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India’s Test captain has been advised more rest to avoid recurrence of neck spasms

Karthik Krishnaswamy20-Nov-20256:22

‘Gambhir took the blame because he felt curators should not be blamed’

Shubman Gill is set to miss India’s second Test against South Africa starting on Saturday after failing to recover sufficiently from the neck injury he suffered last week. Vice captain Rishabh Pant will stand in as captain in Guwahati.It is understood that, according to medical advice, Gill is at risk of further neck spasms if he plays so soon. He has been advised more rest. The development could also impact his selection in the ODI squad for the three matches against South Africa starting on November 30. The squad for that series is expected to be picked on November 23.With Gill set to miss out, India may have to choose one of B Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal and Nitish Kumar Reddy as his replacement.Related

Gill discharged from hospital but remains doubtful for Guwahati Test

Left-hand or left-field – who fills in for Gill in Guwahati Test?

Gambhir's India – close fights, costly calls, and a growing Test crisis

Gill was admitted to hospital after the second day of the Kolkata Test, following the decision to retire hurt after facing only three balls in India’s first innings. On the morning of the third day, the BCCI said he would take no further part in the Test. India went on to lose the match by 30 runs, after getting dismissed for 93 in a chase of 124 on a pitch with uneven bounce. Gill had missed a Test against New Zealand in October 2024 due to a neck spasm too.On Thursday, before ESPNcricinfo learned that Gill is set to miss the match, India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak had said in a press conference that the team would not risk playing him if there was any chance of the spasm recurring.”He is definitely recovering really well,” Kotak said. “Now, the decision [whether to play him or not] will be taken tomorrow evening. The physios, doctors, they will have to take a call that, [even] if he is fully recovered, [during the] game, he should not get that spasm again.”[…] If we have a, guarantee that, very likely, he won’t have this issue again, then he will play. If there is a doubt, then I am sure, he will take rest [for] one more game, because it won’t be helpful to the team [if he plays].”Nitish Kumar Reddy put in the hard yards at the nets in Guwahati•AFP/Getty Images

One of the concerns for India as they figure out Gill’s replacement is the surfeit of left-hand batters in their squad. They had six in their XI in Kolkata – five in their top eight – and Sai Sudharsan and Padikkal, the two specialist batters vying to come into the line-up, also bat left-handed. The left-hander-heavy nature of India’s line-up had advantaged offspinner Simon Harmer, the Player of the Match in Kolkata, significantly.Kotak suggested there had been undue focus on the offspinner-vs-left-hander match-up, and pointed out that South Africa also played Keshav Maharaj, a left-arm spinner, at Eden Gardens, which should have advantaged India’s line-up.”You tell me one thing, they had a left-arm spinner also. If we had seven right-handed batsmen, then? They had a left-arm spinner also, and an offspinner also. I believe that you have to play well. Offspinner bowling to left-hander does not mean left-hander has to get out. We had two left-arm spinners [in the first Test], they had nine right-handers; did they get out? So maybe that thing is a little overrated.”Overrated or not, India will still likely mull over the match-ups even as they prepare for a Guwahati track that is set to be more forgiving to the batters than Kolkata was.India’s mandatory practice session two days out from the match gave some indication of who might come in for Gill. The first four batters who came out to bat in the nets were Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar and Dhruv Jurel. The first three had been India’s top three in Kolkata, and Jurel had batted at No. 4 in the second innings, in Gill’s absence. Sai Sudharsan was next into the nets.Padikkal, meanwhile, did not bat in the early part of the practice session, but was seen bowling part-time offspin in the spinners’ net.Seam-bowling allrounder Reddy, who was released from the squad in Kolkata so he could play in India A’s limited-overs series against South Africa A, was back in training, and bowled alongside Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep in the fast bowlers’ net.Axar did not bowl initially, and only joined his team-mates some 45 minutes or so into the session.None of this necessarily points to India’s possible selection. Players have their own individual preferences for what kind of training they do, and how much, leading into games.But with a more balanced pitch than Kolkata expected on Saturday, India may not feel the need for a fourth spin bowler and a second left-arm orthodox spinner. If Sai Sudharsan replaces Gill, Reddy coming in for Axar would help India maintain the same balance of left- and right-hand batters they had in Kolkata. With a decent amount of grass on the pitch two days out from the Test, there is a chance Reddy could be a useful option with the ball too.

The 15-member squad also includes Vaibhav Suryavanshi, with Vihaan Malhotra as Mhatre’s deputy

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Nov-2025

Mumbai batter Ayush Mhatre will be leading India Under-19 at the ACC Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup in Dubai from December 12. The BCCI announced a 15-member squad for the tournament, with the side also including aggressive opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Vihaan Malhotra will be Mhatre’s deputy at the competition.Mhatre, meanwhile, hasn’t been in good form recently. He had impressed for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2025, where he was called up to replace Ruturaj Gaikwad, with 240 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of nearly 189. But since then, he has been inconsistent with his returns.Mhatre got just 27 runs in four one-day matches on the England tour, but hit back to be the top-scorer with 340 runs in the two Youth Tests. In Australia, after that, he got just ten runs in three one-day games and 38 runs in the Youth Tests against Australia Under-19. In four first-class matches during India’s domestic season, which included a game for India A against South Africa A, Mhatre managed only 156 runs at an average of 26. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy fixture that followed, he scored 18 against Railways, though he did record an unbeaten 53-ball 110 against Vidarbha on Friday, leading Mumbai to a seven-wicket win.At the ACC Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup, which will be played in the one-day format, India are in Group A with Pakistanand two qualifying teams while Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and another qualifier are in Group B. India open their campaign December 12 against one of the two qualifiers.India squad for Men’s Under-19 Asia CupAyush Mhatre (capt), Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Vihaan Malhotra (vice-capt), Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu (wk), Harvansh Singh (wk), Yuvraj Gohil, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan A. Patel, Naman Pushpak, D. Deepesh, Henil Patel, Kishan Kumar Singh*, Udhav Mohan, Aaron George*Subject to fitness clearanceStandby players: Rahul Kumar, Hemchudeshan J, B.K. Kishore, Aditya Rawat

Eight matches into his Rangers tenure, is Danny Röhl any closer to figuring out which players he can trust and who he cannot?

On Thursday night, the Gers were held to a 1-1 draw by ten-man Braga at Ibrox, despite taking the lead through James Tavernier’s spot-kick in first half stoppage time; the fact that only 38,014 spectators were in attendance encapsulates the mood.

So, with just one point on the board after five games, a frankly pitiful effort, unless they somehow manage to beat Ferencváros, Ludogorets Razgrad and then Porto, which seems unlikely if we’re being honest, the Gers’ Europa League adventure will be coming to a premature end in January, having got all the way to last season’s quarter-finals.

This will allow them to concentrate on domestic matters, which may be a good thing, given that they’ve slipped down to fifth in the Premiership table, despite having won all four league matches since Röhl’s arrival in Glasgow.

So, ahead of a visit from Falkirk, who would actually leapfrog their hosts with a shock victory at Ibrox on Sunday, what changes should the German head coach make?

Youssef Chermiti's uninspiring form

Back on Monday, it was announced that both chief executive Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell had been sacked, after overseeing a chaotic summer of recruitment, with the £8m, potentially rising to £10m, paid to sign Youssef Chermiti among the more egregious and baffling of their decisions.

So far, he has scored just one goal for the club, on target against Kilmarnock last month, already surpassing his tally of zero goals during two seasons at Everton, also brought to Merseyside by Thelwell for £14m when he was working at Goodison.

Aside from his lack of goals, the striker simply isn’t offering enough, often allowing matches to pass him by and putting in anonymous performances.

Following this week’s draw with Braga, Mark Atkinson of the Scotsman asserted that he is driving supporters ‘demented’, adding that he ‘spurned a couple of presentable’ opportunities and is so far proving to be a mere baffling expensive purchase.

So, ahead of a sequence of three Premiership matches in seven days, facing Falkirk, Dundee United and then Kilmarnock, Chermiti should be stood down and Röhl must instead deploy the “best player in the league” up front.

Rangers' superior Chermiti alternative

Of the 13 players Rangers signed in the summer, many are young and inexperienced, hoping to grow and improve in the coming years, but Bojan Miovski was supposed to be a ready-made starter, brought in to produce right away.

The 26-year-old, returning to Scottish football after a season at Girona, is a proven goalscorer at both club and international level, bagging his ninth goal for North Macedonia against Wales at the Cardiff City Stadium earlier this month.

Meantime, at club level, prior to his season in Catalonia, he had been outstanding during two years at Aberdeen, as the table below documents.

Appearances

98

Goals

44

European goals

4

Goals vs Rangers

4

Goals vs Celtic

3

Shots on target per 90

1.1

Big chances missed

31

Average rating

6.9

As the table makes clear, Miovski was an elite-level finisher during his time at Pittodrie, scoring 32 Premiership goals, while his strike rate in Europe as well as against the two Glasgow giants underlines his quality.

Then-teammate Nicky Devlin asserted that Miovski was “the best player in the league in his position”, firing the Dons to a third place finish in 2022/23, before being sold for £6.8m, the Dons’ record outgoing transfer.

However, we are yet to see very much of that from Miovski in a Rangers jersey, scoring his first goal for the club against Hibs in the League Cup, while his only Premiership goal came at Falkirk Stadium in October, the day Russell Martin was sacked.

Since the appointment of Röhl, the North Macedonian has featured in all eight matches but has started just once, this coming at Dens Park before the international break, substituted at half time with the Light Blues leading Dundee 2-0.

So, for whatever reason, the German head coach appears to favour Chermiti and Danilo, despite the fact that Miovski is a proven goalscorer at both Premiership and European level, something this team desperately needs given that, 26 matches into this campaign, Tavernier and Djeidi Gassama are the only squad members who have four or more goals to their name.

Thus, when Falkirk visit Ibrox this weekend, surely Röhl has to bring Miovski back into his XI, ditching the ineffective Chermiti, with the former looking to net as he did against the Bairns once again, just as he did in Stirlingshire just last month.

Not just Djiga: Thelwell flop who lost ball 17x looks finished at Rangers

Rangers’ wait for a first Europa League victory goes on, held to a 1-1 draw by Braga at Ibrox, and a summer signing was just as bad as Nasser Djiga.

Nov 28, 2025

Wolverhampton Wanderers and new manager Rob Edwards have their eyes on signing a Premier League flop in January, it has been claimed.

Edwards “ready” for Wolves challenge

The Old Gold sealed their move for Edwards in the week, paying Middlesbrough £3m in compensation to bring the 42-year-old back to Molineux.

Speaking to Wolves’ official club website, Edwards said he is “ready” for the challenge as he looks to keep the club up.

Wolves begin their new era under Edwards at home to Crystal Palace, and he’ll have to navigate at least eight games before he can think about new signings in January.

Wolves vs Crystal Palace

November 22nd

Aston Villa vs Wolves

November 30th

Wolves vs Nottingham Forest

December 3rd

Wolves vs Man Utd

December 8th

Arsenal vs Wolves

December 13th

Wolves vs Brentford

December 20th

Liverpool vs Wolves

December 27th

Man Utd vs Wolves

December 30th

However, it looks as if the club are already working behind the scenes to identify potential targets, with one surprise name emerging in the media.

Wolves eyeing up move for West Ham’s Niclas Fullkrug

According to Football Insider, Wolves are interested in a potential move for West Ham striker Niclas Fullkrug.

Linked with a return back to Germany, Fullkrug appears to have admirers from both Wolves and Fulham, who could look to keep the forward in the Premier League.

Former Everton CEO Keith Wyness, said: “I heard a whisper the other day that either Wolves or Fulham might be interested in taking Fullkrug.

“I’m hearing Wolves might be one club who are interested in taking him on and giving him a chance to do something and stay in the Premier League.

“Look, I know there’ll be interest for him back in Germany. He did very well there, and players often don’t settle in the Premier League for whatever reason. He hasn’t and there’s been injuries as well. I think he will be gone in January, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he stays in the Premier League.

“Now whether he goes on loan or not I think that might be one way forward. I think West Ham do need to fill that gap and probably want to get his wages off the books, so I’d be waiting for a move around that sort of area.”

Fullkrug, on £90,000-a-week at the London Stadium, has had a torrid time with the Hammers, scoring just three goals in 27 games following a £27m move from Borussia Dortmund last year.

Costing the Irons £1m for every appearance so far, Fullkrug was called “aggressive” by Ally McCoist but has struggled to adapt to life in England.

Therefore, it would be a surprise if Wolves were to take a gamble on the German striker in the New Year, but it looks as if it is one to watch.

£55m spent & Hackney signs: Dream Wolves XI Edwards can build in January

Ruben Amorim has been subjected to plenty of criticism across his reign as Manchester United manager, and the Portuguese coach is not afraid to dish some out himself. It has been revealed that he gave Manuel Ugarte – a player that he previously worked with at Sporting – a serious dressing down following defeat to Tottenham in the 2025 Europa League final.

Amorim pulls no punches in Man Utd team meetings

United suffered a 1-0 defeat to domestic rivals that day, denying them major silverware and qualification for continental competition in 2025-26. Uruguay international Ugarte was an unused substitute against Spurs, but still attracted unwelcome attention from his manager ahead of a Premier League season closer at home to Aston Villa.

Amorim called a meeting, attended by the entire Red Devils squad, a day prior to facing the Villans at Old Trafford. It was during that discussion that he informed Argentina international winger Alejandro Garnacho that he would need a “good agent” during the summer transfer window, with the 21-year-old winger eventually being offloaded to Chelsea.

AdvertisementGettyWhat Amorim said to Man Utd midfielder Ugarte

According to , Amorim also took aim at Ugarte. They know each other well from their time in Lisbon, but familiarity does not spare anybody from incurring the wrath of Amorim. He is said to have called Ugarte’s work rate into question.

It is claimed that Amorim told Ugarte that he has “gotten comfortable”, with the Portuguese tactician saying that he does “not recognise him as the same player from their first stint together”. Said comments “caused a ripple of reaction among those in the squad” as it was made abundantly clear that 100 per cent commitment to the collective cause is required at all times. Amorim’s approach is considered to be “hard, but broadly fair”.

United’s boss prefers to address any issues in his camp within group settings, rather than one-on-one, with that system reported to be “the cause of conversations among players”. Several United stars are said to have discussed the methods of their manager during a post-season trip to Kuala Lumpur, with some preferring “more tailored instructions”.

Why Amorim does his business face-to-face

Amorim will not be bowing to those demands and wants those on the fringes of his first-team squad to prove their worth in training, not through “face-to-face meetings”. He has made a point of staying away from any player-based social activities in a bid to “maintain a sense of authority”.

Another all-staff meeting was called ahead of the 2025-26 season, at which Amorim reiterated the need for standards to be improved when it comes to professionalism and commitment. He is said to have “cited players going out and being late for training as examples of bad discipline”.

While some of those on the playing staff may not always appreciate his approach to coaching, those behind the scenes have embraced his “candour and passion” – with Amorim a regular presence at United’s company summits.

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GettyNew signings & leadership group: Red Devils a work in progress

The Red Devils remain a work in progress, having made more efforts during the last transfer window to remove those that are considered problematic – such as Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Antony – while bringing in players that have a “love for football”. Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha are considered to tick that box, while also boasting useful Premier League experience from their spells at Brentford and Wolves respectively.

They are said to have “lifted the mood and the quality of sessions significantly”. Amorim has also appointed a six-man leadership group in his dressing room – with club captain Bruno Fernandes being supported by Harry Maguire, Tom Heaton, Lisandro Martinez, Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot. They are trusted with building discipline and keeping everybody in line.

United have enjoyed an improvement of late, going unbeaten through their last five games, and have entered the latest international break sat seventh in the Premier League table. They will return to action on November 24 in a home date with Everton and former manager David Moyes.

There's a new favorite to win the National League Rookie of the Year award at FanDuel Sportsbook. 

San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill has passed Pittsburgh Pirates rookie pitcher Paul Skenes in the latest odds, moving to -120. Skenes is still -105 to win the award, but it's clear that Merrill, who has been gaining momentum for weeks, is now the favorite.

This odds movement was something that was predicted by our own Reed Wallach, who pointed out the possibility of the Pirates shutting down Skenes later this season once the playoffs are completely out of reach.

After Skenes was viewed as a virtual lock to win the award earlier this month, Merrill has continued to make a case, hitting .289 with 17 homers and 69 runs batted in for a Padres team that has the top wild card spot in the National League.

Skenes (7-2, 2.30 ERA) has cooled off a bit since the All-Star break, posting a 3.13 ERA across five starts. While he's still pitching extremely well, Skenes isn't the runaway favorite due to his lack of game time in the MLB (16 games).

With Merrill at 122 games and counting, this market could shift further in his favor if Skenes is shut down the for the season at some point in the next month.

The 68-year-old doyen of Australian coaching is committed to helping a young NSW team return to the top of the Sheffield Shield

Alex Malcolm26-Jun-2025

Greg Shipperd, the doyen of coaching in Australian domestic cricket, has signed a two-year contract extension with New South Wales and Sydney Sixers for the BBL.Shipperd, 68, is one of the most renowned coaches in the country and has been a key mentor to swathes of Australian players and coaches including the current national men’s coach Andrew McDonald.Having coached Tasmania and Victoria with great success, including four Sheffield Shield titles, he was tasked with a caretaker role with New South Wales in 2022-23 in conjunction with his Sixers role that he has held since 2015.He was made the permanent head coach of NSW in May of 2023 and will extend his tenure in NSW to four years, and his time with Sixers to 12, after signing a two-year extension.”You have to be careful not to overstay your welcome,” Shipperd told ESPNcricinfo. “But I’m particularly thrilled in being involved with Cricket New South Wales. It’s steeped in history and it’s got high expectations, and I like to operate within that framework. We’ve got an exciting opportunity with an emerging group of players to build a foundation that can stand the test of time.”The mind still is going at 100 miles an hour, but the body’s slowing down. But I’ve got some wonderful support coaches around and the system itself behind the Blues team that represents in the Shield and other competitions is first-class.”Shipperd’s record with Sixers has been remarkable as they have not finished lower than third in the eight team competition over the last six seasons, and have finished top two on the table in each of the last five, winning the title twice and finishing runner-up once in that period after also losing the final in his second season in charge in 2016-17.But his work with NSW remains unfinished, particularly in the Shield. He took over when the Blues finished last in 2022-23 for the first time in 13 seasons. NSW have ended third and fourth in the last two Shield seasons having been in the hunt for the final in the last round of both campaigns. They also lost the final of the Dean Jones Trophy (Australia’s domestic 50-over tournament) in 2023-24 to Western Australia and just missed the final last year.”Progress is being made,” Shipperd said. “We had some real challenges in terms of the depth of our squad and our Australian player representation across the course of the year took away some of our next level players in [Sean] Abbott, [Ben] Dwarshuis, and [Tanveer] Sangha, and so for us to be playing off for a grand final spot in the last game of both competitions meant that we’re very, very competitive. And so I’m really pleased about that.”The next step for us is to win those crunch games more often than we did, in particular at the back end of last year.”

The results didn’t go Mexico’s way under Javier Aguirre during this FIFA window. El Tri had a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Colombia at AT&T Stadium and then drew 1-1 with Ecuador in Guadalajara – two potential World Cup opponents. Despite that, San Diego FC winger Hirving Lozano offered a positive assessment and highlighted some encouraging signs.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Lozano points to positives

  Following the 1-1 draw with Ecuador at Estadio Akron, in which Mexico were booed by the crowd, Lozano remained upbeat.

  “I think the result from the first game was a bit unfair," he said. "I believe we did a lot of good things. As Javier said, there were moments when we showed very interesting things. It’s a process; we’re working hard, and Javier will tell us what we need to improve."

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  'We’ve done very interesting things'

  Lozano emphasized that the group is on the right path and that the team has been doing good work under Javier Aguirre.

  “Like in everything, sometimes you win, sometimes you draw, sometimes you lose," he said. "Overall, I think the group is doing well, the team is improving a lot, and we’re trying to execute what Javier asks of us on the field. I think we’ve done some very good things. It’s a process, and I think we’re improving and working. The important thing is to build a strong group, like a family.

  "And I think that’s being reflected on and off the field. I think it’s about work, about recognizing the right moments, about understanding the team. As I said, we did good things. Unfortunately, we had negative results, but we’ve done very interesting things."

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Crowd reaction doesn't concern Huerta

  Mexico forward César Huerta said he wasn’t concerned about the boos he received from the crowd at Estadio Akron.

  “People come to support the national team," he said. "I come to represent my country and try to do my best so people feel well represented.”

  He also stressed that the team is not satisfied with what they showed on the pitch.

  “No, we’re never satisfied. There are always many things to improve. Obviously, when you win, it’s easier to correct small details, but there are always many things to work on,” he said.

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  What comes next?

  El Tri will hope to find a better version of the team for the November FIFA window, when they will face Uruguay in Torreón and Paraguay at the Alamodome.

Despite a blazing start, KKR’s run-rate kept declining after the ninth over and they could add only 45 runs in the last five overs

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Apr-20252:32

Jaffer: Russell will find a way to score if he bats up the order

Kolkata Knight Riders posted the second-highest target set in Delhi this IPL, but hosts Delhi Capitals had reason to believe they had held them back. This was the best batting track produced by Delhi this year, KKR got off to their second-best powerplay of the year with 79 off 36, but their run-rate kept declining after the ninth over, when their score was 111 for 3. Axar Patel, who had to delay bringing himself on because of the adverse match-up against Sunil Narine, bowled four straight overs for 27 runs and two wickets.Teams have been wary of the Delhi track this year, but this one was the friendliest for the batters. Narine, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ajinkya Rahane could hit through the line at the top, but they all fell in the late 20s. The 48-run stand between Narine and Gurbaz was their best opening partnership of the season.Even though the ball didn’t turn or grip much, the introduction of spin provided DC with an immediate comeback into the contest. Vipraj Nigam got Narine lbw in the seventh over, which meant Axar could now bowl. He got Rahane lbw in the eight, and Venkatesh Iyer on the slog-sweep in the tenth. Both the balls went straight on.Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Rinku Singh now had to pipe down the aggression a bit to make sure Andre Russell wouldn’t get too many balls to face. They added 61 off 7.3 overs for the fifth wicket, even negated the threat of Kuldeep Yadav by taking 27 off his three overs, but in a chaotic finish KKR lost their way. Nigam had Rinku caught at long-on in the 18th, Dushmantha Chameera bowled good wide yorkers in the 19th, and Mitchell Starc got two wickets in the 19th. Starved of strike, Russell was run-out in the final over for 17 off 9. KKR added only 45 in the last five overs.

They believe SRH should have a Plan B especially if they’re losing wickets quickly

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Mar-20255:41

Do SRH’s batters lack a plan B?

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have been breaking records with their ultra-aggressive batting, and their captain Pat Cummins and coach Daniel Vettori said the team wasn’t planning to change the approach. But Cheteshwar Pujara and Ian Bishop believe the side should have a Plan B, with Pujara saying SRH weren’t “smart” with their batting approach in their loss against Delhi Capitals on Sunday.”Firstly I was really surprised they chose to bat first,” Pujara said on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut show. “When you’re playing an afternoon game, you know that the pitch will be slightly on the slow side, that’s when you normally prefer to bowl and that’s an ideal time to bowl, not an ideal time to bat. I thought they should have bowled first. But talking about their batting, I think they go too hard and they were not smart enough today.”SRH lost their top four in the powerplay and were reeling at 37 for 4 after Mitchell Starc’s menacing spell, but the scoring rate never went down despite that. Aniket Verma slammed a 41-ball 74, hitting five fours and six sixes in his innings, twinning with Heinrich Klaasen during a 77-run stand off just 40 balls to lift the team. With SRH’s lower order put to the test by DC’s spinners, they could only get to 163.Related

Explosive SRH fizzle out against Starc and Kuldeep

SRH won't change 'aggressive brand', says coach Daniel Vettori

Bishop felt the experienced Klaasen should have batted a ‘bit deeper’ given Aniket was more in flow. He felt SRH could still stick to their approach but have a single player take more time to settle in instead of going hard from the start despite wickets falling rapidly.”… those are experiences that I hope they will be learning, even Pat Cummins who says ‘keep going hard’, as they go through the season,” Bishop said. “I look at Klaasen’s dismissal, I think even Heinrich should know his power and if he was to stay and bat a little bit deeper, he will score at a huge tempo. It’s still early in the season, but they [SRH] have got to start understanding that if Aniket gets going, we can spend some time there with him as deep as we bat and just soak it up just a little bit more.”It’s not to consolidate for five-six overs, but it’s just maybe to manage for about three, four, five bowls, maybe even an over, we’re not talking consolidation for long period.”Pujara questioned the point of the aggressive approach especially if results aren’t going SRH’s way. After starting the season in their typical style by defending a mammoth total of 287, SRH slumped to defeats in the next two games.”What is your success then,” Pujara said. “If you are just winning two out of 10, then it doesn’t make sense. You need to win more number of games. You need to show that consistency again and again. Last season we saw that they played brilliantly throughout the league phase but what if one game goes wrong for you in the knockouts, then you’re not able you are not able to have a plan.”