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Aston Villa have had a productive summer transfer window, and there could be room for further additions to Unai Emery's side.

The Midlands club have benefited from their business so far this season, too, with two wins and one loss in their opening three games, which includes a 4-0 thrashing of Everton.

With three days still remaining in the transfer window, too, things could yet get even better for Emery and co, who are now reportedly in talks to bolster their defensive options.

What's the latest Aston Villa transfer news?

So far this summer, Villa have welcomed a total of four fresh faces, with Moussa Diaby, Youri Tielemans, Nicolo Zaniolo and Pau Torres all coming through the door at Villa Park.

Diaby has arguably been the pick of the bunch so far, finding the back of the net twice in his first three Premier League games, whilst also registering one assist. As every week goes by, that reported £51.9m fee looks more and more like a shrewd deal, despite it being a club record.

Having improved their attacking options, Villa now look set to turn their attention to their backline following the injury to Tyrone Mings. And, with that said, according to Fabrizio Romano, the Midlands club have now opened talks with Barcelona to sign central defender Clement Lenglet before the transfer window slams shut.

The Frenchman is yet to make an appearance for Barcelona this season, and could, therefore, certainly do with a move away in the coming days.

How good is Clement Lenglet?

An international who has played at the top level and has Premier League experience following his loan spell at Tottenham Hotspur last season, Lenglet may represent another piece of smart business from those at Villa Park.

It remains to be seen just how much the defender will cost this summer, but given his lack of appearances at Barcelona so far this season, Villa could yet get themselves a cut price to suit all parties involved. Though, one high expense could be Lenglet's wages, with the centre-back reportedly earning £200,000-a-week at Barcelona.

After Mings suffered a serious knee injury against Newcastle United, it would be a smart idea for Villa to sign another central defender before the window comes to a close, and, statistically speaking, Lenglet could be more than an adequate option.

Last season, according to FBref, Lenglet even outperformed Mings in some areas whilst on loan at Spurs.

Player

Progressive Passes per 90

Progressive Carries per 90

Pass Completion Rate

Tackles Won per 90

Clement Lenglet

3.79

1.47

86.7%

1.03

Tyrone Mings

3.17

0.57

85.2%

0.20

With that said, Villa could use Mings' injury as a chance to not only bolster their defensive options, but even go as far as improving them this summer.

Read the latest Aston Villa transfer news HERE…

Lenglet has certainly earned plenty of praise throughout his career, too, including from former Spurs teammate Hugo Lloris, who said, via The Daily Mail:

"He's a modern defender. Comfortable to be able to play from the back. He has a great left foot and can be very strong in one v one and he's strong in the air.

"Even if it's never easy when you arrive in the Premier League and he will have to adapt to the intensity of the games but he is a high level player, with experience."

MatériaMais Notícias

Jogando em casa, no estádio Durival Britto, a equipe do Paraná não deu chances para o CRB na noite desta segunda-feira (14), pela 10ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro da Série B.

Não sofrendo grandes sustos durante os 90 minutos, a equipe de Allan Aal encontrou seus gols com Fabrício, no primeiro tempo, e Higor Meritão, já no segundo, para conquistar mais um feito.

Com o resultado, o Tricolor pulou para a primeira colocação, somando agora 20 pontos, e terá que aguardar outros jogos na rodada para saber se irá seguir como líder da competição. Já o Galo, que tinha pretensões de encostar no G4, acabou estacionando com seus 13 pontos, caindo para a 10ª posição.

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O jogo

Tentando pressionar a saída de bola do Paraná no início, o CRB, aos poucos, foi ficando sem espaços para tentar criar as jogadas. Com isso, os donos da casa passaram partiram pra cima e, assim como fez o adversário, também optou pela pressão conquistando espaço em seu campo de ataque.

Com o passar do tempo, o time comandado por Allan Aal seguia melhor. Até meados dos 30 minutos, poucas eram as chances da equipe alagoana, que, por sua vez, apenas se segurava do jeito que podia principalmente nas jogadas aéreas.

Após muita insistência, já na reta final da etapa, aos 40 minutos, a equipe do Paraná tirou o zero do placar. Após cobrança de escanteio de Jean, a defesa do Galo até conseguiu afastar, porém no rebote, Fabrício mandou pro fundo das redes. 1 a 0.

No retorno das equipes para a etapa final, apenas o CRB optou por algumas mudanças. Entretanto quem conseguiu marcar mais um foi a equipe da casa. Logo no primeiro minuto, Higor Meritão, após boa jogada entre Reginaldo Júnior e Renan Bressan, recebeu a bola e finalizou entre a marcação rival. 2 a 0.

Mais tranquilo no jogo, o Paraná ainda seguiu em cima do adversário pressionando sua saída de bola. Já pelo lado do Galo, o negócio era correr atrás do prejuízo. Após algumas substituições, o time comandado por Marcelo Cabo passou a pressionar um pouco os donos da casa até meados dos 30 minutos, porém não obteve sucesso nas investidas.

Buscando descontar no marcador até os momentos finais, o artilheiro Léo Gamalho, dessa vez, pouco conseguiu ajudar sua equipe no confronto. Com isso, o Tricolor apenas administrou o resultado até o apito final do árbitro no Durival Britto.

Important to focus and not let change in batting positions affect game, says India batsman

Akshay Gopalakrishnan in Alur09-Nov-2017

Mayank Agarwal’s classy century against Delhi on Thursday may have made him the star on most days. But for the few hundreds that gathered at the KSCA ground in Alur, Manish Pandey was all the rage. The Karnataka batsman was the sole recipient of applause from a clamouring crowd as he walked out to bat. Later, when a few members of the team cooled down with a light football session at the end of day’s play, Pandey was the centre of all attention again. It didn’t seem to matter that a few other heroes, who have also played for India, were in closer vicinity, jogging around by the boundary.This popularity of Pandey isn’t newfound, but it has certainly surged since he’s become a part of India’s limited-overs squad. Coming from the same batch of India Under-19s as Virat Kohli, Pandey hasn’t had the same opportunities or exposure at the senior level. He’s had to bide his time despite consistent scores in domestic cricket. His rise hasn’t been meteoric, but he’s still a popular player.Now, over two years since his international debut, Pandey is still fighting to nail a permanent spot. Constant changes to his batting position haven’t made the process easy. An average of 43 and strike-rate of 95 suggests there’s ability and potential, but it hasn’t always been enough. There’s been competition in the form of Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik and KL Rahul, his good friend and Karnataka team-mate. That is perhaps why every opportunity he gets at any level of competitive cricket is a blessing at this stage of his career.Barely a few hours after turning up for India in a T20 international against New Zealand in Thiruvananthapuram, Pandey hopped onto a flight to Bangalore and drove to Alur, on the outskirts of the city, to join his Karnataka mates ahead of a crucial Ranji Trophy game. The batsmen who preceded him had set it up nicely. The sunshine had eased out whatever moisture there was on the surface, and Delhi’s bowlers were tiring. Pandey walked in and stroked a half-century, the significance of which was magnified by the presence of MSK Prasad, the chairman of selectors. After a punchy 74, Pandey acknowledged it was important to not let the bar drop.”It’s a completely different ball game [playing four-day cricket as compared to the limited-overs formats], you know,” he said. “I had more time to settle down and play my shots as the innings progressed. It’ll be important for me to continue batting like this and have fun.”It was quite easy. The plan was to come at No. 4, but with the jet lag and stuff like that, I came in at No. 5. I have been playing a lot of ODI and T20, which obviously starts in the later part of the day. It was good to come back and play Ranji Trophy cricket for Karnataka. It was amazing to see the boys again. The partnership before definitely helped.”Pandey had a rousing start to his one-day career, with a half-century against Zimbabwe in Harare. Three games later, he blitzed a match-winning century against Australia in Sydney. A middling series against New Zealand cost him his place, and it took nearly a year for him to get a chance again, after a highly successful series with the India A team in South Africa.Pandey announced his return with an unbeaten half-century in a crushing 168-run win over Sri Lanka. Since then, he has floated between Nos. 4 and 6, not remaining in the same position for more than three games in a row. It also hasn’t helped that he returned with two single-digit scores in the three innings that he batted at No. 4. With India still in the hunt for a permanent fix to the No. 4 spot, those were costly lapses.Pandey’s game is well-suited to the position as he has the wherewithal to play the big shots as well as build an innings, like he showed in that Sydney hundred against Australia. However, being denied the luxury of settling into a position has made the bid harder.”I didn’t think about international cricket or the memories from before. I only thought about Karnataka cricket and my batting today,” he said. “I was looking forward to play this game. It is a little difficult to adapt, but I think I have done this for a long time. It’s a part of the game where the team wants you to play No. 4 or 5 or 6, and it’ll be important for me to stay focussed and keep waiting for the call-up.”Pandey last played a first-class match in December last year, when Karnataka conceded the quarterfinal of the previous season’s Ranji Trophy to Tamil Nadu inside two days. Given how heavily involved he has been in limited-overs cricket in that time, the pace at which Pandey struck his runs on Thursday perhaps wasn’t entirely surprising. But he denied any conscious effort in tweaking his game.”You don’t look to score a boundary every ball, but I look to score a single every ball, be a little aggressive. Even if it’s a defence, the intention is to be aggressive. Because of a lot of T20 cricket that is happening, cricket has changed in such a way that batsmen want to score runs and score boundaries. In a way, that’s really good for cricket where it’s looking good from the outside. I think we should just focus on getting runs.”

Everton have been credited with an interest in Middlesbrough striker Chuba Akpom as manager Sean Dyche looks to build a team capable of thriving in the Premier League.

What's the latest on Chuba Akpom to Everton?

That's according to TEAMtalk, who have revealed that newly-promoted top-flight outfit Sheffield United are readying a £10m bid for the 27-year-old, though the Toffees and Crystal Palace are also considering a swoop.

Akpom has entered the final year of his contract on Teesside and while negotiations are ongoing over a new deal, the sway of a starring role at a top-flight club could tempt him to move.

Read the latest Everton transfer news HERE…

With the Blades looking to take their pursuit of Akpom's signature into the closing stages, Dyche will need to act swiftly if he is to secure his man.

Should Everton sign Chuba Akpom?

It's been a testing few years for the blue half of Liverpool, with Everton spending the past several campaigns battling against relegation and churning through managers by the truckload.

But while Dyche only took the reins at Goodison Park in January, replacing Frank Lampard, the gritty, no-nonsense manager looks set to keep his place for the foreseeable after navigating away from danger in the latter stage of the 22/23 campaign.

He has already signed the experienced Ashley Young on a free transfer and Arnaut Danjuma on loan this summer – with a £15m fee agreed with Sporting Lisbon for teenage striker Youssef Chermiti – but Akpom could bring the instant and consistent threat the club strives for to the climb the Premier League ladder this year.

The one-time Arsenal youngster was the Championship top scorer last season as he plundered a fantastic 28 goals from 38 matches, integral for Boro as they reached the playoffs but fell to Coventry City in the semi-finals.

Hailed for his "remarkable season" by BBC Sport's Oluwashina Okeleji, "winning both the Player and the Players' Player of the Year awards", Akpom has finally found his feet after years ebbing and flowing from form, and Everton could offer him the starring role to continue his fruitful exploits and prove to be an upgrade on the club's current options.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin is Everton's irrefutable star man up front, but the 6 foot 2 striker has spent a lot of time in the medical room over the past two seasons and has consequently scored just seven goals across the past two campaigns, after netting 16 during the 2021/22 league season.

And Neal Maupay has not exactly evoked confidence in the sanguine Everton crowd after scoring just one goal all term following his £15m transfer from Brighton & Hove Albion one year ago.

Branded a "disaster" by journalist Paul Brown, Maupay ranks embarrassingly among the bottom 3% of strikers for goals per 90 over the past year (FBref), and recorded an average Sofascore rating of 6.56 in the Premier League, taking just 1.2 shots per game, completing 77% of his passes and succeeding with 37% of his dribbles and 45% of his ground duels.

Akpom, comparatively, recorded an average rating of 7.14 in the second tier last year, complementing his prolific return with 2.6 shots per match, completing 82% of his passes and succeeding with 55% of his dribbles and ground duels.

The Middlesbrough marksman is far sharper and was heralded as a "huge threat" by his boss Michael Carrick last year, also highlighting his impressive "link-up play" and "clever" approach to his trade.

With Everton still short of an attacking cog or two, Dyche might be wise to discard Maupay and offer Akpom the opportunity to thrive for the club, bringing his goalscoring feats to the top-flight and playing a big role in the Blues' pursuit of prominence.

Just over 40% of the total figure of INR 4.62 crore – INR 1.87 crores – was spent on allowances for just four office bearers, including the three senior-most figures currently

Nagraj Gollapudi17-Aug-2017

Despite being honorary and thus unsalaried, the BCCI’s office bearers have cost the board over INR 4 crore in various allowances over the last two years. The figure, and its break-up, was revealed by the Committee of Adminstrators (CoA) in its fifth status report submitted to the Supreme Court.Just over 40% of the total figure of INR 4.62 crore (US$ 720,748) – INR 1.87 crores (US$ 291,731) – was spent on allowances for just four office bearers, including the three senior-most figures currently: CK Khanna (acting president), Amitabh Choudhary (acting secretary) and Anirudh Chaudhry (treasurer). The fourth is former BCCI president Anurag Thakur who was sacked by the court on January 2 this year. The figures cover the period from April 2015 to June 2017.BCCI’s allowances for office bearers

Working days: INR 20,000

BCCI meeting days: INR 30,000

Overseas travel allowance(per day): US$750

The biggest beneficiaries of the allowance are the pair of Choudhary and Chaudhry. The board has spent INR 92, 72,519 (US$ 144,657) on Chaudhry and INR 71, 79,068 (US$ 111,997) on Choudhary. During his tenure as secretary, Thakur received INR 17, 99,982 (US$ 28,080) in allowances.Khanna, who took over as the acting BCCI president this March, has so far received INR 4, 86,755 (US$ 7593.6) as allowance for overseas trips – on just a single overseas trip, to England for the Champions Trophy. Ajay Shirke, who was the BCCI secretary between May 2016 and January 2 this year, is the only office bearer listed not to draw any allowance. The allowances are tax-free.The BCCI pays a sum of INR 20,000 (US$ 312) to an office bearer for every working day and INR 30,000 (US$ 468) per day for a board meeting. The daily allowance on an overseas trip is US$750. Not included in the allowances are other expenses that the office bearers were reimbursed for. Choudhary claimed INR 3,93,319 (US$ 6136) as Other Expenses and a sum of INR 13, 51,061 (US$ 21,077) as Stay Charges. His phone bill during the period was INR 43,000 (US$ 671).In comparison, Chaudhry’s phone bill was almost six times: INR 2, 37,145 (US$ 3670). Chaudhry claimed INR 3, 41,603 (US$ 5329) as Other Expenses and INR 11, 03,893 (US$ 17,221) as Stay Charges. He also charged INR 91,877 (US$ 1433) as credit card expenses. Thakur’s credit card expense was INR 1, 81,172 (US$ 2826) while he claimed INR 4, 20,463 (US$ 6715) as Stay Charges. The perks were not just limited to the office bearers, however. Their assistants also received allowances, though it is understood the assistants are on the payroll of the BCCI.The CoA has not objected explicitly about the figures, but has raised concerns again about the BCCI’s inability to implement reforms related to duties performed by the board’s professional management without the consent of the general body.Under the Lodha Committee’s recommendations, while the daily administration of the BCCI is to be handled by the CEO Rahul Johri and his team, policy-making is the preserve of the nine-member Apex Council which includes the three elected office bearers. According to the CoA, the “delineation” of powers between the Apex Council and the professional management was the norm in the corporate world and in cricket bodies such as the ICC, the ECB and Cricket Australia.The CoA said it would also allow a “smooth and efficient” functioning of the BCCI considering the professional management is housed at the board’s headquarters in Mumbai while members of the Apex Council are spread around the country.It pointed, as examples, to Khanna who is based in New Delhi, Choudhary who is in Ranchi while Chaudhry works from his office in Bhiwani in Haryana. “The BCCI currently incurs substantial expense in the form of air travel, hotel stay, ground transport as well as travel and other allowances to the honorary office bearers including when they travel to Mumbai in connection with the discharge of their duties,” the CoA said.

كشف ياسر عبد الرؤوف الخبير التحكيمي مدى صحة قرارات إبراهيم نور الدين حكم مباراة الأهلي والزمالك التي جمعت بين الفريقين ضمن منافسات الدوري المصري.

وفاز الزمالك على الأهلي بهدفين مقابل هدف، في المباراة التي أقيمت بينهما الإثنين، ضمن منافسات الجولة العاشرة المؤجلة للمسابقة المحلية.

طالع.. فيديو | أحمد الشناوي يوضح مدى صحة قرارات إبراهيم نور الدين في مباراة الأهلي والزمالك

وقال ياسر عبد الرؤوف في تصريحات تلفزيونية عبر قناة الحياة: “الإنذار الأول لـ كريم نيدفيد لا يوجد أي خلاف عليها، وكان هناك تهور من لاعب الأهلي ضد ناصر ماهر لاعب الزمالك والقرار كان صحيحا”.

وبسؤاله هل نيدفيد كان يستحق الانذار الثاني في الدقيقة 32، أجاب: “هذه اللعبة الوحيدة التي أختلف عليها مع إبراهيم نور الدين طوال 90 دقيقة”.

وتابع: “هذه اللعبة كانت تستحق إنذار ثاني للاعب الأهلي بسبب الدخول بتهور وكان يستحق الطرد، لكن الحكم فشل في تقدير الحالة بشكل سليم”.

واختتم: “لا يوجد تدخل لتقنية الفار لأنها حالة إنذار، حكم الفيديو لو سيتدخل سيكون على الكارت الأحمر وليس الأصفر حتى لو هي إنذار ثاني”.

أعلن المدير الفني لفريق آرسنال الإنجليزي، ميكيل أرتيتا، تشكيل اللاعبين الذين سيخوضون مباراة بايرن ميونخ في ذهاب منافسات دور الـ8 من دوري أبطال أوروبا.

وتنطلق مباراة آرسنال وبايرن ميونخ في تمام الساعة التاسعة مساءً بتوقيت “القاهرة” على ملعب “الامارات” بصافرة الحكم السويدي جلين نيبيرج.

اقرأ ايضاً.. توخيل: آرسنال أفضل فريق في الدوري الإنجليزي.. ويتفوقون على بايرن ميونخ في شيء واحد

وحسبما نُشر، يتواجد المحترف المصري محمد النني على مقاعد بدلاء آرسنال في مباراة الليلة أمام بايرن ميونخ. تشكيل آرسنال وبايرن ميونخ في دوري أبطال أوروبا

حراسة المرمى: ديفيد رايا.

خط الدفاع: بن وايت، ساليبا، جابرييل، كيويور.

خط الوسط: ديكلان رايس، أوديجارد، جورجينيو.

خط الهجوم: ساكا، مارتينيلي، كاي هافيرتز. بدلاء آرسنال اليوم أمام بايرن ميونخ في دوري أبطال أوروبا

رامسديل، تومياسو، كيويور، هين، زينتشينكو، توماس بارتي، سميث رو، فيريرا، محمد النني، جيسوس، تروسارد، نيلسون. تشكيل بايرن ميونخ أمام آرسنال في دوري أبطال أوروبا

حراسة المرمى: مانويل نوير.

خط الدفاع: كيمتش، إريك داير، دي ليخت، ألفونسو ديفيز.

خط الوسط: جوريتزكا، لايمر، جمال موسيالا.

خط الهجوم: جنابري، ساني، هاري كين. بدلاء بايرن ميونخ أمام آرسنال في دوري أبطال أوروبا

بيرتيز، أولريخ، أوباميكانو، كيم مين جاي، جوريرو، مزراوي، شوبو موتينج، مارتينيز، مولر، كومان، بالوفيتش، ماتيس تيل.

Manchester United are reportedly keeping tabs on Bayer Leverkusen defender, Jeremie Frimpong, with Erik ten Hag still seemingly eyeing a possible upgrade on his current right-back options.

What are the latest Man United transfer rumours?

While much of the talk at present is centred on United's bid to sign Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana and Atalanta's Rasmus Hojlund, Sky Sports Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg has revealed that the Red Devils are also "monitoring" Frimpong, with a fee of around £35m having been suggested.

Writing on Twitter regarding that interest, the transfer insider stated: Arsenal and #Frimpong, it’s not a hot topic at this stage. Instead, ManUtd is still monitoring his situation. Next steps depend on the new owners. #MUFC Player has not yet taken a decision.

"He’s considering his options. But: Key player for Alonso. His price: £35m."

This follows a report from Football Insider back in April that claimed the Old Trafford outfit were in 'pole position' to complete the signing of the 22-year-old, with the likes of Bayern Munich and Barcelona also said to hold an interest in the former Celtic whiz.

How good is Jeremie Frimpong?

Since making the move to Germany from Glasgow on a reported £11.5m deal back in January 2021, the Netherlands international has blossomed into arguably "one of the best wing-backs in Europe", according to talent scout, Jacek Kulig.

The promising "speedster" – as described by Kulig – has already racked up 31 goal involvements in just 96 games in all competitions for the Bundesliga side to date, after previously chipping in with 11 goals and assists in 51 games during his stint at Parkhead.

Such attacking brilliance could ensure that the 5 foot 7 dynamo represents a long-term solution for Ten Hag on the right of the defence, with neither Diogo Dalot nor Aaron Wan-Bissaka having truly nailed down that role of late.

In the case of Dalot, the Portugal international has only recently signed a new long-term deal at the Theatre of Dreams, although the 24-year-old seemingly looked "a bit off it" following the World Cup break, according to the Mirror's Colin Millar, having lost his place to Wan-Bisska in the latter stages of the season.

As for the latter man, it was not too long ago that he was being tipped for an exit, while the Englishman's ability in the final third is still rather limited, as he made just one goal involvement in all competitions last term.

The addition of Frimpong therefore – who contributed 20 goals and assists in 2022/23 – would represent a far more attack-minded option, with the chance there for the Amsterdam native to help get Antony firing down the right flank.

The £86m Brazilian endured a tough debut campaign in English football after scoring just four goals and notching only two assists in 25 Premier League games, although having additional support in his wide berth from Frimpong could be just the solution to help revive his fortunes.

The Leverkusen man's willingness to get forward and aid those ahead of him is shown by the fact that he ranks in the top 1% among his European peers for touches in the attacking penalty area, with Dalot and Wan Bissaka, by contrast, ranking in just the top 33% and the top 13%, respectively.

While that did come with Frimpong largely featuring as a more advanced right-wing back, it still shows that desire to impact proceedings at the top end of the pitch, ensuring he could create space for Antony – who seeks to cut in onto his stronger left foot at any opportunity – with countless overlapping runs.

That combination could then potentially prove deadly next term, ensuring that United's mercurial wideman can truly begin to make his mark as an attacking weapon.

Faf du Plessis’ velvet-smooth 105, and David Miller’s mature, unbeaten 117 – replete with finishing fireworks – sent South Africa to an imposing 307 that Sri Lanka would always struggle to chase

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando01-Feb-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFaf du Plessis made his seventh ODI hundred•AFP

Faf du Plessis’ velvet-smooth 105, and David Miller’s mature, unbeaten 117 – replete with finishing fireworks – sent South Africa to an imposing 307 that Sri Lanka would always struggle to chase, and in the end, fell a whopping 121 runs short of.The batting was the basis of South Africa’s dominance, but the bowling was disciplined as well, and the fielding was not short of sublime. Sri Lanka’s openers fell to two spectacular catches – du Plessis leaping, right arm outstretched above head, to end Niroshan Dickwella’s promising stay, and AB de Villiers sprinting back from mid-off to snaffle a tough overhead chance soon after.JP Duminy’s rapid run out of Asela Gunaratne rounded off the fielding performance, while Imran Tahir and co. refused to allow the opposition to ever get a feel for the chase. They were all out for 186 in the 38th over. Eight batsmen got into double figures but the highest score of the innings was Dinesh Chandimal’s 36.Sri Lanka’s mistakes would be familiar to recent followers of their cricket. The chance to have South Africa 118 for 5 was spurned when du Plessis was dropped on 63 – that fifth wicket partnership going on to account for 117 and form the thorax of South Africa’s innings. The bowling lacked penetration through the death overs – which has often been the case since Lasith Malinga’s decline – and the batsmen produced a string of briefly encouraging but largely inconsequential innings. There was not a fifty partnership in the response.It is also possible Sri Lanka erred in bowling first on what appeared a good batting track ahead of the match. Perhaps they might have reasoned that their only wins on tour – in the T20s – had come when chasing a score.Du Plessis came to the crease in the fourth over of South Africa’s innings, and was both secure and productive, seeing his team through early wobbles when Sri Lanka’s beefed-up spin attack appeared ready to take control of the match.It was the frill-free back foot punch that eventually took him to triple figures, but it had defined the early stages of du Plessis’ innings as well, as he leant back to punish short deliveries from the spinners through the cover region – though plenty of runs came square of the leg side as well. In between the boundaries were a non-stop tick-tock of singles and twos. Where other batsmen in the top order were inert against spin early in their innings, du Plessis always seemed in control of the pace of his progress.His sole mistake came on 63: reaching for a flighted Lakshan Sandakan stock ball, du Plessis sent a low edge to Dhananjaya de Silva at slip. The chance was grassed, and the partnership went on to flourish for more than 22 overs. Sandakan would have a half-chance off Miller go down as well, and seemed, in general, the best bowler in the attack – his big turn causing batsmen issues, even if his lack of control allowed them to get off strike easily as well.While du Plessis’ innings rarely waivered from a strike rate of around 90, Miller advanced more in spurts through the first half of his knock. Happy at first to work the ball around with his partner, he ventured big shots whenever his scoring rate began to lag: it was consecutive straight sixes of Dhananjaya de Silva that sped him from 39 off 52 balls to 51 off 54.A diet of runs into the outfield sustained him after reaching that half century, but it wasn’t long before the death overs coaxed him into a destructive mood again. He cracked Suranga Lakmal to the deep cover fence in the 44th over, smoked Kulasekara over long-on two overs later, then having completed his fourth ODI hundred off the first ball of the final over, exploded spectacularly in the last five balls to launch South Africa beyond 300. He hit two straight sixes off two wayward Kulasekara deliveries – the second of which sent the ball bouncing down the road – and finished the innings with a four behind square on the offside to boot. His last 18 balls yielded three sixes and 36 runs.Briefly, there was hope for the Sri Lanka chase. Dickwella hit enterprising boundaries off the South Africa seamers, and Upul Tharanga – having re-promoted himself to the top of the innings – progressed smartly despite suffering two blows to the helmet. But when both were out to excellent catches off the bowling of Wayne Parnell, the run rate climbed, and wickets began to fall with regularity.Kusal Mendis chipped an Andile Phehlukwayo ball to short cover, Dhananjaya de Silva was stumped after being dragged out of his crease by Tahir, Asela Gunaratne was run out for the second time in as many matches, and Chandimal was caught behind driving ambitiously as well. Beyond the 45-run opening stand, there was really no meaningful fight from the Sri Lanka batsmen, though they did at least go down swinging, rather than in a meek heap. At Chandimal’s dismissal, the score was 132 for 6 in the 26th over, and hopes of victory were all but extinguished.South Africa’s bowlers shared the wickets around. Tahir and Parnell took two apiece, and Duminy had two lower middle-order batsmen holing out off his bowling as well. Rabada, Morris and Phehlukwayo all finished with one scalp.

A bout of dengue prior to Christmas has prompted the Sri Lanka fast bowler to limit the intensity of his training, and he will now focus on returning to the side for the T20s against Australia

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Johannesburg09-Jan-2017Lasith Malinga will be unavailable for the forthcoming T20 and ODI series in South Africa after a bout of dengue forced a setback in his return from injury, Malinga’s management team has confirmed.A bone bruise in his left knee had forced Malinga to withdraw from the World T20 and the IPL last year, and though he had returned to training as early as September, he had been increasing his workload in careful increments in order to regain match fitness without aggravating the injury.His illness prior to Christmas had prompted him to slow the increase in intensity of his training, however, and Malinga will now only attempt to return in time for the three-match T20 series against Australia, scheduled to begin on February 17.Malinga has played only one international match since November 2015, with multiple leg injuries having caused him substantial problems since at least the middle of 2014.In his absence, Sri Lanka will have to pick their frontline seamers from a pace battery that includes Nuwan Kulasekara, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Dushmantha Chameera and Lahiru Gamage.The first of the three T20s is scheduled for January 20; the first of the five ODIs for January 28.