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Glasgow Rangers went through a summer of transition under Michael Beale as there were plenty of incomings and outgoings throughout the off-season.

In truth, this overhaul was needed a season or two ago, yet the board failed to back Steven Gerrard adequately enough, and it led to Celtic reasserting their dominance of the Scottish game, ensuring Beale now faces a massive challenge this term in order to claim some domestic silverware.

The 43-year-old signed nine players during the transfer window, with the likes of Jack Butland, Jose Cifuentes and Danilo among the high-profile arrivals.

Butland – who has been described as an upgrade on Allan McGregor by pundit Kris Boyd – is really the only one who has settled well into life at Ibrox, and it may take some of the others some time to gel and forge connections with their new teammates.

As well as reinvigorating the team with some fresh faces, Beale also shipped quite a few first-team stars out of Ibrox. Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos left for nothing as they chose to run their contracts down, while Glen Kamara and Fashion Sakala were moved on for £5m and £4m, respectively.

One of the best pieces of business the former QPR boss did was to sell Antonio Colak, however, despite the striker playing only one season at the Gers.

How much did Rangers sign Antonio Colak for?

After leading the club to their first Scottish Cup since 2009 and coming so close to Europa League glory, Giovanni van Bronckhorst spent the summer of 2022 strengthening his squad ahead of the next season.

Colak was signed from Greek side PAOK and Rangers knew all about his qualities as he had scored a double for Malmo when they knocked the Light Blues out of the Champions League at the beginning of the 2021/22 campaign.

A fee of £1.8m was enough to secure his signature and Van Bronckhorst heaped praise on him, saying: "He is a very experienced player who has played at high levels and scored a lot of goals for the teams he has played for.

"We wanted to add some more players to our attacking options, and Colak is a player we welcome a lot and will give us a lot of strength up front."

Sporting director Ross Wilson was another who lauded Colak. He said: "Welcome to Antonio, we are delighted to have him join our squad. I know how much Gio and the staff are looking forward to working with him on the pitch.”

Everything looked positive that the Croatian would be a success at the club, and it didn’t take him long to hit the ground running.

What happened to Antonio Colak?

Colak came to life for the club during the qualifiers for the Champions League, scoring three goals in four matches, including the winner against PSV Eindhoven that secured group-stage football.

The striker continued his excellent form up until the hiatus for the 2022 World Cup as he ended up scoring 14 goals under Van Bronckhorst, and it was beginning to look like £1.8m was going to be a bargain.

His form tailed off when Beale was appointed manager in November last year, however, with injury issues resulting in him starting just five times under the current boss, and it looked as though he didn’t quite fit his tactical system.

Colak was praised by Rangers Review journalist Joshua Barrie however, who said: “Colak's had a really good game to this point.

“It's his shot that creates the first and his pass the second but more his link-up that's caught the eye. Has dropped in consistently to create overloads and looked sharp.”

He finished the 2022/23 season as the club's joint top scorer with 18 goals, alongside James Tavernier, but it looked as though he was set to leave the club during the summer.

Where is Antonio Colak now?

Italian side Parma came in with a £2.5m bid during the transfer window and having already signed a few new forwards, the Light Blues accepted the bid, and it was a decent profit on the fee they spent on him just a year previously.

Beale only had good words to say about the 6 foot 2 hitman, saying: "Antonio can be really proud of his time here at Rangers. He scored goals and made a good contribution on the pitch but also as a man and professional, he was someone that I enjoyed working with and who built strong relationships with his team mates and staff off the pitch.

“We initially had a conversation at the end of last season, where we discussed football, his family and also what the future would look like in terms of the team. Antonio was very honest on his side and we have been working with him and his agent in the following weeks to find a solution that suits all parties. I am pleased for him to have this excellent opportunity in Italy.”

Although Colak has scored twice in his opening four matches for the Serie B side, it is evident that the Gers have struck gold by selling him on for £2.5m.

According to Football Transfers, Colak is now valued at €2.4m (£2m) and this represents a decline from the fee they spent on him just a couple of months ago.

Although he will continue to score goals in the second tier for Parma, the striker is on the wrong side of 30 and unless something dramatic happens, his value will only continue to drop in the coming months.

He only spent one season at Rangers, but with 18 goals in that timeframe, it represented a solid return for a player who was perhaps slightly one-dimensional and struggled to really get into games.

Beale has spent money on Cyriel Dessers, Danilo, and Sam Lammers this summer in a bid to improve his attacking options, but they have a long way to go in order to catch reach the 18 goals that Colak netted last term.

It is still early days, but none of the three have really caught the eye, and it will be up to Beale to try and get a tune out of them.

Less than a day after racking up four demerit points, fast bowler achieves career-best ranking points to usurp James Anderson at No. 1

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Mar-2018South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has regained the No. 1 spot in the ICC’s Test rankings for bowlers, following his match haul of 11 for 150 against Australia in Port Elizabeth, which helped South Africa level the series. Rabada has also crossed 900 ranking points for the first time in the career – he’s the fourth South African bowler after Vernon Philander, Shaun Pollock and Dale Steyn – and now sits on 902, which is 15 points above England’s James Anderson.Rabada’s peak in the rankings comes a day after he picked up four demerit points for two separate incidents during the second Test against Australia. Consequently, the fast bowler was handed a two-Test ban and will miss the rest of the series against Australia, unless South Africa can successfully appeal against it.ICC Test rankings for bowlers•Getty ImagesHe is three more demerit points away from a third ban in his career. On Monday the fast bowler, who now has four ten-wicket match hauls in 28 Tests and spearheads South Africa’s pace attack, conceded that he “can’t keep doing this” and needed to reassess his conduct.Among other players involved in the series, batsman AB de Villiers and Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc have had significant changes in their rankings. De Villiers’ scores of 126* and 28 in the second Test have pushed him five places up and back into the top ten of the batsmen’s rankings, where he has displaced Pakistan’s Azhar Ali at No. 7. Mitchell Starc, who managed only one wicket in the second Test, has dropped four places to No. 9. Vernon Philander has dropped a spot to No. 8 among bowlers, but has gained one to break into the top five among Test allrounders.

Newcastle United have made a breakthrough in discussions with one of their players regarding a new contract according to a reliable journalist, but there are still clubs interested in signing him.

Who have Newcastle signed in 2023?

PIF and Eddie Howe recruited five fresh faces over the summer in the form of Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes, Tino Livramento and Yankuba Minteh on a permanent basis, whilst Lewis Hall put pen to paper on a season-long loan from Premier League rivals Chelsea, as per Transfermarkt.

The Magpies have also recently been boosted by the news that Callum Wilson has signed a one-year deal extension meaning that he will remain at the club until at least 2025, but he’s not the only star already in the building that is set to commit his future to the northeast side.

Back in May, 90min reported that Bruno Guimaraes had been in talks for months over a new contract, but having attracted interest from Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid since, the two parties are yet to reach a full agreement.

The Brazil international has been a revelation during his 63 appearances since first joining from Lyon back in January 2022, and if the following update is to be believed, the defensive midfielder is one step closer to putting an even bigger smile on the faces of supporters.

Is Bruno signing a new contract at Newcastle?

Writing in his article for TEAMtalk, Graeme Bailey confirmed that Newcastle and Guimaraes have progressed in negotiations over his improved terms, with both sides hoping to finalise terms before Christmas in December. He said:

“Sources close to this deal had become frustrated that the contract was not signed before the end of last season. Now talks have accelerated again and the belief now is that the deal will be finalised sooner rather than later.

"Bruno’s people insist that his needs have never been overly demanding and Newcastle do want to recognise his importance to the club. It can’t be underestimated how happy they are with him and how important he is to them.”

What is Bruno's style of play?

First of all, Newcastle will admire the “leader” that Guimaraes is on the pitch, as described by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, but it’s his ability to make an equally positive impact at both ends of the pitch that make him such a well-rounded and in-demand player.

The Bertolucci Sports client, who currently earns £120k-per-week, has made nine tackles so far this season which is the second-highest total throughout the squad behind Dan Burn, via FBRef, but he’s also posted 16 goal contributions (ten goals and six assists) since joining.

Furthermore, the 25-year-old has the ability to operate at centre-back and slightly higher up in central midfield alongside his usual role sitting in front of the backline which makes sense as to why he’s so strong all over the pitch, and it would be a massive coup if he was to sign on the dotted line for the Magpies.

From analysing what works for Kagiso Rabada the bowler, to suggesting what needs to change for Kagiso Rabada the angry young cricketer, here’s Australia’s players and staff

Daniel Brettig in Cape Town14-Mar-20184:02

Holding: Rabada needs to control himself little bit

Seldom within a series do opponents line up to praise a fast bowler in public. But even more seldom do they do so in the knowledge that the same bowler will not be available for the remainder of the series through suspension, meaning all their worries about giving away a “mental edge” to the opposition stand cancelled.That, however, is exactly the case for Australia and Kagiso Rabada, the South African spearhead now sidelined due to an ICC code of conduct ban for repeated issues with celebrating a little too exuberantly in the faces of dismissed batsmen and, in the case of the touring captain Steven Smith, making physical contact. The qualities Rabada demonstrated in Durban and in particular Port Elizabeth led numerous Australian players and coaches to hold forth on his skills, and also on the wicket-celebration troubles that have nixed him from the remainder of the series.The fielding coach, Brad HaddinAs a wicketkeeper batsman, Haddin hammered plenty of the world’s best and fastest pacemen, and knows a special talent when he sees one. But he also thinks how Rabada comes back after missing two important Tests – which will leave him “hurting” – will be key.”He’s very impressive. For someone so young, the smarts he has the with ball in his hand, knowing when to go up and down gears… Looking from the sidelines, it looks like he really understands how to set up a batsman. For someone so young that’s quite impressive. I thought the spell in the second innings [in Port Elizabeth] to go after [David] Warner and the openers – that was a pretty placid wicket, and from where I was sitting that was some pretty hostile bowling. He took it on himself there to get the big wicket of Davey. He is impressive. It’s disappointing for the game that he’s not playing, but from our point of view it’s a bonus because he is a class act. It was a conscious effort [by Rabada] to go hard at him and it was a good ball that got him [Warner] in the end.”Everyone needs to take a step back. Let’s start playing cricket more on skill and less on emotion. Both sides have been guilty of things they’re probably not proud of over the last two Test matches. But we’re 1-1, it’s time to play some cricket on skill and leave that other stuff to the side. It’s disappointing for Rabada. I know the South Africans, playing us, I’ve heard them say a couple of times this is their big series, and now he’s got to sit back and watch what’s going on out there. It will be interesting to see how he comes back after that, because he’ll be hurting, no doubt, over the next couple of Test matches.”AFPThe bowling coach, David SakerWith Victoria, England and now Australia, Saker has worked closely with a host of high-class pacemen. His views of Rabada are more technical, and also in line with the view that when a great talent crosses your path, one of the best things a coach can do is to get out of the way – except, of course, when it comes to send-offs.”I wouldn’t change a thing, it’s a great product. Even two or three years ago when I first saw the guy… He’s still a kid now, he’s just pretty exciting, he’s got raw pace, his arm speed is quite amazing, he keeps running in and, like a lot of good bowlers, he gets wickets in clumps and puts a lot of pressure on the new batters. He’s obviously hard to start against because of his pace. You wouldn’t be changing a thing, he’s a really exciting cricketer and South Africa are very blessed to have him in their team.”I wouldn’t be changing his action or his product. His discipline in the game you would have to change and I’m sure they would look at that, they’ll put people and things in place you would think. Fortunately for us that’s not our problem and I’ll let South Africa deal with that one.”The rival, Mitchell StarcFor most of the past three years, Starc has been arguably the world’s most feared fast man when he gets it right, and certainly the quickest at his peak. To watch Rabada at work, including having to face him, has been an experience both good and bad for Starc. He also had some useful advice to offer, from the perspective of a fast man who, as a younger player, gave his share of send-offs and ran into trouble for doing so.”He’s a pretty good bowler, isn’t he? What’s he got now, four 10-fors? Dale has got five in [many] more Test matches. His record is pretty good, it speaks for itself. He’s their spearhead, the one they go to, and he’s done the job time after time. They’ve got two guys who are in the mix who have taken 300 and 400 Test wickets. They’ve got plenty of bowlers in their stocks. But if he’s not playing in the rest of this series, he’s going to be a big loss for them.”I think that’s the biggest one, how close you get to the batsmen these days. It’s very much a no-no. He’s only young and made a couple of mistakes, but I’m sure he’ll learn going forward that you just can’t get that close to the batter and the [umpires] are going to be on you at all times. He’s a fantastic bowler to watch when he’s in full flight, and he’s going to keep taking wickets and keep celebrating. Maybe [he needs to be] just moving away from the batter a little bit, which I think I’ve learnt in the past as well when I was a bit younger.”The batsman, Shaun MarshAt St George’s Park, Marsh was undone by the full range of Rabada’s skills with a reversing ball, pinned lbw in the first innings with a ball swerving back sharply at him, and then coaxed into following and edging a second-innings delivery of similar length that curled away towards the slips.”He’s obviously a world-class bowler, isn’t he? His stats say that. He’s been a good challenge for us the first two Test matches. Obviously not playing the next two. He bowls good pace and can swing it both ways.”I guess it’s obviously two nations going pretty hard out on the ground. It’s Test cricket and sometimes tensions do boil over. It is what it is sometimes. We’ve just got to keep playing good cricket and keep playing on skill.”

The Australia allrounder sizzled against his former team to score his fourth T20 century as Super Kings reigned supreme at their adopted home ground

The Report by Shashank Kishore20-Apr-20184:02

Tait: Rajasthan Royals looked flat and lacked inspiration

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFor the 1000-odd Chennai Super Kings fans who endured the 26-hour train journey to Pune, this was a night to remember. For Rahul Tripathi, a Pune boy who plays his domestic cricket for Maharashtra at the MCA Stadium, this was a night to forget. He put down a regulation catch at slip to reprieve Shane Watson in the first over of the match and watched him smack the season’s second century, off 51 balls, against his former side, with whom he masterminded a fairytale a decade ago.Watson and Suresh Raina, who replaced M Vijay, joined forces in the fifth over. When they were separated courtesy an outstanding catch by K Gowtham at deep midwicket, they had put on 81 off just 44 deliveries, with CSK in line to score 240. Some fine end-overs bowling by legspinner Shreyas Gopal and Ben Laughlin restricted them to 204, but that was hardly any consolation for Rajasthan Royals, who never got going in the chase and were bowled out for 140 in 18.3 overs.Watson turns it onThey said he was a spent force. His previous season with Royal Challengers Bangalore was a disaster by any stretch of imagination, just like it was for Thursday’s centurion Chris Gayle. While Gayle came into the tournament in patchy form, Watson was the fifth-highest run-getter (319 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of 135.16) in the PSL season that finished late last month.Watson announced himself inside the first six overs. This made the generally effervescent Raina look subdued in comparison. But that was only until he launched Ben Stokes for four successive fours in the sixth over to move CSK to 69 for 1, their highest Powerplay score this season. That was the start of a giant yellow party that continued until the end of the match.In two of the first three matches, Watson had got off to starts but fell trying to muscle the ball. Here, there was a calculated effort to bide his time, but that wasn’t at the cost of scoring quickly. It also helped that the Royals bowlers, particularly K Gowtham and Stuart Binny, kept feeding him long-hops.Gowtham went for 31 off the 13 balls he bowled to Watson, including three sixes and one four while half of Binny’s ten balls to Watson disappeared to the boundary. Watson profited from the pull, with his leg-side strokes fetching him 63 runs in all. He ended up with a control percentage of 84, noteworthy in a T20 innings of this length, and reflecting the ease with which he picked apart Royals’ bowling.Watson reached his half-century with a slog sweep for six off his 28th ball. The next 50 took just 23 balls, the landmark coming in the 18th over with a single completed to the backdrop of wild cheers and manic whistles and celebrated with a subdued lift of the arms. He was dismissed off the penultimate ball of the innings for 106 off 57 balls, with nine fours and six sixes. He slowed down towards the end, making only 15 off the last 12 balls he faced, but it didn’t cost his team much.Shreyas Gopal holds his own amid the carnageIn an innings where CSK were motoring along at close to 11 an over for a better part of their first 15 overs, legspinner Shreyas Gopal maintained a tight leash and conceded just two fours in his four overs, ending up with figures of 3 for 20. The reward for his persistence were the wickets of Raina and MS Dhoni in successive overs. Then he returned for his final over, the 16th of the innings, to dismiss the in-form Sam Billings. These strikes somewhat softened Watson’s stinging blows at the other end, with Royals managing to put some sort of lid on the scoring in the last seven overs, which only went for 54. Gopal’s wickets this season also include Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.A forgettable initiationTripathi strikes at over 10 an over in the Powerplay, but Royals have pushed him into the middle order to accommodate D’Arcy Short. On Friday, Royals left out Short but did not open with Tripathi, instead sending out Heinrich Klaasen.Klaasen was dropped by Watson at slip off the second ball of the innings, but he couldn’t capitalise. Indecisive footwork cost him big as Shardul Thakur’s length ball skidded through to beat his feeble push and crash into middle stump. Off the next over, Royals’ best batsman this season, Sanju Samson, fell to the pull shot for 2. When Ajinkya Rahane was bowled after charging down the pitch and missing Deepak Chahar’s knuckle ball, Royals were 33 for 3 in the fifth over.Royals’ ‘quantum of defeat’As steep their task was from there on, Royals had some hope with Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes in the middle. Both had trouble revving up the scoring rate. This forced shots out of desperation. While a few came off, like a Buttler six off Imran Tahir that sailed over long-on, CSK were always in with a chance of breaking the partnership. When Dwayne Bravo’s slower delivery felled Buttler, who sliced a catch to point, the chase was well and truly over. Then, Tripathi came out slogging, and holed out to deep midwicket. Out came the Bravo jig as whatever else Royals did from there on only served to “reduce the quantum of defeat”, as MS Dhoni put it the other night. Stokes top-scored with 45, taking 37 balls to make his runs.

Newcastle United could be set to lose another one of their first-team players to injury, with Eddie Howe delivering an update on the possible extent of the damage sustained.

Who is injured for Newcastle United?

The Magpies currently have Joelinton and Joe Willock out of action and on the sidelines with their own respective injuries, with the former likely to be the quickest to return whilst the latter is targeting a comeback after the international break in October.

Whilst Howe is without two key senior stars, that didn’t stop the rest of his team from gaining a positive result in their most recent fixture having secured an unbelievable 8-0 Premier League victory over Sheffield United on Sunday, with eight different squad members getting their name on the scoresheet at Bramall Lane as they absolutely ran riot.

The Magpies, however, did suffer one negative over the weekend because Harvey Barnes was forced off the pitch and replaced by Anthony Gordon after just 12 minutes in what appeared to be a serious problem.

How long is Harvey Barnes out for?

Speaking during his post-match interview following the weekend's 8-0 thumping over Paul Heckingbottom's side, Howe was asked to deliver an update on the fitness of Barnes, and whilst it's too soon to speculate, it sounds like he could be missing for a while.

"It doesn't look too good. I think he has a toe problem. He pushed off and felt something in his toe. Early signs are there's probably an injury there, but we don't know what it is at the moment."

How much does Harvey Barnes earn?

Since moving to Newcastle, Barnes now pockets £80k-per-week, and whilst the left-winger will continue to prove himself under Howe, he’s already shown not only what he’s capable of doing but also that he will certainly earn his salary once he can get fit and firing with a run in the team.

The Wasserman client has already racked up two involvements (one goal and assist) in just seven appearances for the Magpies, and the 25-year-old has received the praise of journalist Josh Bunting, who can’t believe how “composed” he is able to remain in the final third.

The Burnley-born talent is also a versatile operator having been deployed in an outstanding nine different positions over the pitch since the start of his career, including everywhere across the frontline and even in the midfield, but this is another attribute that the boss will have to cope without for however long his star is on the sidelines for.

Luckily for the northeast outfit, Howe has Gordon available to him as his other option on that left-hand side so he doesn't need to worry about not having cover for Barnes, especially with the Everton academy product in such good form. Still, there's no doubt that everyone associated with the club will be hoping that his injury isn't as bad as first feared and that he'll be able to return to the field as soon as possible, with the fixtures coming thick and fast in multiple competitions.

Chelsea have reportedly identified two potential managers to replace Mauricio Pochettino next season.

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Pochettino's Chelsea job in troubleChelsea note down two possible replacementsAmorim and De Zerbi top of the listGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

Chelsea and Todd Boehly have identified Sporting boss Ruben Amorim and Brighton's Roberto De Zerbi as their favourites to replace the Argentine at Stamford Bridge, according to . Amorim has heavily impressed the Chelsea brass with his work with Sporting who currently sit top of the table in Portugal ahead of Benfica and Porto. De Zerbi, on the other hand, has received plenty of plaudits for his work at Brighton since taking over from Graham Potter in 2022.

AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Chelsea have massively struggled under Pochettino in his first season with the Blues, despite the club having spent well over £1 billion since the takeover of Boehly and Clearlake Capital. This season, they have once again failed to impress in the Premier League. However, they had a golden opportunity to win a trophy this season when they took on Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final but ended up losing the match late in extra-time.

GettyDID YOU KNOW?

The Blues' ownership are reportedly not in the mood to make a snap decision regarding Pochettino, who is being given the chance to stay with the team. Boehly and Clearlake are looking for continuity after having had four managers since last season, however, they will remain ready to make the call if Chelsea's performance falls further.

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WHAT NEXT FOR POCHETTINO?

The former Tottenham Hotspur boss' final hope at grabbing something from the season remains the FA Cup as they remain alive in the competition. The Blues will play in the quarter-final against Leicester City on March 17.

By inverting his middle-order, the CSK captain created confusion. A touch of madness, perhaps, but as always there was a method to Dhoni’s madness

Deivarayan Muthu in Pune21-May-20184:37

Agarkar: Bizarre changes from CSK in batting line-up

At a recent promotional event, MS Dhoni was asked: “[Erwin] Rommel, the legendary German general, said no plan survives contact. How do you relate that to cricket?””After the first ball is bowled, it’s only chaos,” Dhoni replied. “What you are trying to do is you’re trying to manage the chaos. It’s not like a script that happens. My coach Stephen Fleming often comes and does that. He says ‘mate, Lungi [Ngidi] can bowl the first over, then somebody else second’ and so on. Yes, I know who are the bowlers and they will bowl at some point of time. But it does not work like that. It’s about adaptability.”T20 cricket is all about managing chaos. Mohit Sharma had Chennai Super Kings’ gun batsman Ambati Rayudu nicking off for 1 in the last league match of IPL 2018. At the other end, Ankit Rajpoot was hooping the ball around on a well-grassed Pune pitch that might have reminded him of his stint as a net bowler in South Africa earlier this year. He teased Faf du Plessis’ outside edge before finding it in his third over. He then bowled Sam Billings with a perfectly pitched ball that jagged away past the outside edge. CSK were 27 for 3 in the fifth over in pursuit of 154.Rajpoot might have expected Dhoni or Dwayne Bravo to walk out and face the hat-trick ball. Instead, Harbhajan Singh was promoted to No. 5. He averted the hat-trick but could have been out next ball had Aaron Finch not dived to his left at second slip and got in the way of a straightforward catch for Chris Gayle at first slip. In the next over, Harbhajan nearly ran himself out. Then came the devil-may-care slash to the point boundary. Kings XI needed to limit CSK to 100 or less to sneak into the playoffs. So, it made sense for Ashwin to bowl Rajpoot out in a bid to make further inroads into the CSK batting line-up.Harbhajan, however, kept swinging for the hills against Rajpoot and connected with a length ball that he biffed over extra cover. He saw out Rajpoot’s spell and left Kings XI twitching. He ultimately fell lbw attempting a big slog-sweep against an offbreak from R Ashwin. CSK were now 58 for 4 and the asking rate was ballooning towards 10. The packed Sunday crowd at the MCA Stadium was waiting for Dhoni to come out and prick it. Instead, Deepak Chahar was promoted to No. 6.BCCICSK’s coach Fleming had endorsed Chahar’s batting skills earlier in the tournament, but this was a tough chase on a tough pitch. Chahar and Suresh Raina, however, quietly tapped the ball into the gaps and narrowed the equation to 73 off 36 balls.In the next over, Chahar lined up Ashwin and hit him for three boundaries, including a languid loft over long-off. It had his former Rajasthan captain and former Rising Pune Supergiant assistant coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar tweeting: “Deepak Chahar is not a slogger like most think. He is a talented batsman capable of surprising the best of the bowlers in the #ipl18.”And surprise he did with 39 off 20 balls at a strike rate of 195 and – as per ESPNcricinfo’s new T20 metrics – a Smart Strike Rate of 274.36 on a pitch where even some of the frontline batsmen struggled.”I can’t say it was our plan [bowling to a pinch-hitter],” Kings XI coach Brad Hodge said at the post-match press conference. “MS and his side were in a position to pull guys up [the order] and have confidence in them. MS does these sorts of courageous stuff and that’s why he’s a champion and that’s why they are a champion team.”We look to emulate such things and we know we’re short on experience compared to Chennai Super Kings but hopefully in the coming years, whatever group comes together, we will learn those traits and hopefully have the courage to have trust in them to get the job done.”Dhoni, on his part, explained that CSK had sent in the two pinch-hitters to throw the Kings XI bowlers off their lines and lengths. “Sending in Bhajji [Harbhajan] and Chahar creates a bit of chaos,” Dhoni told host broadcaster Star Sports. “The bowlers all of a sudden bowl yorkers, offcutters, and bouncers. When [top-order] batsmen are batting, they stick to a good line and length, but against Bhajji and Chahar, they lose their line and lengths instead of sticking to the plan. Plus Bhajji and Chahar could come in handy during the playoffs.”When Chahar holed out at the start of the 17th over, CSK needed 40 off 23 balls. Raina brought up his fourth fifty of the season and then Dhoni provided a blockbuster finish with a hooked six. Chaos managed. Top-two finish in the league phase confirmed. Over to the Pune-Mumbai expressway for Qualifier 1 against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium on May 22.

Leeds United are still yet to find winning consistency under Daniel Farke, having initially endured a start to forget back in the Championship. Whilst they have at least shown signs of improvement with recent wins over Queens Park Rangers and Watford, a 3-1 loss at Southampton in between shows that the Yorkshire club still have a long way to go.

The last thing Farke will want, given that inconsistency, is a squad full of injuries. As the games come thick and fast, though, knocks here and there are bound to happen to any club, and Leeds haven't been immune to that, with a recent injury update coming for one particular player.

What's the latest Leeds United injury news?

As things stand, Leeds continue to be without Stuart Dallas in the long-term when it comes to injuries, with Wilfried Gnonto and Djed Spence also sidelined, but with their fixture against Bristol City coming on Saturday, any player that missed the victory over QPR could also be a doubt for the weekend, which could hand Farke a frustrating blow.

The Whites boss will undoubtedly be keen to make it back-to-back wins at Elland Road, even without Jamie Shackleton, who could miss the game through injury. According to Phil Hay of The Athletic, the midfielder missed the game against QPR due to a shoulder knock, meaning that the weekend's fixture against Bristol City could possibly come too soon for his return, though only time will tell.

Farke will likely be left frustrated if Shackleton misses another game, with the 23-year-old slowly but surely becoming a key part of his plans, appearing in seven of 10 Championship games this season. Even though they face a race against time, Leeds may well do everything they can to ensure that their versatile player is back fit and raring to go against Bristol City.

What has Daniel Farke said about Jamie Shackleton?

Featuring in the majority of Leeds' league games this season, Shackleton has quickly emerged as a reliable option for Farke, mainly playing as a full-back despite still being relatively young. One of the few positives, in a way, around the Whites' relegation is the fact that academy products can be handed a platform for progress in the Championship – something that is sometimes rare in the Premier League. Farke is certainly a fan of Shackleton, too, saying, via Leeds Live:

“I really love Jamie. So I think he’s sometimes really underrated because he can play all positions wherever he plays, he’s always reliable, always solid, always a good teammate, gives us everything. Sometimes even a bit of his problem that he has to play so many different roles and sort of coming into rhythm on one more but I think he proved again tonight as his unbelievable piece of our squad and I’m really really happy to have him definitely.”

With that said, once he gets back to full fitness, it will be interesting to see just how important the 23-year-old becomes at Elland Road. Shackleton has caught the eye of the new manager, that's for sure, and now it's all about improving from there for him and for Leeds.

Glasgow Rangers are edging closer to appointing a new manager following the recent sacking of Michael Beale.

Steven Davis was placed in interim charge of the Light Blues and despite losing against Aris Limassol 2-1 last week, he steered the club to a relatively comfortable 3-0 victory over St Mirren on the weekend.

The Northern Irishman will perhaps be glad to take a backseat once James Bisgrove identifies a replacement for Beale, and hopefully a new man will be in charge for the tie against Hibernian on the 21 October as a new era at the club is set to begin.

There are two clear frontrunners for the vacant role, Philippe Clement, and Kevin Muscat, and while both have their own style of play, the Ibrox faithful will be expecting whoever takes charge to implement this straight away and achieve positive results.

Muscat is currently in charge of Japanese side Yokohama F.Marinos while Clement is a free agent having been sacked by AS Monaco following the end of last season, meaning no compensation will need to be paid should the Belgian take charge.

What would Philippe Clement bring to Rangers?

First and foremost, the 49-year-old would bring a much-needed winning mentality to the club, something that Beale couldn’t bring to the table.

Clement has won three league titles during his managerial career, all in Belgium. The first was won during his spell at KRC Genk during the 2018/19 season before he joined Club Brugge that summer.

Having featured for Brugge during his playing career, it seemed like the most logical move for the manager, and he went and secured another two titles back to back before eventually joining Monaco in January 2022.

While his spell in France was rather underwhelming, Clement tends to utilise a 4-4-2 formation and judging by how his teams have fared over the years, he enjoys an attacking-based style of play.

Across 310 matches as a top level manager, the former Belgian international has seen his teams score 611 goals while winning 1.85 points per match, solid statistics and ones that will be sure to please the supporters as they analyse who would be the best appointment going forward.

It was clear that Beale was far too inexperienced to ever really turn the Ibrox side around, having managed at just one club before arriving in Glasgow, but the opposite is true of Clement.

Should he become the 19th permanent manager of the Light Blues, the onus will be on him to ensure he gets off to a positive start while working out what players best fit his tactical philosophy.

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Although the 49-year-old will have to bring the best out of Beale’s summer signings, the January transfer window isn’t that far away, and he could perhaps utilise this in order to strengthen a squad that seems devoid of any ideas or inspiration.

Clement could even try and reignite transfers for players who were targeted back during the summer, yet nothing ever materialised, and Jack Clarke should be top of his list.

Should Rangers sign Jack Clarke in January?

Having lost Ryan Kent and Fashion Sakala during the summer, Beale was light in the wide areas, and it looked as though he was turning to the market in order to sign a player or two in order to replace the departed players.

According to Football League World, there were a plethora of clubs linked with Clarke, including Premier League outfits Everton, Crystal Palace and Brentford, although the Gers could offer European football to the young winger.

The links continued throughout the summer, yet the winger eventually remained at Sunderland and is currently enjoying another productive season, scoring seven times across just 12 matches and his direct approach could be a perfect fit under Clement.

He was widely praised during his spell at Leeds United, with former professional Noel Whelan waxing lyrical about him in 2019 when he burst onto the scene.

He said: “He has got a great ability to glide past players. I don’t think I’ve seen a winger really as talented as that, where it looks effortless, just to take somebody on and he really does get you on the edge of your seat, he’s one of those exciting players.

“He’s only going to get better but once again a player we can only enjoy if we go into the Premier League because there’s teams sniffing around him.”

Clarke would be an interesting signing and could certainly offer more than Rabbi Matondo.

Is Jack Clarke better than Rabbi Matondo?

Despite Matondo enjoying a resurgence as such during the initial stages of the current season, registering four goal contributions in nine matches, his first season at the Gers was dreadful.

Indeed, during the 2022/23 campaign, Clarke scored more goals (11 to zero) and grabbed more assists (14 to five) while also averaging more key passes per game (1.7 to 0.8), creating more big chances (seven to four) and compling more successful dribbles per game (two to 1.3), clearly proving that he is a more effective attacking threat than the Welshman.

The 6 foot winger could thrive in Scotland should he be given a chance, and it certainly appears as though he is ready to make the step up from the Championship to representing a team which could not only challenge for trophies under Clement, but also return to their best on the European stage.

Matondo has shone in spells this term, but following an injury sustained against Motherwell towards the end of September, he will be out of action for around six weeks and this places further pressure on a faltering Gers frontline.

Moving for Clarke in the winter transfer window would be a wise move by Clement if he is appointed as the new manager and would be a good way to get the supporters to believe in his ability as the Sunderland sensation has plenty of talent to make an impression North of the border.

The season isn’t over just yet, but another one or two damaging results could see Celtic race away in the chase for the title and the Belgian must ensure this doesn’t happen.

If he could secure some positive results until the new year and then do some solid business in the transfer window, the Gers may have a chance at securing some domestic trophies.

Adding Clarke – who could potentially cost in the region of £15m – to the roster of players would be a good place to start, that’s for sure.