spell of 4-0-7-4 earned him the Man-of-the-Match award.From 63 for 5, it took a special innings from Mahmood to lift Lahore to a competitive total. Aggressive from the start, Mahmood tonked Sudhindra for 14 in three balls during the 15th over before training his sights on JP Yadav. Clearing his front leg and hammering the ball sweetly, Mahmood plundered five sixes to finish on 67 from just 39 balls. Seventy-three runs came in the last six overs.In reply Marvan Atapattu went early, hitting two orthodox drives through extra cover and then edging Naved-ul-Hasan to slip. Mahmood then dismissed Mohnish Mishra with his seventh delivery and when Shahid Nazir bowled Dhruv Mahajan with his second, Delhi were wobbling. Their run rate at this stage, however, was a very healthy 8.83.Going into this match none of Delhi’s batsmen had managed a fifty in the tournament. Tonight, chasing 148, Ali rectified that with a good innings. His average before today had been 13.50 and big score was due; thankfully for Delhi, he delivered.Ali didn’t blaze away, but instead nudged the ball into the gaps and ran hard with Bali. Only when Tahir Mughal erred in line did he free his arms, twice pinging the boundaries in an over. Inzamam turned his arm over for the first time in eons and Ali smashed the ball over extra cover for a six to reach his half-century off 43 balls. This prompted Bali to do the same to Saqlain Mushtaq before Humayun stumped Ali for 52 to give Inzamam a wicket. Bali hit consecutive boundaries through the off side to wrap up the win in 18.3 overs. He was not out on 47.Lahore had picked up steam in their last two games, but despite this loss they remain at fourth in the points table. Lahore will need to keep winning to stay clear of Hyderabad and Chandigarh, both of whom have played lesser matches.

Leicester City have been linked with a move for Barcelona youngster Ilaix Moriba, with the La Liga giants fearing he could leave on a free transfer next summer.

What’s the story?

The highly-rated 18-year-old has entered the final year of his current contract with his boyhood club and has so far been unable to reach an agreement over fresh terms.

As a result, Barca are thought to be open to Moriba’s departure after being forced to train with the reserves, and several Premier League clubs are believed to have been in contact with the player’s representatives, according to 90min.

The report claims that England’s traditional ‘Big Six’ have been offered the teenager’s services, along with Leicester, West Ham United, Everton and Wolves.

Leicester City fans will be buzzing

The £22.5m-rated Moriba burst onto the scene for Barca last season, scoring one goal and providing three assists in 18 appearances for Ronald Koeman’s charges.

As per WhoScored, he recorded an average of 0.9 shots per league game in 2020/21, 0.5 key passes and 1.2 dribbles, highlighting his considerable contribution to Barca’s play.

It was hoped that the 6ft maestro would become a pivotal part of the Catalan club’s new era, but his imminent exit is now looking inevitable.

The news of Moriba’s availability will surely have a large section of Leicester fans buzzing. The Midlands outfit have largely built their recent success off the back of buying promising youngsters for low fees before developing them and selling them on for astronomical profit.

Stars such as N’Golo Kante, Riyad Mahrez and Harry Maguire have all come and gone after gracing the King Power Stadium with their considerable talent, allowing the club to reinvest the proceeds of their sales into the playing squad and a new training ground.

And bringing in Moriba would fit perfectly with that management style. The Spain Under-18 international has established himself as one of the most promising central midfielders in the European game and looks destined for a glittering career.

Whether Leicester act on his attainability only time will tell, but manager Brendan Rodgers would surely be delighted at the opportunity to work with such a talented young player. The Leicester boss must act now.

And, in other news…Bye-bye Maddison: Leicester must get “phenomenal” £27m-rated gem with “magical powers” 

Singapore 190 (Janik 55) and 230 for 9 dec (Sivanandan 98, Rahim 4-52) drew with Malaysia 106 (Mulewa 5-30) and 60 for 4Singapore have retained the Saudara Cup after a draw against Malaysia at the Kallang Cricket Club. Malaysia could have few complaints, and but for rain which washed out much of the third and final day, they would almost certainly have been beaten, as there was little chance of them batting out time.Singapore managed a disappointing 190 in their first innings, but they still gained a decent lead after Malaysia were dismissed for 106, Darmichand Mulewa doing the damage with 5 for 30.Second time round, Singapore’s batsmen did better, closing the second day on 221 for 7. Nerves got to Sajith Sivanandan, unbeaten on 98 overnight, as he perished without addition on the third morning to a rather undignified swish, at which point Singapore declared, leaving Malaysia almost the whole day to score 315.They lost four wickets in the morning session and at 60 for 4 were odds-on to be on the receiving end of a heavy loss before the rain came.

أعلن تركي آل الشيخ مالك نادي ألميريا الإسباني، عن خوض فريقه مباراة ودية أمام الهلال السعودي في بريطانيا خلال أغسطس المقبل.

وتمكن الهلال من الفوز بنتيجة 2-1 أمام الفيصلي بالمواجهة التي أقيمت على أرضية ملعب الملك فهد في الجولة الأخيرة من بطولة كأس الأمير محمد بن سلمان.

طالع | تركي آل الشيخ يلمح لإمكانية ضم لاعبين من الدوري المصري أو السعودي لـ ألميريا

وكشف حساب نادي ألميريا الإسباني عن إقامة المباراة أمام الهلال بطل السعودية يوم 7 أغسطس المقبل.

واستطاع فريق ألميريا التأهل إلى دوري الدرجة الأولى الإسباني “لا ليجا” في الموسم المقبل 2022-2023، ومن المقرر أن يستهل مشواره بصدام قوي أمام ريال مدريد حامل اللقب.

مباراة الابطال .. قريباً في بريطانيا ❤️💙

مبروك للزعيم 💙 pic.twitter.com/w28ERmQHrp

— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) June 27, 2022

🔴⚪ ألميريا 🆚 الهلال 🔵

أسود ألميريا في مواجهة زعيم آسيا وكبيرها 🤩

📆 7 أغسطس

لا يفوتكم ❤️ pic.twitter.com/NbgI8C8iAB

— نادي ألميريا (@UDAlmeria_Arab) June 27, 2022

Aston Villa announced on Monday that midfielder Conor Hourihane has joined Sheffield United on loan. 

And, as to be expected, a number of Villa supporters have been reacting to the news on social media.

Hourihane, who joined Villa back in 2017 from Barnsley for £3.15m, has signed for the Blades on a season-long loan.

He’s out of contract at Villa Park next summer, so may well have played his last game for Villa in the club’s 6-0 win over Barrow earlier in the month where he was captain.

The 30-year-old has made a total of 151 appearances for Villa during his time in the Midlands, scoring 29 times and registering 23 assists.

Villa are yet to add to their central midfield ranks this summer, so Hourihane’s departure leaves Dean Smith with one less option in the middle of the park.

Villa fans react

Villa shared the news regarding Hourihane on their official Twitter page. This is what these supporters had to say in reply, with one labelling it as a ‘dreadful decision’.

“A sad day. Classy player, appears to be an even better man. One of a few heroes in the club’s recent history. Wish him nothing but the absolute best”

Credit: @JBayliss94

“Noooooo 🙁 But GL @ConorHourihane you’re actually amazing”

Credit: @AVFCJJC

“Dreadful decision”

Credit: @JayK0165

“Big mistake”

Credit: @NooneAVFC

“can’t believe he has gone before Nakamba I honestly can’t understand how Dean put him ahead of Conor”

Credit: @BOOMBEEF

“This man deserved a better send off than this tweet.”

Credit: @MarkPatton7

In other news: Many AVFC fans react to Curtis Jones latest.

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has earmarked Leeds United starlet Joe Gelhardt as one to watch in the Premier League this season.

What’s the story?

The 19-year-old has yet to make a first-team appearance at Elland Road under Marcelo Bielsa, but Hay has tipped the teenager to be the club’s surprise package.

During a Q&A for The Athletic, the journalist name-checked the likes of Jamie Shackleton and Cody Drameh, but reserved special praise for Gelhardt and said he could be the man to make the biggest impression.

He said: “Possibly Shackelton. I’d like to think Drameh might get a chance if Ayling gets injured or has to relocate to centre-back. But Gelhardt is the one, I feel. So much talent there. Everyone talks about it.”

Bielsa should give him a chance

The former Wigan starlet only arrived at Elland Road last summer but has since made a big impression behind the scenes at Thorp Arch, with Hay previously revealing that the club feel they pulled off an absolute steal.

He said: “He’s been hugely impressive in the (Under-23s). Every time I see him, he looks like a massively talented player. Leeds have been quite honest in saying that the money they paid for him, around about £700,000 up front, from what I was told, is a small fee for somebody with massive amounts of talent.”

With 11 goals in just 18 games at Premier League 2 level, including a stunning hat-trick in a 5-0 win over West Brom last season, Gelhardt is doing everything he can to make waves at academy level.

Bielsa has just Patrick Bamford as a recognised striker option to call upon, and with the Whites yet again not bringing in a new striker to add some competition, it’s surely the perfect time for Gelhardt to be brought into the fold.

The 18-year-old made it onto the bench for the Premier League games against Manchester City and Liverpool towards the back end of last season, but wasn’t brought on.

With Hay claiming that Gelhardt is highly-rated inside the club, this season seems like the perfect chance for Bielsa to give him a chance in the first-team.

Fans will surely be excited with Hay’s prediction that the 19-year-old could be Leeds’ surprise package this season in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Phil Hay has dropped a Leeds United transfer update…

Plays of the day for the first day of the second Test between Australia and New Zealand in Adelaide

Brydon Coverdale at the Adelaide Oval28-Nov-2008
Run Ryder run © AFP (file photo)
No tea for you
A full day in the field is draining enough but Australia’s oldest player, Matthew Hayden, was given even less time to rest than his younger team-mates. During the tea break Hayden was presented with a special baggy green cap to commemorate his 100th Test. He posed for photos with his family and spoke about his journey from rural Queensland but by the time the presentation was over he had used up nearly all of the tea interval. Hayden dashed off for a three-minute sit-down before resuming his spot at first slip for the final session.Another spinner bites the dust?
Nathan Hauritz would have been happy to copy his fellow offspinner Jason Krejza’s 12-wicket match-haul. Instead, he emulated Krejza in an unwelcome way. Hauritz got his unexpected opportunity because Krejza twisted his ankle in the lead-up to the match and there were some feelings of déjà vu when Hauritz hurt his ankle in the field. Hauritz ran around to cut off a ball at deep backward square leg and during the lunging save he rolled his right ankle. He hobbled to the dressing rooms but soon re-emerged, alleviating the immediate fears of the Australians.Boycott drags on
Major news agencies continued their boycott of the Australia-New Zealand series due to a dispute over their accreditation agreements with Cricket Australia. and the refused to cover the first Test at the Gabba and the status quo remained for the Adelaide Test. The picture agency Getty Images, which supplies photographs to Cricinfo, also declined to cover the event. The news organisations launched a similar boycott last season but reached agreement with Cricket Australia after the first Test of the summer.Take it easy, Ryder
Jesse Ryder is not the prototype of the modern professional sportsman but he proved his athleticism during his short innings. Ryder drove Mitchell Johnson towards long-on and Adelaide Oval’s lengthy straight dimensions meant it was hauled in before reaching the boundary. Despite his solid frame, Ryder hared back impressively for a fourth run. His stamina ran out when he pulled Hauritz to midwicket in the first over after lunch.Punter a reluctant tosser
Attending the toss has been rather pointless for Ricky Ponting over the past few weeks, so it was understandable that he was reluctant to take the coin out to the middle at the Adelaide Oval. Daniel Vettori was waiting patiently on the pitch at the appointed time of 10am but Ponting was nowhere to be seen. A couple of minutes later, Ponting was hustling out the middle, still putting on his green-and-gold blazer with the help of a Cricket Australia official. He had been batting in the nets for just a fraction too long. Ponting need not have rushed – he lost his fifth toss in a row.Remembering Hibbert
The Australians were wearing black armbands in memory of the victims of the Mumbai attacks and of the former Australian opener Paul Hibbert, who died this week. Hibbert played one Test during the days of the World Series Cricket split and while he was never a flamboyant batsman, he could be an immovable and effective one. In 1977 he became the second man to score a first-class century without striking a single boundary. It was the sort of self-control New Zealand needed on the first day in Adelaide, where their top three all threw their wickets away with reckless shots.

MatériaMais Notícias

Desde que estouraram os escândalos da dinastia Teixeira-Marin-Del Nero, a CBF vem perdendo patrocinadores de peso: Gillette, Sadia, Michelin, Unimed, Samsung.e, por último, a Chevrolet, que retirou seu nome do Brasileirão deste ano. Em busca de alguns milhões a mais para custear as mordomias do poder, sua estrutura faraônica, as mesadas das federações e – é verdade – as competições que promove, a entidade acaba de assinar, como revelou a coluna De Prima, contrato com um site de apostas que já tem contrato com a Conmebol e passa a ser agora um dos apoiadores oficias da Copa do Brasil.

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Não há nada de ilegal, até que se prove o contrário, num acerto como esse. Não há motivos, também, para se duvidar da lisura do Bumbet. Mas trata-se de um daqueles casos clássicos em que não basta ser correto, é preciso provar que se é. E a combinação esportes x apostas não é algo que tem trazido boas notícias nos últimos tempos. Escândalos pipocam pelo mundo e, por mais que se separe o joio do trigo, apostas, manipulação e falcatruas andam lado a lado na percepção popular. Definitivamente, portanto, essa não é das parcerias mais recomendáveis para quem é responsável por manter a credibilidade do futebol nacional ou sul-americano.

Some Manchester United fans have been left fuming as an update emerged on Jadon Sancho.

As per the Red Devils’ official website, the former Borussia Dortmund star will miss England’s remaining September fixtures at home to Andorra and away to Poland respectively.

He missed the 4-0 win in Hungary on Thursday because he sustained a slight injury in training, and it appears to be more serious than first thought given that he has had to withdraw from the England squad.

Manchester United fans will surely be hoping that Sancho can recover in time for them to play Newcastle in their first game back after the international break next Saturday, especially with the prospect of linking up with Cristiano Ronaldo on the veteran’s second Old Trafford debut.

Manchester United fans on Sancho update

These United supporters fumed as the news about Sancho was shared on Twitter, with one fan calling it ‘unbelievable’:

“Noooo!!!!! Why now?!”

Credit: @AdebisiIsrael12

“the universe is against us”

Credit: @eldad__

“This is why I hate international breaks”

Credit: @NAKEDI_NKD

“Ahhhh man”

Credit: @t7891011

“The Manchester curse has hit him… injuries!!!”

Credit: @KoreanKiwi1989

“Shocking. Unbelievable. Devastating”

Credit: @DumVardi

In other news, lots of Man Utd fans slammed this player’s display against Wolves

أكدت صحيفة “المدينة” السعودية، أن مصطفى ملائكة حارس مرمى الفيصلي، تلقى عدة عروض من أندية دوري كأس الأمير محمد بن سلمان للمحترفين، بعد هبوط فريقه للدرجة الأولى.

وأوضحت أن اللاعب يدرس العروض في الوقت الحالي، رغم تمسك إدارة الفيصلي به خاصة وأن الفريق سيشارك في دوري أبطال آسيا باعتباره بطلًا لكأس خادم الحرمين الشريفين 2022.

طالع أيضا.. الخليج يُغري رايس مبولحي براتب ضخم.. والحارس يُطالب بالمزيد

وفي السياق ذاته، أشارت صحيفة “عكاظ” إلى أن إدارة نادي الفتح أنهت اتفاقها مع مصطفى ملائكة، ووقع الحارس على عقد الانضمام للفريق لمدة موسمين.

يذكر أن مصطفى ملائكة انتقل لنادي الفيصلي قبل 6 مواسم قادمًا من نادي هجر، ووصل مع الفيصلي مرتين لنهائي كأس الملك، وتوج باللقب مرة واحدة.