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Vinicius Junior is ahead of schedule in his recovery from his latest injury and is expected to return to action for Real Madrid soon.

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Vinicius Jr injury boost to Real MadridLikely to return next weekSuffered thigh strain last monthFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Vinicius Jr has missed Los Blancos' last three outings across all competitions after he was ruled out of action with a fresh muscular injury to his thigh last month. The Brazilian winger was expected to be sidelined for at least three weeks, but now report he is on course to return to action by next week.

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The report further claims that the 24-year-old was not expected to return before the final of the new Intercontinental Cup on December 18, though he is now hoping to return to pitch either against Atalanta on December 10 or against Rayo Vallecano on December 14. The news comes as a huge boost to Carlo Ancelotti's side, who have lost two out of their last three outings with defeats against Liverpool in the Champions League and Athletic Club in La Liga.

DID YOU KNOW?

In the 2024-25 campaign, the winger has appeared in 18 matches across all competitions for the Spanish champions, where he has scored 12 goals and provided eight assists. He narrowly and controversially missed out winning the Ballon d'Or to Rodri.

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Real Madrid, who are trailing league leaders and rivals Barcelona by four points, will aim to get back to winning ways this Saturday as they take on Girona in a crucial La Liga away fixture.

Looking to end their summer transfer window with a bang, West Ham United have reportedly submitted an offer which is close to the asking price for one particular attacking target this summer.

West Ham transfer news

The Hammers have arguably been the winners of the transfer window in the Premier League, welcoming the likes of Crysencio Summerville, Max Kilman and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, among others. And those reinforcements paid dividends against Crystal Palace, as Julen Lopetegui's side instantly bounced back from their opening-day defeat against Aston Villa to beat the Eagles.

Having sealed their first three points of the campaign, those at the London Stadium have instantly turned their attention back to the transfer market in search of a long-term attacking option.

Of course, they solved their striker problem for the short-term at the very least by welcoming Niclas Fullkrug but, at 32 years old, he was always unlikely to be a permanent solution under Lopetegui. Instead, in pursuit of just that, the Hammers have turned to the Serie A.

According to Sky Sports reporter Gianluca Di Marzio, West Ham have submitted an offer to sign Tammy Abraham which is close to AS Roma's valuation this summer. The former Chelsea man, who earns a reported £95,000-a-week in Italy, could be set to make his Premier League return courtesy of his former London rivals.

West Ham now one step away from signing "great" £19.5m Paqueta partner

The Hammers could land another summer signing…

ByTom Cunningham Aug 24, 2024

It would be quite the move for the Hammers, given Abraham's Chelsea ties, and one that should see them end their summer window on the ultimate high. Previous reports have claimed that Roma value the forward at around £21m, which could be well within West Ham's reach in the coming days, given that they're already reportedly close to the asking price.

"Great" Abraham can end West Ham search

Even as they've welcomed several impressive additions, West Ham's search for a striker has been ongoing. Now, that search can stop at Abraham if they manage to agree a deal before Friday's deadline. He ticks the box for Premier League experience, know-how and the type of player who still has time to reach new levels at 26 years old.

Following an injury-ridden spell in the last two years at Roma, Abraham has the chance to get back to the kind of form that earned the praise of former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard, who previously told the club's official website: "I’m delighted with Tammy. He has a really great attitude in training, a desire to score goals and his all-round game was really good as well.

"Myself and the staff are working closely with him on little bits of his game where I think he can be even better and he’s been very receptive to that."

Potentially returning to English football, Abraham could make a bigger impact back in the Premier League, with European experience under his belt and the chance to become the main man at the London Stadium potentially falling his way.

Arsenal and Mikel Arteta have been handed a boost as one of their stars is expected to return from an injury worry in time to face Tottenham in their next Premier League game.

Arsenal's 100% record comes to an end

Arsenal were left frustrated as they threw away a 1-0 lead to draw 1-1 at home to Brighton in a game that hinged on a controversial red card for Declan Rice just five minutes into the second half.

The midfielder was handed a second yellow card for delaying the restart in bizarre fashion, which allowed Fabian Hurzeler's side to get back into the game minutes later and left the Gunners holding on for a point in the dying stages.

After the game, Mikel Arteta was left fuming at the referees once more: "I was amazed. Amazed, amazed, amazed because of how inconsistent decisions can be.

"In the first half, there are two incidents and nothing happens. Then, in a non-critical area, the ball hits Declan (on the back of his leg), he turns around, he doesn't see the player coming and he touches the ball.

"By law, he [the referee] can make that call, but then by law he needs to make the next call, which is red card so we play 10 vs 10. This is what amazed me. At this level it's amazing."

However, Rice was far more apologetic, admitting that "it was tough, it was harsh, but it's one of those things", and adding that "If you touch ball away, even a little bit, obviously it’s a red card".

Arsenal vs Brighton: A game of two halves

Stats via Fotmob

1st Half

2nd Half

Arsenal

Brighton

Arsenal

Brighton

Possession

47%

53%

24%

76%

Shots

6

3

5

19

Shots on target

5

0

2

4

Big chances

3

0

2

3

xG

0.98

0.08

1.09

1.74

Nonetheless, the decision dominated the immediate aftermath of the game, which resulted in both Arsenal and Brighton losing their early season 100% records and both sides falling two points behind early pace setters Manchester City and Liverpool.

Arsenal suffer injury scare

Though the decision to send off the Arsenal midfielder was the undoubted talking point at the Emirates Stadium, there was another worrying moment late on in the piece as defender Jurrien Timber went down injured.

The Dutch full back missed the entirety of last season after tearing his ACL on his Premier League debut, and there was clearly concern around that area once more as the medical staff assessed him on the pitch, before he was substituted for Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Retired star publicly admits he held talks to join Arsenal this summer

He was seriously entertaining a move to the Emirates.

1 ByEmilio Galantini Sep 1, 2024

However, it appears that those fears were overstated, with Arteta giving a positive injury update on Timber in the immediate aftermath of the game and The Standard reporting a likely return against Spurs.

“No, he was I think cramping,” Arteta told the media when asked about a possible injury to Timber. “He got a kick in the first half and was cramping so we had to take him off.”

That news will come as music to the ears of the Arsenal faithful, who will already be forced to watch their side without Rice in their north London derby clash with Tottenham after the international break. Indeed, there are high hopes for Timber, who Zinchenko revealed may even be better than him last season.

With Riccardo Calafiori also signed over the summer, the Gunners have plenty of cover at left-back, but they will nonetheless be happy to keep it that way this early in the season.

A whole lot of not a lot at Hove, but it’s an improvement on this time last year

Paul Edwards16-May-2021
A match that had once seemed likely to end in a Sussex victory with Jofra Archer displaying his fitness for Test cricket ended in the most sclerotic of draws with Archer not even on the field. The first of these outcomes had always seemed likely once Kent had survived a short session on Saturday, and the second was probable once the England bowler’s sore elbow had prevented him bowling that same evening.Despite their lowly positions in Group C these sides never appeared to contemplate the possibility of setting up a game and the 43 overs we saw this afternoon might not be numbered among the most gripping of the season. Other correspondents could even judge them balls-achingly tedious.But Jack Leaning will take a different view. The former Yorkshire batsman notched only his second first-class century since 2017 and will approach Thursday’s game against Glamorgan in a more confident mood. Likewise, from their different perspectives, Tom Clark, who took his maiden first-class wicket, and Tawanda Muyeye, who batted half an hour for 12 not out on his debut. A drop of red ink is as comforting as a duvet to a young professional making his way. Every solid defensive shot is a moment.And if these slightly aimless sessions were still a disappointment we could scourge no one but ourselves. On Friday, when a 104-over day had heaved itself beyond seven o’clock, we little thought how fortunate we were to see any cricket at all, let alone to be doing so when millions could not.Zak Crawley was batting on that second evening, so such ingratitude required public abasement. But our penance, such as it might have been, was useless. The following evening, when only 24 overs were possible, Crawley was dismissed by the excellent Jack Carson and even that moment was given the elbow by Archer’s inaction, forced or otherwise.Thus to Sunday with the Channel turquoise in its shallows but gravely blue farther out to sea. A pleasant dawn was replaced by an unlucky bag of showers, some of them slight, others heavy with Anabaptist doom. While David Millns and Graham Lloyd made one of their inspections the clouds to the west were grey as an undertaker’s work-suit; to the east they were blue as one of Bryan Ferry’s more exotic two-piece numbers. Birds gathered ravenously on the white pyramidal roofs of the hospitality suites. By the way, the gulls in Hove have clearly been watching Alfred Hitchcock movies; I’ve seen smaller turkeys. The white thugs waited for scraps; we waited for cricket.Related

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At ten past one our patience received its reward when the Sussex team, minus Archer, took the field and Carson bowled the first over from the Cromwell Road End. The cricket soon became good-humoured, gentler in its rhythms and enriched by jokes and encouragement. Neither side could win the game but the practice had value for Leaning, whose back foot drive off George Garton was the stroke of the day. A little while later he swept Delray Rawlins for a single to reach his century and Ollie Robinson was attempting to emulate that feat before he was lbw to Clark for 85 late in the piece.And so concluded a match in which we had been at the mercy of not only the elements but also the endless work of the Sussex groundstaff and the good judgement of Messrs Millns and Lloyd. But umpires are rather fortunate at the County Ground in that they are two of the few officials in this area to whom folk actually pay attention. There are large parts of Brighton and Hove where people pat legislation on its head and send it over to Eastbourne. Visit North Laine and you will find businesses that seem to regard official forms as entertainments to which only other people need pay any attention. One would not be surprised to find a Private Walker or two sidling in the alleyways: “Need any vaccines, guvnor? I can help you there.”(And should Millns and Lloyd ever jack in umpiring they could go into business together selling perfumed unguents and other bathroom aromas. They already have the names for it. “Oh darling, could you be terribly sweet and pop into Millns and Lloyd for a rosewood and peony diffuser?” This would be a tremendous achievement for two lads from Clipstone and Accrington, where, one imagines, no-frills aerosols are produced by firms called something like Broadbottom and Snout.)Such reveries occur to one on these afternoons at Hove, for this place retains its tender hold on the heart, even on days when there is nothing much going on. A year ago at least one of us would have paid twenty quid simply to sit here for half an hour during the perfect weather that taunted us during lockdown. And it is easy to be seduced by the County Ground, to be beguiled by its cricketing families, by the scent of the sea, by the view down Selborne Road and by the writers who have honoured this sacred space. Surely, one thinks, at odd moments, the romance is all too much, too heady…And then one understands that resistance is utterly useless. In dusk’s first fading light a fox and vixen stroll over the outfield as though asserting some ancient right; perhaps they have their den in George Cox’s garden. And so, like the foxes, we go in search of supper and leave a great ground to its kindly ghosts on a spring evening.

Rob McElhenney posted a slightly jealous response to a photo of Ryan Reynolds and Channing Tatum posing at the Wrexham co-owners' new memorial park.

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McElhenney announced park on Reynolds' birthdayTatum pictured at siteMcElhenney responds on InstaFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' creator gifted the new park (called the Ryan Rodney Reynolds Memorial Park) to his co-owner for his 47th birthday, sharing an announcement video starring Chris Pratt at the time. A glimpse of the site has now appeared on social media with fellow Hollywood star Channing Tatum posing next to Reynolds outside. McElhenney joked that he wasn't too pleased about it.

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The plan for the park is all about developing a community area in the centre of Wrexham. Once completed, this will be a "beautiful" green space for the public to use, with pop-up food spots and cinema screenings, all situated on the site of the old Wrexham Hippodrome. Reynolds' latest social media post suggests that the grand opening isn't too far away.

WHAT MCELHENNEY SAID

Resharing Reynolds' photo with Tatum, McElhenney wrote on Instagram: "wow bringing another man to OUR spot @vancityreynolds". This was after the 'Deadpool' star said: "Thank you @robmcelhenney for gifting me the 'Ryan Rodney Reynolds MEMORIAL PARK.' I felt twenty percent more dead just being there."

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WHAT NEXT FOR REYNOLDS & MCELHENNEY?

Reynolds and McElhenney's club are in the midst of a fierce battle for promotion from the third tier to the Championship, and Phil Parkinson's side would have been disappointed not to collect three points at home against Cambridge United. The League One fixture was attended by the latest US celebrities to endorse the Wrexham project, the aforementioned Tatum and Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong. McElhenney apologised to his guests after the 2-2 draw with relegation-threatened Cambridge.

Pepi is drawing interest as GOAL has learned a Premier League club offered $20.7 million for the PSV striker

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Premier League club makes Pepi offerPSV star has scored 13 goals so far this seasonExpected to draw transfer interest throughout EuropeFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱AFPWHAT HAPPENED?

U.S. international striker Pepi is drawing transfer interest amid his incredible start with PSV. The American striker has scored 10 Eredivisie goals in just 636 minutes while also tacking on one more in the Champions League and two more in the Dutch Cup. Those goalscoring numbers have led to interest throughout Europe, including the Premier League.

GOAL has learned that a Premier League club – not yet publicly named – has submitted an offer of appximately $20.7M (€20M) for Pepi ahead of the upcoming January transfer window, which offers a glimpse into the type of market the 21-year-old striker will command this January.

Dutch outlet Eindhovens Dagblad was the first to report that a club had made an offer for Pepi, adding that the club is holding out for a massive offer.

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Pepi has taken a major leap forward this season, his second since joining PSV. He scored seven goals in just 459 Eredivisie minutes last season, but has built on that number this campaign thanks to an incredible fall run for club and country.

Pepi has scored nine goals in his last 10 Eredivisie appearances, including a hat-trick against his former club FC Groningen. He added two more midweek when he scored twice against Koninklijke HFC. On the international level, Pepi has also found the back of the net in each of his last three appearances for the USMNT.

Despite his recent successes, starting minutes haven't been guaranteed. PSV have leaned heavily on veteran Luuk de Jong despite Pepi's goalscoring numbers, but the American star continues to make an impression, and score goals, when he does get a chance to play.

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Pepi has four multi-goal performances so far this season for PSV, despite making just eight starts this season.

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AFPWHAT NEXT FOR PSV?

PSV have just one more game left to play in 2024, and it's a fairly big one. PSV will face fourth-place Feyenoord on Dec. 22 and will return on Jan. 11 against AZ Alkmaar.

The transfer window has been closed for nearly two weeks now, but Manchester United are still continually being linked with new players as INEOS plan more business for the 2025 windows.

Man Utd and INEOS looking at free move to sign 28 y/o "battleship" in 2025

Manchester United already have their eye on one player they would like to sign in 2025.

ByBrett Worthington Sep 12, 2024 Manchester United plotting Unai Simon transfer

Erik ten Hag was backed by INEOS during the summer, as the club added three defenders, a midfielder, and a forward to their squad. But that doesn’t appear to be enough so far, as the Red Devils still have their eye on some big-name players.

Leny Yoro

Lille

Joshua Zirkzee

Bologna

Matthijs de Ligt

Bayern Munich

Noussair Mazraoui

Bayern Munich

Manuel Ugarte

PSG

United are well stocked in the goalkeeping department; Andre Onana currently has the number one spot, followed by Altay Bayindir and Tom Heaten providing backup, but they are also eyeing a change in that area of the pitch.

It has been reported that Man United are “very interested” in signing Athletic Bilbao’s Unai Simon. The goalkeeper has been really impressive for the La Liga side in recent seasons and has now established himself on the international stage with Spain, playing a key role in their Euro 2024 success.

Those performances have caught the attention of United, who are said to be willing to pay a “considerable sum” to sign the shot stopper. While United weigh up a move for Simon, they are also looking at signing another established international star.

Man Utd now keen on "obscene" £35m target

According to Caught Offside, Manchester United are admirers of AS Monaco defender Vanderson. The report states that fellow Premier League side Chelsea are showing the most interest in the player, but United and Tottenham Hotspur are in the mix.

The 23-year-old, who has been with Monaco since January 2022, has really impressed for the French side lately. Vanderson played 20 times in Ligue 1 last season, scoring three goals and chipping in with one assist. The defender is in the 99th percentile for tackles when compared with right-backs in similar leagues, and FBRef ranks his combination of ferocious defending and attacking quality as a similar profile to Tottenham's Pedro Porro.

Vanderson, who has been described as having "obscene pace and acceleration" by U23 scout Antonio Mango, was linked with an exit during the summer, but Monaco selling Youssouf Fofana to AC Milan eased any pressure they were under to sell. The right-back, who has been capped twice by Brazil, is contracted until 2028, but the French side could be willing to let the player leave for around €35-40 million, which is roughly £29-35 million.

Vanderson has started this 2024/25 season strongly, starting two of Monaco’s three league games, grabbing the assist in their opening day win against Saint-Étienne.

Fast bowler confirms his role will be promotional-only as he saves energies for red-ball

Matt Roller30-Jun-2021While the rest of the country were glued to TV screens on Tuesday night, watching England’s 2-0 win against Germany at Euro 2020, James Anderson was bowling in the middle with Jon Lewis and Marcus Trescothick – England’s bowling and batting coaches – at Chester-le-Street following commentary duties with the BBC on the first ODI against Sri Lanka.The timing was not ideal – “it was their idea,” he sighed ruefully – but it highlighted the commitment and dedication that has served Anderson so well in prolonging his Test career: at some stage in the five-Test series against India this summer, he will overtake Anil Kumble as the third-highest Test wicket-taker of all time, and will hope to take his 1000th first-class wicket in the next two weeks, when he plays for Lancashire in the County Championship.And Anderson expects those extra sessions will become a regular feature over the course of the next few weeks for England’s Test bowlers. Having had several Championship rounds in which to build up their workloads ahead of the New Zealand series earlier this summer, England players will head into the first Test against India on August 4 on the back of two weeks playing in the Hundred, bowling a maximum of 20 balls a night, and while there are two rounds of Championship games at the start of July, the majority of the month’s domestic schedule involves white-ball cricket.”They might have to juggle their practice sessions and get a bit of red-ball practice in,” Anderson said, speaking at the BBC’s media launch of the Hundred, where he will work as a pundit, “because obviously there are different skills that you use for red-ball and white-ball cricket.”Most of the bowlers that we’ve got in our squad are experienced and they’re international players who have to balance that – one-day cricket and red-ball cricket – throughout their careers anyway, [so] I think they’re pretty used to that.”The majority of players I know are cricket badgers and want to play all forms of the game. They want to give everything a try and be the best at that. When I played white-ball cricket I wanted to be the best I possibly could in one-day cricket but I’ve moved away from that and really honed my skills in red-ball cricket. My hope is that there are still people growing up watching Test cricket who want to be Test cricketers and there are still people who want to be white-ball cricketers as well.”Related

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James Anderson thought he 'wasn't good enough' on debut, as he closes in on England caps record

Anderson and Stuart Broad are the only two centrally-contracted players who will not take part in the Hundred in a playing capacity, and while they are loosely affiliated with Manchester Originals and Trent Rockets respectively in a promotional role, Anderson admitted that he had considered playing his first short-form game since 2014 by taking part in the competition as a player.”I did think about whether I should actually try and get a gig as a player,” he said, “but in the end I just felt it was probably for the younger guys to crack on with that. I didn’t want to affect my Test availability by getting injured throwing myself around in the Hundred – it might not have been the best idea.”I did explore it – I was interested, but I fell down on the side of prolonging my Test career. I didn’t want to jeopardise that too much so I’ll leave it to the young lads to throw themselves around in the field too much.”But despite those concerns for his own career, Anderson said that he does not expect the likes of Chris Woakes, Sam Curran and Ben Stokes to hold back when they play in the Hundred in an attempt to avoid injuries ahead of a gruelling schedule of five Tests against India at home and then five more away in Australia – as well as a T20 World Cup in October. He also echoed comments by Graham Thorpe, England’s assistant coach, suggesting that the Test team’s top-order batters would benefit from playing in the competition, which starts on July 21.”You can get injured at any point – that’s just the nature of the game,” Anderson said. “I don’t think people are going to be careful because of a Test series: you’ve got to throw yourself into it and try to play at 100% every time you get the chance. Hopefully nothing like that happens but there obviously is the chance because every time you go out on the field there is a chance of injury.”I think there’s definitely no harm in playing the Hundred and playing some white-ball cricket, having that freedom to go out there and try and hit the ball. Test cricket does have a way of trying to stifle you at times and you can get a bit uncertain about your technique or movements and things like that. All the Hundred will do is encourage positivity: positive moment of the feet, positive shots, and I think that can only be a good thing.”The Hundred will be on BBC Two, radio and online from Wednesday 21 July

Ange Postecoglou has defended James Maddison over his trip to watch the darts amid a terrible run of Tottenham form.

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Maddison attended PDC World ChampionshipWas too ill to play for SpursPostecoglou wades inFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Maddison was too unwell to start for Spurs against Wolves as they drew 2-2 on Sunday. The attacking midfielder came on as a substitute, and was later seen at the PDC World Darts Championship. Postecoglou has now defended the Englishman's trip to Alexandra Palace, although it remains to be seen if he will be fit enough to play against Newcastle on Saturday.

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Spurs have been struggling immensely with an injury crisis. They have nine players currently on the treatment table, including goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, defenders Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Ben Davies and Destiny Udogie, and forwards Wilson Odobert and Richarlison. They have also had to deal with illness sweeping through the squad before the clash with the Magpies, and reports suggest Brandon Austin will make his debut in goal after Fraser Forster was also struck down by the sickness bug. To that end, Fabrizio Romano has reported Spurs are close to signing Slavia Prague goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky.

WHAT POSTECOGLOU SAID

Addressing Maddison's outing, Postecoglou told reporters: "I've got no problem with the players having lives. It's a lot different trying to play a game of football and living a life. I don't see any problem with that and I don't think it hurt him.

"He wasn't 100% and it was a game where we needed someone to be 100%. He was still well enough to play. If he was bed-ridden, didn't turn up to the game and then still went to the darts, there may be an issue there. But I had no issue with that."

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AFPWHAT NEXT?

Spurs face Newcastle this weekend as they attempt to right a dismal run. Spurs have won just one of their last five league games and sit 11th in the table. They are nine points clear of the relegation zone, and also nine points behind the top four.

Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj pick up five wickets between them to earn the visitors a 91-run lead

Shashank Kishore21-Jul-2021
For a better part of the last ten years, the Indians have preferred to play friendly tour games in the run-up to Test series overseas. The rigours of a first-class game that they have grown to appreciate in recent times are for days like Tuesday when they were given a proper workout by a potential opponent when the Test series starts.Haseeb Hameed, now 24, may be unrecognisable from the boyish avatar in 2016, when he broke through as a sprightly 19-year old in India . But all the traits that made him a classical Test opener in the making were on display in Chester-Le-Street on the second day of India’s tour fixture against the County Select XI. He made 112, his third century of the season and eighth overall, further justifying the selectors’ decision to pick him in England’s squad for the first two India Tests.For the record, the Indians took a 91-run lead, with the hosts finishing 220 for 9, with Avesh Khan ruled out of the remainder of the game due to a fractured left thumb.Related

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Ollie Robinson back in England squad

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Ishant gets stitches on bowling hand

Each of the Indian bowlers got a proper workout. After reducing the hosts to 56 for 4, shortly after lunch, Hameed was an epitome of composure and concentration. He focused on crease occupation for a better part of the first two sessions, before giving the Indians a glimpse of his free-flowing strokeplay in the final session.He was particularly aggressive against Axar Patel’s left-arm spin, hitting him for three successive boundaries to dash out of the sixties. Then, he carried on with the same tempo, lofting Ravindra Jadeja. In the nineties, he was kept honest as Jasprit Bumrah came steaming in for one last hurrah at the end of a long day, but Hameed didn’t show signs of nerves or desperation of getting to the impending landmark, eventually getting there calmly off 228 deliveries.The Indians were made to rue a missed opportunity after KL Rahul put down a chance behind the stumps off Patel. Hameed was on 60 when he was deceived in flight while looking to drive through the covers. He accounted for just over 50% of the runs the home team made and his 75-run partnership with Lyndon James was the highest of the day.Hameed’s footwork was crisp and unhurried. His judgment over which deliveries to play or leave, especially off Bumrah and Umesh Yadav in the morning session, immaculate. This was a statement without trying to make one – he wasn’t going to be bullied by an experienced attack. As the day wore on, he showed nimble footwork against spin.Before the Hameed show, the Indian pacers ran amok, raising prospects of enjoying a second hit at some stage during the day. While that wasn’t to be, they wouldn’t really complain at having a good workout against a batting line-up determined to prove themselves. Among them was one of India’s own, Washington Sundar, who missed making a mark in this game. Coming in at No. 4, Sundar lasted all of seven deliveries, prised out by a Mohammed Siraj lifter that he fended awkwardly to second slip.Jake Libby and Robert Yates were dismissed before Sundar, allowing Yadav and Bumrah to get onto the scoreboard. Libby’s indecisiveness cost him as he chopped on, while Yates poked at Bumrah’s away-going delivery to Rahul. As wickets fell around him, a resolute Hameed continue to grind his way through, taking 134 deliveries to raise his half-century.Bumrah and Yadav bowled five sharp overs each before and after lunch. While Bumrah bent his back and hit the deck hard, Yadav got the ball to move away, and to his credit, he made the batters play more than they left. Shardul Thakur, who had Hameed nicking behind, ended with 14-6-31-1. He pounded in over after over, mixing up full deliveries with skiddy short ones, causing the batters to weave and duck occasionally.Thakur had come close to picking up another wicket when James gloved a short delivery down the leg side, only for the ball to fly wide of a leaping Rahul down the leg side.Jadeja and Patel didn’t have much of a workload, mostly playing a holding role. Jadeja had a wicket to show for when he had debutant James Rew caught by Rohit Sharma at slip. Liam Patterson-White brought some late excitement to the proceedings when he took on India’s premier left-arm spinner, nonchalantly lofting him over the infield, then reverse-sweeping his way to some runs and having fun at the end of a hot day before being the last man out.As much as they would’ve been satisfied with how things panned out in the game, the Indians would’ve also been encouraged by the sight of their captain Virat Kohli, enjoying a hit at the nets a day after the BCCI said he was being rested from this game for a stiff back. At lunch, Kohli took throwdowns from Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour and specialist Nuwan Seneviratne from 18 yards. He also faced Sussex offspinner Jack Carson, with head coach Ravi Shastri observing the session from a distance.The development was a welcome one for the Indians, who will also concerned by the fitness of vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, who has a swollen hamstring. Also part of the nets was India’s most experienced fast bowler Ishant Sharma, who was back in action after picking up a hand injury on the final day of the World Test Championship final.