Chelsea are reportedly prepared to loan out Raheem Sterling after struggling to sell him permanently.

Chelsea keen to offload SterlingOpen to loaning out wingerBlues trying to sell 8 othersFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The Telegraph states that Chelsea are prepared to loan out the 30-year-old again, following an underwhelming stint at Arsenal last season. The Blues are reportedly trying to sell eight more players before the transfer window shuts on September 1.

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Sterling's career appears to be heading in the wrong direction after falling out of favour at Chelsea and failing to impress on loan at Arsenal last season. The England international, who scored one goal and added five assists in 28 appearances for the Gunners in 2024-25, has been linked with Fulham but is also open to the right opportunities outside of London.

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The report adds that Chelsea are trying to arrange permanent exits or loans for Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi, Renato Veiga, Carney Chukwuemeka, Ben Chilwell, and potentially Tyrique George and Aaron Anselmino.

Getty/GOALWHAT NEXT?

Former Manchester City man Sterling, who has scored 19 goals and added 15 assists in 81 games for Chelsea, is said to be on wages in excess of £300,000 a week at Stamford Bridge, and that is proving a difficult hurdle when it comes to moving him on. Incidentally, his contract runs until 2027.

Even though he missed almost four months of action, it would be fair to say that Bukayo Saka was one of Arsenal’s best players this season.

It shouldn’t have been much of a surprise, though, as the Hale End superstar has been getting better seemingly year after year for some time now.

However, even so, his tally of 12 goals and 14 assists in 37 appearances this year was nothing short of remarkable, and had he been fit for more of it, the Gunners might have run Liverpool a lot closer in the Premier League.

So, fans should be incredibly excited about recent reports linking Arsenal with a young wonderkid who’s been compared to the talismanic number seven.

Arsenal transfer news

Before we get to the player in question, it’s worth looking at a couple of the other brilliant players linked with Arsenal in recent weeks and months, like Ademola Lookman and Karou Mitoma.

Transfer Focus

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

The former could be available for around £55m this summer and would be a great addition to the Gunners’ squad, as in 40 appearances for Atalanta this season, he has scored 20 goals and provided seven assists.

Mitoma, on the other hand, could end up costing as much as £80m, and with a tally of 11 goals and four assists in 41 games, he might be less appealing of a target, even though he’s tried and tested in the Premier League.

However, neither of these wingers can be classed as a young up-and-coming wonderkid like Kenan Yıldız.

Yes, according to a recent report from Caught Offside, Arsenal are now interested in the tremendously exciting Juventus gem.

Interestingly, the report reveals that much of this interest stems from the soon-to-be-hired Matteo Tognozzi, who was a scout at the Old Lady and was the man who discovered the talented Turkish ace.

However, if the Gunners are to get their man, they’ll likely have to match the Italian giant’s asking price of up to €80m, which converts to about £68m.

It would be a lot to spend on someone so young, but given Yıldız’s immense ability and potential, this is a transfer worth fighting for, especially as he’s been compared to Saka before.

How Yıldız compares to Saka

So, before we get into some of the other reasons Arsenal should be signing Yıldız this summer, it’s important to examine this comparison to Saka and where it has come from.

Well, in this instance, it stems from FBref, which looked at players in similar positions in last summer’s European Championships, before creating a list of the ten most comparable players.

By doing this, it concluded that the Englishman was the third most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the Turkish wonderkid in the entire competition.

Yıldız & Saka
Statistics per 90	Yıldız	Saka
Expected Assists	0.11	0.11
Non-Penalty Expected G+As	0.20	0.20
Passing Accuracy	83.65%	83.8%
Shot-Creating Actions	3.65	3.30
Goal-Creating actions	0.26	0.47
Tackles Won	0.53	0.57
Blocks	1.05	1.00
All Stats via FBref for EURO 2024

The best way to see how this is worked out is by taking a look at the underlying metrics in which the pair rank closely, including but not limited to non-penalty expected goals plus assists, expected assists, tackles won, blocks, passing accuracy and more, all per 90.

However, while a comparison to someone as brilliantly talented as the Englishman is certainly encouraging, it’s not the only reason the Gunners should be looking to sign the young Juve ace.

For example, the “special talent,” as dubbed by respected analyst Ben Mattinson, can play almost anywhere in attack, from both wings to attacking midfield and even up top.

Moreover, despite being 19 for most of this season, the Regensburg-born prospect scored seven goals and provided five assists in 35 appearances, which comes out to a pretty decent average of a goal involvement every 2.91 games for someone so young.

Ultimately, while it would be a lot of money, Yıldız looks like he could be one of football’s next great stars, and for that reason, Arsenal should do what they can to sign him – the comparison to Saka is a nice bonus.

A hybrid between Gabriel & Saliba: Arsenal join the race to sign £68m star

Arsenal could sign a defender who’s like Gabriel and William Saliba.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Jun 12, 2025

MatériaMais Notícias

da blaze casino： Na quarta-feira (11), Leila Pereira concedeu uma entrevista coletiva recheada de polêmicas no Palmeiras. Entre os assuntos debatidos, um deles acabou ficando em segundo plano, que foi o do planejamento para abrir concorrência para novos patrocinadores interessados em ocupar as posições que hoje são da Crefisa, sua empresa, na camisa do clube. O processo se assemelha a uma licitação e é chamado de BID.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasPalmeirasLetícia projeta mata-mata da Libertadores e se mostra confiante por primeiro título com o PalmeirasPalmeiras13/10/2023PalmeirasPalmeiras x Olimpia: onde assistir ao vivo e horário do jogo pelas quartas da Libertadores FemininaPalmeiras14/10/2023PalmeirasTabata, Navarro, Veron… Como estão os jogadores que o Palmeiras de Abel se desfezPalmeiras13/10/2023

da bet nacional： + Veja tabela e classificação do Brasileirão-2023 clicando aqui

– Temos contrato e vamos honrar até o final. Vou ser candidata a reeleição no Palmeiras e se o associado tiver confiança no meu trabalho e eu for reeleita, terei o maior prazer de continuar patrocinando. Mas nós faremos uma BID, uma concorrência, caso vier alguém pagamento acima do valor que vou me propor a pagar, desde que seja uma empresa idônea – declarou a mandatária palmeirense.

+ Você quer trabalhar no seu clube do coração? Matricule-se no curso Gestor de Futebol e entenda como!

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+ Sábado recheado! Aposte R$100 e ganhe mais de R$830 com combinada da Série B

O termo BID vem de “Bidding Process”, que em tradução para o português significa “Processo de Licitação”. Ou seja, Leila quer abrir para o mercado a possibilidade de outras empresas oferecerem suas propostas para patrocinar o Palmeiras. No mundo empresarial, nem sempre os valores mais altos são os mais vantajosos, mas sim o pacote que acompanha o projeto apresentado, dependendo dos desejos da instituição que abriu para os “lances”.

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+ Leila Pereira lança desafio que pode aumentar valor do patrocínio do Palmeiras

No caso do Palmeiras, o valor definido para o mercado será aquele que a Crefisa se propuser a pagar, se alguém chegar com cifras maiores e/ou uma proposta mais vantajosa, terá prioridade. Atualmente, a empresa de Leila desembolsa R$ 81 milhões fixos por ano por todos os espaços da camisa. Parte da torcida alviverde questiona que essa quantia já está defasada, até pela marca ser exclusiva no uniforme.

– Até hoje não chegou nada. Estou sempre aberta a propostas, mas o que desejo é que finalize o nosso contrato de patrocínio em dezembro de 2024 e só então que vamos abrir para novas empresas que queiram patrocinar o Palmeiras.

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Como disse Leila, esse processo somente será aberto a partir de dezembro de 2024, quando termina o mandato da presidente e o contrato de patrocínio, que foi renovado em 2021, na época em que o presidente era Maurício Galiotte. Segundo a apuração da reportagem, de fato nenhuma outra empresa abordou o Verdão de forma oficial para um contrato de patrocínio para a equipe masculina.

No Feminino, que fazia parte do pacote do patrocínio da Crefisa, Leila abriu mão da exclusividade para que o mercado bancasse a modalidade. O processo deu certo e quatro marcas estampam atualmente o uniforme das jogadoras.

+ Do amor ao ódio: o passo a passo da implosão da relação de Leila Pereira com organizada do Palmeiras

A verdade é que ansiedade da torcida terá que esperar, pois estamos a mais de um ano de esse processo ser aberto. Enquanto isso, o clube permanece com o patrocínio das empresas de Leila Pereira, que também dá direito a bônus por títulos e metas.

Tudo sobre

Palmeiras

Glasgow Rangers head coach Danny Rohl is only a few weeks away from having the chance to make changes to his playing squad for the first time since he joined the club.

The German boss arrived after the summer transfer window, which was spearheaded by Russell Martin and Kevin Thelwell, which means that he does not have any of his own signings.

Whilst the former Sheffield Wednesday boss will want to make some signings of his own to bolster the squad, Rohl may also want to move some of the current players on in the January transfer window.

The Rangers players who should be let go in January

There are several current first-team duds who should be moved on ahead of the second half of the season because they do not look like key players for the new manager.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Clinton Nsiala, for example, is yet to play a single minute of football in the 2025/26 campaign, per Transfermarkt, and has only made the matchday squad on four occasions.

With John Souttar, Derek Cornelius, Nasser Djiga, and Emmanuel Fernandez ahead of him in the pecking order when fit, an exit in January could be the best move for his career.

Rabbi Matondo, per Transfermarkt, is another player who has not played a single minute of action this season and has not made any matchday squads, which suggests that he may be free to find a new club in January if he is not part of the manager’s plans.

Finally, Kieran Dowell should also be moved on in the winter amid reported interest from English Championship side Hull City, who are looking to sign him on loan.

Why Kieran Dowell should never play a minute under Danny Rohl

The English attacking midfielder, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Birmingham, played 384 minutes across six appearances in July and August under Martin and failed to score any goals before picking up an injury.

He was even described as “non-existent” by Heart & Hand content creator David Edgar in the 2-0 win over Panathinaikos in July, as he failed to create a single chance in 75 minutes on the pitch, per Sofascore.

Now back fit, having played for the U19s with Dujon Sterling last month, Dowell has not been involved in a single matchday squad for Rohl, per Sofascore, which suggests that he is not in the manager’s thoughts for the first-team.

With Hull said to be interested in signing him, Rangers appear to have the opportunity to move him on from Ibrox on loan for the second half of the season, before his contract expires in the summer, per Transfermarkt.

The Light Blues would, therefore, be allowing him to leave on a free transfer after his loan spell at Hull ends, which would give the Tigers a chance to assess whether or not they want to sign him permanently ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.

On top of having that option, Dowell should also not play a single minute for Rohl between now and January because Lyall Cameron would be a better player to bring in if the manager wants to change his attacking midfielder.

Appearances

12

33

Goals

0

9

Conversion rate

0%

17%

Key passes per game

0.7

1.6

Big chances created

3

6

Assists

0

5

The Scottish starlet, as shown in the table above, appears far more likely to make an impact in the Scottish Premiership as an attacking midfielder, after a return of 15 goal contributions last season.

Cameron, however, has been an unused substitute in seven of the last eight games in all competitions, and in all of the last four, per Transfermarkt, which shows how difficult it is to get a place in the team under the German head coach.

Therefore, given how far down the pecking order he is, it is hard to see a situation where Dowell ends up playing any minutes on the pitch for Rangers before he has the chance to join Hull on loan at the start of next month.

This is why the former Norwich City playmaker, who has registered zero goals and one assist in six games this season, should never play for Rohl, and why he should be allowed to leave on loan in January before being released on a free transfer next summer.

Bid already submitted: Rangers could sign a "very pacy" Gassama replacement

Rangers could replace Djeidi Gassama on the wing by signing this reported target in the January window.

ByDan Emery 2 days ago

The left-footed flop has only provided two goals and three assists in 38 appearances for Rangers, per Transfermarkt, since his move from the Canaries in 2023, which illustrates how little he has contributed as an attacking force on the pitch in his time at Ibrox.

أدرك لاعبو فريق الكرة الأول بنادي الزمالك التعادل أمام البنك الأهلي، في المباراة التي تجمع بين الفريقين، في الدوري المصري الممتاز. 

ويواجه فريق الزمالك نظيره البنك الأهلي، في الجولة الـ12 من عمر مسابقة الدوري الممتاز، على ملعب القاهرة الدولي. 

طالع.. فيديو | أسامة فيصل يسجل هدف البنك الأهلي الأول أمام الزمالك

وأحرز الأنجولي شيكوبانزا، هدف التعادل لصالح فريق الزمالك في الدقيقة 32 من عمر الشوط الأول، بعد جملة رائعة من لاعبي الزمالك داخل منطقىة جزاء البنك الأهلي، ويسددها شيكوبانزا ليتصدى لها حارس مرمى البنك الأهلي وينجح شيكوبانزا في متابعتها وإدراك التعادل. 

وكان فريق البنك الأهلي قد تقدم في الدقيقة 30 من عمر الشوط الأول من ركلة جزاء، ليتصدى لها أسامة فيصل مهاجم البنك الأهلي ويتقدم لصالح فريقه أمام الزمالك.  هدف شيكوبانزا أمام البنك الأهلي 

 

Highlights from Day 3 of the sixth round of Ranji Trophy matches

Shashank Kishore25-Jan-2025

J&K players pose after beating Mumbai in their backyard•PTI

J&K beat Mumbai after 11 years
Eleven years after they first beat them in the Ranji Trophy, Jammu & Kashmir pulled off another heist against Mumbai to strengthen their knockouts hope. Chasing 205, they wobbled at different times with Shams Mulani picking up four wickets, but starts from each of the top five helped J&K win by five wickets. Opener Shubham Khajuria top-scored with 45, while Abid Mushtaq, who had minimal contribution with the ball, hitting a crucial 32 not out to seal victory.Gill century in vain as Karnataka stay aliveShubman Gill struck a combative 102, but couldn’t prevent Karnataka from running through Punjab for a second time in three days. After being bowled out for 55, Punjab batted out a little more time in the second dig to make 213, but still went down by an innings and 207 runs. Outside of Gill’s innings, the second highest from the top seven was Anmolpreet Singh’s 14. The bulk of the damage was done by young seam-bowling allrounder Yashovardhan Parantap, who picked up 3 for 37.Related

Ranji round-up – TN close in on knockouts; Maharashtra stun Baroda

Accuracy in, pressure off: How J&K took down mighty Mumbai

Gill rediscovers red-ball gears in 'satisfying' century for Punjab

Rahane lauds J&K seamers, admits he misread the conditions

Patidar, Venkatesh Iyer put Madhya Pradesh on topHaving conceded the first-innings lead, Madhya Pradesh responded strongly in the second innings, declaring on 369 for 8 to set Kerala a target of 363. Rajat Patidar top scored with 92, while Venkatesh Iyer hit an unbeaten 70-ball 80 at No. 8 as MP recovered from 247 for 6. MP picked up one wicket by stumps to keep themselves in line for an outright win.Vijay Shankar scored a century•PTI

Vijay Shankar century powers Tamil NaduIn Salem, Vijay Shankar’s 14th first-class century, his second of the season, helped Tamil Nadu put themselves in line for six points against Chandigarh. Having taken a 97-run lead, Vijay Shankar helped extend TN’s lead with an unbeaten 150 after N Jagadeesan set the foundation of the innings with 89. By stumps, Chandigarh had slumped to 113 for 5, still needing 290 with the left-arm spinning duo of S Ajith Ram and R Sai Kishore picking up two apiece.Gaikwad among the runsBatting at No. 4 with an eye on being a top-order batter, instead of just playing a specialist opener, Maharashtra captain Ruturaj Gaikwad hit 89 in a marathon Maharashtra innings – they were 464 for 7 in the second innings, extending their lead to 616 by stumps against Group C toppers Baroda. This is only the third game Gaikwad has featured in this season, as he was away during the first half of the tournament to play for India A in Australia. With them out of knockouts contention, it remains to be seen if Maharashtra declare overnight and try for an outright.Wadkar leads Vidarbha’s fightVidarbha captain Akshay Wadkar hit an unbeaten 102 to revive a floundering innings. Vidarbha, who conceded a lead of 100, went to stumps with a lead of 258 with three wickets still remaining. At one stage, they had effectively been reduced to 44 for 5, before Wadkar stood tall to play a typically gritty knock to help last year’s runners-up take the fight into the final day. Vidarbha are currently Group B toppers and are primed to Mae the knockouts.Haryana through to knockoutsA game that was fought on an even keel in the first innings turned decisively in Haryana’s favour thanks to a massive second-innings batting effort, led by half-centuries from Himanshu Rana and Nishant Sindhu as they opened up a 32-run lead into a 369-run target. Bengal, sans the injured Abhimanyu Easwaran, were bowled out for 85 in 21.4 overs, with Wriddhiman Saha, playing in his penultimate first-class match, unbeaten on 25. Anshul Kamboj, who earlier in the season picked up a perfect ten, finished with four wickets./

The Dodgers and Blue Jays battled in the most thrilling World Series in recent memory, with the championship ultimately coming down to extra innings in Game 7.

Unfortunately for Toronto, one side winds up the loser, no matter how good the fight is, and the Blue Jays wound up on the wrong side of the budding Los Angeles dynasty.

But Toronto’s season was still something wholly special, and star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. acknowledged as much in a heartfelt note he shared on Instagram alongside some photos of the Jays’ incredible run.

Guerrero put up one of the greatest postseasons we’ve ever seen from the plate, and his bat was nearly enough to bring Toronto the title.

While they came up just short in 2025, Guerrero is signed with the Jays through 2039, and as he said, plans to be with the team for life.

Former Test opener believes Smith should stay at the top against India after requesting the role last summer

Yash Jha08-Oct-2024Who will open for Australia? Who should open for Australia? Should Steven Smith continue at the top of the order or shift back to number four? These questions have surrounded the Australian Test set-up for a while, and are only gaining traction ahead of India’s visit to Australia next month.”Steve Smith made the call to be able to go and open, and I think he should stay there”. That’s the verdict from Shane Watson as the clock ticks down to the year-end Border-Gavaskar Trophy.”Obviously the safety blanket for him would be moving back to No. 4, but I would love to see him continue to take on the opening spot because he’s got the skill to be able to do it,” Watson said at the sidelines of the launch of the International Masters League in Mumbai on Tuesday.Related

Watson: I think Pant is going to have a big series in Australia

Australia sweat on Green as selection for India becomes complicated

If not Steven Smith, then who? Australia's opening debate

Is this the end for the Gabba?

Smith’s move up the order following David Warner’s retirement after the New Year’s Test against Sydney has been a subject of widespread debate, with no clear winner. Watson himself had backed Cameron Green to succeed as Test opener before Smith’s promotion, but has been convinced otherwise by Green’s performances – headlined by a career-best match-winning 174 not out against New Zealand in Wellington.”Cameron Green came in and batted at No. 4 and did a brilliant job,” Watson said. “His hundred that he got in New Zealand was something very special and he’s the perfect No. 4 candidate now with the future, moving forward.”As if not tricky enough already, Australia’s situation has been further complicated as they sweat on Green’s availability for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which starts in Perth on November 22. The 25-year-old allrounder was flown home from the UK following the third ODI against England after complaining of soreness in his lower back. He has had four previous stress fractures prior to his Test debut in 2020 but the exact nature of his current injury has yet to be confirmed. Cricket Australia’s medical team have been carefully assessing scans over the past two weeks to map out a plan for his recovery with an announcement on his availability for the India series expected to come this week.Smith’s four-Test stint as opener so far has yielded 171 runs – over half of which came in one innings against West Indies – at an average of 28.50, but Watson thinks it’s not a problem caused by his batting position.”I believe the reason why he didn’t do so well over the previous couple of Test matches is just [that] he was a little bit off with his technique,” Watson said. “You see [saw] him getting out a couple of ways which I’ve never really seen him get out before.”I know he would’ve had time just to go away, make some little technical adjustments, and if he opens and he makes those little adjustments, he can be incredibly successful as an opening batter knowing the incredible skill that he’s got.”<Should Brisbane have been the venue for the first Test instead of Perth?The Gabba will not host the first Test this summer•Getty ImagesWatson also voiced his dissatisfaction with the decision to keep Perth as the venue for the opening game of the five-Test series and not Brisbane, traditionally the starting point of Australian Test summers."I'm a traditionalist at heart. Growing up, the Gabba was always the first Test match and that's the Test match I used to go to," the former Australia allrounder said before highlighting the challenge Gabba poses to visiting sides."The Gabba is a more challenging place to play for the foreign teams because there's bounce, there's seam, there's swing, and it's hot and humid. So it just provides a few more challenges, whereas Perth, for example, it's not humid, the ball doesn't swing as much, doesn't necessarily seam as much as well."I always just love the Gabba as being the place for the touring team to be able to come in and have to try and just take on the Australian conditions at their most challenging."The 'Gabbatoir' had been an Australian stronghold for decades, with Australia boasting a 16-2 win-loss record in Tests in Brisbane in the last 20 years. But the fortress has been breached of late. West Indies claimed an upset 8-run win in January, while India famously clinched the 2020-21 series by handing Australia their first Test defeat at the Gabba in 32 years. The ground is also coming towards the end of its use for life with CA only signing a two-year agreement to play Test matches there with doubts over the Gabba's viability beyond that as Brisbane requires upgraded infrastructure to host the 2032 Olympic games.

Royal Challengers have now lost nine playoff matches, the joint-most in IPL history

Sampath Bandarupalli27-May-20224 Centuries for Jos Buttler in IPL 2022, the joint-most for any player in a T20 series or tournament. Virat Kohli also scored four centuries during the 2016 edition of the IPL.2 Players to score more runs in a T20 competition than Buttler’s 824 runs in this IPL season. (And he still has one more innings left) Kohli and David Warner scored 973 and 848 runs, respectively, in the 2016 IPL.ESPNcricinfo Ltd5 Hundreds by Buttler in the IPL, including one in 2021. He is one of three players with five or more centuries in the IPL. Kohli also has five hundreds, while Chris Gayle tops the list with six.195 Runs scored by Buttler in the playoffs this season, a new IPL record, surpassing Warner’s tally of 190 in 2016. Rajat Patidar is third on the list with 170 runs across the Eliminator and Qualifier 2.Most hundreds in IPL•ESPNcricinfo Ltd2 Buttler’s hundred is only the second in an IPL playoff match, while chasing. Shane Watson scored an unbeaten 117 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2018 final. It is also only the sixth century recorded in an IPL playoff match and the first for Rajasthan Royals.8 Hundreds in IPL 2022, including the unbeaten 106 by Buttler on Friday. This is also a new tournament record, surpassing the seven that were made in 2016.ESPNcricinfo Ltd31 Sixes conceded by Mohammed Siraj, the most by a bowler in any edition of the IPL. Wanindu Hasaranga is second (30) on this list; both Royal Challengers Bangalore bowlers going past Dwayne Bravo, who held the record previously with the 29 sixes conceded in 2018.10.07 Siraj’s economy rate this year is the worst for a bowler across IPL history (min 50 overs). Siraj is also only the third bowler to finish with an economy rate in excess of ten in any T20 tournament (Min: 300 balls).9 Playoff losses for Royal Challengers, the joint-most in the IPL. Chennai Super Kings have also lost nine playoff matches, although they played 11 more than the Bangalore franchise. Delhi Capitals have lost nine out of 11. Royal Challengers have lost 11 playoff matches in all T20s, also the joint-most defeats for a team.

Also, how did Delhi Capitals bat so freely on that pitch?

Alagappan Muthu17-Oct-2020Is Jadeja the Super Kings’ new finisher?Ravindra Jadeja’s batting has come on big time. So much so that his contributions down the order have been the cornerstones of a few Test match wins for India.But aggressive batting? Being able to walk in and start hitting out? That’s a very difficult skill to pull off.Jadeja was in that zone against the Capitals, smoking Anrich Nortje, the fastest bowler in the IPL, to all parts. After his unbeaten 33 off 13 balls, he has, in total, 136 runs off 63 balls in the 16 to 20 over phase. That puts him behind only AB de Villiers, Rahul Tewatia and Kieron Pollard in this year’s IPL.ESPNcricinfo LtdWhy did Super Kings pick Jadeja over Bravo for the final over?MS Dhoni had hidden Jadeja away all through the chase, presumably because of Shikhar Dhawan and his left-handedness. Because of Dhawan, the Super Kings could use only two overs of spin in the first ten. They could only bowl five overs of spin all innings.And yet, with the match on the line, with 16 to defend off the last over, Dhoni went to Jadeja. Even though death-overs specialist Dwayne Bravo had an over left.In real time, it felt like Dhoni was gambling. But at the presentation he said, “Bravo was not fit. So he went out and he was not really able to come back. That was the reason. The option was Karn [Sharma] or Jaddu so I went ahead with Jaddu.”The Super Kings might have hoped the batsmen would go for big shots and get caught at the boundary. Axar Patel did… and cleared the boundary three times to seal the victory.Was the Sharjah pitch really that slow?Prithvi Shaw fell to a new ball that was holding up in the pitch. An in-form Faf du Plessis found it hard to hit Patel off his length.It felt like, even though the ground has short boundaries, the wear on the pitch might hamper batsmen.The Super Kings certainly worked on that assumption. They touched a scoring rate of seven an over for the first time off the last ball of tenth over – the second-latest for any team in Sharjah in this IPL.But the Capitals, in the second innings, hit 7.71 runs an over, as the powerplay ended and kept ramping it up.Ricky Ponting, in his mid-match interview, said there was some dew on the pitch. Dhoni also said it was easier to bat in the second innings.Why is du Plessis looking so much better than his colleagues?He is one of the few at the Super Kings who like data. One would guess he sits down with the analyst and looks up match-ups and that sort of thing, and he’s the one leading their faltering top order.The reason he has been able to do that is perhaps because he has been looking to attack first.He moves around in his crease to create his own angles. He’s very good at lifting balls over the infield, especially over cover (60 off 35) and midwicket (55 off 27). He’s very good on the slog (47 off 17). He knows these strengths. He’s maximising on them.ESPNcricinfo LtdWhat’s the secret to Rayudu’s big hitting?Shane Watson said India missed out by not using Ambati Rayudu as their No. 4 at the World Cup. That was after Rayudu took down Jasprit Bumrah in the opening game of the IPL. And again, against the pace of Nortje and Kagiso Rabada, he looked like a boss.A large part of his success is because he is a batsman who targets the off side for boundaries. He’d hit 17 fours and five sixes before Saturday. Fourteen of those have come on the off side: mid-off – 2 sixes, 3 fours; covers – 5 fours; point – 2 fours; third man – 2 fours.Most teams put three men on the boundary on the leg side when the field restrictions are done, and if anyone makes that mistake against Rayudu, he takes full toll.