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Thomas Tuchel's men lost 1-0 on Tuesday to start their Champions League campaign.

Chelsea spent about £272 million in the summer transfer market, including a reported fee of £75 million for centre-back Wesley Fofana. Dinamo Zagreb's biggest splurge was £4m on forward Bosko Sutalo. They are both in the Champions League, but by almost every other identifier, they live in different stratospheres.

It was a dreadful performance from the Blues, who were completely stifled by the underdog Croatian club. In a match that served as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's debut, the Blues attack was toothless while the defence was undone by one moment of magic – a deft dink from Mislav Orsic beyond goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Chelsea's Champions League campaign is off to the worst possible start, putting further pressure on a team that has already lost twice in the Premier League and barely scraped a win against West Ham last weekend.

Getty ImagesThe Winners

Mislav Orsic:

Unless you're a fan of the Croatian league or a die-hard FIFA Ultimate Team fanatic, you might not be super familiar with Orsic.

But Orsic always seems to pop up in European play. He score a hat-trick against Atalanta in 2019, and then another against Tottenham in 2021 to knock them out of the Europa League. And then there was the goal against West Ham last December that knocked the Londoners out of the Europa League.

The point is, Orsic is a goal-getter. He's fast, direct and, when the time comes, clinical. Chelsea lost track of him for one moment, and he made no mistake.

AC Milan:

From the moment the group was announced, there were two favourites: Chelsea and AC Milan. And, with the Blues' loss, the advantage is now with the Italians when it comes to seizing control of the group.

We have a long way to go, and AC Milan may have their own stumbles. Maybe Dinamo can push on and challenge for an advancement position. Maybe RB Salzburg's youngsters are further along than many think, allowing them to push on.

But, in all likelihood, this group will prove to be a two-horse race.

Despite this loss, Chelsea should be fine in terms of reaching the knockout rounds. They're too talented not to be. But the ball is now in AC Milan's court when it comes to topping the group.

Matteo Kovacic:

If there was one Chelsea player that could hold his head somewhat high, it was Kovacic.

He was introduced to a bit of applause in his home country and, by the end, he was essentially the only Chelsea player worthy of it. Playing in a midfield two with Mason Mount, he was the only Chelsea player that did much of anything in a lifeless first half.

Kovacic wasn't perfect by any means, but he was solid enough, showing once again how vital he is to this Chelsea team despite all of the flashy new signings.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesThe Losers

Kalidou Koulibaly:

The former Napoli defender has now had about a month's worth of games at Chelsea, and at no time has he looked like the towering presence that lorded over Serie A for so long.

Koulibaly was at least partially at fault for the opener, with the Senegalese and Wesley Fofana both involved. That, most likely, is a result of playing alongside a new team-mate, with the two certainly needing time to adjust to each other's tendencies.

If it were in a vacuum, you could excuse that goal. Yet Koulibaly hasn't quite looked himself since coming to Chelsea, with this goal only the latest example.

Is it just new club jitters? Does he need more time to adjust to his new surroundings after so long in Napoli? Or should Chelsea be more concerned?

Time will tell, but they'll need Koulibaly at his best going forward if they're to compete at the top level.

Chelsea's attack:

It's almost like they were playing FIFA without a shoot button.

Each and every time Chelsea got into a dangerous situation, things got too cute. Kai Havertz, Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the trio of starters, were either too selfish or not selfish enough, as virtually every promising attack ended with a Dinamo tackle and clearance.

It isn't just the fact that Chelsea were shut out by Zagreb, but rather how they were. Eight total shots, two on target, and very little to care about other than that.

Romelu Lukaku is gone. So too is Timo Werner. The club has brought in stars like Sterling and Aubameyang to breathe new life into an attack that hadn't been good enough.

Things have yet to get better, though.

Thomas Tuchel:

Managers often get too much blame and too much credit. Players win games, after all. A manager's job is just to set them up to do so.

But Tuchel must take some criticism for what we've seen from Chelsea.

Hindsight is 20-20, of course, but a double-pivot of Mount and Kovacic was never going to work. Returning to a five-at-the-back system, Chelsea looked frail defensively and clueless in the attack against a Dinamo team they should have steamrolled.

Part of that is down to the players, of course, who weren't sharp or decisive enough. But blame also has to fall to the manager who continues to see his team struggle with basics.

Despite the millions of dollars spent to bring in players, Tuchel's Chelsea look like a poor imitation of what they could and should be.

Getty ImagesChelsea Ratings: Defence

Kepa Arrizabalaga (6/10):

Got dinked on the goal, but made up for it with a spectacular save later on.

Ben Chilwell (6/10):

A solid enough performance from the defender, even if he was offside on Aubameyang's would-be goal. He's making a case he belongs in the starting XI.

Kalidou Koulibaly (5/10):

Still far from his best.

Wesley Fofana (5/10):

Was outpaced on the goal.

Cesar Azpilicueta (6/10):

Hooked at half-time as Chelsea needed something new, but no fault of his.

Reece James (7/10):

Chelsea's Mr. Reliable struck the post in the second half and was generally positive both ways.

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Getty ImagesMidfield

Matteo Kovacic (7/10):

Solid performance in the midst of a Chelsea mess.

Mason Mount (4/10):

Not a No. 6, but was played as one.

MatériaMais Notícias

Dyego Coelho deixou o gramado do Castelão, na noite desta quarta-feira, com a sensação de alívio. Afinal, o Corinthians assegurou a vaga na fase preliminar da Libertadores após vencer o Ceará por 1 a 0, com um tento marcado por Gustagol. Diante disso, e às vésperas de fazer a sua oitava e última partida no comando interino do Timão — contra o Fluminense, domingo, às 16 horas, no Itaquerão, no encerramento do Campeonato Brasileiro —, o treinador confirmou que voltará a comandar a equipe sub-20 do clube. Tiago Nunes, ex-Athletico Paranaense, assumirá o cargo na próxima temporada.

Confira e simule a tabela do Brasileirão

—O Tiago Nunes vai encontrar um time com a cabeça melhor, equilíbrio melhor e eu espero que ele faça um grande trabalho. Vou seguir meu trabalho na base. É uma reformulação agora. Uns jogadores subiram para o profissional, outros para o sub-23. Temos um campeonato que o clube gosta (Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior, em janeiro). É tudo Corinthians, não tem para onde fugir. Vamos tentar fazer mais um bom trabalho na base. Sabemos que Tiago gosta da base. Vamos fazer um trabalho para que o clube sai ganhando — disse Coelho.

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O ex-lateral-direito ainda comentou sobre o desafio de ter assumido o cargo de treinador do time principal de forma interina após a demissão de Fabio Carille, ao fim da 30ª rodada, na qual o Corinthians foi goleado por 4 a 1, no Maracanã. Sob o seu comando, o Timão venceu três vezes, empatou duas e perdeu duas, oscilando entre as sexta, sétima e atual oitava posições no Brasileiro.

– De uma maneira ou de outra, colocamos na cabeça deles que era preciso coragem para jogar. Eles fizeram isso. Jogaram futebol. Isso me deixa mais feliz. Em pouco tempo, fizemos com que eles acreditassem que eram capazes de fazer grandes jogos e de um jogo mais apoiado, com a bola realmente. Essa foi a grande diferença. Coloquei a minha experiência de jogador aqui. Como as coisas são difíceis e quando ganha, melhora. Torcedor vai estar sempre ao lado, independente de vitória ou de derrota. Entenderam, cumpriram. Volto a dizer: mérito dos jogadores em entenderem o que pedimos. Eles colocaram em prática – disse Coelho.

Ele também comentou sobre como tem recuperado jogadores que cometem falhas, casos do volante Júnior Urso na derrota para o Botafogo (1 a 0) e do atacante Janderson na derrota para o Atlético-MG (2 a 1).

– No jogo contra o Botafogo, Urso falhou. Quando jogador falha, não podemos virar as costas. É naquele momento que o jogador precisa de todo mundo. O que Janderson fez hoje foi de alto nível. Os mais experientes abraçaram ele. Jogou muito hoje. É de jogador assim que o Corinthians precisa. Não pode se abater por um erro. Ele soube aproveitar. Fico muito feliz com a atuação dele. Joga muito futebol. Corinthians terá um grande futuro se souber cuidar desses meninos – disse o interino, que ainda exaltou a estrela do centroavante Gustagol, herói desta noite:

– Gustagol está conseguindo sair da área para fazer parede e tem bola área incrível. Foi nisso que apostamos. Graças a Deus, conseguiu fazer o gol da vaga.

continua após a publicidade

New Zealand Cricket has agreed to play a day-night Test against Australia as part of a deal that will resume regular cricket between the two neighbours after a gap of four years and provide a significant financial leg-up for New Zealand.The inaugural, experimental day-night Test will be played at Adelaide Oval with a pink Kookaburra ball in the third match of the series between Australia and New Zealand, between November 27 and December 1.The match will go ahead much to the delight of the CA chief executive James Sutherland, who has championed the concept for more than seven years. It will also be a source of rich dividends for the host broadcaster Channel Nine, whose chief executive David Gyngell expects television ratings and by extension advertising revenues far in excess of those offered for standard Test match days.However the views of the players can best be summed up as a combination of nervousness, apprehension and scepticism. While most agree the concept is great in theory, there is far less certainty about details such as the pink ball and its behaviour, the adjustment from day to night, and the effects the concept will have upon a format all players rate highly as the fairest and truest test of prowess with bat or ball.New Zealand’s players have been loudest of all in their worries about the concept, and their players association chief Heath Mills said an agreement had ultimately been reached because Brendon McCullum’s team could see the “bigger picture” benefits of regular cricket against Australia. The two nations have not played a Test series since November 2011, and only contested the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy for ODIs at ICC events.”It’s fair to say our players are nervous about the day-night Test. It’s uncharted territory and because of that there will be uncertainty and apprehension,” Mills said. “However, whilst the players have reservations about the concept, they can see the bigger picture in the new agreement, and the greater good it brings to all levels of the game.”Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann has been a vocal supporter of the concept. Alongside former captain and now CA board member Mark Taylor, Lehmann has been an advocate for day-night Tests at the ICC cricket committee discussion table.”I’m looking forward to it to see what it brings, looking forward to seeing how both teams perform under lights, looking forward to seeing a massive crowd,” Lehmann said of a match to be played at his former home ground in Adelaide. “I think it’s going to be exceptional to see everyone turning up for the first one ever in Test match cricket, I’m excited, and I know the players are excited and looking forward to the challenge.

Australia’s home Test schedule

November 5-9: Australia v New Zealand, Brisbane
November 13-17: Australia v New Zealand, Perth
November 27-December 1: Australia v New Zealand, Adelaide
December 10-14: Australia v West Indies, Hobart
December 26-30: Australia v West Indies, Melbourne
January 3-7: Australia v West Indies, Sydney

“Recommendations to the ICC committee were to make sure we are pushing the boundaries if you like and trying to get day-night Test matches, evening Test matches, to try and get people coming to watch it in different parts of the world in different countries, and versus different countries. We think it’s a really important way to go and only time will tell if it’s right or it’s wrong, end of the day we’ve got to give it a crack and I think it’s important for the game.”It’s very special for everyone involved, players, staff, everyone at CA, and New Zealand Cricket so it’s going to be a really interesting time. Looking forward to what the challenges the ball brings for example and how it reacts on the pitch. I’m sure it’s going to be okay.”For Sutherland, the push for day-night Tests has been one of the few consistent running themes of his long tenure as CA chief executive. Other ideals such as the Test Championship have fallen by the wayside, and the advent of Twenty20 has brought major new sources of revenue to the game, but he was always determined to open up Test cricket to larger attendances and stronger television ratings.”One of the global challenges with Test cricket is that most of the matches outside holiday periods are played on week days, in the middle of the day when people are at work and kids are at school,” Sutherland said. “By shifting the playing times each day’s play can go into the evening and allow people to come in after work or after school to attend the last few hours of play, but also when they get home in other parts of the world or other parts of the country, they can watch the game on TV.”The Perth Test match is a great illustration of that. It’s fanatically watched on the eastern seaboard of Australia every year because of the time difference. Our television ratings are something like 40 per cent more for the whole country.”We’re really confident with the work that’s been done over the past few years. We’ve had two successive seasons of Sheffield Shield cricket where pink balls have been trialled. We’ve worked very closely with the Australian Cricketers’ Association and Kookaburra in the development of the ball and its continued upgrade to make it ready.”We’ll make sure that the players from both teams are well prepared. We’re working really closely with New Zealand Cricket in giving them the right tour matches and preparation before the ultimate day-night Test, which is the last of the series. And similarly with our players.”It is believed that New Zealand’s players will play two tour matches under lights before the Adelaide Test, while Australian players will have one day-night Sheffield Shield round following their return home from a short tour of Bangladesh, and perhaps another between the second and third Tests.As for Gyngell, the Nine Network’s chief cannot wait to see the ratings. “Evolution is everything in elite sport and its coverage, and it’s up to us all to think outside the square and meet these challenges,” he said. “My congratulations to James Sutherland and Cricket Australia and our friends at New Zealand Cricket for having the foresight and mettle to take it on, and for the support of team captains Michael Clarke and Brendon McCullum.”Let’s give it a red-hot go and see what develops.”A pink-hot go, perhaps.

Tim Murtagh, the Ireland seamer, has been ruled out of his side’s upcoming ODI against England on May 8

ESPNcricinfo staff05-May-2015Tim Murtagh, the Ireland seamer, has been ruled out of his side’s upcoming ODI against England on May 8. He sustained a hamstring tear while playing for his county Middlesex against Durham at Lord’s in the County Championship. He will undergo an MRI scan on Tuesday to evaluate the extent of his injury.Murtagh, 33, was slated to make a comeback to international cricket this Friday, after missing the World Cup due to a foot injury.Cricket Ireland chose not to name a replacement because they initially named a 14-man squad instead of the usual 13 and will pick their final XI from the available players.

The Mumbai batting line-up sizzled for the second time in succession, making a mockery of a hapless Madhya Pradesh bowling attack to lay a firm grip on the first day of the match

The Report by Amol Karhadkar in Mumbai05-Jan-2015
ScorecardSuryakumar Yadav scored his second hundred of the tournament•PTI

The Mumbai batting line-up sizzled for the second time in succession, making a mockery of a hapless Madhya Pradesh bowling attack to lay a firm grip on the first day of the match. Thanks to Suryakumar Yadav’s blistering 135 and rookie Akhil Herwadkar’s impressive 97, Mumbai finished the day at 375 for 4.A Wankhede wicket that was slightly greener than usual made both the teams enter the game with a four-pronged pace attack. Once the coin landed in Devendra Bundela’s favour, it was clear that the day would see a tussle between an inexperienced bowling attack and a largely unproven batting unit.The MP pacers never found the right length, either bowling too short or too full, thus bringing in drives and cuts in plenty. And the Mumbai batsmen made the most of scoring opportunities. The day saw 57 fours and two sixes, most of which were scored off loose balls.Once Herwadkar and Aditya Tare saw off the new ball, MP were always going to chase the pack. However, soon after the first drinks break, Tare and Shreyas Iyer threw their wickets away. Two balls after Herwardkar was given a reprieve by Naman Ojha behind the wicket, Tare offered catching practice to Harpreet Singh at second slip.And the catching practice continued in Datey’s next over. Iyer, fresh from a sterling 153 in Kolkata last week, started off by flicking Puneet Datey between midwicket and mid-on off the first ball he faced. Soon after, he lobbed a fuller one straight to Sanjay Mishra at short cover.Mumbai were in a slight spot of bother having suffered multiple collapses at the stat of the season. But once his captain joined him in the middle, Herwadkar started playing more freely. The left-handed batsman was playing only his third first-class match but he looked at home right from the word go. He cut and drove with élan early on to let Tare get his eye in. By the time Suryakumar joined him, he had already scored his maiden first-class fifty.Once Suryakumar started manufacturing shots, Herwadkar wasn’t to be left behind. He first pulled Avesh Khan over deep square leg and then danced down the wicket off left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma to hit him for back-to-back fours and race to 97. He was visibly nervous and tried to repeat the shot for crossing the milestone. Ankit had seen him charging down the wicket, and bowled it wide for Ojha to complete an easy stumping.Herwadkar’s charge was set up by Suryakumar. The MP bowlers tried to bowl wide of off stump in order to induce him into a false stroke but the Mumbai captain was happy to nudge the ball through the gully region for boundaries. The maverick batsman changed the course of the match by targeting Sanjay Mishra in the 43rd over. The over produced 19 runs, 16 of which came through Suryakumar’s boundaries. The third of the four fours – a wristy off drive that was similar to a tennis top spin – was the shot of the day.Even after losing Herwadkar, Suryakumar continued the charge. With Siddhesh Lad looking solid at the other end, Suryakumar continued to score boundaries at will, that too with unorthodox shots. He walked down the wicket and pushed Yogesh Rawat behind the bowler for another memorable shot. And in the next over, flicked Ankit against the line – not the turn, since there wasn’t any – through midwicket to inch closer to his second century of the tournament.Though he slowed down a bit in the nineties, he caressed a short one from offspinner Jalaj Saxena through the offside for his 17th four of the day and pumped his fist to the dressing room. He later pulled Avesh into the stands behind square leg and then drove him through covers in the next over.With half an hour remaining in the day’s play, Suryakumar threw his wicket away. He tried to walk down to Harpreet’s gentle medium-pacers and yorked himself to be bowled.Lad and Sarfaraz Khan then continued to score freely as MP decided against taking the new ball in the evening. If the bowlers don’t make use of the red cherry early in the morning, they could well be batted out on the second day.

Sri Lanka’s inexperience showed in the field, Angelo Mathews said following the 169-run loss to India, but he was also critical of his batsmen for not making a better attempt at the chase

Andrew Fidel Fernando03-Nov-2014Sri Lanka’s inexperience showed in the field, Angelo Mathews said following the 169-run loss to India, but he was also critical of his batsmen for not making a better attempt at the chase. Chasing 364, Sri Lanka set out at 3.9 runs an over in the mandatory Powerplay, and failed to increase the scoring rate significantly after that, as the team continued to lose wickets.An experienced top order was expected to carry a green attack through this series, but of the top seven, only Mahela Jayawardene scored at better than a run-a-ball. No other specialist batsman crossed 30, either, and Sri Lanka were all out for 194.”Chasing a score of over 360, we’ve got to approach it in a different way from how we batted in the first 10 overs,” Mathews said. “I actually thought that was one of our big faults. We didn’t get off to a start. At least we could have showed some intent.”All the batsmen should have approached it like Mahela. We needed to make a move.”Sri Lanka dropped catches off both India centurions, and also leaked runs they could have saved, continuing a recent record of poor fielding. Mathews put those errors down to the lack of preparation, but said the bowling had, at least briefly, been encouraging. India had been 43 for 0 after ten overs, with both debutant Lahiru Gamage and Dhammika Prasad extracting bounce and seam from the Cuttack surface to beat the bat regularly.”Our new ball bowlers bowled really well in the first ten overs,” Mathews said. “I thought we let them let them off the hook after that. They played some really good shots and Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan batted brilliantly. India has always been a tough place for bowlers. It’s a batsmen’s game. Plenty of runs on offer on these wickets, so we need to bowl well to stop them.”Dhawan, meanwhile, praised the India bowlers’ discipline, and suggested India’s openers were well-placed looking ahead to the 2015 World Cup. Dhawan and Rahane’s 231-run stand was the second 150-plus partnership for the pair in six innings, and the third-highest for India for the first wicket.”It’s a good sign for our team that the openers are scoring runs and making big partnerships,” Dhawan said. “If you see, me and Rahane have been consistently getting 50-run partnerships. It’s very important because you need the strong base. When me and Rohit Sharma used to open, we did the same thing at that time too. We’re very fortunate that we three openers are there with the Indian team and we can give that consistency with partnerships and performance.”India have also now won three ODIs in a row, having already beaten England and West Indies in bilateral ODI series in recent months, with both their batting and bowling having begun to fire together. Dhawan’s 113 was his sixth ODI ton.”Today we were just trying to play the bowlers on merit,” he said. “At the start the wicket was swinging and seaming a bit, that’s why we gave it a bit of time to settle. You get a lot of self-confidence when you play such a knock, and when you win the first match by a big margin, it gives confidence to the team as well.”

Samuel Badree, the West Indies legspinner, will miss the only T20 against Bangladesh due to an injury

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Aug-2014

Samuel Badree, the West Indies legspinner, will miss the only T20 against Bangladesh due to an injury. Left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn has replaced Badree in the team.Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo, who did not play the T20 home series against New Zealand in July, were also named in the 13-member squad for the match, which will be played on August 27 in Basseterre. The pair have replaced Christopher Barnwell and Darren Bravo from the squad for the T20s against New Zealand.Badree, the top-ranked T20 bowler in the world, has played 12 games this year, picking up 19 wickets, including a haul of 4 for 15 against Bangladesh in the World T20. Benn, who made a comeback to international cricket during the Tests against New Zealand, last played a T20 for West Indies in May 2010.West Indies T20 squad: Darren Sammy (captain), Sulieman Benn, Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Andre Russell, Krishmar Santokie, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith
In: Sulieman Benn, Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo
Out: Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Christopher Barnwell

تعرف على موعد انطلاق الدوري المصري الممتاز موسم 2023-2024

أعلنت رابطة الأندية المصرية المحترفة، عن موعد انطلاق بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز للموسم الجديد 2023-2024.

ومن المقرر أن تجرى قرعة بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز للموسم الجديد غداً الإثنين 11 سبتمبر. ما هو موعد انطلاق بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز 2023-2024؟

كشفت رابطة الأندية على حسابها عبر موقع التواصل الاجتماعي “تويتر”، عن موعد انطلاق الدوري المصري 2023-2024، حيث ستكون ضربة البداية يوم الإثنين 18 سبتمبر الجاري.

طالع | رابطة الأندية: سنعلن عدد الجماهير في قرعة الدوري.. وسنراعي الأهلي في جدول المسابقة

وكان الأهلي توج ببطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز في الموسم الماضي وذلك للمرة الـ 43 في تاريخه.

وجاء في المركز الثاني نادي بيراميدز، وحل ثالثاً الزمالك وفي المركز الرابع جاء فريق فيوتشر.

متحمسون للبداية 🤩

8️⃣ أيام تفصلنا عن انطلاق #دوري_NILE ⏳#رابطة_الأندية_المحترفة pic.twitter.com/bviVTYzxoD

— رابطة الأندية المحترفة EPL (@epl_eg) September 10, 2023

A breathtaking display from Alex Hales, who hammered England’s first T20 hundred, inspired a beleaguered team to their highest-ever chase

The Report by Andrew McGlashan27-Mar-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsA breathtaking display from Alex Hales, who hammered England’s first T20 hundred, inspired a beleaguered team to their highest-ever T20 run chase as they hunted down 190 to overcome Sri Lanka and keep alive a realistic chance of progressing in the tournament.It was an astonishing turnaround after a shambolic fielding display which included four dropped catches and a missed run-out to allow Sri Lanka to reach an imposing 189 including a stand of 145 between Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan. England found themselves 0 for 2 after the first over of their chase before a brilliantly calculated assault by Hales and Eoin Morgan who added 152 in 15.2 overs for the third wicket.Hales, who was dropped on 55 at deep square-leg by Jayawardene as fielding woes afflicted both teams, closed out the match with three sixes in six balls after Nuwan Kulasekara, who began with a double-wicket maiden, returned to remove Morgan and Jos Buttler in the 17th over to bring Sri Lanka back into the match but they could not stop Hales’ onslaught.The brief role played by Ravi Bopara should not be overlooked either, as he deflected two boundaries to third man in Lasith Malinga’s final over to ensure England had some breathing space. Crucially, Malinga went wicketless – and conceded nearly eight an over – while Ajantha Mendis was dispatched for 52 which included 25 off his final over to swing the chase firmly England’s way.Before this match Hales jointly held the record for England’s highest T20 innings – 99 shared with Luke Wright – and this time was not to be denied three figures as he cracked a fourth six, over cover, during his final dip to reach a hundred off 60 balls. “It was one of the best knocks I’ve ever seen,” a delighted, relieved, and slightly hoarse Stuart Broad said.An overseas season of regular misery for England appeared to be having another chapter added to it when Michael Lumb missed his first-over heave at Kulasekara and Moeen Ali edged to second slip first ball, but Hales and Morgan kept their composure which is not something that has been said much of this team in recent months.After nine overs England were well behind the required rate on 56 for 2, but Morgan then went after Angelo Mathews and Mendis, struggling with a wet ball and not holding any fear. 29 came in the next two overs to kick-start the chase. In the space of six overs, which brought 86 runs, an asking rate that had reached 12.18 came down to far less imposing 9.60.Morgan’s half-century came after a run of 10 T20I innings where he had a top score of 34 and he struck the ball crisply, especially a reverse sweep and a lofted drive over cover off Mendis. Hales’ last 54 runs came from just 20 balls and such was the way England targeted Mendis, Mathews and Thisara Perera (off whose bowling Jayawardene spilled Hales) they could afford to take a more cautious approach off Malinga’s final two overs.England’s memorable chase meant that a moment of controversy early in the match did not hold as much significance come the end. Facing his first ball, Jayawardene was squared up by Jade Dernbach and the outside edge flew towards Lumb at point who dived forward to claim the chance in a rare example of international-standard fielding. But Jayawardene, as is his right, stood his ground and that immediately threw open the prospect of what happened next.After rocking and rolling the replays for a considerable time the third umpire, Steve Davis, decided there was enough doubt over whether the ball had carried. There was disbelief from England; Dernbach almost lost his cool although Broad, already a touch light in the pocket after the New Zealand match, just about managed to bite his lip.What could (and, by all logical views, should) have been 4 for 2 then descended into chaos for England. All their practice with wet balls was certainly not a case of making perfect. Jayawardene was given three lives – a catch on 19, a run out on 42 and another catch on 80 – while the out-of-form Dilshan was shelled on 21 during a half-century that equalled his slowest in T20. To cap the innings, Thisara Perera was put down in the last over by Bopara at wide long-on who, surprisingly, was not given a bowl.But while he had fortune, Jayawardene also played another calculated and deft T20 innings. His fifty came off 32 balls and his next 37 runs took 18 balls to leave him within sight of a second century before he missed a straight ball from Chris Jordan. At the midway mark few expected him to be on the losing side.

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