Category Uncategorized

Arsenal underlined their Premier League title credentials with a resounding and sure-footed victory against Aston Villa, snapping Unai Emery’s 11-match winning run in style.

Much was made of Villa’s creeping progress as outsiders in the title race, but the Gunners put them to the sword in what can only be described as a wide gulf of quality and confidence on the evening.

With Declan Rice sidelined before the game due to a slight knee injury, concerns were raised among the fanbase, but the players responded to their latest injury with one of their finest displays of the season.

How Arsenal beat Aston Villa

Mikel Arteta has created something special at the Emirates Stadium, shaping Arsenal into one of the globe’s most dangerous forces after Emery was sacked with the outfit in disrepair.

The win over Villa underscored this new, established reputation, with the skipper Martin Odegaard leading the charge. He didn’t get on the scoresheet, but the Norway international played a deft pass for Martin Zubimendi’s goal to make it 2-0.

Alongside the Spaniard, he “dominated that match”, according to journalist Sam Dean. The impressive displays of Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard helped too, with neither starting every week but demonstrating the kind of quality that makes a title-winning team.

Arsenal struggled throughout the first half, but they came alive after the break, more energy and intensity. Villa got swept away in a storm, with every Gunner playing his part.

However, it was one of the creme de la creme who shone brightest against an in-form Villa side, with this particular superstar laying down their claim to being the modern-day Patrick Vieira.

Arsenal's modern-day Patrick Vieira

The news of Rice’s pre-match injury sent tremors across north London. It was so important that Gabriel returned, and the Brazilian centre-back scored after nine matches out.

Three years in succession, Arsenal have finished as Premier League runners-up. But something feels different this year. This time, there is a maturity to match the inherent elite quality.

Gabriel embodies this, and it’s why he is on his way toward becoming the new Vieira, who was a ‘remarkable, one-of-a-kind’ talent, in the opinion of Arteta (and shared by all of an Arsenal persuasion).

Gabriel’s Performance vs Villa

Match Stats

#

Minutes played

77′

Touches

46

Goals

1

Shots (on target)

1 (1)

Accurate passes

30/37 (81%)

Chances created

0

Ball recoveries

2

Def. contributions

4

Tackles + interceptions

2

Clearances

3

Duels won

3/6

Data via Sofascore

The 28-year-old was described by Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher after the win over Villa as being “the most influential player in the Premier League” in both boxes.

Subscribe to our newsletter for deeper Arsenal analysis Gain sharper context by subscribing to the newsletter: in-depth Arsenal breakdowns, player performance data and tactical framing alongside broader Premier League coverage — analysis that turns match moments into clear, lasting insights.

---

Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

He commands the respect and fear of his opponents while lifting his teammates’ spirits up and up some more, with football.london handing him a 9/10 match rating for such a talismanic performance.

Vieira-esque? He’s not a midfielder, but Gabriel carries the same swagger and skill, so important in driving play forward, ranking among the top 13% of defenders in the league this season for through balls and the top 15% for shot-creating actions per 90, as per FBref.

His return comes at the perfect time, ensuring Arsenal get the win to end a thrilling 2025 and turn toward the new year with titles glinting in their eyes.

Arsenal have many superstars who will step up and produce the goods when other options have been exhausted. But Gabriel, Arteta’s own Vieira, may be the standout, and he is driving this brilliant side toward the title.

Related Arsenal could sign £71m Semenyo alternative who's "like a younger Saka"

Arsenal are ready to react to opportunities in the January transfer window.

Posts ByAngus Sinclair

ScorecardFile photo – Man-of-the-Match Kyle Coetzer struck 70 for Scotland in the win, a career-best in T20Is•Peter Della Penna

Scotland rode Kyle Coetzer’s powerful batting at the top of the order to a 37-run win over Hong Kong at Mission Road, earning a split of the two-match T20 series. Man-of-the-Match Coetzer scored 70 off 40 balls, a career-best in T20Is for the opener, to propel the visitors to 161 after being sent in.It was a solid bounceback in particular for Coetzer after falling for a duck the day before in Scotland’s nine-wicket defeat. His opening partner George Munsey fell without scoring in the opening over of Sunday’s rematch but Coetzer and Matthew Cross were undeterred in their aggression during the Powerplay.Coetzer maintained a brisk pace early before Cross targeted Hong Kong captain Tanvir Afzal in the sixth, clattering a trio of fours through mid-off and a fourth behind point to take Scotland to 54 for 1. Their 71-run stand ended when Nadeem Ahmed had Cross caught off the left-arm spinner’s first ball in the ninth over for 27, failing to clear Nizakat Khan at deep midwicket.Coetzer kept cruising after Cross departed though and eventually brought up his fifty off 29 balls, striking the left-arm spin of Anshuman Rath for his fourth six over mid-off. He hit six sixes in all, every one driven between mid-on and cover, in an impressive display of orthodox strokeplay. After pulling Aizaz Khan for his fifth four in the 13th, Coetzer tried the shot again but top-edged to Nizakat at deep square leg.Scotland stuttered from there, losing their next five wickets for 17 runs as Nadeem and Haseeb Amjad prevented a late surge following Coetzer’s excellent platform. Nadeem in particular kept Scotland off balance with his variations of flight and pace to claim 3 for 23, and helped to hold Scotland to 161 for 9.Any momentum Hong Kong had in the final five overs in the field was wiped out by a double-barreled seam assault from Safyaan Sharif and Bradley Wheal, who reduced the hosts to 7 for 4 after 15 balls of the chase. Jamie Atkinson was squared up first ball and edged Sharif behind to Cross before Wheal got a slice of good fortune when Rath missed a full toss after charging down the track to start the second and was bowled for 1.Wheal nearly had Mark Chapman two balls later as an inside edge missed the stumps before going to the fine-leg boundary but on the final ball of the over managed to have the prized scalp – caught flicking a thin edge down the leg side to a diving Cross. Sharif had Babar Hayat poking unnecessarily at a wide delivery to send a catch to Preston Mommsen at second slip three balls into the third over and from there Hong Kong were virtually out of the game.Hong Kong slipped further to 34 for 6 in the ninth when Richie Berrington struck off consecutive deliveries. Nizakat was caught hooking to deep square leg for 17 while Kinchit Shah drove a full delivery flat and hard to Calum MacLeod at head height on the long-off rope for 7.Afzal made the final margin appear more flattering after striking the fastest T20I fifty for Hong Kong, off 20 balls, including four sixes in a 30-run over off Rob Taylor in the 17th when he drove the left-arm medium-pacer repeatedly over mid-on and mid-off. He had been dropped earlier on 22 off a sharp return chance to the left-arm spinner Mark Watt as a drive burst through the bowler’s hands toward mid-off but Afzal’s fireworks finally came to an end in the 18th when Wheal returned to the attack and forced a mistimed drive to Taylor at mid-off. Berrington ended the match one over later with his third wicket after Amjad sent a catch to deep square leg.Hong Kong now have two weeks to prepare for their Asia Cup T20 qualifying round against UAE, Afghanistan and Oman. Scotland will fly through the UAE on their way home for three matches, including T20Is against UAE and Netherlands on February 4 and 5 in their final scheduled action before their first match at the World T20 against Afghanistan on March 8.

Herschelle Gibbs is likely to return in place of JP Duminy © Getty Images

After strolling to a five-wicket win in the first one-dayer at Bulawayo, South Africa are expected to go in with a full strength side as Herschelle Gibbs is set to return from injury and bolster the batting. The action in the short three-match series shifts to the Harare Sports Club for the weekend double-header.Gibbs missed the first match due to a lower leg injury and is expected to bat in the middle order. JP Duminy, who missed out after scoring 3 in South Africa’s chase at Bulawayo, is likely to make way for Gibbs. Gulam Bodi, who impressed with a debut half century, will retain his place, as will opener Loots Bosman, despite falling for his fifth consecutive score under five. The plan would be to try out all the players set to take an active part in the Twenty20 World Championship next month.The bowling attack is likely to be retained, despite letting Zimbabwe off the hook at Bulawayo. Zimbabwe, in a hole at 72 for 7 by the 25th over, looked in danger of being wrapped up under 100 before the lower order stepped up and set a fine example for the rest. A 115-run stand between Elton Chigumbura and Gary Brent lifted them to 206, giving the visitors a little to think about. Allrounder Johan van der Wath is likely to keep his place despite leaking 59 off nine overs in his one-day comeback. Dale Steyn, not in the squad for the Twenty20 championship, may have to sit out another game, depending on how the team management decides to rotate the bowlers over the weekend.The Zimbabweans on the other hand are contemplating a few changes in the bowling attack, going in with just one specialist spinner. Legspinner Timycen Maruma, who went wicketless in his debut ODI, is likely to be dropped, leaving the lone spin duties to Prosper Utseya. Tawanda Mupariwa is set to join Brent and Christopher Mpofu in the seam attack.The top order will continue to worry the home side, with players like Vusi Sibanda and Tatenda Taibu failing to convert their starts. Chamu Chibhabha, after a poor run in the World Cup, is expected to return in place of either Hamilton Masakadza or Stuart Matsikenyeri. The running between the wickets too left a lot to be desired at Bulawayo, with five dismissals coming by way of run-outs.

Division One

Mark Ealham struck a typically bullish 92 for Nottinghamshire on the second day against Kent at Trent Bridge, as the home side were dismissed for 496. After losing David Hussey, who added just eight to his overnight 156, Ealham took command of proceedings, crunching eight fours and lofting two over the boundary. In reply, Ryan Sidebottom nipped out Rob Key, the Kent captain, and Martin van Jaarsveld as the visitors trail Nottinghamshire by 381 runs.Despite being bowled out 30 runs adrift of Warwickshire first innings, Durham’s bowlers hit back before the close reducing the visitors to 65 for 4 on the second day at Chester-le-Street. Durham’s day began poorly when Gary Scott fell for 34, but Dale Benkenstein (79) and Ben Harmison (65) – the younger brother of Steve – starred in a fifth wicket partnership worth 118. Durham’s tail soon folded, largely due to Paul Harris who ended with impressive figures of 6 for 94 as Warwickshire gained a slender first-innings lead. However, Mick Lewis grabbed three quick wickets to leave Warwickshire struggling albeit with a lead of 95.

Division Two

The gloomy skies and interruptions in play couldn’t stop HD Ackerman notching his second double-hundred of the season as Leicestershire took command of the second day at Leicester against Northamptonshire. Ackerman, who made a brilliant 309 earlier in the summer, was finally dismissed for 216 ending a superb 211-run partnership with Paul Nixon who remained unbeaten on risk-laden 144. When play was cut short for the day, Leicestershire finished on 525 for 8.A mere 29 overs were possible at a very wet and gloomy Taunton between Somerset and Gloucestershire, but it allowed enough time for Wes Durston to bring up his sixth Championship fifty of the season. Torrential rain forced the players back into the pavilion at 11.50, and they didn’t return until well into the afternoon. Somerset’s tail soon folded – they lost their last four wickets for 18 runs – before bad light forced the players off the field for the final time.

Warwickshire have announced that former New Zealand batsman Mark Greatbatch has been appointed as their new director of coaching on a three-year contract.Greatbatch, 42, who was already the director of Warwickshire’s academy, was previously coach of Central Districts before moving to the UK 18 months ago after becoming frustrated with the pay and lack of opportunity in New Zealand. He briefly took over coaching Giggleswick School in Yorkshire before moving to Edgbaston.Greatbatch played 41 Tests and 84 ODIs for New Zealand between 1988 and 1996.Dennis Amiss, Warwickshire’s chief executive said: “We are all delighted that Mark has accepted this position with the club, and we look forward to him moving the team and the club forward over the next three years”.

Canada 224 for 9 (Bagai 68) beat USA 137 for 9 by 76 runs (D-L method)
ScorecardCanada pulled off a resounding victory against North American rivals United States at the picturesque St. David’s Cricket Club with a 76-run win. Although the result was officially determined by the Duckworth-Lewis method, by the end Canada were clear winners.Canada started the day badly, as they slumped to 47 for 4, after electing to bat. But Haninder Dhillon (33) and Ashish Bagai dug in to take the score to 106 before Dhillon was dismissed, but Don Maxwell (27) and Austin Codrington (25) both shared in crucial partnerships with Bagai, first 45 for the 7th wicket and then 41 for the 8th wicket, to take Canada to a respectable total of 224 for 9 in their 50 overs.All the while Bagai, later named Man of the Match, stood firm, and was undefeated on 68 from 90 balls. Charles Reid impressed with 2 for 18 from 10 overs, while Islam (3-39), Javed (2-47), and Howard Johnson (2-52) were also among the wickets.USA got off to a sound start. Rahul Kukreti (13) and Mark Johnson (33) batted with assurance to post 54. But in one devastating over, Ashish Patel struck, claiming three key wickets. USA were reduced to 55 for 3 and could not recover.From then on wickets fell at regular intervals, with only Richard Staple, the captain, offering any real resistance with a knock of 21, as the Canadian spin attack of John Davison, (2-15), Sunil Dhaniram, (2-20) and Zahid Hussain, (1-20), combined impressively to tear the rest of the USA batting line-up apart .Four wickets fell with the score on 99 as USA crashed from 99 for 5 to 99 for 9.A brief shower forced the players off the field, and with 9 overs lost, USA were left with a target of 214, but with the last pair at the wicket and only 4 overs remaining, the game was effectively over. Nasir Javed (26 not out) and Howard Johnson (10 not out) added a further 38 runs between them as USA finished on 137 for 9 in 41 overs.Bermuda 267 for 5 (White 78, Marshall 64) beat Bahamas 96 (Leverock 5-18) by 171 runs
ScorecardBermuda inflicted another crushing defeat on the luckless Bahamas, with an emphatic 171-run victory at the National Sports Centre. Sent in to bat, Bermuda got off to a hesitant start, and stuttered to 90 for 3. However, Wendell White and Charlie Marshall shared in a scintillating fourth wicket partnership of 131 runs, and Bermuda’s innings eventually closed on 267 for 5 from 50 overs.White (78 not out) batted impressively while Charlie Marshall (64) put together a fine 64. Along with 33 from Cann and 26 from Smith, Bermuda’s total was always going to be out of reach of the inexperienced Bahamians. Narendra Ekanayake (2-46) was the pick of the Bahamas bowling attack.In reply, the Bahamas got off to a bright enough start, with Whitcliff Atkinson and Dwight Weakley, both making 23, taking the score to 51 for 2. The introduction of Leverock rocked the Bahamas into submission, eventually all out for 96 in 35 overs. Leverock, later named Man of the Match, finished with 5 for 18 from his ten overs.Argentina 99 (Paterlini 49) lost to Cayman Islands 102 for 2 by 8 wickets
ScorecardThe Cayman Islands turned in an impressive performance at the Southampton Rangers ground to register an easy eight-wicket win over Argentina. Cayman Islands bowled out Argentina for only 99 in 40 overs, and then eased comfortably to the target for the loss of only two wickets, from 28 overs.For the Argentines, only opening bat Lucas Paterlini put up any real resistance, with a fine innings of 49 (4 fours). Alejandro Ferguson contributed an unbeaten 19 but the rest of the Argentina batting line-up failed dismally.When it was their turn to bat Cayman Islands faced no hurdles. After Chris Wight’s 21, Best (29 not out) and Lawrence Cunningham (23 not out) shared in an unbroken third-wicket stand of 45 to take the Caymans to a resounding win.This win keeps the Cayman Islands in the hunt for a top-three finish, and an automatic qualifying spot for Ireland.

Abdul Razzaq, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Taufeeq Umar and Faisal Iqbal have all been left out of the Pakistan squad for the short tour of England for three one-day internationals – but there is a place for the suspended Shoaib Akhtar.The out-of-form Taufeeq, who played in Sharjah and more recently in theBank Alfalah Cup in Sri Lanka, has made way for the more aggressiveopener Imran Nazir. Misbah-ul-Haq has replaced Faisal Iqbal, who alsofailed to impress in Sri Lanka, while Azhar Mahmood, currently playing for Surrey, has been recalled after being dropped following a modest World Cup. A new face, the uncapped Bilal Asad, replaces Abdul Razzaq.In the recent triangular tournament in Sri Lanka, a young Pakistan squad made it to the finals but lost to New Zealand. This performance has pleased Aamer Sohail, Pakistan’s chief selector, who said: “We won in Sharjah and were the losing finalist in Sri Lanka which means that we are on the right track. And keeping this in mind, we have tried to make minimum changes in the squad.”Aamer also had good words for Azhar Mahmood. “He has been included keeping in view his excellent form with the bat and the ball for Surrey. He is a utility player who, we strongly believe, will make a difference to the outlook of the team.”Aamer added that Imran Nazir came back after a recent trial where “helooked in good nick”, but the selectors still felt that Taufeeq “is an excellent prospect and a future asset, but he is getting out in a similar fashion which means that he has a flaw in his technique. I am sure he will sort out his problem.”Bilal Asad, who has come in for Abdul Razzaq, is a batting allrounder who performed well in Pakistan domestic cricket with an average of 63 and scored more than 1200 runs last season.Another notable omission was that of Inzamam-ul-Haq, who has been the bulwark of Pakistan’s batting in the past. Aamer offered him some consolation: “He has not played cricket recently, but we are aware of his talent, experience and potential, and it is just a matter of time before he will be back in the side.”Shoaib Akhtar is also included, but he will need to sit out the first of the three ODIs after incurring a two-match ban in Sri Lanka.The Pakistan selectors have stuck with the young players who they brought in after the dismal performances in the World Cup. The feeling is that a tour of England is always tough, and they hope to hone the skills of the younger players in an effort to carry on the rebuilding process.Pakistan are due to play warm-up games against Scotland and threecounty teams, followed by three ODIs against England. The tour kicks off with a game against Scotland on June 7.Pakistan squad Rashid Latif (capt and wk), Yousuf Youhana (vice-capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Nazir, Faisal Athar, Yasir Hameed, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Bilal Asad, Azhar Mahmood, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Shabbir Ahmad, Umar Gul, Danish Kaneria.
Coach: Javed Miandad
Manager: Haroon Rashid

The MRF Buchi Babu Tournament winners New Zealand ‘A’ are amongst thetwenty two teams that would participate in the Moin-ud-Dowla Gold CupCricket tournament here from September 2 to 16. Shivlal Yadav, theHon. Secretary, Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), revealed this tothe reporters in Hyderabad on Friday.The tournament, to be played on a league-cum-knock out basis, hasattracted Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) led by Test star AjitAgarkar, New Zealand ‘A’, besides newcomers Assam Cricket Association(ACA) and others, reports the Press Trust of India.The teams would be divided into four groups and two toppers from eachgroup would enter the quarter finals knock-out pace. The semi-finalswould be played on September 14, while the finals would be a day andnight affair on September 16.The winner would be richer by Rupees One Lakh besides the coveted GoldCup, while the runner-up would get Rupees 50,000. The event is beingsponsored by Coromandal King, Yadav added.Teams: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hyderabad Cricket Association(HCA) XI, Karnataka, Chemplast, All India Association of Bankers(AIAB), Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), India Cements, Railways,Canara Bank, District-XI, Goa, Hyderabad, Indian Overseas Bank (IOB),Indian Bank, Vidarbha and Indian Airlines (IA) are among the teams totake part in the tournament.

Australian cricket in the time of Michael Clarke has seen great success but also great upheaval. Stunning innings and achievements have alternated with unsavoury stories, with relationships strained behind the scenes then patched up time and again in public.This duality was never better illustrated than last year, when on the day Clarke and the selectors were in open conflict over his fitness, the blow that felled Phillip Hughes turned into a circuit-breaker that compelled the two parties to co-exist until day three of the Trent Bridge Test. It was always a tenuous balance.As the reality of a humiliating Ashes defeat sank in, a tabloid despatch from the British Isles spoke of divisions in the team, feuds among the players’ partners and of the retiring Clarke’s peripheral role in the squad’s social life. Whatever the merits of the story, results turned in at Cardiff, Birmingham and Nottingham spoke loudly enough – the team needs regeneration but also revitalisation and even reunification. It is a lot for a new leader to take on.Into this breach will step Steven Smith, he of 26 years and 32 Tests. A popular and respected team-mate, Smith will carry little of the baggage possessed by Clarke, but will instead have a different set of difficulties. He has already captained the Test team, but as a caretaker in an XI speckled with experience. When he officially takes over for the tour of Bangladesh in October, Smith will lead a side shorn not just of Clarke but also Ryan Harris, Brad Haddin, Shane Watson and Chris Rogers. The question of who becomes vice-captain – David Warner, anyone? – is a pointer to the team’s looming gaps.Smith will be a different leader from Clarke, more pragmatic than his predecessor, but he mimicked the older man in quickly asserting his distance from selection duties. Whoever is chosen for Bangladesh, Smith will have a challenge ahead of him to mould the group successfully without the sorts of strong characters who co-habited the dressing room with Clarke. Haddin, in particular, has been a major mentor to Smith.”Obviously it’s not my job to pick the team, but there is a possibility there could be some changes and some younger guys coming in,” Smith said. “I think Bangladesh is gong to be quite a tough tour, it’s another place that is quite foreign to us as Australian batters I guess. So we’re going to have to find ways to adapt to those conditions, like we haven’t done well here. Hopefully we can do that and have some success over there.”Nothing is confirmed yet either with anything, in regards to the captaincy. But if it works out that way and I am the next captain, then it’s a lot of responsibility. There’s obviously a few guys on this tour, the senior players that haven’t been taking part in the last couple of games. So it’s always tough when you lose those guys. But I think it’s exciting for Australian cricket, we’re going to have some younger guys coming through.”It remains to be seen how Smith will fare under the extra pressures of permanent captaincy. He has been a voracious user of one-on-one net sessions with the batting assistant Michael Di Venuto, but must now divest greater time for others. He has also shown increasing confidence as a spokesman for the team, but can still slip up at times, as he did in asserting that England would not get close to Australia this tour. Mainly he will need to lead as a batsman, something he did with hundreds in each of his three stand-in Tests against India last summer.Those games also saw Smith show a conservative streak in not allowing India back into the Melbourne or Sydney Tests with carrot-dangling declarations. It was the antithesis of how Clarke operated, as shown during the 2013 Oval Test when he angered the selector on duty (now chairman) Rod Marsh by offering England a relatively gettable target in a rain curtailed match. It took bad light to prevent the hosts securing a chancer’s victory.Smith has spent plenty of time alongside Clarke in the slips on this tour, and on day two in Nottingham he dived across and tipped a potential catch out of the reach of the captain. Such eagerness had been evident years ago at the 2011 World Cup when Smith collided with Ricky Ponting after both went for a high catch despite the captain’s loud call. Clearly Smith is eager to get stuck in as a leader, and demurred when asked whether he had served an “apprenticeship” under Clarke.”I wouldn’t say that,” Smith replied. “You can learn a lot from the way he captains [from] just being out there. Standing next to him at third slip, where I’ve been fielding, it’s nice to be able to talk to him and learn different ways as to how we’re trying to get the batters out and thinking ahead of the present. That’s pretty important as a captain and something that he’s done really well, and something I’ve been able to learn off on the job.”I was very surprised that it [Clarke’s retirement] happened, I didn’t see it coming. But I guess when you get to the end of your career you make the decision and Michael’s done that, so hopefully we can send him off on a high note at the Oval. He’s put so much hard work into playing cricket for Australia. He’s definitely been a great servant of Australian cricket. He was a great captain and a terrific player, so he’s going to be missed, that’s for sure. Hopefully we can send Michael off on a high note at the Oval.”The Oval was where Smith first signalled his arrival as a Test batsman of heft by making his first Test hundred in a dead match. Two years on and the farewell match for Clarke will give Smith time to think about how he wants to take the Australian team forward. Towards success he will expect. Towards unity he will hope.

The Himachal Pradesh allrounder Rishi Dhawan is likely to accumulate a lot of frequent flyer points and bowl a lot in the nets, but the India cap looks as far as it did before he was selected for the Australia tour. On pitches where Australia are playing no specialist spinners, and where the India spinners have been moderately effective, captain MS Dhoni feels the only way Rishi can play is if a specialist batsman is dropped, and if that happens, Dhoni said, India will be playing with “six bowlers”.Despite going for 239 in 37 overs for three wickets to outfield catches, spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are being considered better on hopelessly unhelpful tracks than Rishi on tracks with good bounce. This should come as a strong message to the selectors.Dhoni was asked if he had given a thought to going horses for courses as opposed to playing his best bowlers on paper. He responded: “If you see what is important is to see that we played the first game with our best bowling attack. In this game, too, Ishant [Sharma] was fit and we thought he will get good bounce. We feel it is important to play with a proper bowling set-up. And at the same time you cannot neglect the batting.”When it comes to whether we can play the extra seamer, if your frontline three seamers are going for runs, it is slightly difficult for somebody like a Rishi to come in. He may bowl well, but I am saying it will be slightly difficult for him to be successful with the fielding restrictions. He is not someone who bowls very quick. At the same time in the middle overs you need to bowl a lot of dot balls. That’s where you have to decide whether you are better off playing with the two spinners.”The only option you have is, you will have to sit out Ashwin because Jadeja gives you that cushion of batting. It is a difficult one. I still feel 3-2 (seamer-spinner) is the best combination. If somebody was there who could bowl a bit of seam-up, that obviously helps. As of now we don’t really have [one]. We can’t really look at Rishi because to play him we will have to get rid of a proper batsman. Then we will have to play six bowlers. Six bowlers is a bit of luxury to have in cricket nowadays.”Australia, on the other hand, have handed out debuts to two fast bowlers and have stuck with them. They have rotated two other quicks, but have been blessed with the presence of a proper allrounder in James Faulkner and a batsman who can bowl in Glenn Maxwell. The only “allrounder” in the Indian squad is not being considered much of a bowler. In the absence of any evidence against proper batsmen, Dhoni’s assessment of Rishi is the only considered one we have even though it goes against the view of the selectors.At any rate Dhoni seems to have stopped asking for better from his bowlers. After India lost defending 309 in Perth, there was a clear change in the way they batted in the middle over in Brisbane. They had now set themselves up for 340, but lost their way in the end, and the bowlers gave up the defence of 308 just as easily in Brisbane as they did in Perth. Now Dhoni says there are only two choices left: either score in excess of 330 or just choose to chase. And he said that while answering a question about the extras – 11 wides and a no-ball.”In both the games we have given a fair amount of extras,” Dhoni said. “That takes that number of runs off the total. On good wickets it does matter. As far as Ishant is concerned, I think the breeze was flowing in circular motions. I felt that made it slightly difficult for him. I feel even if we cut down the extras we will have to score more runs. There are two options: either put pressure on [our] batsmen and score 330 or chase down the score, give them the batting first. These are the only two options we have got. We will have a look and decide what suits us the best.”If India are to score those extra 30 runs a quick start from Shikhar Dhawan can go a long way, but he has thrown his wicket away twice. Even if Dhoni wanted to drop him, he wouldn’t be able to because the selectors have given him only five established specialist batsmen. The only way for that to happen would be for Ajinkya Rahane to open, the idea of which Dhoni likes; he is not entirely convinced with the idea of Rahane the middle-order batsman.”Jinx has improved a lot in his batting,” Dhoni said. “But also the wickets are good here. What is important is to see him when the wickets slow down and he is pushed to play the big shots. When ball comes on he loves it, and plays very good strokes. I feel he has improved a lot. We will wait and watch and see what the best position for him is. I have personally believed he is very good opener because he plays proper cricketing shots. He cuts and pulls, but he plays proper shots. He can accelerate whenever he wants to. Also once he starts with the new ball, he is quite good by the time the middle overs start. So far it is good he has done well in both the positions. We will see how it goes.”For now, though, Shikhar has the captain’s confidence. “Shikhar is someone who loves to play his shots,” Dhoni said. “If somebody plays shots from the very start, there will be periods when he won’t score runs. You can say it was a rash shot, but that’s the time you are supposed to back your stroke-players.”