Ruben Amorim will have some interesting selection choices ahead of Manchester United’s post-Christmas fixtures.

The Red Devils lost their last game before Christmas Day, a 2-1 defeat away to Aston Villa. That game saw Bruno Fernandes pick up a hamstring injury, which will rule him out of the Boxing Day game against Newcastle.

United are certainly short on numbers in the middle of the park. Fernandes is not the only midfielder sidelined, with question marks over Kobbie Mainoo’s availability against the Magpies. It seems a guarantee that Casemiro will start, with the Brazilian set to return from suspension.

Who his partner will be is unclear at this stage, although there is no guarantee it will be Manuel Ugarte.

Why Ugarte is struggling at Man Utd

Uruguay international Ugarte has far from impressed at Old Trafford since his £50m move from Paris Saint-Germain. His last seven starts in the Premier League have all ended in defeat for United, including Sunday’s trip to Villa Park.

That was a showing that journalist Samuel Luckhurst described as “scandalous,” harsh words, maybe, but it was a poor performance.

He hasn’t ever been able to nail down a spot in the side, playing 57 times in total, but only averaging 36 full 90-minute games. In that time, the midfielder has chipped in with two goals and six assists.

It is hard to see what Ugarte brings to the United side in possession. That is certainly one of the weakest areas of his game, and something Amorim certainly needs in his pivot to have better central progression.

Indeed, his numbers from the Premier League last season show those limitations. For example, he averaged 3.08 progressive passes and 0.81 progressive carries per 90 minutes, placing him in the lowest 18th and 23rd percentiles for midfielders.

It does not seem like Ugarte is at the level required for this United side, and there could be a young player ready to step into his position in the coming years.

Man United's in-house Ugarte replacement

There are a few options in the Red Devils academy who could replace the United number 25 in the long term. One of those, Jack Fletcher, made his first-team debut last weekend, and Sekou Kone is another player who could break through.

However, another option for Amorim in the long term could be 17-year-old Cristian Orozco. The young midfielder will sign for United next summer for a reported £740k, joining from Colombian outfit Fortaleza.

This signing is certainly an investment for the future for United. The Colombian U17 international is yet to make his first-team debut, but has already garnered a big reputation and become known as something of a “destroyer” in midfield, as one analyst described him.

Another person who has been left impressed by Orozco’s short career so far is football scout Ben Mattinson. He described the youngster as “tidy on the ball” and “composed under pressure.”

Given Ugarte’s limitations in possession, this is undoubtedly a positive thing. If, indeed, the teenager becomes his replacement in the future, it is good to know he has the foundations of a strong midfielder in possession.

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Indeed, you get that impression when looking at some of his numbers from tournament football with Colombia U17s. At the U17 CONMEBOL Championship, he completed an average of 87.4% of his passes per 90 minutes, and averaged 0.8 dribbles at the U17 World Cup.

Orozco key stats at international tournaments

Stat (per 90)

CONMEBOL

U17 World Cup

Chances created

0.8

0.3

Dribbles completed

0.2

0.8

Pass accuracy

87.4%

78.3%

Tackles & interceptions

3.4

3

Aerial duels won

0.6

1

Stats from Sofascore

Of course, there is some time yet before the young midfielder moves to Old Trafford. However, it certainly seems like he has all the tools to make it to the top. United have struggled for depth in midfield, but he certainly has potential.

Whatever Ugarte’s future may be, Orozco might be the player to displace him from the squad and eventually end his United career.

Related Man Utd star was becoming like Onana, now he's undroppable

This Man Utd star has been impressive in recent weeks, and may now be undroppable.

Posts ByJoe Nuttall

I struggle to find a bad word to say about Liverpool’s Adam Lallana. He’s a hardworking, intelligent and skilful player who’s dragged himself all the way up from the depths of the Football League to the Premiership’s summit and the England national team.

You can’t doubt his talent or determined spirit, but if there’s one question mark that will perpetually linger over the midfielder throughout his Liverpool career, it’s the audacious transfer fee required to bring him to Anfield last summer – a whopping, eye-watering, ball-busting and shin-shattering £25million.

Even by recent market standards and taking Lallana’s home-grown status into account, that’s a rather almighty sum – in fact, it’s the most Brendan Rodgers has spent on a single player since taking the Anfield helm in summer 2013 and the second-biggest signing in Liverpool’s history, after the infamous Andy Carroll.

To some, the £25million fee will always be somewhat unjustifiable; after all, the former Southampton star is already 26 years of age, and when Liverpool are at full strength, his place in the starting Xi over fellow attacking midfielders Raheem Sterling and Philippe Coutinho is hardly guaranteed. In fact, quite the opposite.

But countryman James Milner sets out an interesting template, one that could eventually justify Lallana’s price-tag should he choose to follow it.

He too once joined a major Premier League club for an astronomical fee – £28.5million to Manchester City in 2010 – and he too faced daunting questions over whether such a price-tag could ever prove good value-for-money. Five years later, the Citizens are throwing further fortunes at their unsung hero in a bid to stop him walking out of the Etihad on a free transfer this summer, with a host of other Premier League clubs queuing up for his signature.

There are further important similarities between the two; both are famed for their fantastic work ethics; both are resultantly underestimated for their astute technical qualities; both are uniquely two-footed considering their English educations; both are highly versatile midfielders; both shun the media limelight and are widely considered to be consummate professionals.

They may seem rather superficial comparisons at first glance, and Milner’s top flight reputation was far better grounded throughout Premier League spells with Leeds, Newcastle and Aston Villa before the free-spending Citizens coughed up his seismic transfer fee four summers ago. Likewise, in 2010, Milner was only 24 years of age and there was resultantly less pressure on him to make an immediate impact.

Yet, Lallana should still find some comfort in them; those characteristics have made Milner one of the most useful and important components of City’s squad, a two-time Premier League winner and a 53-time representative of the England national team. Bucking the trend of most pacey, energetic and youthful wingers, as he was in his younger years, who usually burn out in their mid-twenties, the City stalwart has only improved with experience and age, continually adapting his game to suit Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini’s demands.

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That is what Lallana must now do at Liverpool – make himself a mainstay for the next five years by adapting, improving and showing versatility. The Reds squad will always be filled with players more talented than him, but if the 26 year-old can smooth the fringes of his game, he can become Merseyside’s answer to James Milner – a hardworking everyman underpinning the depth of the Anfield squad.

Perhaps it’s not what Liverpool fans immediately expect from a £25million player, but few at Eastlands would dispute Milner as one of the club’s most astute and successful long-term acquisitions. In a few years’ time, should Lallana choose to gravitate towards Milner in both status and style, that big-money move for the former Saints midfielder might prove to be amongst Brendan Rodgers’ shrewdest decisions as Anfield boss.

One of my earliest sports memories is watching John Elway and the Denver Broncos beat the Cleveland Browns to make it to the Super Bowl.

I then recall watching that Super Bowl at my cousin’s house and being very disappointed when the Broncos got spanked by that football team from Washington. I grew up loving football. I played football in junior high and high school. I devoted full weekends to watching hours and hours of football on television. Thankfully, those days are over.

Futbol, soccer, has supplanted football in my heart and on my TV. I first started to watch soccer around 2008 when I studied abroad in The Netherlands. The local pub I frequented is where I watched the games. I started following Tottenham a few years later and slowly soccer made more sense and became way more entertaining.

I started to see football as a less interesting and less entertaining alternative. Now it is rare that I sit down to watch a football game. I could talk about the problems with college athletics, or the incompetence in the NFL front-office, or safety issues with football as reasons why I have lost interest in the sport. These issues have certainly contributed to my indifference, but that is not the whole story.

A big part of the switch for me has been how much better the soccer fan experience is. Thus, here are three reasons why being a soccer fan is better than a being a football fan…

Soccer is a year-round sport

This has been a most pleasant and unexpected development in my soccer fandom. There is just so much soccer to watch. I follow the English Premier League (EPL) and Major League Soccer (MLS). The EPL season runs from August to May. Concurrently, there is Champions League and Europa League games during the week at various points in the season, as well as cup competitions.

The MLS season starts in March and ends in late October, so when EPL season ends, MLS is in full-gear over the summer months. And then there is international soccer. The World Cup happens every four years for both men and women, but they are staggered (men played last year, our women won it all this year).

In between cups, there are continental competitions, World Cup qualifying matches, and friendlies. So. Much. Soccer.

As for football, you got August through January. That’s it.

Commercial-free fandom

I realise that these days fans who record sporting events can fast forward through those pesky commercials. But most die-hards watch games live or at a sports bar, so sitting through commercials is a part of the experience. And if you watch a lot of football, you will spend most of that time watching commercials instead of actual game action.

Not so with soccer. A soccer game is two total hours of your time if there is a 15 minute pre or post game segment. Ninety minutes of that time is beautiful soccer action. There is no need to fast-forward through commercials because there aren’t any. There is a 15 minute half-time with at least half of it spent in the studio with the analysts breaking down the first 45. So you are left with about eight minutes of commercials during a soccer broadcast (not including those in any post/pre-game if there is such a segment).

The idea that many football fans have of soccer being so “boring” is silly when you consider that most of a football game is spent watching players and coaches stand around.

Not Just One Game In Town

If you like football, there are only two outlets for your fandom: the college and professional games. But in soccer, there are so many leagues that it is almost overwhelming and intimidating to get started as a fan. But this is a good thing, because choice is good. Especially when the options are of such quality.

The most watched league in the United States is the EPL. It is fast, physical and competitive. But there are other leagues with tremendous talent and arguably, better teams (though probably not as competitive as leagues). Germany has the Bundesliga, Spain La Liga, France Ligue 1, and so on and so forth.

And soccer coverage in America has gotten so good that you can now watch these leagues on one of numerous cable channels. For example, NBC Sports’s coverage of the EPL is fantastic and you can watch every single game online at no extra cost with your cable subscription login.

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For football fans, you’re stuck with regional coverage and the only way you can watch out-of-market games is by forking over a lot of extra cash for the privilege.

I will admit that I sometimes get sucked into a big football game, or will check the scores to see how the Broncos and the Longhorns are doing. But I have no regrets about not spending anywhere from 3–9 hours on Saturdays and Sundays watching football.

EPL games start early and I am done by noon, which I am grateful for. This means I have the rest of the day to spend with the family or doing other things. I am grateful for that, too.

This article was submitted via our new Write For Us feature. Think you can do better? Submit your own article via the link below, and make sure you follow @FFC_WFU on Twitter for #RealOpinions…

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For India it was precisely the start they wanted; for Kenya there was little disgrace in defeat by eight wickets.Between them, the Kenyan Cricket Association and the ICC put up a good show in most respects. The Nairobi Gymkhana Ground looked a picture with a good and enthusiastic crown scattered around a collection of new stands. The pitch played well, the players entertained and the weather behaved itself.But for the sizeable media contingent who turned up for the opening match of the ICC KnockOut 2000, the facilities were far from ideal. Kenya hope to stage their games during the 2003 World Cup at home. If the present state of affairs persists, this dream cannot even be countenanced.Still, the rest of it was good value. Kenya didn’t really give themselves a chance by making only 208 for nine in their 50 overs, the major share of which came by way of an 81-run stand for the fourth wicket between Ravindu Shah and skipper Maurice Odumbe.Shah, compact and composed, looked a fine player during his 60 while Odumbe also bagged a half-century with 51 off 87 balls. But apart from Thomas Odoyo’s unbeaten 35, there was little support. Kenya desperately needed a substantial contribution from their best batsman, Steve Tikolo, but he made just 5. The three Indian seamers, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar and Venkatesh Prasad shared seven of the wickets with Anil Kumble taking two for 22 in his 10.India started cautiously, and Kenya had their best moment of the day when Sachin Tendulkar was adjudged leg before for 35 by Dave Orchard. But the home side had to bowl their most likely wicket-taker, Martin Suji, out – his 10 overs costing just 30 – and Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid seldom looked like getting themselves out.They added 88 for the second wicket before Ganguly rushed down the wicket to Odumbe only to be beaten by the turn and stumped, but Vinod Kambli, so often a wayward genius, came in and set about getting things over with quickly.Kamblie crashed seven boundaries in his 32-ball 39 and if Dravid was more leisurely in making his 68 not out, he was no less able to find the gaps as India picked up the pace.In the end the Indians got home with six-and-a-half overs to spare in what was a useful, if not unduly taxing, day at the office. Australia will no doubt provide a somewhat sterner test when the two teams meet in the first of the quarter-finals on Saturday.By then the ICC and the KCA might have found a way to make reporting on the match something less of a test for man and machine.

Can India’s senior players remain fresh enough to pull off a win in Australia? © Getty Images

Tim Nielsen, the new Australian coach, feels that the challenge for India’s ageing middle-order line-up will be to beat the hectic schedule and remain fresh for the tour to Australia. Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman – all in their thirties – will probably be playing in their last Test series in Australia later this year, but before that there’s plenty of cricket in store for the Indian team.”It’s interesting. Apart from the two opening batsmen, they seem to have gone back to a more experienced line-up,” Nielsen told the . “The challenge for them is, I suppose, they’ve got the Twenty20 World Series, then they’ve got the Test series against Pakistan and they come straight to Australia.”Nielsen said that Australia will have the edge as they wouldn’t have played as much cricket. “We will be relatively fresh compared with what they will be and that might be a positive for us. That will test these older players of theirs.”He also indicated that Australia had the firepower in their bowling to counter the Indian batsmen. “Two guys bowling at 150-plus kph is an exciting thing. Hopefully, they are all fit, firing and ready to go. The selectors will have a look at what the best combination is,” Nielsen said. “The great thing is, whether it be [Mitchell] Johnson, [Shaun] Tait, [Brett] Lee, [Stuart] Clark, [Ben] Hilfenhaus, there is lots of talent around that is screaming out for the opportunity.”Along with the Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Laxman, India’s Test team to Australia will also include the 36-year-old Anil Kumble. However, all five senior players won’t play the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa. Also, Kumble has retired from ODIs while Laxman hasn’t played an ODI for India since December last year.

Hampshire, bottom of Division One, have announced that Jimmy Adams has stepped down as captain of their Championship side to find form with the bat.The decision has been made with six matches remaining in the 2015 season and Hampshire 22 points adrift of the two sides above them – Worcestershire and Sussex.James Vince, Hampshire’s one-day captain, will now take over in all competitions for the rest of the season. He succeeded Adams as captain in 50-over cricket in April and in the T20 format last year.Adams is only averaging 29.15 in Division One – and, although Vince can claim to have a higher average it is only by one-hundredth of a run. His own batting returns have also been vastly disappointing considering that he is regularly presented as one of England’s brightest young batting talents.Hampshire’s director of cricket, Giles White, said: “Jimmy feels that the most important thing right now is for him to focus on his batting and to get back to scoring runs at the top of the order. While this is the case Vincey will lead the team.”Hampshire’s promotion under Adams last season, as Division Two champions, was their fifth trophy in as many seasons. The county’s first official Hampshire-born captain since the war is the most popular of beneficiaries, although this is also bound to have taken its toll, as is a run of defeats and the birth of a second child earlier in the summer.

ScorecardSuresh Raina hit nine fours and a six in his 94-ball 104•PTI

In a game that was continually interrupted by rain, Suresh Raina’s century underpinned a solid all-round performance from India A as they subdued Bangladesh A by 75 runs and claimed the series 2-1. Raina’s 116-run partnership with Sanju Samson – 90 off 99 balls – boosted India A’s total to 297 for 6 before their seamers and spinners colluded well to unhinge the visitors.Bangladesh A’s chase began on a discordant note, as Soumya Sarkar played Dhawal Kulkarni onto his stumps in the second over. They slipped to 4 for 2 nine balls later as S Aravind celebrated his India call-up by having Anamul Haque caught at mid-on. After a 21-minute rain interruption, their target was revised to 290 in 46 overs.Bangladesh A kept losing wickets at regular intervals as the spinners – Kuldeep Yadav, playing his first game of the series, and Karn Sharma – ensured there was no let up in the pressure created by the seamers. Liton Das and Mominul Haque added 44 for the fourth wicket, but Kuldeep dismissed both of them in quick succession to ensure the chase was in free fall. Sabbir Rahman produced some sparkling strokes, but by the time rain interrupted again, Bangladesh A were at 141 for 6, a considerable way behind their D/L par score of 216.India A had opted to bat at the toss, but early morning conditions meant runs would only come drip by drip. The home side also had to contend with Mayank Agarwal’s departure in the third over after he nicked Shafiul Islam to the wicketkeeper. Unmukt Chand, who had been stuck in single digits for 32 balls, and Samson, promoted to No. 3, began mending things patiently.The scoreboard read 35 for 1 at the end of 10 overs, largely due to an energetic display by the Bangladesh A new-ball bowlers. Al-Amin Hossain’s open-chested action resulted in plenty of inward movement and Shafiul got the ball to lift off a length. But, as India A coach Rahul Dravid observed at the start of the series, the Bangalore surface tended to calm down after an early hostile phase.Chand and Samson, by then, were up to speed with the pitch’s character, and were also helped by some anodyne bowling from Sarkar. Rubel Hossain was cranking up the pace at the other end but Chand took him on, dispatching a brace of boundaries, the second one almost daring the deep point to catch him out. Samson, meanwhile, played some cracking punches, pulls and late cuts but their 82-run partnership was terminated when Chand was bowled by Arafat Sunny after he attempted to cut one that came in with the angle.Raina’s entrance invigorated the innings further as he and Samson took turns to jump out of the crease against the spin of Nasir Hossain and Sunny. Both batsmen favoured the wallop over midwicket apart from their signature strokes: Raina repeatedly executed the swat to the leg side while Samson relished the inside-out shots.Samson was 10 runs short of his maiden List A century when Rubel produced a neat trick: a ball that had been veering in held its line, beat the batsman and bowled him. Kedar Jadhav and Gurkeerat Singh, who was selected in India’s ODI squad, were dismissed in quick succession as well, but Raina simply dialled up the intensity of his assault.He completed his century in 91 balls, and along with Rishi Dhawan, who turned to unconventional shots for an unbeaten 15-ball 26, pushed the team’s score past 290. Raina fell with two balls to go in the innings, but by then he had done sufficient damage, helping India A ransack 87 runs in the last 10 overs.

ScorecardPunjab took only 39 overs to bowl out Railways on the final day•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Left-arm spinner Varun Khanna’s eight-wicket haul, his maiden five-for, helped Punjab complete an innings win against Railways in Mohali and move to the top of Group B.Defeat appeared imminent for Railways when they resumed the final day on 125 for 5, still 283 runs away from making Punjab bat again. Railways lost their first wicket in the 10th over of the day for the addition of 20 runs, when Khanna removed Karn Sharma. However, overnight batsman Arindam Ghosh put on 50 runs in the company of Arnab Nandi (33) before Khanna had Nandi caught and bowled.The other significant partnership for Railways came through Ghosh and Krishnakant Upadhyay who added 40 runs for the ninth wicket. But it wasn’t long before the last two wickets fell, and Ghosh was left stranded on 98. Railways’ innings lasted 39 overs on the fourth day.
Scorecard Seamer B Ayyappa’s 6 for 71 was instrumental in Andhra securing the first-innings against Mumbai in Vizianagaram, after the visitors fell seven runs short of Andhra’s 244.Resuming on 158 for 5, Mumbai inched forward through Siddhesh Lad and Abhishek Nayar, and closed in on the 200 mark when Nayar was run out in the 80th over. Mumbai lost two more wickets in the next 10 overs, for the addition of 36 runs: Ayyappa dismissed Dhawal Kulkarni and, more crucially, Lad for 86 and later cleaned up the tail to collect his maiden five-wicket haul.Andhra then batted solidly in their second innings to ensure they walked away with three points.
ScorecardUttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh shared a point each in Moradabad, following a strong batting display from Madhya Pradesh. In reply to UP’s 686 for 7, MP, who began the day at 234 for 3, were buoyed by a 150-run stand for the fourth wicket between Aditya Shrivastava and Devendra Bundela. Shrivastava, playing in only his fourth first-class match, made his way to 169 before being caught behind off Ankit Rajpoot. Rajpoot also accounted for Bundela, who scored 80, in his next over, but Harpreet Singh, the No.7 batsman, held firm at his end, striking an unbeaten 88 to lead his team to 531 for 7, and denied UP a first-innings lead. Rajpoot was UP’s best bowler, taking 4 for 87.

Rangana Herath, who has spearheaded the Sri Lankan bowling attack for the past six years since the retirement of Muttiah Muralitharan, says he won’t make any decision on how long to carry on playing until after the end of the 2016 World Twenty20 in India. However, Herath, who will turn 38 during the World Twenty20 next March, says it could come “very soon” and admits he is struggling to stay fit with recurring knee problems hindering his effectiveness.”With my age you cannot perform the way you did some 10-15 years ago. From my fitness I am doing the maximum with the injury, I am struggling a little bit on it,” Herath said. “I cannot give a guarantee with my bowling or my fitness. I am trying to retain whatever energy I have and to prolong my career I have reduced the number of one-day matches and play only Tests.”If I put a target to end my career I will not be able to give my maximum to the team. Every time I play I look to give 100% to the team. But before long I will have to take a decision on my future. I will decide after the World T20 which is to be played in India next year. We are the reigning champions and we have a good chance of defending it with the present team although they lack in a bit in experience.”The upcoming two-Test series against West Indies represents another challenge for Herath. In particular, his knees are a special area of concern after undergoing surgery on each leg four years ago. To reduce the pain, Herath went to Australia shortly before the 2014 World Twenty20 and got a C-reactive protein injection for each knee but it is a over a year since and the pain has returned.”I did an operation on both knees in 2011 for damaged cartilage,” Herath said. “I had a clean-up and I had no problem playing after that. But of late I have been getting pains. It is four years since the operation and the effect of it must have worn off over the years due to the wear and tear while playing.”I sometimes get the pain on my knees when I start to run but not when I am bowling. I have been working with the physios, trainers and the medical staff how best to manage my injury and taking tablets and taping myself when I play in matches.”Following the retirements of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, Herath is one of the few experienced hands around for skipper Angelo Mathews to turn to for advice, making his presence all the more valuable.”Even when Mahela and Sanga were around as a bowler I offered advice and assistance to Angelo. In future, Angelo will require the support of all the team members. As a senior player I also have a responsibility to support him especially from the bowling side. If you take our bowling unit apart from Dhammika [Prasad] and me the rest have not played many matches. When you play with an inexperienced bowling unit, the captain will need to have a lot of patience because you will not get the breaks every time you need them.”In the past five-six years it has been this bowling unit which has been shuffled around and played. We always look as a team to build partnerships with the bowling unit. If anyone is bowling well from one side, not consistently bowling maiden overs but lessening the number of loose balls and not allowing batsmen the freedom to score, the strike bowler has more chances of taking wickets.”This was something that didn’t happen during Sri Lanka’s Test series against Pakistan where young offspinner Tharindu Kaushal leaked runs from one end which affected Herath, who could manage only two wickets in the series and found himself dropped for the third Test.”I don’t blame anyone for my poor performances against Pakistan. From my side I had room to improve myself which I managed to do during the Indian series,” said Herath. “PHT [Kaushal] is a newcomer to Test cricket. We cannot expect too much from him like building pressure and things like that. He needs the experience to do that. With experience only you can improve their performance. From my side I could have bowled better than I did against Pakistan.”Technically you cannot put your finger on anything that’s wrong. It is against Pakistan that I have performed very well taken about 90 Test wickets. What I found was that the Pakistan batsmen played me better than in the past and although I did not concede as many runs what stood out was that I could not get any wickets.”Despite the early inconsistency, Kaushal does have two five-wicket hauls in his first six Tests and Herath believes that Kaushal is the best option Sri Lanka has to succeed as a frontline spinner after him.”If you take our spinners it is Kaushal who has played a lot and has the wicket-taking ability,” Herath said. “Even Dilruwan Perera has it but Kaushal from the wicket-taking angle is the most successful and promising, we should pursue with him for the future. He has a problem with his doosra but I believe he can go a long way with his offspin.”PHT does not spin the ball as much as Murali. Murali had a wrist from which he could impart sharp spin and turn. Kaushal does not have that advantage, but he definitely has turn.”In contrast to all other opposition, Herath’s record against West Indies is poor. He has only taken eight wickets in five Tests but he is confident that he can put the record straight in the upcoming series.”I am confident that I can do what I have been doing in the past and have great belief if I bowl well we have a good chance of winning the series.”

ScorecardFile photo – Abhishek Nayar added 120 runs for the last two wickets in the company of Shardul Thakur and Vishal Dabholkar•BCCI

Mumbai overcame a collapse early on the second morning to amass a big total after Abhishek Nayar made a counterpunching half-century in the company of the lower order.Nayar, coming in at No.8, added 50 runs in 9.3 overs for the ninth wicket with Shardul Thakur, who made a 31-ball 24. After Thakur was run out, Nayar and Vishal Dabholkar, who contributed five runs, put on 70 runs for the last wicket to push the score past 400.Resuming on 317 for 3, Mumbai had lost five wickets for 10 runs inside 11 overs. After Shreyas Iyer was run-out adding six runs to his overnight score of 167 in the eighth ball of the day, seamer Ajitesh Argal picked up three of the four wickets to fall to reduce Mumbai to 327 for 8.In their reply, Baroda, despite losing Monil Patel early on, remained steady with Kedar Devdhar and captain Aditya Waghmode sharing an unbroken 113-run stand for the second wicket.Nayar admitted later that the collapse was “freakish”, and that he couldn’t really explain how it happened. “I think in the morning the ball was pretty new and they were bowling quite well, but there were no demons in the pitch,” Nayar told ESPNcricinfo.”Then Shreyas got run out and after that and I don’t know how to explain what happened. The ball was moving a bit, so initially I took my time. Once we played off that first spell after that we took our chances pretty well.”Nayar said he communicated his plans to the lower order and farmed the strike. “After Shardul got out, I was taking a chance every over. I was trying to face four to five balls every over and Vishal was doing a good job fending away the one or two balls. [Playing strokes] was the only way to get some runs,” he said.
ScorecardAndhra gained ascendancy over Uttar Pradesh in Ongole by securing a first-innings lead of 127 runs and then reducing the visitors to 39 for three in their second innings.Starting the day on 77 for no loss, Andhra lost opener Srikar Bharat, who was caught behind by Eklavya Dwivedi off Praveen Kumar. Andhra, however, didn’t lose momentum and kept stringing together handy partnerships with their middle-order batsmen contributing 20s and 30s. Praveen finished with four for 86.Uttar Pradesh, in their second innings, made slow progress, scoring at less than two runs an over and losing three wickets inside 16 overs.
ScorecardLate strikes helped Gujarat gain a slight edge over Railways in the race for the first-innings point in Delhi, after the visitors’ lower-order rallied around Rush Kalaria’s unbeaten fifty to take the team total close to 400.After Anureet Singh had overnight batsman Manpreet Juneja lbw off the third ball of the day, and then bowled RP Singh five overs later, Gujarat were reduced to 296 for 8. But, Kalaria, who came in at the fall of the sixth wicket, raised stands of 51 and 40 with Mehul Patel and Jasprit Bumrah for the ninth and tenth wickets respectively. Gujarat’s innings came to an end when Anureet trapped Bumrah lbw to claim his fourth wicket.Railways’ reply, led by Saurabh Wakaskar’s half-century, seemed headed in the right direction before RP Singh had Wakaskar lbw in the 50th over. From 168 for 1, the hosts slumped to 168 for four as they lost Faiz Ahmed and nightwatchman Anureet in the space of two overs.
ScorecardHalf-centuries from Jiwanjot Singh and Uday Kaul guided Punjab’s strong reply after Madhya Pradesh posted a sizeable total in Patiala. Madhya Pradesh’s bowlers had the going tough as the hosts build steady partnerships throughout their innings.Manan Vohra and Jiwanjot were separated after 58 runs were added for the opening wicket when Vohra was bowled by offspinner Jalaj Saxena. The visitors managed a breakthrough only after 25 overs when Jiwanjot was trapped lbw by Ankit Sharma. Jiwanjot and Uday Kaul had added 94 runs by then.In the morning, resuming on 251 for 5, Aditya Shrivastava and Rameez Khan kept the runs coming. While Shrivastava was dismissed by legspinner Sarabjit Ladda, Rameez went on to bring up his fifth first-class fifty. Madhya Pradesh’s lower-order, however, didn’t fire, as after Rameez’s dismissal they lost their last three wickets for 25 runs. Ladda finished with a five-for.