‘This is transition time for spinners’: India`s spin-bowling coach Ba…

India` spin department is in "transition", and the team management is in the process of assessing a pool of young bowlers who can potentially graduate to a higher level, said spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule here on Tuesday. With R Ashwin retired and Ravindra Jadeja being rested to manage his workload, younger names such as Manav Suthar, Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar and Zeeshan Ansari are set to get opportunities in the coming months. In the first ODI against Afghanistan, left-arm spinner Dubey was given a chance ahead of the more seasoned Kuldeep Yadav, and he returned with three wickets from five wickets, conceding 47 runs.

"This is a transition time for spinners," Bahutule said ahead of India`s second ODI against Afghanistan. "This group of spinners, the selectors, Gautam (Gambhir) and everybody, they are having a look at all the spinners. Those who have the potential, those who have the right attributes, they will definitely be given a chance. "That is what the process is. In a transition, you have to identify the right bowler. That is what the process is at the moment. I am sure we will get the right people on board," he added. Bahutule, who joined as the spin bowling coach ahead of the ongoing series, has been brought in specifically to mentor this raw spin bowlers group. The former leg-spinner has extensive coaching experience across domestic, pathway, and franchise cricket.

"For me, every spinner is unique. I think Jadeja is very experienced. The way he has performed and the way he has contributed towards Indian cricket is phenomenal with the bat and the ball. I feel Harsh and other youngsters who are coming in and have been given the chances, will realise that it is a big shoes to fill up. "They have the capabilities, they have the potential but I think the more they will play, the more they will settle down. Harsh is a player who definitely has that potential," he said. Bahutule singled out Dubey for special praise, underlining the bright future ahead of the Vidarbha all-rounder. "Harsh definitely has a good future as an all-rounder, he has done exceedingly well for Vidarbha and I think that is the reason why he has been given this opportunity." sweetbonanza.qpon

Dubey was the highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season with 69 wickets. "With each game we learn. Last game also he was under pressure after that first over but the way he came back, I think Shubman (Gill) also used him very well, made the right changes at the right time, and gave him the ends which suited him." The domestic stalwart said such experiences will instil more confidence in Dubey. "I think he (Dubey) is one player for the future, he has got the skills, he has got a good temperament and I think he has proved it not only in domestic cricket but I think that one game which he got last time, he came back very strongly and did very well. "The more experience he gets and definitely he will enhance his skill," he said.

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New Zealand vs Sri Lanka, Women’s T20 World Cup: आईसीसी वूमेन्स टी20 वर्ल्ड कप 2026 के सातवें मुकाबले में श्रीलंका ने न्यूजीलैंड को 5 विकेट से हरा दिया। श्रीलंका की इस जीत ने ग्रुप बी की अंक तालिका पूरी तरह बदल दी है। आपको बता दें कि इस मुकाबले में पहले बल्लेबाजी करते हुए न्यूजीलैंड ने 20 ओवर में 6 विकेट गंवाकर 150 रन बनाए। न्यूजीलैंड की ओर से कप्तान एमिलिया केर और सोफी डिवाइन ने 45-45 रनों की पारी खेली, जबकि श्रीलंका की ओर से कविशा दिलहारी ने 4 ओवर में 35 रन देकर 2 विकेट चटकाए।

Lionel Messi delivered his first World Cup hat trick while matching Miroslav Klose’s career tournament scoring record, giving thousands of Argentina fans packed inside of Arrowhead Stadium for a match against Algeria a moment they will never forget.

Messi scored his first goal in the opening minutes off a nifty feed from Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul, the second early in the second half, and the third moments before subbing out to a standing ovation, helping La Albiceleste begin the defence of their World Cup crown with a dominant 3-0 victory over Les Fennecs.

The trio of goals came 20 years to the day that Messi made his World Cup debut in a match against Serbia and Montenegro – he scored in that one, too – and made the pride of Rosario only the second player to score in five editions of the tournament.

Messi has 16 goals in his six World Cup appearances, and it seems inevitable that Klose’s record will fall in the coming weeks. The hat trick was the 61^st of his career and his 11^th while playing in the blue-and-white kit of the national team.

It also was the fifth straight World Cup game in which Messi has scored.

“At a loss for words about Leo. What can I say? He’s incredible,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “Everyone in football wants to see him and enjoys it.” His hat trick also upstaged two of soccer’s other big stars – Kylian Mbappe of France and Erling Haaland of Norway – who had big games of their own on Tuesday. Mbappe scored twice in France’s 3-1 win over Senegal to move into a tie for fourth on the World Cup goals list with 14, while Haaland scored twice for Norway in its 4-1 victory over Iraq.

“Messi is a madman,” Haaland said in a post on Snapchat.

Messi, who turns 39 next week, had been dealing with a minor hamstring injury with Inter Miami that had slowed him in the lead-up to the World Cup. But the eight-time winner of the Ballon d’Or, which honors global soccer’s best player, had no problems in a tuneup last week with Iceland, scoring on a penalty kick while playing 20 minutes in a sharp performance.

Messi’s appearance against Algeria was the 200^th of his international career, which began in 2005 at age of 18. The only players with more are Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who will play his 229^th on Wednesday, and Bader al-Mutawa, who played in 202 for Kuwait.

Messi and Ronaldo are the only players to have scored in five World Cups.

Argentina is among four national teams making their base camps in the Kansas City metro. And much as it has the rest of the world, Messi-mania has swept through the area ever since La Albiceleste’s arrival in the Heartland about two weeks ago.

On match day, thousands of fans wearing his No. 10 jersey trekked into the home of the NFL’s Chiefs on the outskirts of Kansas City, singing odes to their hero from Rosario. Meanwhile, during a watch party at the downtown Power & Light District, a goat accompanied by former NFL quarterback-turned Fox broadcaster Jameis Winston came on stage wearing an Argentina jersey.

The humorous moment seemed to have foreshadowed a big night for Messi when he scored an hour later, and the argument that he’s soccer’s GOAT – the greatest of all time – is becoming no argument at all with every match he plays.

Richa Ghosh shrugged off a prolonged lean patch with a match-turning cameo against Pakistan, and the Indian wicketkeeper-batter said the knock has filled her with confidence ahead of the next assignments in the Women``s T20 World Cup. Ghosh``s 17-ball 34 was pivotal in taking India to a competitive 170, and to a thumping 64-run win over Pakistan last Sunday at Birmingham.

"I think the knock (against Pakistan) will help me really well because it gave me confidence," Ghosh said on the eve of India``s match against the Netherlands here on Wednesday. The 22-year-old said her fifty against England in a warm-up match also played its part in boosting her self-belief. "I think I got the confidence from the practice match we played. I``m looking forward to the next matches," she added. The Bengal cricketer was struggling for runs in the run-up to the ICC showpiece, having amassed 0, 6, 8, 4 before she turned it around with a 68 against England at Cardiff in a warm-up match.

"I``m just focused on my game. I was trying to work more on my drills etc at the nets. I was in good touch, but I was not getting runs. "So, I spoke to Harry di (Harmanpreet Kaur) and seniors like Smriti di (Mandhana) and (head coach Amol) Muzumdar sir too. They told me to play my game and just focus. It helped me," she said. Ghosh said all those efforts reflected in the outing against England.

"So, that innings helped me to come back to form and confidence before the Pakistan game. Yes, the situation was different (in the England match), some early wickets were down, and I had so many overs left with. So, I stayed there and played my own game. So, that``s why I got the confidence," she said. Ghosh had a crucial 45-run association with Deepti Sharma for the sixth wicket against Pakistan, and she was all praise for her senior partner.

"Not only in the Indian team, I have played with her in Bengal as well in domestic cricket. We often have a great conversation on and off the field. That has helped us because we both know what we can do. "We know that if the ball is not there to hit, we can rotate strike or we can give both of us a chance to hit big shots. We really know each other really well," she added.

Despite making a resounding beginning to the World Cup, Ghosh said India cannot take the Dutch side lightly. "I saw them before our Pakistan match. I saw their games. They are good bowlers. So, they``re doing really well, and I think that``s why they``re here and we``re not taking any team easily. We``re just looking forward to it," she said.

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