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West Ham United have experienced a nightmare start to life back in the Premier League.

Graham Potter’s job security is already on thin ice at the Hammers a mere two games into the brand new season, having had to watch his hopeless team lose 3-0 away at Sunderland on the opening day, only to then be humiliated back on their patch 5-1 by near London rivals Chelsea.

It doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom, however, with West Ham potentially able to restore some of their damaged pride by picking up some last-minute purchases in the transfer window to try and push them out of their malaise.

West Ham keep tabs on £20m star

Potter will look to be busy between now and September’s approaching deadline, knowing this could be make or break for his job in the long run.

Reports from Spain are indicating that the basement club are in talks over landing Barcelona youngster Hector Fort on loan, on top of AS Monaco’s Soungoutou Magassa also being on their radar, albeit with Nottingham Forest and Atalanta being placed alongside them in the race for the £15m midfielder.

Away from those named, the forlorn Irons are also in the hunt for an experienced Premier League attacker who could be available for as cheap as £20m.

Indeed, a report from Caught Offside reveals that West Ham are keeping tabs on Raheem Sterling’s developing situation at Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea, with Beskitas allegedly in the lead for the 30-year-old’s services, as the Turkish titans plan to send a delegation out to London shortly to seal a deal.

Still, not all hope will be lost, considering Caught Offside also state that the Blues number seven might prefer a London stay over a switch to the Super Lig, with Fulham also keeping an eye on the unfolding situation, alongside Potter and Co.

How Sterling can become the next Antonio

Despite Sterling’s missteps at both Chelsea and Arsenal in recent years, he could be the boost West Ham desire up top, with Potter potentially picking up the Hammers’ next version of Michail Antonio in the process.

The Premier League’s early relegation favourites waved goodbye to a whole host of experienced faces this summer, as the likes of Aaron Cresswell and Lukasz Fabianski departed the London Stadium.

The casualty that looks to have hurt the Hammers instantly is the loss of Antonio, though, with the loyal 35-year-old servant allowed to leave the building on a free transfer this summer.

Off the back of this decision, West Ham have only been able to carve out one big chance during their opening two league defeats, leading to former goalkeeper Robert Green bemoaning the lack of leaders in the dressing room after the sobering Blues loss.

With the Jamaican’s 83-goal tally gone, the Hammers are clearly in dire need of another seasoned head to try and get more out of a limp attack, which is where Sterling could come to the rescue if he can bounce back from disappointing stints elsewhere in London.

It’s clear from the table above that Sterling can be a “world class” star on his day – as he was once lauded by ex-City teammate Frank Lampard – with a mammoth 174 goals up his sleeve playing for some of the Premier League’s elite clubs, with a further 124 assists also catching West Ham’s eye. Incredible, 123 of those goals have come in the top-flight.

The 82-time England international might not lead the line in the same imposing manner as Antonio, but his creativity and efforts down the right wing might just enable the Hammers to get out of some sticky situations and soar up the league, with the likes of Niclas Fullkrug perhaps able to put his shaky start to the campaign behind him, knowing he has the expertise of the 30-year-old by his side.

Further dubbed as “outstanding” by football pundit Paul Merson when showing off flashes of his excellence at Stamford Bridge, Sterling will hope he can show there’s life still in his legs at the London Stadium, much like Antonio did during the 2023/24 season with seven goals next to his name, before his unfortunate Hammers exit.

After all, Sterling’s former Three Lions boss in Gareth Southgate did once herald him as a “fighter”, with a hope he can become a bright spark for West Ham during some testing times, too, leading to a sharp rise up the table imminently.

West Ham submit opening offer to sign "exciting" 6'2 Alvarez replacement

The Hammers have made their first move…

ByTom Cunningham Aug 23, 2025

The precociously talented winger has the ability to lead the Red Devils back to the top – if they are lucky enough to keep hold of him

From Lamine Yamal firing Spain to Euro 2024 glory while preparing for school exams, Arsenal's Max Dowman making his Premier League debut at the age of 15 and Rio Ngumoha scoring the winner for Liverpool at Newcastle while still just 16, the world's biggest clubs and international sides are becoming more and more open to the adage that 'if you're good enough, you're old enough'.

And while those players all have the capability to go on and win every prize the game has to offer, there is a belief that Manchester United might just have the very best youth player in the world on their hands and will soon be ready to unleash him into the professional game – if they are lucky enough to keep hold of him, that is.

JJ Gabriel may only be 14 years old but he has been killing it at Under-18 level and it cannot be long before he makes his first senior appearance. The winger – who has been likened to three of the best players of the last 20 years in Lionel Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo – has been causing a stir since millions of people watched him strut his stuff on a skills video when he was just eight. 

Gabriel already boasts a huge online following, but any suggestions he was being over-hyped have been hushed by his mesmerising displays and his ruthless goal record in a frightening start to the season. GOAL has the lowdown on the player who was first known as 'Kid Messi' but who is fast making a name for himself…

Where it all began

Joseph Junior Andreou Gabriel was born in London in October, 2010. His father, Joe O'Cearuill, enjoyed a modest playing career as a defender which began at Arsenal but was mostly spent in the lower leagues, although he did earn two caps for Ireland. O'Cearuill would go on to change the family's surname to Gabriel, a reflection of their Catholic heritage but also as a step to make his son more marketable.

Gabriel passed through the academies of Chelsea, Arsenal and West Ham before eventually joining United, while a key part of his development came playing futsal, the indoor game which places extra emphasis on technique and control. Such an environment suited Gabriel, who became obsessed with doing tricks. By the age of six, he could do 1,000 kick-ups in a row. 

Alfie Brooks, the owner of Ole Futsal Academy in east London, told : "I’ve coached nearly 1,000 academy players over my time and JJ is the best I’ve ever seen. He could go into a Premier League changing room right now and technically he would be better than all of them. It wouldn’t even be close. He’s by far the best player that

AdvertisementThe big break

Gabriel first gained attention courtesy of a video produced by Youtuber SV2 titled 'Eight-year-old Kid Messi is unbelievable (better than the real Lionel Messi)'. The 19-minute clip, which showcased Gabriel pulling off a variety of skills, has been viewed 4.8 million times and has 110,000 likes. His career really took off, however, when he signed for United's academy in 2021 and became friends with a famous team-mate, Cristiano Ronaldo Jr. 

The hype train continued to roll on, and two months later Gabriel signed a contract with Nike. He penned another deal with the sports manufacturer in March 2025 which is believed to be the most lucrative sponsorship deal ever for a 14-year-old, eclipsing that of Neymar when he was at Santos. 

Gabriel's feats for United's youth teams were regularly shared on social media, but he reached a new level of attention earlier this year when he became the youngest player ever to play for United's U18s side, at the age of 14. It was a debut to remember for two reasons: United humiliated rivals Leeds 13-1 and Gabriel scored the final two goals.

Getty How it's going

Gabriel has made a real impression in the U18s this season, having scored five goals in three starts. He netted twice in a 5-0 drubbing of Middlesbrough (team-mate Kai Rooney, son of Wayne, also scored), while in his next game, Gabriel bagged a 22-minute hat-trick against Derby County.

His progress is being carefully monitored by the club's top brass, and Gabriel was invited to watch the opening game of the season against Arsenal from the directors' box while he recently met first-team coach Ruben Amorim, who told the teenager that he will spend time training with the first team later in the season. 

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Getty Biggest strengths

Gabriel's mesmeric dribbling is his greatest asset, while his ability to produce deadly strikes with both feet makes him even more dangerous in the final third. He is a high-scoring winger who can open stubborn defences up with his trickery, but Gabriel also has a striker's instinct and often patrols the box waiting for his moment to pounce.

He is also known for his fiercely competitive nature, which has led to him playing through the pain. In one match against Blackburn Rovers, Gabriel dislocated his shoulder following a heavy clash with an opponent, only to calmly pop it back in and subsequently score a hat-trick and while also providing an assist in a 4-0 win.

Sweden manager Jon Dahl Tomasson has admitted that leaving Alexander Isak out of Friday’s 2-2 draw against Slovenia was purely down to caution. The striker, who shattered the British transfer record with his £125 million move to Liverpool on deadline day, has barely trained and hasn’t kicked a ball in competitive action since forcing his way out of Newcastle United this summer.

Isak benched by Sweden over fitnessCould come on as a sub against KosovoTomasson not ready to risk his star from the startFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Isak’s switch to Anfield was one of the shocks of the transfer window, completed after weeks of speculation and growing tension in the North East. The 24-year-old effectively sat out Newcastle’s summer fixtures and their opening Premier League games to push the move through, a decision that left a sour taste in the mouths of many Magpies supporters.

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Isak's absence from pre-season has raised concerns about his sharpness. While Liverpool fans are eager to see their blockbuster signing unleashed, Tomasson insisted that Isak is nowhere near peak condition.

WHAT TOMASSON SAID

Speaking to , Tomasson said, "He had only done three training sessions with the team. He had no preseason with the team and of course, no playing time. The risk was probably a bit too great to use him today."

Asked whether the striker could feature in Sweden’s next qualifier against Kosovo on Monday, Tomasson offered a glimmer of hope: “Hopefully, hopefully. He could come in as a game-changer.”

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AFPWHAT NEXT FOR ISAK?

In the midst of the noise, Isak has gone quiet. The striker has reportedly chosen to snub all media duties during the international break, refusing interviews and public appearances. Instead, he wants to focus solely on rebuilding fitness and letting his football do the talking when the time comes. The international break may serve as a reset for Isak, giving him precious time to gain minutes with Sweden before returning to Merseyside. If his body responds, Liverpool boss Arne Slot could hand him his debut against Burnley on September 14.

تحدث الدولي البرتغالي برناردو سيلفا، لاعب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي مانشستر سيتي عن أصعب منافس واجهه في بطولتي الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز ودوري أبطال أوروبا.

واستعاد مانشستر سيتي مستواه شيئًا فشيء وحقق فوزًا كبيرًا على مانشستر يونايتد في ديربي الجولة الرابعة من بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، بثلاثية نظيفة على ملعب “الاتحاد”.

أما في اللقاء الأخير، فقد فاز أيضًا رجال جوارديولا على نابولي الإيطالي بقيادة أنطونيو كونتي، بثنائية نظيفة في المباراة التي جمعتهما ضمن منافسات الجولة الأولى من مرحلة الدوري لبطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا.

اقرأ أيضًا | تشكيل ريال مدريد المتوقع أمام إسبانيول اليوم في الدوري الإسباني

وفي مقابلة مع قناة تيليموندو، أجاب برناردو سيلفا عن أصعب منافس واجهه في دوري أبطال أوروبا وقال في تصريجات نقلتها صحيفة “آس” الإسبانية: “بلا شك ريال مدريد مع فينيسيوس جونيور ورودريجو”.

وعن أصعب منافس في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز أكمل: “في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز ليفربول مع صلاح، مواجهة صعبة دائمًا”.

وبشأن الوضع الحالي لفريق جوارديولا، أوضح: “علينا مواصلة العمل والسعي لتحقيق الفوز باستمرار، لا نعرف ما هو هدفنا لا يمكننا التفكير لـ 8 أشهر قادمة”.

وأتم: “علينا أن نخطو خطوة بخطوة ونحاول العودة إلى المستوى الذي كنا عليه لمنافسة أفضل الفرق، حاليًا لسنا في هذا المستوى، علينا أن ندرك الواقع”.

Whether through signing them or bringing them through the academy, Arsenal have a proud history of developing some incredible youngsters.

A few years ago, it was the likes of Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka who were breaking through the ranks; now it’s Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, and in the next couple of years, it could be Max Dowman.

While Mikel Arteta is sometimes labelled as a manager who doesn’t play youth, the last few years have proven that wrong.

Moreover, the club now have their eyes on another seriously exciting talent, who could be a future Viktor Gyokeres, whom they’re also close to finally signing.

Arsenal close in on the present and future Gyokeres

While the signings of Martin Zubimendi, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Christian Norgaard, plus the soon-to-be additions of Noni Madueke and Cristhian Mosquera, are certainly exciting, they don’t feel like they’ll be as consequential as Gyokeres.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Arsenal fans have been crying out for a prolific number nine for years now, and with 54 goals and 13 assists in 52 games last season, that is what the Swedish striker is.

Moreover, while it’s not a cheap deal, it’s not going to require a record outlay either, with most reports now claiming that the initial fee will be around £55m, with some easy-to-achieve add-ons still to be decided upon.

Appearances

50

52

Minutes

4169′

4248′

Goals

43

54

Assists

15

13

Goal Involvements per Match

1.16

1.28

Minutes per Goal Involvement

71.87′

63.40′

However, to ensure a club the size of the North Londoners can remain successful long into the future, the board also have to invest in the future, which seems to be what they are currently looking to do.

At least that is according to a recent report from the Daily Mail, who suggest the Gunners have agreed a deal to sign Salford City wonderkid Will Wright.

They report that Arsenal have seen a £200k bid accepted by the EFL club, as the Gunners hone in on signing one of the country’s top young talents.

The Londoners are set to fend off competition from Liverpool to secure his signature, with the Reds having lodged their own bid of £100k.

It is a lot of money to spend on someone so young, but it could prove to be a masterstroke in years to come, especially if Wright is a Gyokeres in the making.

Why Wright could be a future Gyokeres

Okay, so the first thing to make clear is that we know it’s quite a leap to suggest that a 17-year-old youth prospect could develop into a player akin to one Arsenal are about to spend big on, but we have our reasons.

First and foremost, the teenage sensation has already proven that, when given the chance, he can score bags and bags of goals.

In fact, he didn’t just score 20, or even 30 for Salford’s youth side last season; he managed to score a whopping 40 goals, which might not be the same as the Sporting man’s 54, but it’s not far off for a youngster.

On top of his prolific nature in front of goal, the young forward shares the Swede’s raw desire to score goals, as exemplified by the fact that at the start of last season, he was averaging 4.6 shots a game, compared to the 27-year-old’s 4.08 shots a game across the last year.

Moreover, one of the ways the former Coventry City star gets himself into so many goalscoring situations is because he’s excellent at running in behind opposition defences, which, according to Total Football Analysis, is one of Salford City gem’s biggest strengths.

However, he’s not a one-dimensional striker, and like the Stockholm-born ace, he’s also more than capable of playing a quick passing game with his teammates to create space and chances for himself or his teammates.

Finally, despite being just 17, the highly-rated youngster is the same height as the soon-to-be Gunners star, coming in at 6 foot 2, and it’s evident in clips that he’s comfortable using his stature to ride challenges before breaking away with a burst of pace and putting the ball in the back of the net.

Ultimately, there’s still a long way to go until he’s playing in the first team, but as things stand, Wright looks like a serious talent, and someone who could well be spoken about in the same way as Gyokeres is today.

Madueke upgrade: Arsenal set to start talks to sign "world-class" £43m star

Arsenal could sign an upgrade on Noni Madueke.

1 ByJack Salveson Holmes Jul 17, 2025

Former England allrounder discusses impact of physical and mental injuries sustained in 2022 for new TV documentary

Matt Roller05-Aug-2024

Andrew Flintoff believed he “should not be here” and that he was given “a second go” at life when he escaped a high-speed car crash alive – though expects he will have to deal with its physical and psychological effects “for the rest of my life”.Flintoff, the former England allrounder, underwent a series of operations on his face after crashing while filming for the British TV show in December 2022. He has rarely spoken publicly since but addresses the crash and its effect on his mental health in the upcoming second season of the BBC show .”I genuinely should not be here, with what happened,” Flintoff said in footage, filmed from his bed in the weeks after the crash, which will be broadcast next week. “It’s going to be a long road back and I’m only just starting. I’ve got to look at the positives, don’t I? I’m still here. I’ve got another chance, I’ve got to go at it. I’m seeing that as how it is: a second go.”Related

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Flintoff kept a low public profile in the months after the incident while his injuries healed. The series shows him speaking to Kyle Hogg, his close friend and former Lancashire team-mate, in July 2023. “I thought I could just shake it off. I wanted to shake it off and say ‘here am I, I’m alright’ but it’s not been the case, it’s been a lot harder than I thought,” Flintoff said.”As much as I’ve wanted to go out and do things I’ve just not been able to… Everywhere I go at the moment, I’ve got a full face mask and glasses on. I struggle with anxiety: I have nightmares, I have flashbacks. It’s been so hard to cope with. But I’m thinking if I don’t do something, I’m never going to go. I’ve got to get on with it.”In the first series of , Flintoff and Hogg brought together a disparate group of teenagers in Preston, Flintoff’s hometown, and introduced them to cricket, forming a team which played a series of friendlies in 2022. In the second series, they take them on tour to Kolkata – though the trip was delayed by a year due to Flintoff’s crash.Flintoff was asked by one of the boys, Finn, if he was “feeling 100%” before the trip. “Not really,” he replied. “I don’t know if I will again, to be honest… I don’t know what ‘completely better’ is. I am what I am now. I’m different to what I was. It’s something that I’ll probably have to deal with for the rest of my life. Better? No. Different.”Following his injuries, Flintoff has gradually returned to cricket in a series of different coaching roles. He has worked with England’s white-ball teams as an assistant coach, including at June’s T20 World Cup, and is also head coach of Northern Superchargers in the men’s Hundred, who have won three of their first four games.Flintoff took his team to Kolkata for the second series of •BBC/South Shore

Following Matthew Mott’s sacking as England’s white-ball coach, Flintoff has been touted as an outsider for the job. He was first brought into the England set-up as an unpaid consultant by Rob Key, the team’s managing director, though footage from the series suggests he has been considering a coaching role for some time: “If I do apply for the England coach’s job, I might not put these on my CV,” he joked as his team trained in September 2022.Flintoff has declined to give any interviews to independent outlets since his appointment, though was involved in a Q&A with the producer Clyde Holcroft during a promotional event for . He joked he had fallen into “a TV trap” after his playing career and said he would “love to do more coaching” moving forwards following “a perfect introduction” to it.”I’d always wanted to do something in cricket. I was never quite sure what it was,” Flintoff said. “I’ve done a bit of commentary which I don’t particularly like, or it’s not really me. I’ve always had an ambition to coach, but I’m not quite sure of my route to doing that or who I’d coach – or, let’s be honest, who would have me.”He explained that his ambition with was to alter the perception of cricket as “a posh sport” – and said that was among the reasons he thinks the Hundred has been a success. “It’s not for everyone, the Hundred,” Flintoff said. “But I think that it’s done so many good things. You look at the crowds who go and watch it; it’s on free-to-air [TV] as well as Sky.”It’s still perceived in some areas as being a posh sport, as being elitist, and we just need to break that down but I think we’re going in the right direction. We can always do more, but I think there’s a definite shift in recent times towards it being more popular… We’ve seen how popular it is in India. If you could take 10% of that [in England], we’d be happy.” will be shown on Tuesday August 13 at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer

A huge few weeks are ahead for Rangers.

After the Gers endured a miserable campaign last time round, new manager Russell Martin has a lot of work to do if he is going to dethrone Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership table.

Martin’s first competitive game in charge is little over four weeks away, welcoming Panathinaikos to Ibrox in the Champions League second qualifying round, while the Light Blues will commence their Premiership campaign against Motherwell at Fir Park on 2 August.

Before then, the club are expected to make countless new signings, so are they about to bolster their back-line?

Rangers targeting a new centre-back

According to a report by Hrvoje Tironi in Croatian outlet 24 Sata, Rangers are ‘seriously interested’ in signing Osijek defender Luka Jelenić, facing competition from Portuguese outfit Vitória de Guimarães.

They add that Jelenić only joined Osijek from Varaždin for €800,000 (around £685k) a year ago, but the ‘reliable centre-back’ is likely to be sold for ‘serious money’, following many ‘quality’ performances, despite the fact his team finished down in seventh in last year’s Prva HNL.

Rangers require central defensive reinforcements, especially after it was confirmed on Friday that Leon Balogun had left the club on a free agent for Aris Limassol, where he could partner a familiar face, namely Connor Goldson, in Cyprus next season.

So, could Jelenić prove to be a shrewd addition?

How Jelenić would improve Rangers

As was widely reported, Rangers were strongly interested in signing Harry Darling on a free transfer this summer, given that the Englishman had worked with Martin at both MK Dons and Swansea, but he opted to join Norwich City and Liam Manning instead in the Championship,

This has seemingly seen them step-up their interest in Jelenić, thereby returning to a familiar source of talent, after they failed to convince the now-Canaries star to move to Ibrox.

Back in July 2018, Steven Gerrard’s side dumped NK Osijek out of Europa League qualifying, with Alfredo Morelos the only scorer at Stadion Gradski Vrt, before a 1-1 draw in Glasgow a week later saw them progress.

Gerrard was so impressed with the White and Blues that he swiftly signed two of their players.

The less said about Eros Grezda the better, but the reported £2.2m paid to secure the signature of Borna Barišić proved to be an absolute bargain, considering he would go onto make 236 appearances in a light blue jersey, winning all three domestic trophies, as well as being a key figure in the side that reached the Europa League Final of 2022.

So, could Jelenić have a similar impact?

Well, let’s assess his statistics from this season’s Prva HNL.

Minutes

2,532

32nd

Interceptions

50

1st

Tackles

58

12th

Clearances

144

7th

Passing accuracy %

86.74%

9th

Passes completed

1,204

10th

As the table outlines, despite somewhat limited minutes, Jelenić ranked highly for every defensive metric, as well as passing accuracy too, underlining that he is a well-rounded defender, who is particularly great at reading the game to make interceptions.

For comparison, Darling ranked 233rd in the EFL Championship for tackles (31) and 130th for interceptions (25), while registering a passing accuracy of 87.8%, only marginally higher than Jelenić’s figure, which suggests that the Croatian star could offer considerably more to the team from a defensive perspective.

Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout labels him a “crazy talent”, while writer Kai Watson outlines how, at 6 ft 2 in tall, Jelenić is physically imposing and boasts ‘strong’ defensive abilities, while also being good in possession.

Meanwhile, Juan Carlos Molero highlights how he is ‘tough to beat’ in defensive duels, and rarely puts a foot wrong.

So, while top target Darling, who has gone elsewhere, is more of a known quantity, Jelenić is certainly a young defender on the up with enormous potential, so it would be an excellent piece of business if Rangers are able to add him to their squad.

He'd be better than Darling: Rangers open talks to sign "immaculate" star

Having missed out on signing Harry Darling, Rangers have made an approach to land a new defender.

ByBen Gray Jun 19, 2025

Pakistan won the toss in each Test, rebuilt after one early wicket for a big second-wicket stand, and benefitted from SA’s largesse in the field

Danyal Rasool20-Oct-2025The sun was all orange and prepared to turn in for one more day. The supporters had thinned out long ago; having clustered into the Pindi cricket ground to watch Babar Azam bat, most had filtered out when his now-habitually brief stay at the crease came to a tepid conclusion. On the field, it looked as if the Test match was tying up loose ends to leave things in shape for tomorrow. But in the last half hour on day one, Pakistan and South Africa were locked in a battle to claim just enough of the spoils to each declare victory.Kagiso Rabada, second new ball in hand, had brought it in masterfully to trap Mohammad Rizwan, whose review had the jeopardy of appeals to higher courts in an autocracy. Pakistan had demonstrated themselves vulnerable to lower-order collapses in each innings of the first Test, losing their last five wickets in 55 balls in the first innings, and their last six in 36 in the second. With 37 balls still to go following Rizwan’s dismissal, both sides recognised the importance of what would follow.Ultimately, Salman Ali Agha and Saud Shakeel held out for an uneasy stalemate, sending the sun down the sky without further damage, but it illustrated how, initially almost imperceptibly, the tenor of the day had changed. For the best part of it, Pakistan appeared to have stuck day one Gaddafi into a high-quality photocopier for the resemblance between the starts of each Test is uncanny.They won the toss both times, rebuilt after one early wicket for a huge second-wicket stand, and benefitted from South Africa’s largesse in the field, who dropped chances for fun. With the wicket invariably worsening for batting with each passing hour, Pakistan looked to be sealing South Africa’s fate once more.That remains, odds on, the likeliest outcome. Keshav Maharaj spoke of the need to break the sixth-wicket stand in the first session on Monday, which he called, moving session. But, as long as this Test appears to hold faithful to its predecessor, Pakistan did find themselves on wobbly ground at the fall of their fifth wicket in Lahore – on 199 – before a 163-run sixth wicket stand took the game away from the visitors.Related

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But South Africa did learn the value of not going searching from that game. When they took the fifth wicket in Lahore in the 60th over, they went on to concede those 163 in 42.1 overs, just a shade under four runs per over. In that evening session, Agha and Rizwan had fed off South Africa’s urgency, plundering 114 runs before stumps were called. In Pindi, the visitors would not make that mistake, using Maharaj to hold up an end even before the wickets came. The final two sessions cost just 164 at under 2.7 runs, South Africa choosing patience over keenness.It is an approach Pakistan have adopted for their opening batter Abdullah Shafique, whose lack of form for over two years has not been punished with the same alacrity as the PCB can deploy in such matters. Shafique, in turn, chose to return the favour by trying to focus exclusively on time at the crease rather than run-scoring, his strike rate of 39.04 the lowest of any batter on Monday. He finished with a half-century but that did not necessarily mean he has a foundation to build on now. Shafique had three chances put down during a painstaking innings that should have had him back in the first half hour when he inexplicably chose to shoulder arms to Marco Jansen coming around the wicket, the ball tickling the off stump without rousing the bails.”You have to be slightly lucky on the day in international cricket sometimes,” he would later say, somewhat understatedly.Abdullah Shafique rode his luck and also made a half-century•Associated PressThat the day ends even is, in itself, something of a victory for South Africa. Pakistan had the fortune of the toss and their opponent’s generosity in the field all while batting in the best conditions. Shafique said the pitch hadn’t quite slowed up and yet, his team finished the day without having utilised that template to pull clear.It may all not matter in the bigger picture: hot takes on first day tend to be ice cold by the fourth day. Pakistan are within ten runs of the highest total of this series outside their own first innings effort in Lahore; all this may mean is they get there a little later than they might have planned or preferred.But for all that, this purported to be carbon copy of Lahore’s opening salvo could just as easily be seen as an extension to the end of the first Test: South Africa continuing to understand the conditions better, constantly making the tweaks that keep Pakistan reined in for as long as possible. The visitors have refused to give up, and in that sense, perhaps today in Pindi closely resembled not just the first day in Lahore, but every other day on this tour.One year ago, in the second Test against England in Multan and the first Test which kicked off Pakistan’s ongoing experiment with spin-friendly surfaces, they finished with the same slight uncertainty that has characterised on Monday. Pakistan’s score, as the two sides walked off, was 259 for 5, precisely what it was on Monday.Perhaps all days, as Pakistan look to whip every home surface into spin-worthy shape, are rather alike in Pakistan after all.

Bashir Chacha, still hoping to get a ticket for the India vs Pakistan game, could be the only Pakistan fan in the stands

Yash Jha13-Oct-20235:40

‘Once the first ball is bowled, everything is back to normal’

Thursday, 5pm IST. Hundreds of locals have gathered under the Ashram Road flyover in Usmanpura, Ahmedabad. They are there to catch a glimpse of the Pakistan team as they head for training. There’s still 30 minutes to go before the bus leaves the hotel, but two days out from contest of the World Cup, anticipation is heightening and security cover is already at the level you’d see on most match days for other games.But this is a game like no other. India versus Pakistan. In India for the first time in seven years. In front of what could be a record crowd of more than 100,000 people. They played in front of 90,000 at the MCG in last year’s T20 World Cup. Expect this to be louder and far more partisan than anything these Pakistan players would have come up against in their careers.Before the Pakistan team bus leaves the hotel, out walks Mohammad Bashir, known more famously as Bashir . He was a crowd favourite in Hyderabad during Pakistan’s first two World Cup games, and now Ahmedabad locals get their first sighting of him. He could possibly be the only Pakistani fan at the game on Saturday. How’s that for a daunting position to be in?Related

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“,” Bashir asks of the crowd, having scanned the scene for a minute. “India ,” is the instant response, loud in volume but not visceral in tone. The mood is good natured enough for Bashir to counter with a shout of “Pakistan “. The locals gather around him for selfies and the media can’t get enough of the man who moved from Karachi to Chicago four decades ago.Bashir’s attire on the day – a combined Pakistan and India outfit – is in keeping with his life story: his wife is an Indian from Hyderabad and he’s got used to being sledged by her. Remember, India have a proud 7-0 record against Pakistan in ODI World Cups. ” (She told me I’m going to be embarrassed again [by Pakistan losing], I said it doesn’t matter, I have to be there [in Ahmedabad]).”As of Thursday, he didn’t have a ticket to the game yet, but he’s optimistic. In 2011, ahead of the World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan in Mohali, his plea for tickets was fulfilled by MS Dhoni. He says Dhoni and Rohit Sharma have arranged tickets for him on many occasions.

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