Tottenham line up transfer kitty as Napoli set huge Scott McTominay demand

Tottenham Hotspur will look to kick on once the January transfer window opens and could be willing to put their money where their mouth is to sign Napoli midfielder Scott McTominay, but circumstances will need to align.

The Lilywhites have become a thorn in the side of many Premier League outfits this campaign due to their physicality and new-found ability to convert from set-pieces, making them a dangerous opposition to come up against on any given day.

Mohammed Kudus has shone in the forward areas and Spurs have earned a new lease of life after their domestic form last term, with Thomas Frank deserving of credit for managing to solidify the Lilywhites in all areas.

Despite his mixed start to life in North London, the Dane made clear before his side took on Chelsea that Xavi Simons is another figure he expects to come to life in the heart of his side.

He said: “Yes. No doubt about that. I’m not in doubt that Xavi will perform very well for us. That is down to him, to me, to the team, to everyone to get it done. The one thing you don’t have in football is time, but it will take time.

“It’s completely natural. Sometimes we can’t talk about processes and time and all that, but the reality is you need it, everyone needs it. I’m confident. I’m sure it will happen.”

Frank’s outfit appear to be solid from middle to front, that much is true, but there is always room for improvement when you are eyeing a slot in the Champions League places.

With that in mind, Spurs are now plotting a January bid for a star who they may be set to put their large transfer kitty towards.

Tottenham line up Scott McTominay amid huge Napoli demands

According to Football Insider, Tottenham will look to put their sizeable transfer kitty towards signing Napoli midfielder Scott McTominay, who could be at the centre of an intriguing saga involving both parties.

Fabio Paratici has set his sights on the Scotland international and the money on offer could be a lure for the former Manchester United man to return to the Premier League. However, Pete O’Rourke believes it would take a ‘huge’ statement of intent from Spurs to push a deal over the line.

Scott McTominay’s time at Napoli

Appearances

47

Goals

17

Assists

7

He said: “Napoli won’t want to weaken their squad by losing such an important player like Scott McTominay. He’s under contract until 2028, so, to even consider selling him would be a huge fee as well.”

Intriguingly, the same report has floated the idea of Kobbie Mainoo joining Napoli, which could pave the way for movement to take place elsewhere, albeit that remains unlikely for now.

Tottenham are also eyeing another Serie A goalscorer

Still, McTominay has been a titan since joining the reigning Serie A champions in 2024 and has continued that form into this term, placing seven of his 16 shots taken on target, per Fotmob, hence why Frank is keen to do a deal.

Man City make enquiries for "the most direct winger in Europe" after £17m bid rejected

Manchester City’s interest in a “magnificent” young attacking player is real, as they look to add a special talent to their ranks in the January transfer window.

Guardiola wary of Aston Villa threat to Man City

City are back in Premier League action on Sunday afternoon, making the trip to Aston Villa, in what has the potential to be a tricky assignment.

Pep Guardiola is certainly aware of that, telling reporters in his pre-match press conference that improvements are required from recent meetings with Villa.

“They were much, much better than us in the last two fixtures we played at Villa Park. Hopefully it will be different on Sunday. The admiration I have for Unai is so high. He is incredibly consistent, well prepared and so smart, really good. Aston Villa I know they aren’t in the Champions League for a one point. I think in the last nine games they won eight and then just lost the last one at Old Trafford.

“So for me it is a team that is Champions League.“They created a lot of problems for the Champions League winners, PSG so they are well organised, with a lot of quality and they have everything.“It’s one of the toughest, toughest, toughest away games we have in the season.”

Guardiola will also be eyeing new signings, as he looks to ensure his squad never grows stale, and a huge talent has now been linked with a move to the Etihad.

Man City make enquiries for "magnificent" Bundesliga youngster

According to Bundesliga insider Tobias Altschäffl [via Sport Witness], Manchester City’s interest in FC Koln attacker Said El Mana is “certified”.

City have put out feelers for the German, who has been the subject of a £17m bid from Brighton in the past, while Manchester United, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain have also shown interest.

El Mana could be such an eye-catching long-term signing by the Premier League giants, with the left winger scoring three goals in his first eight appearances for Koln, also assisting once.

The teenage ace has been hailed as a “magnificent” prospect by scout Jacek Kulig, and his versatility also allows him to shine on the right flank and in a central attacking midfield role.

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El Mana wouldn’t be joining City as an immediate starter, given his lack of experience, but he could provide healthy competition for Jeremy Doku, potentially coming in as a direct replacement for Jack Grealish next summer.

Jordan stars as Surrey win last-ball thriller against Kent

Surrey snatch victory in dramatic finale after Jason Roy, Laurie Evans steer chase

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay12-Jun-2025

Chris Jordan and Laurie Evans walk off after sealing victory•Surrey CCC/Getty Images

Chris Jordan hit a boundary off the last ball as Surrey beat Kent Spitfires by four wickets in a South Group thriller at the Kia Oval. It was quite a night for Jordan who had earlier taken 4 for 10 – his best figures in the competition – in Kent’s 171 for 7.Jason Roy (56) and skipper Sam Curran (32) seemed to have the chase under control when they put on 90 in nine overs but there were more twists to come.Wes Agar removed both in the 12th over and Tom Curran was run out as Surrey lost three wickets in nine balls to find themselves 109 for 5. But Laurie Evans and Mitch Santner added 48 off 33 balls and when Santner was dismissed in the 18th over the experienced Evans and Jordan took control.Evans struck successive fours off Tom Rogers in the 19th and, with their seamers bowled out, legspinner Matt Parkinson was given the last over with an extra fielder inside the circle because Kent hadn’t bowled their overs in time.Six runs came off the first five balls before Jordan perfectly dissected two fielders as he found the boundary at wide long-on. Evans, with 46 off 29, had played a crucial role too.Surrey had inserted the opposition for the first time this season and Kent needed the impetus of Joe Denly’s 40 off 22 balls to post a competitive score.Daniel Bell-Drummond and Tawanda Muyeye had scored 46 in the fifth over when Jordan made the breakthrough with a short ball which Bell-Drummond hoisted to midwicket.Harry Finch was making his first appearance of the season after scoring three fifties in four second XI T20 games, but both he and Muyeye found it difficult to accelerate. The pressure told in the 11th over when slow left-armer Santner struck twice in three balls. He dragged a delivery wider when he saw Muyeye coming down the wicket and the batter toe-ended an easy return catch. Finch then mistimed a drive down the ground and was caught at long-off.Having scored 46 in the first five overs, it took Kent a further eight to double their score. But Denly hit three successive boundaries off Dan Worrall and three sixes in the 16th over off Nathan Smith as the fifth-wicket added 52 before Jordan again made good use of the short ball to have Denly caught behind and Grant Stewart taken at mid-off as he matched his previous format best for England against USA in last year’s World Cup.Surrey lost Dom Sibley to a fine diving catch by Finch at deep square leg and Will Jacks got a bottom edge in the powerplay. Curran and Roy got Surrey back on track before Agar’s double strike turned things Kent’s way again.Curran spliced a pull to long-off and Roy, having taken his tally in this season’s Blast to 256 with his third fifty, gloved a short ball, although he stood for several seconds while Kent’s fielders celebrated before trudging reluctantly off. In the next over Tom Curran was run out by Stewart’s throw. Kent seemed to be on top, but Evans and Jordan stepped up.

Klaasen: 'I owed it to the franchise to step up to the plate'

A lot of “individualistic pride”, the eagerness to perform for family and franchise, and end Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH’s) disappointing IPL 2025 on a high were the catalysts for Heinrich Klaasen’s unbeaten 39-ball 105 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday evening.Klaasen smashed seven fours and nine sixes in the joint-third-fastest century in IPL history, propelling SRH to a towering 278 for 3. In reply, KKR were bowled out for 168 in 18.4 overs.”I want to thank my family, and the franchise,” Klaasen said after his innings. “They [SRH] spend a lot of time and effort and a lot of money into this brand of cricket and we owe it to them to step up to the plate and dish out good performances.Related

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“The franchise puts a lot of money into this. They’ve been around for 13, 14 years. And for us, we had a bad start to middle of the competition and it just didn’t look well on the field. For us to turn it around… and we’ve played brilliant cricket over the last three and a half games. And to just give back to them as well.”Klaasen struck at 172.69 in IPL 2025 and has had plenty of starts in the 14 innings, but has only managed a fifty and a hundred. He still finished the season as SRH’s highest run-scorer with 487 runs. Was there anything different about his approach on Sunday evening?”Not trying to hit every ball for six,” Klaasen said. “I think that’s where I went wrong this season. Hitting the hard length. [Sunil] Narine had a spell there that it was quite difficult to get away and I had to improvise a little bit. So, sticking to your hard length, mix it up and just play with his length is quite important.”It’s been a long season of disappointment and sometimes against your processes. Luckily, I stuck to it and finally I’ve got a little bit of reward tonight.”Heinrich Klaasen celebrates after hitting a 37-ball century•BCCI

Klaasen was particularly good on the pull, which has been a standout feature of his career. It is a shot that has given Klaasen a lot of success but also some grief.”I’ve worked a lot on it,” Klaasen said. “It’s been getting me out a couple of times now. So I had to spend a lot of time in the nets getting it right. Just making sure I’m picking the right length. Sometimes I challenge myself too much. But it’s all part of growing and learning. What you can do and what you can’t do.”Klaasen came in at No. 3 on Sunday but has also batted at Nos. 4, 5 and 6 this season. What, according to him, is his ideal entry point?”Look, I’m a big situation player,” Klaasen said. “That’s the whole idea in the dugout as well. Sometimes it works out that you lose that wicket just off the powerplay or the back end of the powerplay and then I can go in. So it’s normally around that fifth or sixth over or just after the powerplay. That’s ideally when I want to go in. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve still got to do the job.”

Taijul takes five as Zimbabwe collapse after bright start to second Test

Williams and Welch scored half-centuries for the visitors, but they lost their last five wickets for 27 runs

Mohammad Isam28-Apr-2025

It was Taijul Islam’s 16th Test five-for, as he finished day one with 5 for 60•AFP/Getty Images

Taijul Islam sparked Zimbabwe’s batting collapse on the first day of the second Test between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, in Chattogram. He took the 16th five-wicket haul of his career, finishing the day with 5 for 60. The visitors were steadily batting at 200 for 4 at one stage, before Taijul got into the act with three quick wickets and a run-out. Zimbabwe eventually finished day one on 227 for 9, a far cry from how positively they had started their innings.Sean Williams top-scored with 67, while Nick Welch got 54, before cramps on his hands forced him off the field shortly after tea. Welch was Taijul’s fifth wicket. Meanwhile, Nayeem Hasan picked up two wickets, and debutant Tanzim Hasan took one.Zimbabwe began brightly, with Brian Bennett striking five boundaries in the first ten overs. He was lucky with the first one, but it was followed by a scrumptious straight drive, and his trademark cover drive. But once again, Bennett got caught behind trying to drive on the up to give Tanzim his first Test wicket.Bangladesh could have had their second in a short span, but Shadman Islam dropped a sitter to give Welch a life in the 14th over. At that time, Welch was on 1. Shortly afterwards, Ben Curran and Welch went on a six-hitting spree. Curran slammed Mehidy Hasan Miraz over midwicket before Welch stunned Tanzim with a pull that produced a sweet sound off the bat. Welch followed it up with a slog-swept six against Mehidy in the following over.Taijul removed Curran shortly afterwards, getting him to inside edge the ball on to his leg stump for 21 off 50 balls. But Zimbabwe consolidated by not losing a single wicket in the second session. Welch, who had struck a few boundaries in the morning, was more circumspect in the afternoon, adding just 22 runs in 77 balls after lunch. Williams, though, dominated their third-wicket partnership, hitting six fours during this time at the crease.Nick Welch and Sean Williams put together a solid partnership for the third wicket•AFP/Getty Images

Williams struck the ball sweetly through the covers for two boundaries, apart from two more through point, and on the leg side each. His only six came against Mehidy, as he skipped down the wicket to deposit him over long-on.Williams and Welch got into a mix-up once in the 33rd over, but Bangladesh messed up the chance with poor communication among themselves. First, the point fielder threw at the wrong end. Wicketkeeper Jaker Ali, to whom the throw went, in turn threw poorly towards the non-striker’s end while Williams struggled to get back. Zimbabwe’s only worry towards the end of the second session was Williams and Welch both suffering cramps. Williams needed attention on his calf and hamstring, while Welch’s hands were cramping up.Welch, however, didn’t last long after tea, when he walked off with cramps after just playing one ball. Nayeem then got into the act, removing the Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine for 5. Williams was next to go, Tanzim taking the catch brilliantly at backward square leg. He struck a six and seven fours in his patient 67 off 166 balls.Bangladesh conceded just 18 runs in the first 16 overs of the final session, before Wessly Madhevere struck a couple of boundaries against Nayeem. Taijul, however, removed Madhevere with a beautiful delivery that spun slightly away, and dismissed him for 15.Taijul continued Zimbabwe’s collapse with the wickets of Wellington Masakadza and Richard Ngarava in the first over with the second new ball. Tafadzwa Tsiga was run-out after falling way short of the crease at the non-striker’s end, before Welch returned to the crease to continue his innings. It didn’t last long, though, as Taijul bowled him to complete his five-for.

IPL 2025 Orange Cap and Purple Cap leaderboards – Hardik, Suryakumar move up

Orange Cap leaderboard

Nicholas Pooran, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) No. 3, is still on top of the run-scorers’ table, with 201 runs from four innings, but other batters are catching up with him.Like MI’s Suryakumar Yadav. Suryakumar has been one of the brightest spots in an otherwise bleak MI set-up, and his sequence of 29, 48, 27*, 67 and 28 has taken him to No. 2, knocking Mitchell Marsh out of the top three.GT opener B Sai Sudharsan has moved down to third spot after Monday’s game. He has scores of 5, 49, 63 and 74 – 191 runs from four innings.Hardik Pandya has been among the wickets for MI•Associated Press

Purple Cap leaderboardNoor Ahmad, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) left-arm wristspinner, has been joined by MI captain Hardik Pandya at the top, both returning ten wickets so far, from four games each. Noor has a better economy rate, though – 7.86 – compared to Hardik’s 8.57.There’s a tie just below them, too.Mitchell Starc is at third place, since his nine wickets have come from one fewer bowling innings, three, as compared to Mohammed Siraj’s nine from four.Starc has been one of the standout strike bowlers in the tournament so far, returning 3 for 42, 5 for 35 and 1 for 27, while Siraj has got a move on after a poor start. After figures of none for 54 in his first appearance of the season, Siraj has picked up 2 for 34, 3 for 19 and 4 for 17 to move up the ladder quickly.

Varun keen to maintain the mystery as he makes compelling semi-final case

“Sir, basically the ball goes inside, outside and goes straight. So, you can keep it that way but there are minute changes that you can do with that also.”Right at the end of a press conference, a journalist understandably asks Varun Chakravarthy how many variations he has. The man ain’t having it. You can go left, you can go right, you can go straight is the reply of a person that doesn’t really want you to get to your destination.From a mystery spinner, you can understand the secrecy. In fact, it’s kind of a boss move.Related

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Varun, by his own reckoning, did not consider cricket a serious professional endeavour until he was 26. “Before that, my dreams were all being an architect and making movies. So, I’ve had different career paths.”And yet here the guy is, at 33, taking 5 for 42 in the second ODI he has ever played, making a very serious case for his inclusion in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy, which is also likely to be played on a used surface that is likely to favour him. Varun is an IPL graduate, having played only a single first-class match.He is as hyper-modern as cricket gets – a guy who thinks about a sport that billions obsess over as merely a “career path”. But his excellence in this field is also down to his logic in breaking it down and understanding what he brings to the game.He explained how he figured out how to bowl in 50-over cricket, having initially come from the T20 world.”In T20, my sequencing of balls – as in how I construct an over – is totally different compared to the 50-over format,” Varun said. “And that I was able to figure out when I played the last two years in Vijay Hazare Trophy [India’s main domestic one-day tournament]. And it really helped me to understand when I can bowl my incoming delivery or outgoing delivery or the straighter one or the top spin – whatever it is. But that gave me a sense of awareness of when to bowl what. It is completely different from what I do in the T20.”Varun Chakravarthy has offered himself as another spin option•Associated Press

In this match against New Zealand, Varun said he didn’t feel a ton of pressure, because of the presence of Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.But there is also the pressure not to reveal what he has in store for teams about to face him in the rest of the tournament. Or even for teams that will face him in the IPL to follow. Varun is not giving out trade secrets to any of these fellows, even if they happen to be in his own team.In the very earliest stages of the Champions Trophy, India captain Rohit Sharma said this about Varun: “He doesn’t bowl too many variations to us in the nets. He bowls just one type of delivery. Maybe, he doesn’t want to show his variations to us, even. But that is a good thing. He has got certain weapons which he wants to just put out there when it actually matters. I am more than happy if he wants to do that.”But he has got something different which is why he is here with us. He has been impressive in the last eight to nine months. That is why we wanted to bring him here and see what he has and what he can do for India on the big stage.”What he has done for India on the big stage is suggest he should have more ODI appearances, particularly on used pitches. The surface for the semi-final against Australia will likely be on the same pitch they had played Pakistan on.Varun, who didn’t play in India’s first two Champions Trophy matches, has now made himself very difficult to drop.

Nigeria revel in hard-earned victory over Ireland in the Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup

Australia, meanwhile, will now face Group 2 table-toppers South Africa in the semi-final on January 31, while India are set to face England.

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jan-2025

Nigeria signed off from the U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup with a win•ICC/Getty Images

Nigeria sign off from the Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup a mere one point behind a team that made it to the semi-finals from their group after a thrilling victory over Ireland in Bangi, Malaysia. They wrapped up their second win of the Super Six stage, level with that of England above them in second place who went through to the final four of the tournament.Lillian Udeh, the 18-year-old fast bowler, was the star of the show as her 3 for 11 from four overs helped Nigeria defend a total of 94 for 7 and secure victory with six runs and eight balls to spare.Having initially been behind in the game – Udeh was part of a poor top-order performance where four of five batters fell for single-digits – Nigeria turned things around with the ball and not a moment too soon either. Ireland were 40 for 2 in the eighth over, looking quite comfortable in the chase when Udeh triggered the collapse that defined the match. Four wickets for 14 runs later, they were barely holding on. Annointed Akhigbe, the 17-year-old seamer, also played an important part, striking twice in the 12th over where she got rid of Ireland’s top-scorer Rebecca Lowe for 21 off 32. Another 4 for 14 collapse resulted in the team being bowled out for 88, and exiting the competition with just one win.Nigeria built their eventually defendable total with opener Christabel Chukwuonye scoring 25 off 42 balls with three fours. The other end was leaking wickets though, and they required a lower-order intervention to last the 20 overs. Omosigho Eguakun (17 off 23), Peculiar Agboya (17 not out off 20) and captain Lucky Piety (12 off 11) added crucial runs from No. 6, 7 and 8 helping the team recover from 21 for 4 to finish on 94 for 7.The victorious Sri Lankan team indulges in a group selfie•Getty Images

Sri Lanka hold on for consolation win Sri Lanka successfully defended a paltry total of 99 against Australia in Bangi, to register their second win of the Super Six phase. Sri Lanka, opting to bat, made a sedate start as their openers Sanjana Kavindi (19 off 35) and Sumudu Nisansala (18 off 15) took their time to get going. Australia, having finished second on the Group 1 table behind India, will now face Group 2 table-toppers South Africa in the semi-final on January 31, while India are set to face England.At 77 for 2 in the 14th over, Sri Lanka might have been looking for a late flourish, but Lily Bassingthwaighte, Hasrat Gill and Tegan Williamson all struck at regular intervals to initiate a collapse, as Sri Lanka lost their next six wickets for just 22 runs.Australia lost three early wickets in the chase, but a handy 27 from Caoimhe Bray had the team well-placed at 64 for 3, and within sight of victory. However, Bray was dismissed in the 15th over courtesy Player of the Match Limansa Thilakarathna, offering Sri Lanka a way back into the game. Chamodi Praboda, Pramudi Methsara and Aseni Thalagune picked up two wickets apiece, as Australia completely lost their momentum. They lost their next four wickets for only 23 runs, finishing their innings at 87 for 8.

Devine happy to have New Zealand's semi-final chances in their own hands

Only twice in eight previous editions of the women’s T20 World Cup has a side lost out on a semi-final berth because of an inferior net run-rate. Sophie Devine has been part of both those heartbreaks, in 2014 and 2023. As luck would have it, New Zealand are faced with yet another net run-rate scenario this time around as well.By Sunday evening, New Zealand would have a fair idea of what they should do to progress. An Indian win against Australia will mean they will have to beat Pakistan by a certain margin to qualify. India losing will mean they can beat Pakistan by any margin and qualify.This may seem like a potentially sticky scenario to face, but Devine, the New Zealand captain, doesn’t see it that way. “We’re really pleased with the position we’re in,” she said ahead of the Pakistan match in Dubai. “I think if you asked us at the start of the tournament that we’d have fate in our hands in terms of the semi-finals race going into our last game, we would’ve taken it.Related

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“I guess we’re really fortunate as well that we play last in our pool. So, we know exactly where the situation will lie before we play [Pakistan]. For us it’s simple, we reflect, review, watch the Australia game – “go, Aussie girls” – with a lot of interest. Hopefully our Aussie mates do us a favour.”New Zealand could’ve overtaken India’s net run-rate had they achieved their target of 116 in 14.3 overs against Sri Lanka. Asked if that thought ever crossed their minds, Devine was clear they weren’t “too focused” on that.”I’ve seen it so many times in different competitions and different leagues where you start focusing on those little things like net run-rates, I’ve seen teams lose completely when they’re in a position to win,” she said. “Cricket has a funny way of biting you in the bum.”We wanted to make sure that we won the [Sri Lanka] game, and we still did it comprehensively with a couple of overs to spare and wickets in hand. So, we’re in a really good position where we know exactly where our ball is going to lie before our last game.”If we’ve got to go about things slightly differently, we’ve got the options to do that with a squad that’s really flexible, that we’ve got an order that can change and we’ve got a lot of spinners, a lot of bowlers that can come in and out of the side and do a job.”Devine was equally mindful of what Pakistan could do to them. Only last December, they beat New Zealand in New Zealand by a 2-1 margin in the T20Is. In the subsequent ODIs, Pakistan managed to tie the third game and take it into a Super Over before winning.Monday’s fixture could be an emotional one for Fatima Sana, who has returned to the UAE from Pakistan after attending her father’s funeral. And Devine doesn’t want to leave anything to chance against a team that can sting them.”I think we’d be more concerned if there weren’t issues to work on,” she said. “So you’re right, Pakistan, they’ve got a lot to play for in terms of pride, and obviously with Fatima Sana, you know, regards to her family for their loss, and them wanting to play for her.”In World Cup games, you don’t need any more motivation to get out of bed. So, we certainly know, maybe it’s going to be a big ask and I guess our focus will be on us and making sure that we’re focusing on how we’re going to play.”The tournament has been up and down for New Zealand on the performances front. They broke a 10-match losing streak to beat India at the start of their campaign but stumbled against Australia to cancel out the net run-rate boost.Against Sri Lanka, especially with Chamari Athapaththu going strong at the 10-over mark, it seemed as if New Zealand may have been staring at a 130-plus target, but they bounced back to restrict them to 115, which they chased down courtesy Georgia Plimmer’s brisk half-century.Asked about the wild fluctuations in fortunes, Devine underlined how they’d been trying to remain neutral through the highs and lows, rather than letting the emotions drain them in an already intense competition.”It’s a very Kiwi nature that we stay pretty placid, pretty calm,” she said. “You can sometimes exhaust yourself riding the roller-coaster, especially at World Cups. Living on the emotions day to day can be pretty draining. So we spoke a lot about being really calm and level in this group and everyone’s doing it slightly differently.”

Rohit praises Sarfaraz and Pant for showing maturity

Rohit Sharma has praised the maturity Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan showed against New Zealand in the first Test in Bengaluru, where their 177-run stand on the fourth day gave India hope of coming back despite a disastrous collapse in the first innings.India were bundled out for 46 on the second day – their lowest Test score at home – and eventually lost the game by eight wickets. But because of Sarfaraz’s 150 and Pant’s 99, they were able to overturn the deficit of 356.”When those two are batting, everyone’s on the edge of the seat because they like to play the game which has got them success,” Rohit told the broadcaster after the game. “You’ve seen it over time with Rishabh, the way he bats, obviously takes a bit of risk, but I thought it was a very mature innings. [He] defended good balls, left few balls as well, and then, again, backed himself to play those shots, and that is what he’s all about.Related

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“Not to forget Sarfaraz. Sarfaraz, as well, playing in only his third or fourth Test match [fourth], to show that kind of maturity [was great], and [he was] very clear in his mind what kind of shots he wants to play. When you’re clear in your mind, you find yourself in good seat.”Rohit was pleased with the determination India’s batters showed in their second innings, after New Zealand had posted 402.”When you are 350 runs behind, you can’t think too much about it. All you got to do is try and bat the ball, as simple as that. That was the plan,” Rohit said. “We wanted to bat and see where the game goes. A couple of big partnerships there, really was exciting to watch, and put us back in the game. Like I said, when you’re 350 behind, it could have been easily [a situation] where we could have [been] bowled out before even getting 350. It was a great effort with the bat, something as a team we’re very proud of.”India are trailing 0-1 in the three Test series but Rohit was confident of a comeback. Earlier this year, India lost the series opener to England in Hyderabad but fought back to finish win 4-1.”There are guys who have been in this place before, where we’ve lost a game. We lost a game against England in the first Test, and we won four games after that. These things happen. It’s still two Test matches to go, and we know exactly what is required from each one of us. So, we’ll try and put our best game forward.”The second Test of the series starts on October 24 in Pune.

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