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A loaded Saturday of baseball is ahead of us, and we got you covered with all the action all day long.

Below, you'll find our favorite bets for Saturday's card that features a stud pitcher hiding in plain sight. Pablo Lopez had a slow start to 2023, but is starting to finally find his form as we hit the halfway point for the surging Twins. Can Lopez keep it up in a measuring stick matchup against the Mariners? I'm banking on it.

Below, you'll find our favorite bets for Saturday's MLB card.

Best MLB Bets Today, June 29thMets ML (+110) vs. AstrosRoyals ML (-110) vs. GuardiansTwins ML (-120) vs. MarinersAstros vs. Mets Astros Prediction and Pick

The Mets should be able to stay hot against the Astros, who are top five in the big leagues against left handed pitching. 

Southpaw Framber Valdez has struggled to stay healthy this season and pitch to his Cy Young expectation. Valdez has a fourth percentile hard-hit percentage and has lost his ability to find his strikeout prowess, right at the big league average. 

Ride the streaking Mets.

Guardians vs. Royals Prediction and Pick

The Royals, one of the best home teams in baseball, have arguably its best pitcher on the mound in Cole Ragans. Ragans is the superior pitcher with a nasty fastball that strikes out nearly 30% of the batters he has faced this season, and will have the Royals’ bats playing at home to back him up. 

Kansas City is the second best hitting team at home this season, a big reason why the club is 29-15 on the year at Kauffman Stadium. It also helps that the team gets to face Tanner Bibee, who has had a weak fastball and a high flyball rate that can cause issues at Kauffan stadium.

I’ll take the home team in a matchup that is lined like a coin flip. 

Twins vs. Mariners Prediction and Pick

Twins’ starter Pablo Lopez continues to erase a slow start to the season, and his underlying metrics make him a worthwhile bet against a Mariners team that is only hitting .210 in the month of June, the lowest in the big leagues. 

Lopez has been a victim of poor variance, his 3.27 xERA is far lower than his 5.11 ERA with an elite strikeout rate of 27%. 

I’m counting on the Twins’ starter to roll through the overrated Seattle lineup. 

Meanwhile, I'm happy to fade Bryce Miller, the Mariners starter on Saturday night. Miller has a 3.90 ERA that is supported by a 4.34 xERA. I'm confident the Twins, who are third in OPS this month, can knock around the regression bound Miller.

Glasgow Rangers have decided that they will not wield their axe to part ways with Russell Martin this early into his tenure after the 2-0 defeat to Hearts on Saturday.

A brace from Lawrence Shankland condemned the Light Blues to their first loss in the Scottish Premiership this season, after they had drawn their first four matches.

RangersReview journalist Chris Jack has reported that the manager has the support of the board, for now, and that there are no plans to hold talks over his position at Ibrox.

Why Russell Martin is under pressure at Rangers

Four points from five matches is the worst start to a top-flight season by the Light Blues in 47 years, which is part of the reason why the head coach’s position is under pressure.

The former Southampton manager’s style of play is also yet to resonate with supporters, who have seen just three goals in five league games with the possession-heavy style.

Crashing out of the Champions League qualifiers with a 9-1 loss to Club Brugge on aggregate did little to help Martin’s relationship with the fanbase, as some supporters decided to call for him to be sacked after the 6-0 defeat in the second leg.

However, the team’s problems on the pitch this season are not solely Martin or the coaching staff’s fault. The players have to take some accountability for the performances, as Nasser Djiga has been as much of a problem as the manager.

Why Nasser Djiga has been a problem for Rangers this season

The Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee made an impressive start to life at Ibrox in the 2-0 win over Panathinaikos in the Champions League, helping his team to keep a clean sheet with four out of five duels won, per Sofascore.

Unfortunately, that performance was not a sign of things to come from the Burkina Faso international. Instead, the Premier League loanee has been too much of a liability in recent weeks.

There have been too many questionable lapses in concentration defensively. Michael Stewart criticised the defender’s failure to get back and help his teammates out defensively against Alloa.

Stewart said: “He has not helped his team out one little bit. He was lying on the ground as if he had been pole-axed, and whether it’s a foul or not, he needs to get back and help his team out. They were left short of numbers at the back, brutally exposed, and he’s on the ground rolling about.”

As you can see in the clip above, Djiga also had a nightmare in the opening minutes of the first leg against Club Brugge, as he inexplicably allowed their forward to race clear through on goal.

As you can see in the table above, the Light Blues have conceded 16 goals in the ten matches that he has played for the club to date, which is a woeful defensive record.

His latest performance did little to change the narrative because Shankland got the run across him to score the first goal for Hearts in the match, and the Wolves loanee was substituted at half-time.

Rangers had "athletic beast" on trial, now he's worth more than Chermiti

Rangers had a star on trial in 2023 who is now worth £7m more than Youssef Chermiti.

By
Dan Emery

Sep 12, 2025

As is also the case with Martin, not every problem or defensive problem has been Djiga’s fault this season, but both the manager and the centre-back have to be accountable for the consistently poor defensive displays up to this point.

Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel were at the crease, again, as Rajasthan Royals failed to close out a game they should have

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Apr-20253:09

Rayudu: RR panicked under pressure

For the second game in a row, Rajasthan Royals (RR) failed to close a chase out.Three days ago, against Delhi Capitals (DC), RR needed 23 runs off the last 12 deliveries, with seven wickets standing. But the match ended in a tie, and RR lost the Super Over. While chasing 181 against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Jaipur on Saturday, RR required 25 runs from 18 balls, and had eight wickets in hand. Yet, they lost by two runs.After the latest reversal, RR’s stand-in captain Riyan Parag said such results were “really kind of hard to process”. “I don’t know what we did wrong. I felt we were in the game probably till the 18th over and 19th over, actually,” Parag said at the post-match presentation. “But yeah, I don’t know.”Related

RCB look for Chinnaswamy joy against still-tinkering RR

Avesh Khan wins a Russian roulette of yorkers at the death

With three overs to go against LSG, RR had two set batters at the crease. Yashasvi Jaiswal was batting on 74, and Parag on 38. But the 18th over from Avesh Khan began with Jaiswal bowled by a yorker, and ended with Parag trapped lbw by another yorker, as he looked to scoop but missed. In the last over, against Avesh again, Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel could score only six runs out of the nine required.Did Jaiswal and Parag falling at a critical time make the big difference?”I think it’s something along those lines,” Parag said. “I blame myself for this. I probably should have finished it in the 19th over. But then, I don’t know if that was a bad decision for myself. I mean, we [have] just got to put one game together collectively for 40 overs. Only then can we expect a win.”But Parag also pointed to the one big over with the ball – the last – for taking the target beyond RR. The experienced Sandeep Sharma was taken for 27 runs in that over, with Abdul Samad smashing him for four sixes. That took LSG to 180.”I think we did really well [with the ball]. The last over was unfortunate,” he said. “I kind of thought we would stop them at like 165, [or] 170 max. The last over was unfortunate. Sandy is trusted. I think he just had one bad game, and Abdul Samad batted really well. So I thought we were like probably 20 runs over par [or] 15 runs over par. But we should have chased that down.”This was RR’s fourth loss in a row, and left them at eighth on the points table. They have won just two games out of eight so far, and head into their next match, an away fixture against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on April 24, after a five-day break.

The lack of Premier League football might be a drag, but West Ham United fans were at least able to watch Jarrod Bowen on Tuesday night.

The sensationally talented winger didn’t feature in the drab 2-0 win over Andorra, but he did come off the bench in the 5-0 demolition of Serbia.

It was the Hammers star’s 17th cap for the country, and while that’s a great achievement, plenty would argue his talent and form suggest he should have plenty more under his belt.

The Englishman has been one of the Irons’ best players for years now, but he might have some welcome competition in the shape of an academy gem pretty soon.

Bowen's West Ham career

Bowen joined West Ham in January 2020 from Hull City for a fairly hefty fee – for a Championship player – of £20m.

While it’s easy to forget today, the then 23-year-old wasn’t an instant hit in East London, scoring just a single goal and providing four assists in his 13 appearances that season.

However, we started to see the player we recognise today the following season, as he bolstered his return to eight goals and six assists and, from that point on, was one of the club’s key players.

Undoubtedly, the 28-year-old’s best moment for the Hammers came in the 2023 Conference League final, in which he scored the match-winning goal in the 90th minute to hand the club their first European trophy.

In all, the Leominster-born monster has made 242 appearances for West Ham, totalling 19251 minutes, in which he’s scored 75 goals and provided 52 assists.

That means the legend in the making has managed to average a goal involvement every 1.90 games, or every 151.58 minutes since making the move to the London Stadium over five years ago.

With all that said, it’s certainly encouraging that the academy might be about to provide the club with their own homegrown version of Bowen.

West Ham's homegrown Bowen

West Ham have a proud history of developing some seriously top talent, and the latest star to come out of their academy may just be Elisha Sowunmi.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

The 18-year-old prospect joined the club at the under-9s level and put pen to paper on his first professional contract earlier this summer.

It’s not hard to see why the Hammers were keen to tie him down, as he’s come on leaps and bounds in the junior sides and had a campaign to remember last season.

For example, in 25 appearances totalling just 2081 minutes, the promising talent put the ball in the back of the net 14 times and provided two assists to boot.

That means he was able to maintain an average of a goal involvement every 1.56 games, or every 130.06 and suggests he could be a real goal threat when he progresses to the first team, like Bowen.

Appearances

25

Minutes

2081′

Goals

14

Assists

2

Goal Involvements per Match

0.64

Minutes per Goal Involvement

130.06′

However, that isn’t the only trait he shares with the 28-year-old, as he’s also incredibly versatile, having played all over the pitch from attacking midfield to up top and off the right, which is now considered his primary role.

It should be said that the step-up to senior football is massive, and it may take a few years before fans see him on a regular basis, but as academy manager Kenny Brown points out, “he has all the talent in the world.”

Ultimately, Bowen is without question West Ham’s best player and probably will remain so for at least a few more years, but keep an eye out for Sowunmi – he looks like the real deal.

West Ham can forget Lampard by hiring "the best manager in the world"

The league-winning legend would give West Ham a much bigger boost than Lampard.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Sep 9, 2025

It is over between Newcastle United and Alexander Isak. The Sweden international will reportedly move to Liverpool in the final hours of the window, getting the move he has desired the whole summer.

It leaves the Magpies in need of a new centre-forward, and the likes of Nicolas Jackson of Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers star Jorgen Strand Larsen are two of their options.

However, in the final throes of the window, Eddie Howe’s side could target another option.

Newcastle’s latest centre-forward target

Despite moves for Jackson and Strand Larsen being a possibility, TBR Football reports that the Magpies have ‘had discussions’ to sign Paris Saint-Germain and France international striker Randal Kolo Muani.

Transfer Focus

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

The French champions want a loan deal with an obligation to buy the player at this late stage. It was reported that a fee of £50m could be the fee Luis Enrique’s side ask for.

Newcastle’s top-flight rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, are also linked.

Why Kolo Muani would be a good signing

Despite struggling for regular minutes at PSG last term, Kolo Muani impressed on a loan spell at Juventus. His form for the Old Lady helped to raise his stock again after a tough time in Paris, after once being described as a “diamond” by football scout Antonio Mango.

Last term, the Frenchman, who is from Bondy, the same area as Kylian Mbappe, shone for the Serie A giants. In 22 appearances for the club, he found the back of the net ten times and assisted three goals. He also scored twice for PSG in minimal game time.

Kolo Muani shot to world fame after a successful 2022 World Cup campaign for France. Of course, Les Bleus fell just short of retaining their title after losing to Argentina in the final, but the striker, who donned the number 12 shirt for that competition, scored in the semi-final against Morocco and assisted in the final.

Well, there is certainly a case to be made that the Frenchman would be a better addition than both Strand Larsen and Jackson. The Wolves striker did outscore him last season, with 13 goals, but played almost double the number of games.

As for Chelsea striker Jackson, who saw a late loan move to Bayern Munich called off, he had similar success to Kolo Muani.

The Senegal star bagged 13 goals and assisted six for the Blues, but again, played far more than the 2022 World Cup star.

In terms of their minutes per goal ratio last season, Jackson averaged a goal every 224 minutes in the Premier League for Chelsea.

As for Strand Larsen, he scored one goal every 186 minutes on average in the English top flight. Both are higher than Kolo Muani’s tally of 151 minutes per goal, for both Juve and PSG.

Other underlying numbers suggest that Newcastle should prioritise the signing of Kolo Muani. For example, he is a better chance creator, averaging 1.3 key passes each game compared to 0.73 for Strand Larsen and 1.13 for Jackson per 90 minutes.

Goals

0.59

0.49

0.4

Goals per shot on target

0.42

0.42

0.29

Key passes

1.3

0.73

1.13

Take-ons completed

1.48

0.28

0.73

Ball recoveries

2.43

1.46

1.94

This is not a deal that would harm Newcastle financially this summer, given it would be a loan move with an obligation to buy next summer. Given Kolo Muani’s clinical nature in front of goal and how he brings others into the game, it is easy to see why this would be the best option for the Magpies.

More prolific than Woltemade: Newcastle trying to sign £65m star on Monday

Newcastle are hoping to complete some final bits of business before the transfer window shuts.

ByAngus Sinclair Sep 1, 2025

Following a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Arsenal, Leeds United are reportedly in talks to sanction the departure of a player who earns over £900,000 a year at Elland Road.

Farke: Arsenal thrashing not "season-defining"

Daniel Farke could have counted on one hand the amount of Premier League fans that expected Leeds to head to Arsenal and secure a shock victory, such is the difficulty for newly-promoted sides against the top six.

It was always likely to be the ruthless welcome back to the top flight that Everton were unable to hand the Whites, but Farke was quick to claim that their 5-0 defeat was far from “season-defining”.

Whilst their trip to the Emirates should be one that Leeds learn from, they should also move on quickly and prepare for both Sheffield Wednesday in the Carabao Cup and then Newcastle United’s visit to Elland Road next weekend.

Not just Gruev: Farke must drop 4/10 Leeds star who lost 100% duels

Daniel Farke should ruthlessly drop this Leeds flop as well as Ilia Gruev for the next Premier League game.

ByDan Emery Aug 24, 2025

As they look to return to winning ways, however, they may have to do so without one attacking player who could be heading to La Liga before the end of the transfer window.

Valencia in talks to sign Ramazani

According to Sacha Tavolieri, Valencia are now in talks to sign Largie Ramazani on loan from Leeds this month. The winger was left out of Farke’s squad to face Arsenal after the German opted to pick other options.

Now, he could leave on loan to the La Liga club, managed by former Marcelo Bielsa assistant Carlos Corberan, who could reportedly cover his £910,000-a-year salary and have a buy option included in their deal.

Since then, reports from Spain have claimed the 24-year-old has ‘fully agreed terms’ with the La Liga side. After just one season at the club, Ramazani’s time at Leeds looks destined to come to a swift end this month.

The fact that the winger was left out of Farke’s squad to face Arsenal was never a good sign, even though the Leeds boss told reporters when questioned about that decision: “It was just due to the decision about Noah Okafor, not against Largie.”

Tottenham Hotspur’s pursuit of Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White will undoubtedly go down as one of the strangest moves during the summer transfer window.

The Lilywhites thought they had a deal agreed for the 25-year-old, after triggering the £60m release clause within his contract at the City Ground – well, so they thought anyway.

It emerged that Nuno Espírito Santo’s side claimed the approach for his signature was illegal, subsequently putting a move for the Englishman to North London on hold.

However, the attacking midfielder has since agreed a record-breaking contract to stay with the Reds, taking a release clause out of his deal, something which was spare headed by owner Evangelos Marinakis.

Missing out on such a top-level Premier League star will undoubtedly be a disappointment to Thomas Frank and the rest of the Lilywhites staff, but it appears as though they have already moved on to different targets before the end of the window.

The latest on Spurs’ hunt for new additions this summer

It’s been reported in recent days that Spurs are preparing a move for Manchester City star James McAtee, who’s free to leave the club this summer with just one year left on his contract.

They could be battling Forest for his signature, after they had a £25m bid rejected, with Pep Guardiola’s side demanding a fee in the region of £40m this summer.

However, a cheaper alternative appears to already have been identified, with the hierarchy interested in making a move for Stuttgart midfielder Enzo Millot, according to Estadio Deportivo.

The report claims the Lilywhites are trying to hijack a move for the 23-year-old, after he had already agreed personal terms over a deal to join Atlético Madrid this summer.

It also states the Frenchman currently has a €20m (£17m) release clause within his deal at the Bundesliga side, potentially seeing the North London side getting themselves a bargain.

Why Spurs’ £17m target is a bigger star than Gibbs-White

Gibbs-White would’ve been a sensational signing for the club, especially after Frank made his intentions to land the England international given his admiration for his talents.

The 25-year-old played a key role in Forest’s success last season, notching 15 combined goals and assists in the top-flight, helping them achieve a European finish for the first time in 30 years.

£60m would’ve been one of the most expensive additions in the club’s history, but such a fee would’ve been excellent business, as seen by the Reds’ reluctance to allow him to depart.

Never before has a situation like this been seen over a transfer, but it’s no surprise when dealing with Mr Marinakis, who’s evidently a tricky person to do business with.

However, whilst many supporters must wish a deal for his signature was completed, it may prove to be a blessing in disguise if they can secure a move for Millot in the coming weeks.

The youngster has showcased in the Bundesliga over recent times that he’s a huge talent, worth way more than his current release clause, with the Lilywhites needing to take full advantage this summer.

He produced countless stats better than those of Gibbs-White last campaign, highlighting why he’d be a bigger talent than the England international ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.

Millot, who’s been labelled “remarkable” by Stuttgart sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth, managed to register five goal contributions in his eight Champions League outings last season, showcasing his ability to thrive at the top-level.

His underlying stats were just as impressive, notching a higher shot on target accuracy rate, subsequently handing Frank’s side a bigger threat in front of goal.

Games played

29

34

Goals & assists

11

15

Goals & assists (per 90)

0.54

0.48

Shot on target accuracy

40%

34%

Pass accuracy

85%

78%

Passes into final third

4.3

4.1

Passes into opposition box

1.6

1.3

Take-on success

46%

40%

Carries into opposition box

0.8

0.4

The Frenchman’s dominance is further reflected in his higher tallies of passes into the final third, with more of which going into the opposition’s 18-yard box, offering a bigger creative threat to the Lilywhites should he join this summer.

There’s no denying that Gibbs-White would’ve been most supporters’ number one choice this summer, but it’s evident that Millot would be a better addition for Frank’s side.

£17m would be a simply superb price for a player of his quality, arguably being one of the best additions made by any Premier League side if they can get it completed in the coming days.

A bigger coup than Palhinha: Spurs make contact for "incredible" £50m star

Tottenham Hotspur appear to be making a move for another new signing after progress was made on a deal for João Palhinha.

1 ByEthan Lamb Aug 3, 2025

Ryan Mason has undergone a lot of pre-seasons as a player.

However, the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder turned West Bromwich Albion boss is now close to completing his first summer in football as a rookie manager, with all the pre-season fixtures done and dusted ahead of Championship action kicking back off.

Mason will be hoping he’s the spark from the dug-out that guides the Baggies back up to the promised land of the Premier League, with West Brom deep into their fifth straight season as a second-tier outfit when matches get back underway.

The 33-year-old has been well-backed in the transfer window, with a whopping £4.7m solely splashed out on landing the clinical Aune Heggebo from Brann, as the lavish spending looks set to potentially continue in the centre-forward department.

West Brom could go back in for £4.3m star

The proof will soon be in the pudding as to whether that amount was too steep to fork out for Heggebo.

However, his numbers playing in his native Norway do not lie, with a mightily impressive 51 goals coming his way for Brann from 146 appearances. Subsequently, Mason is now spoiled for choice up top between his new, shiny 24-year-old and West Brom’s main marksman, Josh Maja.

He could have even more options to call into action if reports from Spain are to be believed, with a new update coming to light on West Brom’s previous centre-forward target, Chris Ramos.

Indeed, Diairo De Cadiz has stated that the Cadiz attacker is generating plenty of interest this summer in his services, but there is no rush to offload him just yet.

The La Liga 2 club is waiting for an offer in the £4.3m region to consider parting ways, having had a far lower £2.1m bid from the Championship side come their way in recent times.

The hope will be that the 6-foot-3 Spaniard can go on to be Mason’s very own Salomon Rondon, with the lofty striker often a physical brute when powering home goal after goal for Cadiz, much like the imposing Venezuelan was at the Hawthorns.

How Ramos can be Mason's own Rondon

Of course, when Rondon was leading the line as a formidable centre-forward, West Brom were seen as Premier League regulars, rather than second-tier promotion material.

While the now 35-year-old was never the most clinical or the most eye-catching – with a reasonable 28 strikes coming his way from 120 Baggies outings – nobody could speak ill about his commitment to the cause, as his final season at the Hawthorns saw him win a dominant 7.7 duels on average per Premier League clash.

Ramos has shown off a similar prowess in the air for Cadiz all across his ongoing stay at his hometown club, with this powerful effort above showing off the 28-year-old’s ability to head home under pressure in a similar vein to Rondon.

Staggeringly, Ramos wasn’t too far off Rondon’s duels won total either when plying his trade in La Liga during the 2023/24 campaign, as the Spanish forward averaged a mighty 7.1 successful duels per match, even as Gaizka Garitano’s side succumbed to relegation.

Games played

37

37

Games started

30

24

Goals scored

5

10

Scoring frequency

Every 525 minutes

Every 223 minutes

Big chances missed

16

15

Total duels won*

7.1

5.1

West Brom do need an option up top that can throw themselves about with conviction, especially with Daryl Dike now back in the treatment room, with Ramos also a reliable source of goals for Cadiz across his last two breakout seasons, as seen in his tally of 15 strikes in all competitions.

While Ramos might struggle initially to instantly break into the first-team ranks, possessing a striker with such strong physical attributes will be an effective weapon for Mason to have up his sleeve across the long EFL season to come.

If he does go on to be a success, the Cadiz number 16 could retrace Rondon’s footsteps even more by becoming a tough, no-nonsense attacker for the West Midlands outfit in the luxurious Premier League.

Perfect for Fellows: West Brom weigh up offer for PL "huge talent"

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ByKelan Sarson Aug 4, 2025

Samarawickrama and Dilhari strike fifties but fail to overhaul Ireland’s 173 for 3 and go down by seven runs

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Aug-2024Gaby Lewis’ smashing second T20I century backed up by Orla Prendergast’s all-round show helped Ireland record a close seven-run win in the second T20I against Sri Lanka to level the two-match series 1-1.Batting first in Dublin, Ireland lost Amy Hunter inside the powerplay, but Lewis kept the hosts going. She found an ally in Prendergast with the duo adding 119 runs for the second wicket off 80 balls. Lewis did the bulk of the scoring in the partnership with 78 off 49 balls while Prendergast scored 38 off 31.Lewis reached her fifty off 40 balls with both batters upping their pace after the halfway mark. Prendergast struck Achini Kulasuriya for back-to-back fours in the 12th over before Lewis followed suit in the next striking Shashini Gimhani for two fours of her own. Even with Prendergast not finding the boundaries often, Lewis made sure to keep the scoreboard ticking.Lewis raced to her second T20I century in the 19th over smashing Kanchana for a six and four, getting to the mark in 68 balls. An emotional Lewis hugged her partner and removed her helmet raising her bat to the crowd and her team-mates. She then took three fours off Kulasuriya in the final over and was run out off the final ball for 119 off 75 ball as Ireland raced to 173 for 3, their sixth-highest total in T20Is. Lewis struck 17 fours and two sixes in her innings.Sri Lanka lost Vishmi Gunaratne early in the chase but Harshitha Samarawickrama threatened to repeat her first T20I heroics once again. She started with two fours in the first over against Freya Sargent before hitting Jane Maguire for six.Samarawickrama got good support from No. 4 Kavisha Dilhari with the duo adding 72 off 49 balls for the fourth wicket. Just when things looked to be going Sri Lanka’s way, Jane Maguire struck a telling blow removing Samarawickrama for a 44-ball 65.Dilhari, however, kept finding the boundaries at regular intervals even as Sri Lanka lost wickets at the other end. The visitors required 22 off the last two overs and 16 off six. Dilhari struck a six in the final over to reach her fifty but with eight needed off two, failed to get a clean connection as the hosts managed to level the series.

Williamson admits “it’s very frustrating” to start the tournament with such a big loss

Vishal Dikshit08-Jun-20243:17

Rashid: Cricket the biggest source of happiness for Afghanistan fans

Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan has called their 84-run thrashing of New Zealand in the T20 World Cup 2024 as “one of the greatest performances” from them in T20 cricket. Afghanistan made their defence of 159 a very one-sided affair by bundling New Zealand out for just 75 with four-fors from Fazalhaq Farooqi and Rashid himself.”It’s one of the greatest performances from us especially in T20s against a big team, New Zealand,” Rashid said at the presentation. “It is all great team effort. It’s not just about the bowling. It’s the batting, the way Ibrahim [Zadran] and [Rahmanullah] Gurbaz started. Again, the wicket wasn’t easy to score on. But the way they played, they didn’t throw away their wickets early on when they had a few dot balls from overs seven to nine. I think that was the time when they thought about taking it deep and overall it was a great effort, great win for Afghanistan and it’s a great feeling to be leading this side and winning against New Zealand.”Related

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Afghanistan show they are more than just their spinners

Rashid, Farooqi and Gurbaz the stars as Afghanistan crush NZ

Afghanistan now top the Group C table after their second straight win, scripted by a second straight century opening partnership between Gurbaz and Ibrahim. New Zealand, meanwhile, are at the bottom with a net run rate of -4.200 after losing their tournament opener by a big margin. They now have a challenging path to qualify for the Super Eights because their next game is against co-hosts West Indies in Tarouba.Rashid further said a score around 160-170 was going to be par on this surface because he had confidence in his bowling attack, even though Mujeeb Ur Rahman was out with a hand injury.”It’s something we have discussed before coming into the competition,” he said. “Anything around 160-170 we score on this track, with the bowling unit we have, we will give tough time to the opposition. We knew there was support for the bowlers in the wicket. As long as we keep things simple and hit the right areas consistently, it was going to be more effective for us, and that’s what happened. The spinners and especially the seamers, the way they started bowling and then Nabi bowling the second over – that gave us a very positive sign for the spinners that the ball is turning. Dew was there but still bowling tight, wicket to wicket, and the skills as a bowling unit we have, if we use our skills [to the potential], it’s going to be very hard for the opposition to score 160.”2:08

Williamson: ‘We were outplayed by Afghanistan’

Most frustrating part was fielding, says WilliamsonNew Zealand captain Kane Williamson also conceded they were “outplayed” in all facets of the game on a slow and tough Providence surface. Williamson also lamented several fielding lapses from New Zealand which allowed Afghanistan to accelerate after a cautious start.They also have plenty of errors to rue about, especially the two catches they put down and a run-out and stumping chance they missed. Williamson also felt the Afghanistan batters “played beautifully” to get to a total of 159 on a “fiddly surface”.”The most frustrating part, I think, was the fielding in the first ten overs,” he said. “It’s difficult on a wicket like that when you are not putting it together in the field, to restrict opposition teams. We certainly had opportunities in that first half and we didn’t take it.”They simply outplayed us in all facets of the game,” Williamson said of Afghanistan. “To get a total like that on a fiddly surface, they kept wickets in hand and played it beautifully. From our perspective, it wasn’t good enough in terms of starting a tournament. It’s very frustrating, but it’s a quick turnaround for us now, we have to regroup quickly and move on to our next challenge.”New Zealand will now fly to Tarouba before their next game on June 11. If West Indies beat Uganda by then for their second win, New Zealand’s qualification for the next stage will get even tougher.”I think it is about taking a step in the right direction first,” Williamson said of their next match. “Our performance was not good enough and we expected more from ourselves, and we know we are better than that. We know we’ve got another big challenge coming up, and the West Indies are playing fantastic cricket. For us it is about putting together a performance we can be proud of and gives us the best chance.”It’s the opportunities we had and we didn’t take and on a surface like that, it goes a long way to changing the score and the outcome. We had a couple of overs to perhaps keep it something defendable but we needed to get a lot right in the second innings with what was on offer and they executed really well.”