Tottenham have identified Rodrygo as the perfect replacement for Son Heung-min. The club captain has confirmed he will leave the club this summer after helping them win their first trophy in 17 years in the form of the Europa League, and is set to join MLS side Los Angeles FC. With Son leaving, Spurs are now aiming to lure Rodrygo away from Real Madrid.

• Spurs eye Son's replacement 
• Want to make a move for Rodrygo   
• Aware of Liverpool's interest in the winger

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  According to the , Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is keen on bringing the Brazilian winger, who has struggled for game time at Real Madrid since Kylian Mbappe's free transfer to the club last summer. Rodrygo has, however, shown no interest in leaving Santiago Bernabeu in this transfer window.    

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The report adds that Spurs are aware of Liverpool's rival interest in Rodrygo and the Reds might take concrete steps to sign the winger, now that Newcastle United have rejected their initial bid of £120m ($159m) for their star forward Alexander Isak.    

• DID YOU KNOW?

  According to the , the Reds might come back with an improved second bid for Isak, but only if Newcastle make steps towards signing a replacement first.     

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  WHAT NEXT FOR TOTTENHAM

  Before making a formal move for Rodrygo, Spurs will first try and secure a transfer for Palhinha from Bayern Munich, a player that new manager Thomas Frank desperately wants to sign.    

MatériaMais Notícias

De volta para casa. Após ser eliminada da Copa do Mundo para a Croácia na sexta-feira, a Seleção Brasileira desembarcou no Brasil, mais precisamente no Aeroporto Internacional do Rio de Janeiro, na manhã deste domingo. Depois de deixar Doha no início da manhã de sábado (início da tarde no Qatar), a delegação fez uma escala em Londres antes do retorno definitivo.

Da comitiva que saiu do Oriente Médio, o treinador Tite, sua comissão técnica e membros da CBF chegaram ao Aeroporto do Galeão por volta de 7h10 (de Brasília). Dos jogadores, apenas Weverton, Everton Ribeiro, Danilo, Ederson, Rodrygo e Raphinha desembarcaram no Rio. A parada na capital britânica foi justamente para deixar os atletas que atuam no futebol europeu. Alguns deles foram para o Velho Continente por conta própria, logo após o jogo.

+ Veja a tabela, os jogos e o chaveamento da Copa do Mundo de 2022

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A delegação da Seleção Brasileira saiu normalmente pela área comum de desembarque do aeroporto. Alguns torcedores estevam presentes no local. O técnico Tite foi aplaudido e parou rapidamente para saudar jornalistas e torcedores, dizendo que estava emocionado. Em seguida, o treinador agradeceu o carinho de todos. Presidente da CBF, Ednaldo Rodrigues também chegou com a comitiva da Seleção Brasileira, mas não quis dar entrevistas.

+Everton Ribeiro lamenta eliminação do Brasil na Copa do Mundo: ‘Estávamos confiantes de chegar na final’

Esta pode ter sido a última aparição pública do técnico Tite como técnico da Seleção Brasileira. Com contrato somente até o fim deste ano, o treinador de 61 anos vai deixar a equipe canarinho em 2023. Em entrevista coletiva após a eliminação para os croatas, ele falou sobre o tema e disse que “estava em paz” consigo.

+Quem pode trazer o hexa para Seleção em 2026? Listamos 20 promessas que poderão estar na próxima Copa

Os próximos dias deverão ser de definições na CBF. Além de Tite, o coordenador Juninho Paulista não tem sua permanência garantida no cargo. Antes do Mundial, o presidente Ednaldo Rodrigues afirmou que só após o torneio iria pensar no futuro da Seleção Brasileira, o que deve acontecer em breve.

Shimron Hetmyer came in with Rajasthan Royals needing 35 from 20. Perhaps it should never have got this close, given Punjab Kings’ 147 for 8 felt at least ten runs too light on a pitch that had some bounce but no known witchcraft performed upon it. It had also seemed from Royals’ own solid – but not rampant – 56-run opening stand, that they weren’t sweating it.But then Kagiso Rabada bowled his four overs for 18, and suddenly the back end of this match became tight. Rabada had taken two big wickets as well – of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson – and as such was doing as much as any Kings player to produce a match-winning hand.The final word, though, went to Hetmyer, who, despite an excellent penultimate over from Sam Curran and a good effort from Arshdeep Singh, won with a six off the penultimate ball. There had been two sixes from Hetmyer in the lead-up to that.

The last over

Curran dismissed Rovman Powell and Keshav Maharaj in the 19th over while conceding ten runs, and Royals needed another ten off the 20th over. Hetmyer was on strike, so it always seemed likely, but then Arshdeep delivered two glorious yorkers first up, which the batter could not make anything of, and the equation came down to ten from four.The key shot in the final over was Hetmyer’s desperate wallop down the ground off the third ball. Arshdeep had not missed his length by much, but this was not quite in the blockhole. Hetmyer swung hard and managed to bully this ball into the boundary cushion – not over it – behind the bowler.Only centimetres were in it. Had Arshdeep pitched a fraction fuller, Hetmyer would not have been able to get under it. Had Hetmyer not hit it with slightly fewer newtons of force behind it, the shot would have only brought four, and six would have been required from the last three.Hetmyer muscled the next ball towards long-on and got two, but the worst ball of Arshdeep’s over was the fifth one, and almost anyone could have hit that for a boundary. This came juicy, knee-high, and on the stumps. Hetmyer shuffled across and thwacked it over deep fine leg, clinching a thriller.Kagiso Rabada removed Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson in successive overs•BCCI

Rabada’s charge

In defence of a modest target, Rabada was intense. He bowled two tight powerplay overs, off which just 12 runs came, and then bowled aggressively through the middle overs, as Kings were looking for wickets. He got Jaiswal with a short wide one the batter toe-edged, then claimed the prized wicket of Royals captain Samson when he jagged one back to hit the batter on the back leg. Rabada conceded only two boundaries, which was also the number of wickets he took.

Kings’ underwhelming innings

Until the last two overs, in which Impact Sub Ashutosh Sharma made the most of a let-off and hit 20 off the last nine balls he faced, Kings never seemed capable of moving into high gear. Every time some semblance of a partnership seemed to be forming, a wicket fell. Often this was because batters fell for cross-bat shots to short balls that got big on them. They were 38 for 1 after the powerplay, 53 for 4 after ten overs, and 86 for 5 after 15.From that point, Ashutosh, Rabada and, to some extent, Curran did well to make such a tight game out of this.

أعلن نادي ريال مدريد تشكيل الفريق لمباراته أمام أوساسونا، في افتتاحيته بالدوري الإسباني لموسم 2025-2026.

ويستقبل ريال مدريد خصمه أوساسونا على ملعب “سانتياجو برنابيو” ضمن مباريات الجولة الأولى للدوري الإسباني “الليجا”.

وأنهى ريال مدريد الموسم الماضي في المركز الثاني بترتيب الدوري الإسباني، والذي توج به غريمه برشلونة.

طالع موعد والقناة الناقلة لمباراة ريال مدريد وأوساسونا اليوم في الدوري الإسباني.. والمعلق

وشهدت قائمة البدلاء تواجد فرانكو ماستانتونو الوافد الجديد لريال مدريد، فيما دفع المدير الفني تشابي ألونسو بالصفقات الجديدة، ألفارو كاريراس، دين هويست، وترينت ألكسندر أرنولد بالتشكيل الأساسي. تشكيل ريال مدريد أمام أوساسونا اليوم

حراسة المرمى: تيبو كورتوا.

خط الدفاع: ألفارو كاريراس، دين هويسن، إيدير ميليتاو، ترينت ألكسندر أرنولد.

خط الوسط: أردا جولر، أوريلين تشواميني، فيدي فالفيردي.

خط الهجوم: فينيسيوس جونيور، كيليان مبابي، إبراهيم دياز.

البدلاء: لونين، سيرجيو ميستري، كارفاخال، ديفيد ألابا، جونزالو جارسيا، رودريجو، أسينسيو، داني سيبايوس، فران جارسيا، ماستانتونو، تياجو.

The Red Devils' coach has realised that his captain performs best higher up the pitch, and it has led him to consider not signing a centre-forward at all

Manchester United have narrowed their striker search down to two names: Benjamin Sesko and Ollie Watkins. The former could cost up to £78 million ($104m), in part because he is entering his prime years at 23 with a massive margin for improvement. Sesko's numbers in the Bundesliga (27 goals and seven assists) are impressive albeit not world-beating, and the question is whether he can replicate that form, or even improve it, in the Premier League, as the likes of Jadon Sancho, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz have failed to do.

Watkins, meanwhile, has proven to be prolific in the English top-flight, with only Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland bettering his tally of 75 goals in the last five seasons. He has less time on his side at the age of 29, but also a lower price tag, with Aston Villa willing to listen to offers of around £45m ($60m).

There is, of course, a third option for United to consider: Sticking with what they have got. Right now, the Red Devils can call upon the hard-working albeit blunt Rasmus Hojlund, their shiny new, high-scoring forwards Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha, the concerningly inconsistent Joshua Zirkzee and their talismanic captain Bruno Fernandes in attack. And maintaining the status quo might just be their best option, precisely because it can get the best out of Fernandes.

Getty Images SportMoving forwards again

United's 2-1 win over West Ham in New Jersey laid out a compelling argument for Ruben Amorim to avoid signing a striker because Fernandes was at his very best playing as one of the two No.10s in tandem with Cunha. The Portugal international scored both of his team's goals – the first from the penalty spot – and was at the heart of United's best moves, setting up Hojlund's strike off the woodwork in the opening minute as well as wasting a one-v-one opportunity against Alphonse Areola after robbing the ball deep in West Ham's half. It was plain to see that this is where Fernandes operates best, high up the pitch as a playmaker and not further back in a deeper midfield role.

Fernandes predicted in 2024 that he would drop back into midfield so to influence games more, telling : "It's a position I like, playing deeper, facing the game more. With the ball, it makes my game a lot easier because I have a broader view of the game and it is ideal for what we've talked about with the last pass, which can sometimes come from deeper on the pitch."

Fernandes has subsequently played many matches, both under Erik ten Hag and Amorim, in such a role, but Amorim should have now learned that his captain's best position is higher up the field.

AdvertisementGetty Better near the box

Indeed, one of Amorim's costliest mistakes last season was opting to play Fernandes in a deeper role in the Europa League final against Tottenham, when the captain delivered one of his worst performances of the campaign. Fernandes surrendered the ball on the halfway line in the build-up to Brennan Johnson scoring the only goal of the game. and his usual powers in attack were blunted.

"Last year, I felt sometimes I pushed him back to have more possession in the build-up and we miss Bruno near the box," Amorim admitted after the Saturday's friendly win over Graham Potter's side.

While he did play well at times in the deeper role, such as in the final Premier League match of the campaign against Aston Villa and in big wins over Leicester City and Real Sociedad, his best performances – like those in the 5-4 thriller against Lyon in the Europa League, the 3-0 win at Athletic Club and the 4-0 thrashing of Everton in Amorim's first league game at Old Trafford – came while playing as one of the twin No.10s:

Getty Help on the way

Amorim has also spoken about how his new additions in attack, as well as a fit-again Kobbie Mainoo, will prevent Fernandes from being as isolated as he was last term, which led to the skipper feeling as if he had to do everything himself.

"With different characteristics from Bryan [Mbeumo] and Matheus Cunha, and I really like Kobbie Mainoo's game, he will have more help this season," Amorim added. "Now he [Fernandes] has more players, I feel, to help him to lead the group, and that is a good thing. He is our leader and really important, not just on the field, but off the field. He leads by example. He works really hard, is always available and, sometimes, he plays with pain. Sometimes, the problem is he gets frustrated and loses a little bit of focus of his job. Sometimes, he wants to help his team-mates so much, it is not the best thing to do."

Amorim loves Fernandes so much that he pleaded with him in June to resist a frankly ridiculous offer from Al-Hilal which would have earned United in the region of £100m in transfer receipts and saved wages. That influx of cash could have alleviated the club's huge financial problems, earning them 10-times the amount they brought in from their degrading post-season tour of Asia while effectively filling the hole left by losing the Europa League final and thus failing to qualify for next season's Champions League.

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GettyThinking outside the box

So having won the battle in terms of keeping his best player, it is only logical that Amorim does everything to get the best out of Fernandes. Signing another striker, such as Watkins or Sesko, would mean United's three new arrivals would be fill the front three spots, forcing Fernandes back into a deep-lying role. And while Hojlund and Zirkzee could accept starting some matches on the bench, it is difficult to imagine Amorim repeatedly leaving Sesko or Watkins out of his line up to accommodate others.

While neither Cunha or Mbeumo are traditional centre-forwards, Amorim has insisted that they can both play as strikers, and the time has come for United to join other top clubs in moving away from the idea of only playing traditional centre-forwards through the middle.

Runaway Premier League champions Liverpool had a lot of success playing Luis Diaz centrally for spells last season. It was only supposed to be a stop-gap solution while Diogo Jota was struggling for fitness and Darwin Nunez's form dropped off, yet some of Liverpool's best football of the season came with the Colombian starting up front and linking up with Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo. The 4-0 thrashing of Bayer Leverkusen at Anfield was one of the Reds' standout performances of the whole season, while the same trio started in the rampant 6-3 and 5-0 wins at Tottenham and West Ham, respectively.

Both the quick bowlers are returning from injuries and are in the fray for selection to the T20 World Cup squad

Firdose Moonda15-Mar-2024Anrich Nortje and Gerald Coetzee will both be under close scrutiny from South Africa’s white-ball coach, Rob Walter, at this year’s IPL, as he looks to the tournament to firm up selection for the T20 World Cup.Both Nortje and Coetzee are returning from injuries that have sidelined them for months, and are expected to get game time at the IPL, which could be used to assess their readiness for a major tournament. Nortje and Coetzee are two of at least eight seam bowlers South Africa could include – the others being Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, Andile Phehlukwayo, Ottniel Baartman and Lizaad Williams – in their 15-player touring party.Nortje has only just returned to action in the CSA’s T20 domestic tournament after last playing in September 2023 in a home series against Australia. He suffered a stress fracture in his back, which kept him out of the ODI World Cup and the entire home international summer. In his comeback match for Warriors against Kwa-Zulu Inland, he opened the bowling and delivered four economical overs which cost just 12 runs, but went wicketless. There is a possibility he will also play a second match for Warriors this Sunday, as he remains in South Africa awaiting the birth of his first child, which is imminent. Nortje will travel to the IPL afterwards.Related

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Coetzee has already departed for India, where he has been placed in the care of the Mumbai Indians medical staff as he recovers from a groin injury. He last played in the Boxing Day Test against India, where he developed pelvic inflammation and was unable to take part in the next match, the SA20 or the opening rounds of the domestic T20 tournament. It is expected that he will not play early on in the IPL either, with a view to getting match time later in the event.All South Africa’s nationally contracted players were obliged to feature in the first two rounds of the CSA domestic T20 tournament – apart from David Miller, who was given time off for his wedding, and Quinton de Kock, who was allowed a break for personal reasons. Both Miller and de Kock will be in action at the IPL, which will also include Rabada, Jansen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Donovan Ferreira, Nandre Burger, Rilee Rossouw and Faf du Plessis, all of whom are up for T20 World Cup selection. Ngidi, who was due to travel to the tournament, has been ruled out with a back injury, and will recover at home.However, those are not the only players Walter will have to monitor. The CSA T20 Challenge runs until the end of April and has Ryan Rickelton, Reeza Hendricks, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Bjorn Fortuin, Baartman and Williams involved, and all of them are also in contention for the tournament.South Africa will name their T20 World Cup squad towards the end of April and will play three T20Is against West Indies before the competition starts on June 2.

تفاعلت جماهير نادي مانشستر سيتي اليوم الخميس على قرعة الفريق في بطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا خلال الموسم الجديد والمعروفة بإسم مرحلة الدوري.

مانشستر سيتي يدخل الموسم الحالي في دوري أبطال أوروبا بطموحات كبيرة، بعد خيبة الأمل الموسم الماضي والخروج من الدور الأول على يد ريال مدريد.

وسوف يلتقي مانشستر سيتي من جديد مع ريال مدريد ، لكن هذه المرة في مرحلة الدوري، في سيناريو مكرر للنادي الإنجليزي.

تابع .. مواجهات ريال مدريد في مرحلة الدوري من دوري أبطال أوروبا 2025/2026.. 3 معارك

وبخلاف الصدام مع ريال مدريد جاءت قرعة دوري أبطال أوروبا متوازنة بعض الشئ بالنسبة لمانشستر سيتي، والذي سيواجه نابولي في لقاء سوف يشهد اجتماع السيتيزن مجددًا مع كيفن دي بروين لكن في ضوء التنافس هذه المرة.

دي بروين رحل عن مانشستر سيتي ووقع مع نابولي في صفقة انتقال حر وبعقد مدته عامين.

كما وقع مانشستر سيتي مع موناكو ، وبودو جليمت، وجلطة سراي، وباير ليفركوزن، وبوروسيا دورتموند إلى جانب فياريال.

وتضاربت ردود فعل جماهير مانشستر سيتي ، حيث رأى البعض القرعة هي الأسهل للفريق في دوري الأبطال منذ سنوات ، بينما تأزم البعض الآخر من مواجهة ريال مدريد من جديد، وذلك عبر حساب النادي الإنجليزي الرسمي في تويتر. ردود فعل جماهير مانشستر سيتي على قرعة دوري أبطال أوروبا

“مانشستر سيتي حصل على أسهل قرعة لفريق هذا الموسم في دوري أبطال أوروبا”.

man city got the easiest draw this season — Spatial Sports (@spatialsports) August 28, 2025

”مواجهة ريال مدريد للمرة السادسة! واو”.

6th time wow — dark matter (@darkmatter419) August 28, 2025

”كيفن دي بروين سوف يتواجد من جديد على ملعب الاتحاد وهذه المرة مع نابولي”.

@KevinDeBruyne gets to play at the Etihad again with Napoli — Thomas Crown (@crownsAffairs) August 28, 2025

”لا استطيع الانتظار من جديد من أجل الفوز على ريال مدريد”.

Can’t wait to cook Real Madrid 😂 — T R A N Q U I L I T Y (@AlfredAllen_) August 28, 2025

”قرعة سهلة ، على الأقل نستطيع الفوز في سبع مباريات”.

Easy draw, at least 7 wins. — TheAIMem (@TheAIMem) August 28, 2025

”مانشستر سيتي يمتلك قرعة قوية في دوري الأبطال وأصعب من أي فريق آخر”.

Man City is getting tougher competition than any other team — 0xAkhMi (@mishraritz) August 28, 2025

”أوعدكم يا رفاق، سنصل إلى نهائي دوري أبطال أوروبا في هذه النسخة”.

I promise you guys, we’re making it to the finals. — Benny (@0xBuzor) August 28, 2025

”لماذا مجموعتنا دائمًا صعبة؟ أنا سعيد بمواجهة ريال مدريد من جديد وسوف ننتقم منهم”.

Why is our group always difficult?

I’m Happy we get to play Madrid again. We’re out for blood and revenge — Minato💛 (@Madebyminato_) August 28, 2025

”أول خمس مباريات لنا في المجموعة سينتهوا بهزيمة مانشستر سيتي”.

First 5 matches will end with a defeat 😭 — 𝐒𝐚𝐤𝐚 𝐣𝐫 (@usman_zunnu1) August 28, 2025

”نستطيع الفوز بدوري أبطال أوروبا بسهولة هذا الموسم”.

We are easily winning the Champions League. — Mr.Page™ (@mfc_mrpage) August 28, 2025

MatériaMais Notícias

Botafogo e Audax se enfrentam neste domingo, às 16h, no Nilton Santos, pela primeira rodada do Campeonato Carioca. Com time B em ação, os alvinegros buscam estrear com o pé direito na competição.

Neste duelo, Lúcio Flávio contará com desfalques importantes. Lesionados, Jacob, Janderson e Walisson não foram relacionados para partida. Por questões burocráticas de inscrição, Juninho também será desfalque.

+ MERCADO DA BOLA: Acompanhe as movimentações dos clubes nesta janela de transferências

RelacionadasBotafogoEstreia do Botafogo no Carioca exige responsabilidade extra para Lúcio FlávioBotafogo14/01/2023BotafogoBotafogo empata com Porto Vitória em jogo-treino no Espaço LonierBotafogo14/01/2023Lance! BizCasimiro Miguel anuncia transmissão do Mundial de Clubes na ‘Cazé TV’Lance! Biz13/01/2023

+Campeonato Paulista: saiba os clubes com mais títulos na história

Transmissão: CazéTV
Árbitro: Alexandre Vargas Tavares de Jesus (RJ)
Assistentes: Daniel do Espírito Santo Parro (RJ) e Lilian da Silva Fernandes Bruno (RJ)
Quarto árbitro: João Batista de Arruda (RJ)

PROVÁVEIS ESCALAÇÕES

BOTAFOGO (TÉCNICO LÚCIO FLÁVIO)

Igo Gabriel, Ryan, Lucas Mezenga, Henrique Vermudt e Hugo;Del Piage, Jacob Montes e Raí; Caio Vítor, Dudu e Bardales.

AUDAX (TÉCNICO JUNIOR LOPES)

Leandro, Motta, Carlão, Thomáz Kaique e PH; Jackson Caucaia, Higor Leite, e Romário; Valderrama, Carlinhos e Emerson Urso

“We have been talking about what we want to get better at, and that, for me, is the shining light for the way the boys have bowled”

ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-20244:04

McClenaghan: RCB’s whole bowling unit made contributions

Faf du Plessis was buoyed by the new-found aggression in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s approach that helped them beat Delhi Capitals by 47 runs to stay in the race for the playoffs in IPL 2024.”We want to play that style of cricket – RCB talks about playing bold,” du Plessis said, “and just proud that we can actually do that now, putting our performance together.”RCB came into the game with the knowledge that a loss would knock them out of the tournament. They even lost their du Plessis and Virat Kohli cheaply after being sent in. But that didn’t stop Will Jacks and Rajat Patidar from putting on a counter-attacking 88-run stand for the third wicket. In the end, they finished on 187 for 9.”It’s just confidence, isn’t it?” du Plessis said of the batting performance. “First half of the season, we were really fighting for it, didn’t quite come together for us; you just need a couple of guys to find their form in the tournament, and it’s happened.”From a batting perspective, we’ve been around that 200 mark six-seven games in a row now [five in their last seven], so boys are batting really well. And then the bowling obviously – I think the first five or six games, we almost couldn’t get wickets at all, and now, this is the third time [in a row] we have bowled a team out. So that’s a good effort. Especially today’s game, with the extra guy batting.”RCB took control in the chase by reducing Capitals to 30 for 4 inside four overs. Swapnil Singh, the left-arm fingerspinner, dismissed David Warner in the first over before Mohammed Siraj and Yash Dayal settled in with testing lines and lengths. Lockie Ferguson’s 2 for 23 helped them keep a leash on the scoring in the middle overs even as Axar Patel fought back with a half-century.”A lot of work has gone in behind the scenes,” du Plessis said. “I think that’s for me the most obvious thing where the change has happened. I feel that behind closed doors, we are getting it right in our processes – we have been talking about what we want to achieve and what we want to get better at. And that, for me, is the shining light for the way the boys have bowled.”Also, as a captain, I feel we have a lot of variety in our bowling attack. Six or seven options, all very different. So you assess the conditions on the night and you can just pull the best options almost out. But since Siraj has come back, obviously wanting to prove a point, has bowled beautifully. Yash has been exceptional right through the tournament. And Lockie the last few games has been brilliant.”

A fifth straight defeat for RR in the back-end of the league stage could leave them outside the top two

Vishal Dikshit18-May-20243:18

‘Royals have the firepower even if Hetmyer is unfit’

Match detailsRajasthan Royals (second) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (first)
Guwahati, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)Big picture – A dress rehearsal of the IPL final?A week or two ago that question would have held more credence because of how KKR and RR had made the top two spots their own, that too with RR holding the top spot for a while.And then came Sunrisers Hyderabad to cast the shadows of doubt over RR’s campaign. With a slender one-run final-ball win, SRH put the brakes on RR’s four-match winning streak and also sparked off their four-match losing streak which RR haven’t managed to halt yet. And now they run into table-toppers KKR, who have won four on the trot themselves barring the washout against Gujarat Titans, in search of the elusive win that will confirm their second spot no matter what happens between RCB vs CSK on Saturday and SRH vs PBKS in the afternoon game on Sunday.RR had the winning mantra firmly in their hands for the first eight games out of nine, a pattern not new for them anymore. Last year they won five of their first eight before losing four of their remaining six to lose out on a playoff spot, and the year before that they had won six of their first eight and lost half of their remaining six to lose the top spot.A win in their final league match against KKR will break that pattern, the losing streak and do wonders for their own confidence if they want to play the first qualifier instead of the eliminator.KKR are riding high after their string of wins; so high that winning the title from here shouldn’t surprise anyone, and that success may play a role in them potentially losing their mentor Gautam Gambhir to the Indian cricket team. It’s been a week since KKR sealed their ticket for the first qualifier, ample time to think about their replacement at the top for Phil Salt and come up with a plan for Sunil Narine’s off day, with bat or ball.Form guideRajasthan Royals LLLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)Kolkata Knight Riders WWWWLPrevious meetingWhat will boost RR’s confidence is that they had snatched victory from KKR with a turnaround win in their previous fixture a month ago, which had stunned the Kolkata crowd. What will not boost RR’s confidence is that that victory was scripted single-handedly by Jos Buttler, who has left for the UK to prep for the T20 World Cup.Team news and impact player strategyRajasthan Royals
Tom Kohler-Cadmore will take Buttler’s place at the top, like he did in their last game against Punjab Kings, in which they had subbed out Dhruv Jurel for Donovan Ferreira after they had slipped to 102 for 6. That may not be the case again on Sunday because Hetmyer had missed out that day but he is fit for Sunday and RR will be forced to change their combination. If it turns out to be a run-fest, RR may also want to think about bringing in a sixth bowling option against the power-packed KKR line-up.Probable XII: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Tom Kohler-Cadmore, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Riyan Parag, 5 , 6 Shimron Hetmyer/Rovman Powell, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Trent Boult, 9 Avesh Khan, 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal, 12 3:16

‘Gambhir has made himself part of the KKR DNA’

Kolkata Knight Riders
Salt is likely to be replaced by Rahmanullah Gurbaz as the opener, as was being expected for the washout match against GT. Their impact bowler coming in for a batter like Venkatesh Iyer could be Vaibhav Arora or Suyash Sharma, depending on whether the pitch favours more pace or turn.Likely XII: 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Nitish Rana, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 , 6 Andre Russell, 7 Rinku Singh, 8 Ramandeep Singh, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Varun Chakravarthy, 11 Harshit Rana, 12 In the spotlight – Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Rahmanullah GurbazAll eyes will be on the two replacement openers.Tom Kohler-Cadmore already made his IPL debut against PBKS, albeit on a track he wouldn’t have wanted to stay far away from to end up with a 23-ball 18. He is a destructive hitter, particularly down the ground and RR won’t mind some of those, especially when the runs have dried up a little from Yashasvi Jaiswal. Kohler-Cadmore has made a name for himself in the Lanka Premier League, the PSL, the BBL, the Abu Dhabi T10, and the Hundred, obviously, and some fine contributions in crunch games for RR will add a lot more weight to that list.Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the hard-hitting Afghanistan opener will also likely get a game before the crucial playoffs. Just 22, he has the firepower KKR need at the top to complement Sunil Narine. His recent T20 form doesn’t inspire much confidence – 105 runs in his last six innings – and neither does his IPL record from last season – 227 runs from 11 innings while averaging 20.63 and striking at just 133.52. Gurbaz may have a sterner test waiting for him, compared to Kohler-Cadmore, with the challenge of excelling against Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin and others.Stats that matter Samson has a contrasting record against the KKR spinners, with a more watchful approach against Narine. He has scored 66 runs off 82 balls with three wickets against Narine but smashed 39 off 23 without any dismissals against Varun Chakravarthy. Powell, similarly, has contrasting records against his compatriot Andre Russell and T&T spinner Narine. Powell has been dismissed six times by Narine for 51 runs off 73 balls, but attacked Russell for 23 off just 12 balls and no dismissals. Shimron Hetmyer has faced just seven balls from Chakravarthy in T20s and dismissed in two of those, while scoring six runs. Narine has a terrific record against the RR spinners: 94 off 39 against Ashwin and 49 off 20 while facing Chahal. Narine is just four sixes away from the total of 100 in the IPL. Samson needs three more sixes to reach 300 sixes in T20s. Nitish Rana boasts of a strong record against Ashwin: 108 off 58 balls with no dismissals yet.Pitch and conditionsThe Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati saw its first game of this IPL earlier this week when RR lost to PBKS after stumbling to 145 for 9. It had hosted three matches last IPL, and the average first-innings score since then is just 180. The temperature will range from 24 degrees to 31 degrees Celsius with lots of humidity and some rain and scattered thunderstorms expected in the evening.Quotes”We’ve batted first and won against two sides and chased and won as well. It’s just a case of doing your job well. It’s easy to say we should do this or that [after winning the toss].”